Bunder.com: Wedding 98 - September 1998 Diary

Left for the airport about 11 am, flight was extremely pleasant. No turbulence whatsoever, not even when my tea arrived (the appearance of a heated beverage is usually the signal for the plane to be buffeted from all quarters.

Reached the apartments at about 7 pm New York time - they are extremely nice (I have one to myself until Friday when Samara arrives) with wood floors, dark wood furniture and big comfy sofas. A few teething troubles with the apartments emerged when Leslie managed to get himself locked in his mother's after the lock failed. The combined efforts of two handymen finally managed to free him after about half an hour.

Just to nicely top things off, my parents and brother managed to get themselves trapped in the elevator later that evening! The fire brigade had to be called to their rescue!

Wednesday September 2 1998

Things are a little calmer today. We are only putting three to four people in the elevator at any one time to ensure it doesn't break down again. It was out of action all night!

Went to City Hall this morning to sort out the marriage licence. We were amazed at how easy it was - there was virtually no line whatsoever, and we were only there for half an hour. Leslie went to Tiffany's to have his ring finger measured, but opted out of buying it there (even though it was a snip at $900!).

We were wandering around for half an hour before bumping into Graham, Leslie's boss,and his partner Karen, who are in town for the week. We have arranged to meet up with them tomorrow night.

Went to meet David, my hairdresser, at lunchtime, who trimmed my hair and created a style for the big day, while his assistant Miriam worked on my make-up. My hair was extremely curly by the time he had finished, and it looked terrific. The make-up lady did an equally good job.

Met the Rabbi, Josh Joseph, in the afternoon. We went through most of the procedure for the ceremony and will pick up where we left off on Friday morning.

After all this we felt we needed a little fun so we met up with Nick and Louise, who arrived in town last week, and went to Yankee Stadium to catch the baseball. The New York Yankees were supposed to be in action against the Oakland A's, only the rain started coming down just before play was due to start, meaning the game began two and a quarter hours late.

Anyway, it was quite simply the most lamentably useless game of baseball I have ever seen (OK, it was only the second one I have ever seen, but I daresay it ranks quite highly on the scale of useless games). One run in the whole match! Or at least until the seventh innings, when we decided we couldn't take any more and left. It was almost midnight by this point and the game was showing no signs of improving. However, we did have the most fun heckling the players wherever possible. They kind of deserved it.

Got to bed at five past two.

Thursday September 4 1998

Was up again by eight (tiring, I know, but fun with it), went to Macys with Lorraine, Stephen and Jacki, and then went on to Bloomingdales afterwards. Macys has some fantastic sale prices, but Bloomies was a little disappointing this time. We were out for an hour before we bumped into Hugh and Melissa, also going shopping.

Met up with Graham and Karen in the evening - they are staying at the Soho Grand, which is an impossibly trendy hotel in Soho. Had drinks in the bar (full of people in black suits, so it was a good job we wore ours), went on to another bar with brick walls a velvet sofas. Went on to Bar 89, another local hangout, for food and Martinis, before finishing up at a very smoky jazz café for dessert. So another late night! Got to bed about 1.15 am.

Friday September 5 1998

The last little bits have fallen into place! We finished the run-through of the ceremony with the Rabbi, then booked the limos. We are having two silver limos picking up from the apartment on Sunday afternoon and then bringing us all back afterwards.

Met up with Sue Ritchie, another friend in town, for lunch. We met via the Internet a couple of years back but have never met in person, so it was great to finally get together. She is coming to the wedding and is in town for a few days afterwards, so hopefully we'll get to catch a movie next week.

Spent the afternoon at Macys and Lord And Taylor, before bumping into my other brother and family! How is it that I can walk around London, which is smaller, for days on end and never bump into anyone I know, yet I can't walk round New York without bumping into someone I know?!

Samara arrives tonight, so we will all go and get some dinner.

Saturday September 5 1998

The day before the big day!!!!!!

Now by rights we should be resting in preparation for tomorrow, but hey, this is us we're talking about, right? So instead we spent the entire day shopping for presents for people - jewellery from Macy's for our mothers, HMV vouchers for my brothers.

Nick and my dad proved to be the most difficult to shop for, but after hours ceaseless searching we found some very cool travel gadgets which come complete with alarm clock, soothing sounds and facilities for recording short memos. Very useful indeed.

