Arts & Entertainment

Happily Ever After

A new exhibit will help your wedding be magical and memorable.

Elizabeth Applebaum
Special to the Jewish News

K

anchana Ketkaew and
Boonthawee Siengwong didn't
want a typical wedding. So
when the two married earlier this year
in Thailand, Kanchana covered her gown
with live scorpions.
This was, no doubt, inspired by the
enviable title to which she holds claim:
the Guinness Book of World Records'
"Scorpion Queen:' for most days spent
with the creepy creatures (32 days, 3,400
scorpions).
Kanchana met her husband, a.k.a. the
"King of Centipedes" (28 days, 1,000 cen-
tipedes), at a snake farm. The two were
married while inside a large coffin at a
haunted house.
Amazingly enough, a scorpion wed-
ding isn't for everyone. Take the 2004
The exhibit will feature four chuppot to inspire themed weddings.
nuptials of Vanisha Mittal and Amit
Bhatia. This gathering, for the daughter
of Indian steel tycoon L.N. Mittal, didn't
have many-legged insects, but it did last
for many days, had many, many guests
and cost many, many, many millions. The
tab for the six-day affair, which included
a reception at the Palace of Versailles, was
$60 million, making it the most expen-
sive wedding in history.
Then there are those who pass on the
bugs and big bashes and pop off to Vegas.
Among them: former Pistons star Dennis
Rodman and actress Carmen Electra,
Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward,
Joan Crawford and then-Pepsi chairman
Alfred Steele, Kirk Douglas and Ann
Buydens, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.
The latter, touchingly enough, were for-
ever joined at the "Chapel of Cheese."
A mezuzah by Steven Goodman; the
All in good taste: Michelle Bommarito's
Whether you're looking for something
artist uses a wide array of materials
cakes have appeared on the Food
involving scorpions, a relatively simple
— from mother of pearl to turquoise to
Network.
get-together in Vegas or anywhere else,
fossilized ivory — in his art.
or a grand affair along the lines of the
Mittal event, planning a wedding is a
challenge.
continue through March 8, with exhibits
ful, it's even delicious when you consider
But it just got a little easier.
offering everything a bride and groom,
those cakes. And it will offer so many
"Mazel Toy! The Art of Marriage"
parents and future in-laws, guests look-
great ideas to couples planning their own
opens 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 11, at
ing to bring a memorable gift or anyone
weddings."
the Janice Charach Epstein Gallery in
just sentimental about weddings could
the West Bloomfield JCC, with a fashion
possibly need. All events are free and
You Are Cordially Invited •••
show, sponsored by Macy's and featuring
open to the public.
First stop: dream weddings. The theme's
models from Virtuoso Salon, along with
"This is one of the most unique exhib-
the thing for many couples planning their
champagne and cake tasting and music
its you will ever see said the gallery's
big day. A Hawaiian theme, perhaps, or a
by the Pro Arte Duo. "Mazel Toy!" will
director, Terri Stearn. "It's fun, it's beauti-
Hollywood motif might be up your alley?

40

January 1t 2007

Or maybe just a lovely lace chuppah
(wedding canopy) with white flowers.
Representatives from four party
planners — Emerald City Designs,
Gourmet Parties, Outstanding Weddings
and Events, and Special Occasions by
Sparkman Event Planning — will pres-
ent their idea of the perfect nuptial decor.
Each dream wedding will be displayed
under a chuppah in the main lobby of the
gallery.
Next stop: food. Of course, the bride
and groom usually don't remember what
they ate at their wedding, though more
often than not it involves chicken. The
exception is the wedding cake, which can
be basic enough or memorably extrava-
gant, in the mold of hip-hop stars Nas
and Kelis, whose 2005 wedding cake
was covered in 24-karat gold. Whatever
your taste (both flavor and design-
wise), you can find ideas at "Mazel
Toy!" — from Chef David's Gourmet
Pastry, Pavlina Cakes and local baker
Michelle Bommarito, a guest on the Food
Network's Holiday Cake Off.
And whether you're interested in a
modest handful of daisies or a bouquet
of imported gardenias for every table,
flowers are an integral part of the wed-
ding. Learn more from the experts at
Christopher's Personal Touch, Emerald
City Designs, Breath of Spring and
Westborn Market.
Upstairs will be a classic collection of
wedding art and objects for purchase.
Among them will be works by Hillary
Fisher, who also serves as a gallery assis-
tant and guest curator of "Mazel Tov! The
Art of Marriage."
Fisher, 24, who holds a BFA from
Western Michigan University, has loved
to paint since she was a tiny girl, "since
I could hold a paintbrush," she says. Her
Wedding in Jaffa, which will be among
the items in the exhibit, was inspired by a
visit to Israel last year.
A couple was getting married — no
one Fisher knew — and the bride's deli-
cate veil blew up in the wind and danced
around. Fisher snapped a photo, which
then became the basis for her painting.
It's by no means a duplicate, though.
Instead, Fisher recalled the scene,
then painted textures. From the textures
emerged the images of the lovely Israeli
bride and her groom.