wedding

An Intimate Chelsea Garden Wedding in the Age of Covid

June 30, 2020 by Rabbi Gloria Milner

Several months ago I received a call from the mother of a bride who was organizing her daughter’s wedding. They had selected a small Italian restaurant in Chelsea that had a garden to accommodate the 70 guests. I met with the couple in my apartment and sketched out the service.

Then came Covid and of course that restaurant, like all others in Manhattan, closed in March. I heard from the mother again a month ago to say that the couple wanted to go check with the date 6/27 but the guest list was relegated to two sets of parents, bride, groom and me. The garden was perfect for social distancing and putting up a chuppah.

The day of the wedding dawned and several sets of thunderstorms were predicted. Fortunately the garden had an overhang, and we could sign the civil license and Ketubah using the shelter of the overhang while rain hailed down. The parents read several Hebrew blessings and the bride and groom wrote their own vows. I talked about how wonderful to make this happen for the couple.

It all felt normal except for mask and social distancing. The restaurant provided a bottle of champagne and the bride bought a wonderful cake.

They live-streamed the service to their 70 friends and plan to have the reception when it is safe to do that. Otherwise, it was among the most intimate and warm services I have prepared.

An Indian Jewish Destination Wedding

October 4, 2017 by Rabbi Gloria Milner

A year ago I was contacted by a couple that was referred by another bride and groom I married in the past. He was Indian, multi talented, being a lawyer, entrepreneur, and band manager all rolled up in one. She was Jewish, a world traveler, and yoga consultant to corporations.

We met at my apartment and started planning the service. I then met her mother who visited her from Florida and got to know another family member. The Groom’s mother was deeply interested in having a traditional ritual Indian wedding and the Jewish family wanted a spiritual Jewish service as well.

The couple decided that the Indian service would be in the morning with a Hindu priest officiating in English as well as using Sanskrit prayers. He would explain all the rituals in English. It would start with the groom atop a white horse coming to the venue and then dismounting and walking to the ceremony with his parents.

The Jewish service was humanistic with prayers over wine, thanksgiving prayer, and seven blessings. The benediction was given at the end and the glass was broken. I attended the Indian service in the morning and was able to incorporate what I witnessed into my service that afternoon. There were so many commonalities. The canopy Jews call a Chupah was a Mandap in the Indian service. They circled around as the Jewish 7 circles. The groom stepped on a clay pot in much the same way as the Jewish service has the breaking of the glass. And the parents sit under the mandap as the parents participate under the chuppah.

I was blessed to officiate this wedding and learn so much about the Hindu religion and service. The destination was Beacon NY which was picture perfect September weather. The day before I visited DIA Beacon, an amazing modern art museum and walked the beautiful country paths. How lucky I was to be a part of this wonderful weekend wedding!

The Wonderful Baseball Wedding in New York

November 14, 2014 by Rabbi Gloria Milner

A Baseball Wedding!

A Jersey guy and a girl from Florida met at a bar in Atlantic City that he was managing at the time. The Yankees were usually not on the TBS network, but were that night in the bar. She stayed to watch because they were being shown. The rest as they say is baseball history.

They went to a game on their first date and continued their romance via bus from NYC to Atlantic City on the Greyhound.

He proposed during the 6th inning of a Yankee game and they and their friends all went out afterwards to celebrate.

This wonderful baseball wedding was held on a beautiful rooftop of the Brooklyn Sheraton. While the day was overcast, by evening, when the ceremony took place, the sun shone and we were treated to a phenomenal sunset.

In keeping with the baseball tradition his good friend carried his own child who carried a baseball mitt in one hand. In the mitt were – you guessed it – the rings! The child was the ring bearer.

At the end we all yelled “Play Ball.” A very happy ending to this “game ” of love.

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Lovely review from a lovely bride on WeddingWire!

December 6, 2012 by Rabbi Gloria Milner

I co-officiated a wonderful interfaith wedding this fall at the Dolce Hotel, in Basking Ridge N.J. Renata, the beautiful bride, wrote me a very nice review in Wedding Wire, and I do appreciate it!

Her words from Weddingwire.com: “My ceremony was co-officiated by Rabbi Milner and she did a fantastic job! Rabbi Milner took the time to listen and meet with my now-husband and me and created a beautiful ceremony for us. I think by-far, the ceremony was the best part of my wedding and Rabbi Milner helped bring it about! Thank you, Rabbi Milner. I would recommend Rabbi Milner for a co-officiated Jewish ceremony.”

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Many thanks, Renata!

Here is the blog: It was such a pleasure to co-officiate a wonderful interfaith wedding this past weekend at the Dolce Hotel, in Basking Ridge N.J. The couple, bride Russian Jewish and the Groom Catholic with some Russian blood came to me many months ago and asked if I would co- officiate with the groom’s father’s priest. The father of the groom had attended this church for many years and it was important to have Father Joe present at the ceremony. I agreed and right there in my apartment the four of us set out to create the service. We were able to weave together the unity candle and the Baal Shem Tov’s (father of Hasidism) concept of light. And when it came time for the Sign of Peace I spoke about the concept of Shalom which of course means peace in Hebrew but also involves a spiritual wholeness and peace of mind. READ MORE

It was such a pleasure to co-officiate a wonderful interfaith wedding this past weekend at the Dolce Hotel, in Basking Ridge N.J.

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A Beautiful Jewish Wedding – Of My Best Friend’s Daughter!

June 18, 2012 by Rabbi Gloria Milner

I recently officiated at the Jewish wedding of a bride who is the daughter of close friends of mine, going back 35 years. When I first met the bride, a day after she was born in 1984 at NY Hospital, I was looking at her through the glass window in the baby nursery. She has long been a part of the fabric of my family’s life and is just two years older than my son. He used to enjoy playing with an ”older woman!”

I watched her through her childhood, adolescence and college years. She was always a woman of definite opinions. Everyone admired her spunk and confidence even for one so young. She started dating a military man and it turned out he had been deployed to Iraq twice. She ended up enlisting in the reserves herself and goes once a month to an army base for her commitment. I got to know him over their several years together and grew to appreciate his sensitivity, loyalty to her, and his quiet confidence. They decided to marry and asked me to officiate.

Seeing them together is a study in complimentary attributes. She bubbles over with enthusiasm and energy and he looks at her in sheer amazement, but is beaming. Together they support and compliment one another. When I spend time with them I feel uplifted by their loving and easy relationship.

The wedding was at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden the first weekend of June. The night before and even into the early morning the rains came. But two hours before the service the sky cleared and it turned into a picture-perfect June day. They did the wedding in the open air, as was the traditional Jewish custom and they had a lovely chamber music trio setting the tone.

It was the first wedding I conducted where I felt I might be in tears throughout because of the closeness to the family. But because the bride bounded down the aisle, all smiles and beaming I took my cues from her and didn’t lose it.

Her father, however, was crying throughout the service . He ended up delivering the benediction which is done at the end of every Jewish service. It was so very touching. Afterwards the reception was warm and filled with music and love. My son and his girlfriend came in from out of town for the event. I felt like I had everyone who loved me around to celebrate this wonderful event.

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