Our friends Amanda and Jeff — friends from Columbia who are both from South Africa — invited us to their wedding in Cape Town and we had a blast!
We stayed with our fantabulous friends Alex & Kristen and were busy busy busy the whole time. Jeff has just convereted to Judaism, so there were many traditions upheld. Saturday morning was shull, which was an odd experience for an athiest/feminist like me. The women sit seperately from the men, for instance. That was not something I was expecting, and felt even more out-of-sorts when we were ‘shooshed’ from time to time by the men on the other side of the partitian. But that’s the way they do things, so I went with the flow. We were given a copy of the Temple’s newsletter for women called ‘The Princess Diaries’ which was full of all sorts of info on how to be a good Jewish wife. Lots of tips on how to tame bratty children, plus some confusing stuff about turning on the stove for your maid. There are so many rules in Judaism, I can’t keep up!
Later that day we went to Chapman’s Peak to do a little sightseeing. It was so beautiful! Cape Town really is gorgeous.
Andy at Chapman's Peak
Then we went to a fish market in Hout Bay and bought a massive piece of Yellow Tail fish and went back to Alex’s for a braai. And yes, we braai’d hard! It was a blast, not to mention we also got to see our friend Chrissy from NYC and her really great boyfriend Steffen. It was like old times, hanging out with the Columbia crew and having drinks.
Guttin' the Yellow Tail
The wedding was a beautiful, magical event. Amanda looked like a super-duper princess, and Jeff looked like the happiest guy on the planet! The ceremony was traditional. They were under the huppa; Jeff crushed a glass; Amanda circled Jeff 7 times (quite a feat in that dress!); Jeff was the only one who had to say the ‘I Do’ stuff, but I think the 7-circles counted as Amana’s ‘I Do’.
Ceremony at Boulder's Beach
The Israeli dancing was a blast. Very energetic and confusing. And all the speeches were lovely. Both of Amanda’s parents have passed away so her older brother gave a speech, and it was great. I nearly cried!
Chair dance!
And, of course, I closed the party down, requesting pop songs and having a blast with both old and new friends. Quite a fun weekend!
Alex, Kristen, Andy, Alex, Chrissy, Steffen.