Later on, we went to Dangerfields' comedy club with most of our friends, who had by now arrived. It was packed, with a great atmosphere and some very funny comics, one of whom ended up inviting Leslie up on stage for an improvised Monica Lewinsky routine. (he was pretty good, as it happens.).

We had already attracted attention from her when she was scouting the room for bachelor parties in the audience (well, we were a sort of bachelor party). The evening came to an end at about half past midnight. Went home thrilled in the realisation that our wedding day was finally here. Got a nice early night - if 1.40 am can be counted as early . . .

Sunday September 6 1998

7.45 am It is far too early to wake up. But my father trampling through the living room has done just that.

7.50 am Decide to snooze a while longer.

7.51 am OK, time to get up now. Long day ahead.

8 am leisurely breakfast. Forget the time schedule.

9.05 am Head off to the hairdressers, far too late. Catherine arrives just as we are leaving.

9.10 am Head back to the apartment to change when it is pointed out I am wearing a T-shirt, which will be impossible to remove while wearing a veil, tiara and full face of make-up.

9.30 am Arrive at the hairdressers. David, who did my hair so nicely on Wednesday, proves a revelation, managing to coiffeur all seven of us and still dispatch us back to the hotel by lunchtime.

12.45 pm Manicure, make-up and setting later, the rollers are finally ready to be removed.

1.30 pm I have never known anybody spend 40 minutes shaping my hair before, but it is certainly a pleasant experience (well, OK, the back-combing part isn't). Eventually, David is happy with the selection of loops and curls and bits and pieces he has made out of my hair, pops on the tiara and veil and lets me loose. It is quite magnificent. I will never again be able to recreate this.

1.45 pm I have just been forced to get into a cab wearing the whole get-up. The driver is very amused. "Are you getting married today?" he has just asked me. I want to say, no, I'm going to a fancy dress party, but somehow I can't bring myself to.

2 pm Back at the apartment. Actually get to sit down for half an hour.

2.35 pm My mother has warned me that my dress will take half an hour to put on, so I'm being buttoned into it already. Thankfully it is hugely comfortable, although how I'm going to handle the enormous train I do not know.

3.05 pm The first limo has arrived, ours will not be far behind. The rels have started to come up to see the dress, which has the official seal of approval.

3.30 pm Head down to the lobby and out into the limo. The car has a somewhat low ceiling and is nigh impossible to get into as a result. However, it's still pretty darned exciting to be riding through the streets of New York in a limo, wearing a wedding dress.

3.45 pm Arrive at the synagogue. Looks pretty quiet outside, although we're sure it's a flurry of activity inside.

3.50 pm Leslie finally gets to glimpse the dress for the first time. He is hugely impressed. I can now reveal it is a medieval style ivory gown, empire-line, consisting of multi-layered chiffon and sleeves that drop to the floor. Which I haven't been able to mention on the Web site so as to keep it a secret.

4.05 pm By now we are having our photos taken in all combinations – me and Leslie, me and parents, Leslie and mum, me and bridesmaids, Leslie and best man, me and family, Leslie and family, all of us with all of family. The whole process takes around two hours but David, the photographer, is thoroughly professional and keeps everyone grinning throughout.

5.45 pm The photos are finally finished, Josh has turned up, and the guests have started to arrive. As, too, have select members of the band, including Shelly Lang himself, who is not known for playing weddings, rather organising his musicians to play at them. This is a big deal!

6.10 pm Head up to the rabbi's office and sign all the relevant documents, including the Ketubah. Then we have the bedecken, in which Leslie has to confirm he is marrying the right person by covering me with the veil. (he is, by the way).

6.20 pm I am shepherded off to the bridal room while Leslie is taken upstairs to wait for the last few guests.

6.40 pm We are given the all clear to move to the top of the steps where I will enter the shul. I am guided up and down seemingly endless staircases until we come to the top of the stairs in question, at this point shielded by a ruched curtain. I keep fiddling with my veil and my glasses to ensure everything is perfect, fully aware that any moment now the curtain will be lifted and I will be standing there with one hand in my hair and another on my nose. Fortunately it doesn't happen.

6.45 pm The walk into the shul is successful! I don't fall over my dress, which is the thing which worried me the most! The main worry now is keeping my smile, which is beginning to fade somewhat after two and a half hours of using it in the photographs.

