I Family Focus

Marrying Beneath Memories

She'll Liebman Dorfman

Senior Writer

W

hen Marla and Alan
Schindler's son Matt became
engaged, Marla was set in
motion to do something she said she had
been planning for a long time.
"It is very important to me that each of
our children have something very special
that I made myself, just for them:' said
Marla of Oak Park. "And what could be
more special than making their chuppah
[four-cornered wedding canopy]."
In fact, Marla said, "I knew for many
years that I wanted to make a chuppah for
all three of our sons!'
It happened that Matt and his wife
Lindsay's Aug. 1, 2004, wedding at
Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park
was the first.
"It was very special to Lindsay and me
that my mom offered to make the chuppah
and was able to make one that exceeded
everyone's expectations, even her own I
think," said Matt of Oak Park. "It's truly a
work of art."
Since making that first one, creating
chuppot has become Marla's passion. "I
truly feel it is a mitzvah to be able to do
this for someone she said.
Marla now makes chuppot through her
business, Chuppah-art. On her Web site,
www.Chuppah-art.com , she describes the
chuppah as representing "the new home
that the bride and groom will establish as
a married couple.
The four sides left completely open as a
reminder that their home should always
be open to guests."
So far, the chuppot Marla has made have
been what she calls "memory" chuppot
and include photos and names of family
members of the bride and groom.
"At our wedding, not only were we sur-
rounded by our friends and family in the
congregation and on the bimah," Matt
said, "but my mom was also able to incor-
porate into the chuppah pictures of our
late grandparents so we could look up at
them during the ceremony and know they
were celebrating with us!'
Added Lindsay, "I loved the idea of
incorporating the pictures. Family is so
important to my husband and me." Their
chuppah, she said shows their history
together.

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May 15 • 2008

IN

Photo by John Richmond P hotog rapher

Unique, personal chuppot add special touch to weddings.

our families in it — that we will have for-
ever:' Bryan said. "Mom worked very hard
on it and it turned out great. It was a very
special gift for us."
In addition to photos of their parents,
siblings and of themselves, Bryan and
Christina's chuppah also has a unique,
personal touch in the wording. "The words
`home,"happiness,"peace' and 'friend-
ship' are written in English, Chinese and
Hebrew:' said Christina who is Chinese-
American. "These were words we thought
best represent both Bryan and me. My last
name was written in Chinese and Bryan's
was written in Hebrew."

Matt and Lindsay Schindler under the chuppah at their wedding.

"My husband and I met in seventh
grade so the chuppah has pictures of us
in middle school, prom and at college
Lindsay said. "It has our grandparents' and
parents' wedding pictures and our engage-
ment picture in the middle."
Marla also added fabric squares with
illustrations depicting some of the couple's
interests.
"Matt loves Fiddler on the Roof so there's
a little house with a fiddler playing atop it:'
Lindsay said. "I teach, so it has a little kid
and the letters ABC. There's a bat and ball
to represent Matt's love for baseball and
running shoes because I love to work out."
Across the bottom of the chuppah is the
Hebrew phrase, Ani l'dodi v'dodi li, with
the translation, "I am my beloved's and my
beloved is mine."

Imagining A Chuppah
"Ideas for designs are only as limited as
the couple's imagination:' Marla said. "I

can work together with the families so
that their chuppah will be an expression
of what they want for their special day and
will be a family heirloom they will have to
pass on for generations to come."
She welcomes input and encourages the
inclusion of memorable photos, phrases
and quotes.
Matt and Lindsay chose the pictures
and the colors for their chuppah, but they
left the rest to Marla, who Lindsay said, "is
so creative."
When Marla began work on a chuppah
for her son Bryan and his wife, Christina,
for their June 24, 2007, wedding, Christina
said, "We trusted Marla to create the over-
all design. But Marla, Bryan and I did go
shopping together to pick out fabric that
we all liked."
They, too, included family photos on
their chuppah, which they plan to display
in their Novi home. "It is a great, big fam-
ily portrait — the first one with both of

More To Come
"These "memory" chuppot are very popu-
lar, but I have so many other ideas that
I would love to try that I know would be
equally as beautiful," Marla said. "I can
really make anything that anyone wants.
The only limitation is the imagination
— and mine is just getting started!'
In addition to the chuppot she is com-
missioned to make, Marla said, "when our
third son, Jeff [of Madison Heights] gets
married, I'd like to make one for him."
She also created a chuppah she rents
out for weddings, hoping it will be "a
detail that will enhance the beauty of the
ceremony and make it unique Marla said.
The $180 rental charge includes delivery,
set-up and pick-up.

,41111111

Marla Schindler works on a chuppah

at her sewing machine.

For information on Marla Schindler's
chuppot, access the Web site at:
www.chuppah-art.com , send an e-
mail to: marschin@yahoo.com with
"chuppah" in the subject line or call
(248) 514-9532.