Your best friend is soon to wed. You\’re in charge of the prenuptial ladies fete but your buddy is an iconoclast and so are you. If you\’re looking for bachelorette parties that score points for originality, you might consider these unusual substitutes.
Between the drinking, the gambling and the legalized prostitution, Las Vegas just might be the most romantic spot on the planet for the biggest drunken gamble of them all: marriage. But while making your inebriated way down the aisle in this marriage mecca is as easy as pie for the average citizen, you have to look a little harder for the perfect wedding package if you\’re one of the tribe.
Because while that bright-light city might set your soul on fire, it sure doesn\’t make it easy to rustle up a rabbi on a moment\’s notice. They tend not to cruise the strip. Slowly but surely, however, area hotels and chapels are breaking into the Jewish nuptials game.
You\’ve honored your closest friends and most cherished relatives with a special place in your wedding party. As bridesmaids, they\’ll throw you a shower, plan a bachelorette bash and attend other pre-wedding event, which means you\’ll be spending a good deal of time with them in the coming months. But weddings have a way of bringing out people\’s true colors. And, like an ugly bridesmaid dress, those colors aren\’t always flattering. So what do you do about an attendant who\’s out to steal your spotlight? Or the one who complains all the time? Easy! Just use our baffling bridesmaid behavior decoder and follow our keep-the-peace guide.
The bride circled the groom under the chuppah. The groom stomped a wine glass at the end of the ceremony and was greeted with shouts of \”mazel tov.\”
Despite these traditional touches, this wedding was not performed by an Orthodox rabbi, and therefore not registered by the Chief Rabbinate, which has sole authority over Jewish marriage in Israel.
The Spa at the Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Pa., is every chocolate lover\’s fantasy. With bowls of silver-wrapped kisses (certified kosher) seemingly everywhere, and hot cocoa waiting by the fire, it may be the world\’s only spa that actually encourages guests to consume the stuff between treatments.
In 2003, Dana Adam Shapiro was stunned by an article about quadriplegic rugby — a.k.a. murderball — played by testosterone-amped athletes who ram the hell out of each other in souped-up wheelchairs.
At the moment, Benjamin Netanyahu is working under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as finance minister, but at a stop in Beverly Hills last week, Netanyahu sounded like he\’d rather have Sharon\’s job.
\”Bibi,\” who served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999, has denied rumors that he will soon resign his post, but has been sounding more and more like a political candidate in recent months.
Most notably, he\’s staked out a position opposing Sharon\’s plan to evacuate settlers and troops next month from the Gaza Strip.
The political brawl over the replacement for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O\’Connor, who announced her resignation last week, could be the most bitter since Justice Clarence Thomas\’ 1991 confirmation battle.
And that free-for-all, which liberals and conservatives alike predict could be the \”mother of all battles,\” could leave many Jewish groups in an awkward position.
The tenor of the debate was evident within hours of O\’Connor\’s surprise announcement. Christian conservatives, calling in their chits from last year\’s presidential election, demanded that President Bush fulfill his promise to nominate judges like his favorites, Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas. Just as sternly, groups associated with women\’s rights, civil rights and the separation of church and state warned of pitched battles ahead if the president doesn\’t make a \”mainstream\” choice.
Advocacy groups immediately hit the airwaves to sway public opinion. The nomination fight will almost certainly be the most expensive ever.
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