The Wedding Top 10 List

Jess recaps a few of her favorite things about the wedding weekend.

By Jessica Solloway

While the whole weekend was a blur of fun, I do have some standout moments that deserve a shoutout. In no particular order...

The Rise ... and Fall
One of my least favorite Jewish wedding traditions is dancing to The Hora. It's when everyone holds hands and dances in a raucous circle, as the bride and groom are lifted on chairs in the center. Everyone else loves this part of the wedding. But when I hear that song play, I promptly beeline it for the bar. So naturally, I was a little on edge when it was my turn to be hoisted into the air on a flimsy chair, held up by the likes of Seth's drunk friends. And sure enough, within three seconds of being elevated above the crowd, the chair tipped forward and down I flew. Luckily, my dad's "protective" gears shifted into full effect. Petrified that his first born would get hurt in such an activity, he raced to the center in case of emergency. And as I went flailing out of the chair, he actually caught me! And it was one of my favorite moments because my dad said, "See, even though now you're married, I can still be there to catch you." So, even when you "grow up", you don't really have to ... right? Your parents are always going to be there for you. And luckily he was ...or there could have been some broken bones for sure...


Grandpa's Groove
Another awesome part of our wedding was having my Grandpa Ed join the band and play his saxophone for our first dance. I will never forget walking into the ballroom, as the music was playing and seeing him up on the stage with our nine piece band. So cool and so special that he did that for us.

The First Look
Before the ceremony, Seth and I had our "first look". It was just the two of us and our photographers which was really cool to have a private moment away from the chaos of the morning. I approached Seth (his back was turned) and then when I was behind him, the photographer told him to turn around so we could see each other for the first time. I was so flustered when I saw him, that I told him he looked beautiful (instead of handsome, which is what I was trying to say). And then instead of correcting myself and saying he looked handsome, I said, "Oh, I mean, you're not beautiful, I'm beautiful." In which we all started laughing. Point is, he looked really handsome and I loved that moment.

The MVPs
At every wedding, there is a group of friends that will stick it out until the very end. And our wedding MVPs were spearheaded by my brother Adam who requested to hear the song Forever by Chris Brown about 16 times. Since our wedding was an afternoon wedding, we planned an After Party at a lounge so the party could continue into the night. I think we danced for 12 straight hours. And I could have kept going for 12 hours more.

The Worm
Another dance floor sensation involved some of Seth's parents friends, getting down ... literally. The band played the song, Shout, and they hit the floor and did The Worm, a move they haven't busted out in about 15 years. It was awesome!

Street Walking
Our After Party was a few blocks away from the hotel. So Seth and I walked there, just the two of us. The sun was setting over the water, and Cleveland really looked beautiful. We could see groups of our friends walking ahead of us, and it was just a cool moment to stop and reflect about the day. Cars were beeping at us and waving, which was pretty funny. We both were like, "OMG. We're married!!!!!! Wow."

Speeches, and More Speeches
Our rehearsal dinner was at this great bar/restaurant called The Thirsty Parrot. We wanted something casual and laid back, and this was the perfect spot. The food was awesome and the whole vibe was great. However, the speeches from our friends were unbelievable. From one of Seth's friends reading a mushy email intended for me that Seth sent to him by accident, to my friends telling the whole crowd about every hypochondriac moment I've ever had ... it was painfully embarrassing, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Little Princesses
I have four little cousins that were junior bridesmaids and flower girls in the wedding, Sarah, Rachel, Ella and Tessie. They all looked beautiful, and it was so cool for me to have them in the wedding. And they're all amazing dancers. I guess shaking your groove thang runs in the family! And while he certainly would not appreciate being called a little princess, I do have to give a shout out to my cousin Ben who proved to be quite the break dancer. There were many a circle around him throughout the day!

The Chuppah
In a Jewish wedding, the chuppah is a "marriage canopy" that you stand under during the ceremony. I absolutely loved how my florist designed ours. It was made of birch tree trunks, gold dusted leaves, roses, strands of crystals and little tea lights hanging from the branches. It felt so magical and romantic. I almost forgot there were 200 people watching the ceremony!

A Family Affair
As I have said in so many of my other blogs, my family is so important to me. And the absolute best part of the wedding was having everyone together. From my aunts, uncle and cousins from San Fran, to the whole east coast crew, it was just so incredible to have everyone in one room, together, for a day of happiness and fun!