From Miss to Mrs: Remembrance to Kiddush

In my last we started off our ceremony, so it seems only fitting to continue. As before the majority of this text has been ispired by Celebrating Interfaith Weddings or The New Jewish Wedding.
Rabbi: There are those close to Shoshanah and The Boy who are not here today, but who would celebrate joyfully if they were. Today they especially remeber Shoshanah's beloved mother, K---. Let us think of her and others in a moment of silence.
At this point our rabbi gave her remarks on our wedding day and relationship. Since she wrote this, I don't quite feel comfortable posting it in full. In comparison, I put together most of the rest of the ceremony and e-mailed it to her. With that said the fact I don't have an actual physical copy of her words, may also be part of the reason you won't find it here.
I will say that the boy made faces throughout this entire bit, which you can see above if you look closely. For example, when she listed "when you addressed invitations and sealed envelopes," as how we worked together to make the wedding happen, he made a face to make it clear he actually had no part in that. On the other hand when it was said that the boy "took an active role in creating this wedding canopy which is symbolic of the home ya'll will create together," his face definitely confirmed that was something he spent his time one.
There's an old wives tale about rain on a wedding day and the luck it brings to the bride and groom. We don't have rain today, but you had an entire hurricane that announced the beginning of your marriage. So we all know, here, today, that this is going to be an especially lucky marriage.
Two thoughts are suggested by this cup of wine. The first is symbolic of the sweetness we wish for your life. There will be times when you drink from other cups as well, bitter ones & sour ones, but life more often offers the opportunity to savor sweetness above all else. The awareness of the possibility of a life filled with true meaning is what we toast to in this moment: the sweetness that is life.
The second thought is that this cup of wine symbolizes the overflowing gratitude Shoshanah and The Boy have for the copious amounts of loving care and teaching from their ancestors, the ties of the heart and memory that link family, and the friendships that fill this cup well beyond the lip of its rim.
Blessed are you, Adonai our G-d, creator of the fruit of the wine. (At this point both the boy and I, in turn had a sip of wine.)
I did also want to make a small note here, as to why I included the second symbol for the cup of wine. A version of that passage is included in both of the books I used, and both of them credit it to Rabbi Wolli Kaelter, who was the Rabbi Emeritus, at the temple where I grew up. I felt fitting to include something in the ceremony that in a way, brought me back the temple where I went to Hebrew school, where I was bat mitzvah, where I was confirmed back Long Beach, California.

Did you choose to include something in your ceremony that somehow, even minutely, brought you back to where grew up or came from?

All photos in this post courtesy of Sabree Hill Photography.
Miss a Recap Post?
From Miss to Mrs: The Calm Before the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: There's a Hurricane Coming?
From Miss to Mrs: Here Comes Isaac
From Miss to Mrs: Weathering the Cane
From Miss to Mrs: After the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: Trials and Tribulations
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Errands
From Miss to Mrs: A Night on the Town
From Miss to Mrs: The Hangover
From Miss to Mrs: Rehearsing in the Heat
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Supper
From Miss to Mrs: Gifting the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Night
From Miss to Mrs: Oh What a Beautiful Morning
From Miss to Mrs: Getting Prettified
From Miss to Mrs: Prepping the Plantation
From Miss to Mrs: Turtle Time
From Miss to Mrs: The Photographer Has Arrived
From Miss to Mrs: Becoming the Bride
From Miss to Mrs: Dress Details
From Miss to Mrs: Ou Est le Groom?
From Miss to Mrs: A Bridge-y First Look
From Miss to Mrs: Couple Time
From Miss to Mrs: Just the Two of Us
From Miss to Mrs: Grouping the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: Ain't No Party Like a Bridal Party
From Miss to Mrs: Fun with Family
From Miss to Mrs: Making it Official
From Miss to Mrs: The Bedeken
From Miss to Mrs: The Final Minutes
From Miss to Mrs: Programming Break
From Miss to Mrs: The Processional
From Miss to Mrs: Walking the Walk
From Miss to Mrs: Circle to Ceremony