metro
Celebrating from page 8
After the ceremony, Sherman returned the
ring to her grandmother, who wears it on a
chain around her neck.
Many brides carry a handkerchief or
other item that belonged to a beloved family
member, but heirloom fabrics can be used in
other ways as well.
Lisa Blanck Ehrlich and her husband,
Peter, married under a chuppah made by
Peter's mother, Laura Ehrlich, who wanted
to make the chuppah from her own wedding
dress but ran into a problem.
"The preserved dress, nearly 38 years later,
wasn't so well-preserved:' said Laura Ehrlich,
who lives in Denver. "My wonderful cantor
suggested using a family heirloom tablecloth
that I had never used for fear of staining it
with Passover wine:'
The chuppah was made from the table-
cloth and napkins, which had been Peter's
great-grandmother's. Fabric from Laura's
wedding dress is in the center, adorned
with a pomegranate tree, a common Jewish
symbol, and the Hebrew verse, "I am my
beloved's and my beloved is mine:'
The chuppah was created for the wedding
of Peter's sister, Jessie, and her husband,
Arik Yoffe, in May 2012. Their names are
embroidered on one side; the other side was
left blank so the names of Peter and his bride
could be added before their wedding last
August at the Max M. Fisher Music Center
in Detroit.
Joy And Remembrance
Even though weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs
are joyous occasions, including a memorial
prayer can be appropriate.
"We wanted to remember Scott's father,
David, who had recently passed away," said
Daniell Nadiv of Ferndale, recalling her
October 2014 wedding to Scott Jankowski.
Rabbi Aaron Bergman of Adat Shalom
Synagogue recited El Malei Rachamim,
the memorial prayer, as Daniell and Scott's
siblings wrapped them in a tallit, a gift
from Daniell to her groom in keeping with
Sephardic tradition.
"Saying the memorial prayer while under
the chuppah was an emotional and comfort-
Planning from page 8
grammed hand towels."
She also had a dozen 15-inch
square napkins that went with her
mother's huge banquet tablecloth.
She decided each pillow would be
backed by a napkin and each would
include an appliqued rose from her
mother's wedding gown. Otherwise,
each pillow is unique.
Ruth Stern of Waterford, a friend
of Lauren Marcus Johnson, made the
pillows.
The commission was originally six
pillows for the six Marcus grand-
daughters, who now range in age
10 June 4 ā¢ 2015
JN
Alexandra Gordon and Andrew Sherman
are wrapped in the tallit that belonged
to his great-grandfather, philanthropist
Max M. Fisher.
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Alexandra used a family wedding ring in
Peter Ehrlich and Lisa Blanck were married under a chuppah made from various
family heirlooms from both families.
the ceremony.
ing experience," Nadiv said. "We were able
to remember all of our loved ones who we
wish were physically present at our wedding,
while spiritually knowing they were beside
us.
"Although they are a great time of joy and
celebration, weddings can be difficult for
individuals who have recently lost a beloved
family member. Incorporating the memorial
prayer was a way for us to remember Scott's
father and include him in our special day:'
mitzvah or near the chuppah for a wedding:'
he said. "During bar and bat mitzvahs, the
parents often talk about who the child was
named after and the attributes of those peo-
ple that they hope the child will inherit:'
Rabbi Jason Miller said he often offers
a memorial prayer as the ketubah is being
signed before a wedding.
"This is a way to memorialize loved ones
without bringing sadness under the chuppah
during the actual ceremony," he said.
Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg of Congregation
Shir Tikvah in Troy and his husband, Robert
Crowe, lit yahrtzeit candles to remember
his father, Simon Sleutelberg, and Robert's
mother, Freda Crowe, at the start of their
wedding ceremony in 2012.
Sleutelberg says he frequently helps fami-
lies devise ways to remember departed loved
ones in a simchah.
"Often white roses are placed in a promi-
nent place near the bimah for a bar or bat
ā
from 20 to 7. But during the
18 months Stern worked on
the project, another grand-
daughter was born, and
Marcus requested a seventh
pillow.
"I hope I will be here to see
at least some of them mar-
ried, but I don't expect to be
around for the weddings of
the younger ones," Marcus
said. "These pillows will give
them something to remember
me, my mother and my grand-
mothers."
ā
- Barbara Lewis
Marcus holds a wedding photo of her par-
ents, Zac and Adele.
This flower adorned Marcus' mother's wed-
ding dress.