The Place: Portland Oregon
The Venue: Embassy Suites Hotel Downtown Portland
The Couple: Shoshanna and Shlomo
The Photographer Portland Oregon Wedding Photographer : Juan Carlos Torres
Congratulations
Early this week we had the privilege to witness and photograph Shlomo and Shoshanna’s marriage celebration in Portland Oregon. This Moroccan Jewish Wedding celebration was rich in ceremonial customs, Jewish rituals and traditions handed down from generation to generation. Moroccan weddings maintain a distinct cultural flavor with lots of dancing, exquisite foods amid an atmosphere of festivity and joy.
The wedding included the Henna, a great party arranged by the family where henna (a red dye) was put on the bride and groom’s hands to protect them from the “evil eye”.
For the Henna Shoshanna wore a 200-year-old wedding dress of crimson velvet, with a silk sash and golden embroidery. She also wore a magnificent foot tall crown embellished with beads and jewels. She looked like a princess. When she entered the celebration room carried on the Henna carriage the guest and relatives sang and made the ululations [wailing noises] to express their happiness about the bride’s imminent marriage. The celebration was incredible with dances, songs, and exquisite foods in the most traditional way. The people at the Embassy Suites Hotel were mesmerized by the beauty, color, joy and uniqueness of Shoshanna and Shlomo’s wedding. One of the employees commented that he had never seen such a great cultural event in the City of Portland. We couldn’t agree more.
The next day was the traditional Jewish wedding. The ceremony proceeded according to Jewish religious law and culminated in Shlomo breaking the glass in memory of the destruction of the temple.
The ceremony was followed by an elegant and joyful reception with live music, dances, songs, a wonderful banquet and relatives from all over the world wishing the best to this lovely couple.
Late in the afternoon we took this joyful couple to Downtown Portland for a wonderful photo session with an urban look. Since Shoshanna loves flowers so much we decided to go to the Portland Rose Garden for more photos. The colorful flowers provided an incredible background to photograph this unique and beautiful couple.
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