7.20 pm We are officially married! The ceremony went really well, I think Josh was more nervous than anyone! Apart from the moment when he referred to me as the 'bride graham', and almost forgetting to include the moment when I gave Leslie the ring, it was as smooth as anything. We got shipped back to the room afterwards for about 15 minutes to calm down, by which time some food had materialised – only by this time I was so excited I had completely lost my appetite!

7.40 pm Finally get a chance to see the ballroom, which looks magnificent – David the florist (yes, another one!) has completely done us proud with the flowers! My bouquet was equally superb, as were the silk posies for the bridesmaids. Hardly got to see any of the reception, as most of it had been eaten by the time we got down there.

8.30 pm We sit down to eat. The food is superb – not that we get to see much of that either, thanks to the dancing and socialising between courses – I'm lucky to get five bites of everything before getting up again! And the gazpacho proves a bit of a lost cause thanks to my quest not to get it on my dress (it's delicious though). The chicken is really wonderful, and I have it on good authority the rib of beef is equally good. Thanks to the dancing and everything else, the meal lasts for the rest of the evening – we finally get dessert (a superb mango sorbet and fresh fruit salad) – at about 11 pm.

In the mean time, we visit our guests, trying to remember to speak to everybody (which is very difficult when there's about 100 people in the room). The weirdest thing is seeing this room full of family and friends and realising they're all there especially to see you! That's quite some achievement. Leslie captured quite a bit of it on film, so we have our own video alongside the official one.

10 pm Cake cutting. The cake is truly magnificent, a chocolate cake covered in insurmountable layers of white icing and roses. Quite how we are going to get it home I do not know.

10.30 pm Speeches. Nick goes first, going for the sentimental rather than the usual comedic best man route, and does it extremely well. Leslie's speech is excellent, the perfect blend of sentimental and funny. And then it's my turn. Most of it is off the cuff rather than what I have written down, but it goes down well with people, which is the main thing.

11 pm We finally get to find out what the mezinka dance is all about. My parents and Lorraine sit in the middle of the dance floor on chairs, wearing specially made headpieces, and we stand behind. Everybody then comes round and kisses the parents of the newly-weds, before launching into a dance round them. It really is a lovely custom.

11.40 pm It's over. The day we have been planning since last year is finally at an end, and I'[m pleased to report everything about it has been absolutely perfect. Not a thing went wrong. And everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves – nobody got drunk or in a fight, or displayed animosity towards any other guest. Everybody was delighted to be there. Especially the bride and groom.

Midnight We got back into our limo which dropped off my dad at the apartments and then took us for a drive around Times Square and the surrounding areas – after all, we had paid for the full hour so it seemed only logical to use it. Which gave us all time to calm down and take in the events of the evening. An evening which in every respect was perfect.

Monday September 7 1998

We spent our first day as a married couple going to visit Mayme, an old friend of Leslie and Lorraine. Sadly, she's practically housebound now, so we went out to see her, taking wedding cake and my bouquet as gifts, which left her utterly thrilled. She lives in the same Brooklyn projects that Leslie and parents lived in before they came to England, and looked after Leslie a lot when his father was in hospital.

Anyway, we chatted for ages, and then her son Tommy turned up with girlfriend Sue in tow. We were going to go to Coney Island afterwards, but we decided to stay on a little longer to see the pair of them. And it was a good job we did, as the mother of all thunderstorms broke out while we were there. I've never seen anything like it – except seen isn't probably the word for it as we couldn't see anything out of the window for about 20 minutes after the rain started to fall.

There was hail, thunder, winds, rain – you name it. Apparently it was the tail end of a tornado that caught the NY and New Jersey suburbs – and we felt very lucky not to have been out of doors at the time. Eventually Tommy gave us a lift back to Manhattan, through a Brooklyn strewn with split trees and broken branches.

Had a post wedding reconnaissance with Leslie's family at Kosher Delight that evening, where we bumped into my aunt and uncle once again! Is it not possible to go anywhere in this town without bumping into someone we know?! This never happens to us in London . . .

The weirdest vibes came at about 7 pm this evening when I realised it was exactly 24 hours since we were standing under the chuppah. That was a very strange feeling – after all, when something's been such a part of your life for the past nine months it's odd when suddenly it's over, and you don't have to think about the planning side any more. That said, it's not quite over – we have our January party in London to think about now! But I think we'll save that till we get home . . .

