Mazel Toy!

Emily Shwedel, newlyweds Carrie and
Roy Krauthamer, and Greg Weitzman.

Just engaged:
Emily Shwedel
and Greg
Weitzman.

-:::42.MMENzair

CARRIE KRAUTHAMER
Special to the Jewish News

'm not a very superstitious person. I don't avoid
black cats, I step on cracks and opening an
umbrella inside a building has never caused me to
panic.
So why would I offer my bouquet to at least 20 sin-
gle women at my wedding? Tradition — and perhaps a
bit of curiosity.
Roy and I got married at the Hotel Baronet-re in
Novi during Memorial Day weekend in May. Prior to
our wedding, we discussed how much fun the bouquet
toss would be. It was also pointed out by most of our
bridesmaids how much they would love to get their
hands on it.
As I tossed the bouquet into the air, I could not pre-
dict the events that would follow. One of my best
friends, Emily Shwedel, dove head first to catch that
bouquet. She had been dating Greg Weitzman for six

Carrie Krauthamer, an account supervisor with
MARS Advertising in Southfield, and husband Roy live
in West Bloomfield.

`Matching" superstition,
tradition and
determination.

months. She wrestled with other single women in an
effort to prove her ambition to become a bride.
As she took the last yank on the flower stems, there
was no question she caught the flowers fair and square.
Next came the men. At least 20 gathered on the
dance floor to see who could potentially be the next in
line for marriage. There were no high ambitions in this
crowd — just a bunch of guys waiting to see who
would "bite the dust" next. A toss in the air and the

games began.
The garter was volleyed from the left to right and
landed directly in front of (you guessed it) Greg. He
grabbed it off the floor with a devilish grin and the
laughter spread throughout the room. What were the
odds?
As Greg slipped the garter onto Emily's leg, the spec-
ulation began.
Emily, a 28-year-old dentist in Plymouth who was
raised in Southfield, had reacquainted with Greg when
she moved back to Michigan in September 1999 from a
dental residency in Houston. She had known Greg a lit-
tle through friends and camp, but a friendship blos-
somed as their social circles entwined.
Greg is a 26-year-old West Bloomfield native and an
account executive for Jay-Cee Sales and Rivet in
Farmington. Greg and Emily began dating in
December 1999.
It has been six months since Emily and Greg caught
the bouquet and the garter at our wedding. They
became engaged on Nov. 5 and are now planning a
wedding for 2001.
I'm not saying that this will encourage me to become
a superstitious person, but oh what a catch! El

