Gallery

Meredith + Andres, MASS MoCA

North Adams, MA

6.20.09

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We worked with Meredith for nearly two years planning her Berkshire wedding. It was a priority for Andres and Meredith to focus on the blending of their rich cultural heritages and traditions, which we weaved through their ceremony and reception.

Because of the Jewish tradition of beginning a wedding ceremony after sunset coupled with the fact that their wedding date was one day before the summer solstice, Meredith and Andres began their event with the cocktail hour, tables set with silver metal and glass lanterns. Meredith created escort cards with colorful icons that represented things of meaning in her and Andres’ lives, which were strung on a clothesline for guests. This set the stage for the thread that would run through their event — the blending of their lives and the celebrating of their individuality.

The ceremony followed in the Sol Lewitt gallery. Meredith and Andres were the very first couple to be allowed to use the MASS MoCA gallery for their wedding ceremony. The guests were in awe as they were led through the adjoining galleries to the ceremony space. The fabric of the chuppah — the Jewish symbol of the new home the bride and groom will build — was embroidered by hand in China and a gift from the groom’s parents. It was woven with a poem taken from the ancient Chinese Book of Songs that praises the beauty of the bride and the blessing of a wonderful match. Several other components of the two traditions were incorporated into the ceremony such as the ancient Chinese wedding tradition of tuan yuan, the Jewish tradition of the blessing of the wine and the seven blessings which are a key part of the conclusion of a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony.

Following the wedding ceremony, the guests were lead to the MASS MoCA lobby where long banquet-style dinner tables were dressed in white table linens and topped with a length of shimmering sheer gold organza. In the center of each table were a variety of glass vases with white flowers – peonies, football chrysanthemums, iris, dogwood and big white clematis — in modern clean designs. It resulted in a sophisticated design that was clean and simple but still luxurious.

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