Chuppah Memories

The funny thing about doing what I do is that I've been to TONS of weddings. I'm now starting my ninth year as a rabbi, and I do an average of a dozen weddings a year, which equals.....wow, at least 108 weddings at which I've officiated. So, I've seen a lot, experienced a lot, and have some ideas about what I like and don't like.

Some of the most memorable highlights:

1) One couple loved their dog SO VERY MUCH that they made him the ring bearer. And, wouldn't you know it - he did his job very well! (Wonder if my cats could do this...)

2) I've been a part of a number of "destination weddings," and they are so very special. Though the guest list has to be quite small, the weddings I've done in Cabo, Cancun, Williamsburg, and others were a true delight.

3) I married one couple on the beach....right in front of Sammy Hagar's house!

4) I was once almost killed by a chuppah pole. The florist had set up the chuppah area, and the poles were HUGE wooden structures. Unfortunately, they weren't supported by anything, and they were each surrounded by votive candles. As we were practicing before the ceremony, one of the poles decided to fall down....right onto me....and to take some of the decorative cloth right with it into the candle flames...I escaped with a bruised ankle and a sense that I had narrowly missed being seriously injured.

5) One couple totally forgot their rings! In the middle of the ceremony, when I asked for the rings, everyone looked around and figured someone else had them. We wound up borrowing rings from a recently married couple in the congregation!!

6) I've appeared or been mentioned in the NY Times at least four times in the wedding section. One of the mentions included a picture...of my TUSH!! My big NY Times debut, and it's only my tuchas that makes it in. Go figure.

I'm sure more will come to mind as my own wedding plans progress. What do you most remember about weddings you've attended? What's your funniest memory?