Oh what a night.....

I think David said it best on Sunday morning…. “There’s nothing I would have changed.” A lot of people look back at their weddings and say “You know, if I could do it all over again, I woulda….” I really don’t have an “I woulda.” Hair and makeup went well, it was so good to finally see Jodi. I’m glad Fara had her portable DVD player to show her the video Justin made for the rehearsal dinner. There was a lot going on in that one room but we had a great time.

Pictures were pretty smooth, Caroline is a riot to work with and Marin toughed it out through her ear infection. Tamra was incredible- my hair, dress, makeup and all the little details she took care of were simply amazing. When I needed a touch up, she was there. When dresses ripped, she had green thread to sew them. Rabbi Nudell got to the temple in time as he promised he would- tuxedo and all. We did the bedekken and then it was time to begin the ceremony.
We all lined up outside the temple doors and the music began to play. I wasn’t nervous or anxious like I thought I might be, just really happy and excited. And kind of peaceful too. Mom and Dad walked through the doors and everything else kind of just melted away. I remember walking down the aisle and meeting David. The sanctuary was so beautiful, the stone floors, the candles, the white flowers- it was all soft and glowing like a dream. David did a perfect job on his vows and we had Sara and Joe listening through a phone on the table under the chuppah.

After that, it all went so quickly. We signed our marriage license, made it to part of cocktail hour, did our first dance, the horah, the toasts, cut our cake and before I knew it we were dancing to Into the Mystic and it was all over. I didn’t want to take my dress off (the shoes I was fine to part with) and it was onto the bus and back to the hotel. I think we were asleep in 10 minutes of walking in the door. Probably because we’d just had the time of our lives.

Brunch on Sunday morning was very nice. The ketubah was on display and we had a little more time to talk to some of our guests we weren’t able to really spend time with the night before. We packed up a suitcase of things we wouldn’t need on our trip and loaded the car for Goodie. He and Brooke left for NJ shortly after brunch. Then it was off to Kennedy airport, and after a slight mix-up (who knew we were really flying Delta?) we were on our way to France.

The flight was fine- we took off around 7 PM, ate a little, slept a little and landed this morning in Aéroport Nice Côte d'Azur. The first thing I noticed outside was the palm trees. We got our luggage and rental car, and drove to Vence where we reached our first bed & breakfast, La Demeure de Jeanne.

We met Albert and Yolande who seem to be wonderful hosts. Of course we’d booked our honeymoon with a wonderful Moroccan Jewish couple! His English is excellent and she is a fantastic chef. We brought our luggage up, freshened up and walked into the town of Tourette-sur-Loup, known also as The City of the Violets. It was over a century ago when violets started growing in this village, and the culture of the violet is still one of the principal activities of the village. Fortified in the eleventh century, it’s this adorable mountain village with art galleries, restaurants and shops. We ate lunch in this place which was basically a cave in the mountain. The menu was impossible to understand and our phrase book was tough to navigate- but the waiter was kind and patient. We are duck and lamb and polished off a bottle of wine. So delicious.
Then we walked back to the B&B, took a long nap and had a wonderful dinner cooked by Yolande. We chatted with Albert about the trips we’d take and had a really lovely evening. This place is beautiful- the hill before the gate is going to be a challenge but our room is great, the view is breathtaking and the people are so sweet.

I’m so lucky to be here with David and I’d love to write more but I’m utterly exhausted and need to go to bed.