Luck of the Irish.

Friday night was the first official meeting with the rabbi. Last time we met with him it was an informal meeting to see if he is the one that we want to do the wedding. So this time it was official.

We went over the logistics of the wedding, like what we are expected to bring. We need our own kiddish cup, which is fine, since I bought one in Israel for the occasion. We also are doing a Havdallah in the beginning, and I bought a beautiful candle for that in Israel also. Probably in another month or so, we will go meet with him again.

This weekend we also started to think about invitations. I met a really nice woman the bridal show that has a store that is down the road from us (right next to Archie Moore's). So while getting food from Archie's for the second time this weekend, we stopped in to take a look. I was impressed that as soon as we walked in, the woman said that she remembered me from the bridal fair before I could mention that I was there. We learned from this that there are thousands of possibilities, and we have no idea what we want. We are going to go back again on Sunday with my parents and look again, so we'll see how that goes.

Other than that, this weekend was filled with corned beef, beer, and friends. Saturday we walked with Tom to the parade in Milford. People joined in throughout the day, and eventually, we made it back from the bars for a wonderful corned beef dinner courtesy of Aron. After dinner we all went to Tom's for a bonfire. Sunday the celebrating continued with a trip to Sarah and Justin's St. Pat's party.

Aron and I dressed very festive for the parade. Me with my Shamrock antennae and Aron with his Guinness jersey.

More dance

Last night was our second dance lesson, and this time it was a private lesson. Our lesson was with the owner, and he seems like a really nice guy (though a bit strange). We started off with his fiance, who is really nice, because he was busy with the couple before us still.

Today's lesson focused on the Waltz and Swing. I have learned that I am pretty decent at the steps and making sure I am on the right foot and doing the right thing with my feet. I have also learned that I am terrible and turns. I seem to be in a rush to get back into dancing that I speed through the turn. Oh well, we will work on it.

Last night we also played our first dance song for our instructor, and he mentioned some ideas of where we can go with it, but I don't really remember anything he said. Plus, he has a thick German accent, so I really can't understand everything he says.

Last night was the last of our free lessons, so we bought a package. It is pretty expensive, but I think that is a good idea. If anything, it will give us some confidence on the dance floor so we don't just stand there like middle schoolers swaying back and forth.

In other wedding news, tonight is our 2nd meeting with the rabbi. We are going to head there after Aron gets home from work, meet with the rabbi, then stay for the Friday night service again. This temple doesn't really do Saturday morning services, so they read from the Torah on Friday nights. They keep it pretty short, but it is still longer than a normal Friday night service. I really don't mind. I kind of enjoy the idea that we are attending services on occasion. It is still not something I can see myself doing weekly, but I wouldn't mind my attendance being more than just a high holiday (if that) thing. It is also really inconvenient that the temple is all the way in Ridgefield, but the rabbi there seems to be the best match for us, so it is worth the drive.

Waterview resheduled (again)

Tomorrow, we are finally (hopefully!) going to meet with our coordinator at the Waterview. We have been trying to do this since December, but floods and flu have kept this from happening. So, as long as there is not big emergency between now and tomorrow, we will be at the Waterview.

Next Friday we have another meeting with the Rabbi. I think at this one we cover a little more of the getting to know you stuff. I think we also talk about text for the ceremony and things like that. We also need to talk to him about wording for the ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) so we can that over to the woman that is going to make it.

This weekend will also include a trip to get my tires replaced. I knew I was going to need new tires, but I was looking to hold off until the summer. But the flat tire I got yesterday sped up the process a bit.

Hopefully this weekend there will be a lot more wedding details after our Waterview meeting!

Rabbi

Aron and I trekked to Ridgefield last night for a meeting with the Rabbi and a Friday night service. The Rabbi is really nice. He is only a few years older than us, and relatively recently married himself. He is pretty open to anything as far as the ceremony goes, and he will marry us whenever we want. We told him we officially want to use him. He said that entails 2 meetings where we discuss with him exactly what we want and stuff like that.

We also stayed around for the Friday night service. It was nice, but much much more reform that I used to. They read from the Torah on Friday night, since they do not have a Saturday morning service. Also, since it is reform, they treat woman as equals, unlike in conservative, where woman essentially have no place in the service. I did enjoy attending, and the people were all very nice.

Overall, I am happy with the Rabbi, and I don't mind attending a few more services there between now and the wedding. Too bad it is so far away!