Alex and Fernanda's Wedding in Porto Alegre
BRAZIL | Tuesday, 29 July 2008 | Views [316]
Of all the trips and cities, Porto Alegre in southern Brazil was the only definite stop on our entire itinerary, with a star on July 26. Ben's good friend from childhood, Alex Ellenberg, was getting married to his Brazilian sweetie, Fernanda Katz, whom he met in law school at Cornell. I first met Alex and Fernanda back in 2006, and now that the two of them live in Woodley Park in DC, Ben and I have been able to hang with this cool couple. Alex and Fernanda had their civil ceremony in the US, but much to our excitement and anticipation, they had also planned a traditional Jewish wedding and awesome reception in her hometown of Porto Alegre.
We arrived this past Thursday to Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul, which is Brazil's most educated state and the largest economic center in the south. And after our visit, I have to say that all of the pretty people live in Porto Alegre, not Rio! Porto Alegre looks more like Argentina than Brazil and has many of the same gaucho (cowboy) traditions. Beef is big in Porto Alegre, yay for us.
Ben was chosen to stand as one of Alex's groomsmen, so we spent the first evening at the rehearsal and then headed back to the Porto Alegre where all of the out of town wedding guests were staying. Ben can vouch that I was definitely excited about staying at the Sheraton. It's the nicest hotel in POA and in a great neighborhood with shops, cafes and restaurants. And the hotel was attached to a mall. After six months of hostels, iffy hot water and boring breakfasts, the Sheraton was looking good.
Guest were rolling in all the next day, and Ben and I braved the cold (did we mention that it's winter in South America?) and had run through the neighborhood. While Ben hung out with the guys, I treated myself to a manicure and pedicure in the mall. Sooooo nice to be a girly girl again. We then had a few beers in the hospitality suite at the hotel before the big dinner at Fernanda's aunt's house.
Fernanda's aunt lives in a house than was made for entertaining, it was HUGE. Everyone was impressed. Reminded me of something in the Hamptons. They served great drinks (fresh fruit capiroskas for everyone) and dinner was catered by one of the best private chefs in Porto Alegre. I think the most amazing thing about the house was the 15 foot marble spit grill near the back patio, where the chef grilled meat and cheese for all of us to enjoy before the main course. For us meat lovers, it was gorgeous.
The day of the wedding was very chill; I relaxed in the hotel before my hair appointment (again, girly girl) and Ben finally was able to play golf in South America. Fernanda's best friend Roberta's husband Marcelo, a very cool dude, offered to take Ben, Brad and Dave to POA's private course. The weather was perfect, and the guys had a good time.
The wedding itself was nothing short of spectacular. Alex and Fernanda looked great and so relaxed. They opted for a traditional Jewish ceremony, complete with reading and signing the kettubah in English, Portugese and Hebrew. I was sitting with a few of the family friends from the US, and of course, all of the moms were crying. After the ceremony, which apparently went on a bit longer than expected due to a somewhat dramatic rabbi, we all were whisked to the reception room for great food, drinks (again, fruit capiroskas), and dancing. Alex and Fernanda also surprised everyone with a Viennese room, room filled with handmade chocolates, cookies, candies, liquers and coffee. The espresso with Baileys was a great pick-me-up at 3 AM; Fernanda's family and wedding planners had thought of everything for the guests. We had been preparing for weeks for this big party; Brazilian weddings tend to be huge, raucous and last until 6 AM. I have to say that I was damn proud of the Americans, as we were the last ones off of the dance floor when the DJ stopped playing at 6 AM.
After sleeping in, there was a brunch at the Sheraton with the happy couple, and then plenty of relaxing and watching futbol on TV. The last day in Porto Alegre was rainy and cold, so we just hung out all day in the hotel and the mall. Ben and I finally had a chance to catch up with Alex and Fernanda, who now are in Costa Rica for their honeymoon.
The wedding was personally bittersweet for us in that we were so psyched to celebrate with Alex and Fernanda, but now that it's all over, we are now counting down our return to the States.
Last stop, back to Buenos Aires, where it all began.
Tags: culture, wedding!
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