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bridesmaids gowns — and a flowergirl
dress for Kim and Bryan's 18-month-
old Shira. The day I began to shop for
a dress was also the day I was remind-
ed it was time to re-join Weight
Watchers.
Once we chose a site — a ceremony
in the courtyard patio behind
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield with an indoor party to
follow — a lot of the other plans fell
into place.
The synagogue — like most others —
sends a form to be filled out listing
those hired to work at the wedding. It
served as a reminder of most of the
basics, like the photographer, videog-
rapher, florist and band.
Because we were thrilled with Kim
and Bryan's wedding, mostly everyone
was asked back, allowing what worked
the first time to be repeated without
much thought. When the videograph-
er asked, "Do you want one camera or
two?" I just said, "Do whatever we did
last time."
Even things that seem involved and
multi-stepped happen gradually.
Invitations are ordered in stages, the first
of which is a review of sample books.
Then, you narrow the choices down
to a few and eliminate the ones you
don't like (or, in our case, the one you
later realize is the same one your sister
and her husband used). With the
groom living out-of-state, this process

involved near-daily faxing of wording
and fonts.

-e
c 00k:Mke«i
Once the invitations are stamped and
mailed, a new sort of reality sets in —
that not only are you planning a wed-
ding, but suddenly others are also
making plans to attend.
As we get closer to our date, one
important thing we continue to
remember: The wedding is the high-
light, but getting there can be a differ-
ent sort of highlight. And we will
always treasure the time spent with
Steffie "getting there."
A perk we didn't think about,
beyond having Bryan and Avi join our
family, are the relationships we have
with their parents, Pearl and Larry
Schon and Marci and David Beneson,
and their families.
During much of our planning, our
thoughts raced to what would be at
the end, when the whirlwind stopped.
What would we do after seeing Avi
and Steffie off for New York, where
she'll begin graduate school studies?
For a time, we thought we might
just sit back and take a break from
party planning. But that was before
son Rick came home from school last
month with a friend — Ph.D. candi-
date Penina Schreiber from Boston,
who instantly fit right in.
Here we go again? ❑

