said Friedman. "I never in my life saw a
dress like this."
She said her other daughter, Edita, who
served as Gabby's maid-of-honor, also
looked beautiful. "She looked like a natur-
al Russian from California.
"It was nice to see both kids all dressed
up," she said.
"I always see them running around in
torn, baggy jeans. To me, they looked like
absolute movie stars."
Heller said her makeup was put on heav-
ier than normal for the pictures.
"I had tons of powder on, burgundy lip
liner, fake eyelashes and I exaggerated my
eyebrows," said Heller. "I wanted more dra-
ma; I wanted to look bright and vibrant."
Heller said her makeup wasn't the only
thing done a little bit differently.
"I did my hair in a wave; it looked like
the 1920s," she said. "The whole image was
like that."
Heller said what made her wedding tru-
ly special was the fact that it was just plain
"fun."
"We really had a blast," she said. "Some-
one brought Russian caviar and we had a
table set up with Russian vodka. We had
wonderful hors d'oeuvres, even though we
didn't get to taste many; but I heard they
were great."
Friedman couldn't agree more with her
daughter about the food.
"Believe me, no one left that wedding
hungry," she said.
"The food wasn't boring at all. We didn't
have the regular boring chicken; we had a
chicken gourmet strudel."
Heller said she took off her dress and
changed into something more comfortable
because she wanted to enjoy herself and kick
up her heels.
Friedman said she was very pleased with
the outcome and still cannot believe how
fast the day went.
"It's amazing; you plan six months for
something," she said. "You blink and it's
,
over.
Friedman said she was so exhausted from
the planning, she and her husband Eu-
gene took their own "second honeymoon"
in California after the wedding. But not be-
fore a party for her parents — a 50th
wedding anniversary the next day!
As for the newlyweds, they spent
time in the four corners; Nevada, Utah,
Arizona and New Mexico.
"We slept under the stars and stayed
in a 1930s cabin," she said. "This
wasn't the typical vacation on the
beach. We went down an 11,000-foot
mountain on mountain bikes for 15
miles."
Heller said it was the best vacation
she ever took and can't believe people
go to Disney World instead.
"I'm glad more and more people are
vacationing in the United States," said
Heller. "I think we have the most
beautiful country in the world."
Heller works at the spa performing
permanent makeup on a long list of
clients she has built up on her own. Her
new husband is in the remodeling busi-
ness with Fairway Construction.
"It's such a small world," said Fried-
man. "I've known Ben's mother for
20 years; she's a client of mine."
Friedman says her daughter and
Heller were friends for a long time,
but then it turned into a romance.
She said her daughter met Ben in
college, but Friedman says she was
never impressed with him.
"He used to have long hair and wore
torn-up jeans; he looked like a hippie,"
she said. "Three years later, he
cleaned himself up and he is a won-
derful person. He stole her heart and
mine."
Friedman said her new son-in-law
and her daughter get along because
they have so many common interests.
"They both love hiking in the
mountains, bike riding; he's very ro-
mantic," she said.
Heller said her husband proposed
on one knee while they were on a pic-
nic in the woods in May 1993.
"He was so nervous when he asked
her, he lost the ring in the grass," said
Friedman. "They're wonderful to-
gether and that's the way it should be."
So it should. 0
Top: The bride and groom stand under the chuppah sur-
rounded by the bridal party. Above: A formal portrait
of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Heller.
STYLE • 1-3RIDES 1995
•17