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Brian Winshall
and Maggie Pearl
commemorate
their wedding.

Distance

Destination weddings add glamour
and importance to the big day.

Suzanne Chessler
Special to celebrate!

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March 2008

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Last summer, in a lush park overlooking majestic mountains in Colorado, Rabbi Paul Yedwab of
Temple Israel in West Bloomfield officiated at a marriage ceremony.
The setting sun, in muted colors of dimming light, beautified the natural scene as the rabbi
faced a loving couple, their family and friends.
Everyone, after long trips, had entered into the mood of a dream-fulfilling destination wedding.
Rabbi Yedwab, generally used to quiet guests, was proceeding with the ritual when he began
to hear the audience. The sounds grew louder and then chilling.
Rabbi Yedwab subtly scanned the area and saw the problem — a menacing wedding crasher,
a lurching fox that seemed headed for the chuppah.
The rabbi won't say if he invoked a silent prayer, but the fox quickly became distracted and ran
in another direction.The ceremony and celebration went forward, with no additional distractions.
"Just like any other wedding, I was thrilled to be there and glad it all worked out well," says
Rabbi Yedwab, who has overseen many destination ceremonies, from Rhode Island to the
Dominican Republic. "I have done counseling as people plan these events, and I always try to
go over the positive and the negative considerations.

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