06.05.06

Frequently asked question: purchasing a wedding Chuppah (Huppah)

Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 5:57 pm by Rev. Tomkin Coleman

I have performed many Jewish-Christian weddings in the Minneapolis and St Paul area.  Many couples are not of the same faith, but wish to honor both faiths in their wedding ceremony and make sure that both sides of the family feel comfortable. 

At one Minnesota Jewish-Christian wedding ceremony I performed in a Minneapolis hotel ballroom, one of the Bride’s Uncles came forward to perform the ritual blessing of the cup of wine that the Bride and Groom shared, which was in Hebrew.  We practiced the ceremony at the rehearsal, and there was a lot of laughing and joking from both sides of the family about sharing wine.  Before the wedding ceremony the next day, I saw the parents of the Groom chatting with the Uncle (since they had met him the night before) and they were showing him pictures of their grand-kids from their wallets.  It was a brief, but sweet moment.

A chuppah is a piece of cloth draped over four poles. The only real “requirement” is that it be big enough for the bride and groom to stand under and that there be room for the bride to circle the groom.  A great place to find a wedding Chuppah for sale ($175) is at Miriamjudaica.

For chuppah poles, you may purchase 4 8-foot fluted, wooden curtain rods and decorative finials from Home Depot to support your chuppah, and four guests held them during the ceremony.

Here is a more elaborate wedding chuppah for sale at underthechuppah.com  I won’t usually mention any vendor who doesn’t list their prices, but there are so few choices for chuppas, and this is such a nice picture, that I’ve made an exception.  (They don’t list their prices, as the chuppahs are custom-made, but I would guess this one is $1,000-2,000 because other chuppahas are about that price).  The photograph was taken by Michael Loeb Photography.

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06.01.06

Recommendation for Minnesota bagpipers for weddings

Posted in Wedding Vendors in Minnesota at 2:40 am by Rev. Tomkin Coleman

I have performed many wedding ceremonies where a bagpiper was used for the Processional and Recessional.  I’m always very impressed and their use makes for an exciting, grand event.  Most of the couples have Scottish or Irish heritage (either the Bride or Groom) and it’s a nice way of honoring their heritage.  The pipes are extremely loud and are best used for outdoor ceremonies.  Although, I must admit, one of the wedding ceremonies was at the Van Dusen Mansion in Minneapolis, and it wasn’t too loud there because their reception hall is quite large.

Mike Breidenbach, 651-387-6142, is the head of bagpiping at Macalaster College in St Paul.  He hires out as a solo bagpiper for weddings throughout Minnesota, or also works with Ben Peterson and Mike Kotch as a bagpiper’s group named Bagpipes Associates.  Ben Peterson and Mike Kotch can also be hired separately.  All three are extremely well trained and have won bagpiping awards.  This is a picture from their website, showing an outdoor wedding at which they played.

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