Tuesday September 8 1998

Went to the Jewish Museum with Lorraine, Jacki and Stephen, which just seems to get better and better, before heading off for a walk round Times Square. We seem to have been to NY so many times now we have done all the touristy things, so we're seeking out stuff to do in January now when we come back. (of course, the weather won't be nearly as good then).

Went out with Sue Ritchie and her friend Henry (who I'd been eager to meet but who couldn't come to the wedding), who took us up to see Grant's Tomb right up on 122nd Street, before we went to see 54 at the flicks – terrible movie! It's supposed to be about Studio 54, the controversial 70s NY nightclub, but really it's a big bundle of nothing. Very disappointing.

Wednesday September 9 1998

Our last full day in NY – I can't believe it! We seem to have been here forever – it seems ages since I was last at work. Did our last minute shopping, which included walking 30 blocks from Greenwich Village to Macys (who needs the gym?!).

In the evening, Leslie had some business to attend to, so I went to see Titanic, the musical, with Judy and her friend Alison. To be honest, it wasn't very good – terrible self-mocking dialogue, unmemorable tunes bar about two – but I still enjoyed it in the sense that I always enjoy musicals. Went to Lindy's for some of their famous cheesecake afterwards.

Thursday September 10 1998

Finished packing to come home, which took most of the morning, had a couple of hours to pick up food and presents afterwards. The van arrived at quarter to six to take us to the airport.

Gave the top layer of the cake to the security guards at the apartments, who have been fabulous all week (too bad one doesn't eat cake and one is on a diet, but there you go, I daresay they'll find a use for it). The flight itself was fine, if a little late. Slept through most of it though.

Friday September 11 1998

Arrived back at our flat at around noon after a brief stop off at Lorraine's. Couldn't wait to get to bed, did so for about an hour but couldn't get back to sleep after that. It's going to take a while to re-adjust, given the unusual exertion of this particular vacation. I think once we get back to work on Monday things will start falling into place again.

Saturday September 12 1998

Ended up sleeping in until 11.30 am. Went to the engagement party for our friend Emma, who's marrying her partner Joseph early next year. It was a fabulous affair – almost as lavish as a wedding, with reception, sit-down buffet dinner and dancing – a lot of it Middle Eastern, as Joseph and family are Iranian. This, too, meant the buffet was extremely interesting – lots of really tasty traditional Middle Eastern cuisine.

The whole thing finally came to an end at about 1 am (another late night!) but it was another chance to catch up with friends who hadn't been able to come to the wedding for various reasons and, also, to attend another really good party. Got to bed about 2.30 am, determined to get up and go to Golders Green for supplies early tomorrow morning.

Sunday September 13 1998

Woke up at 11.05 am – so much for an early start to Golders! Finally got there about 2.30 pm, stocked up on stuff, went home, spent the rest of the day catching up on washing and the like. Also renewed contact with friends, almost all of whom have arrived home. Back to work tomorrow, which should aid jet lag recovery enormously.

Monday September 14 1998

Going back to work has, indeed, done wonders for jet lag. The office were all pretty thrilled to hear about our adventures in NY (although I suspect the novelty of my rabbiting on about flower arrangements and baseball all day is beginning to wear off. Suffice to say, it was wonderful to have Leslie to come home to instead of an empty flat.

Still have masses of tidying and sorting out to do, to say nothing of the holiday washing!

Tuesday September 15 1998

It seems at the moment we go out and work, then come home and work.

Tonight we finally got around to writing the Thank You cards - or at least, started writing the Thank You cards, which will be a lengthy task given that gifts are still coming in. Have done around 40 so far - only about another 1402 to go then . . .

Wednesday September 16 1998

Working late at the office put paid to any further card writing, but then again there's always tomorrow night.

Thursday September 17 1998

I am in a new position! Yes, no more Reviews Editor of Empire for me! As of now, I am officially News Editor! I get this lovely big 20 page section and I can put lots of exciting things of a news-related nature into it!

Exciting stuff indeed! This is effective immediately, and suits me just fine as it means I will get to spend a little more time out of the office, chasing those big exclusive stories (or something). No, it's pretty good news, gives me a chance to do something different anyway.

Leslie picked me up from work tonight and we went for a sort of celebratory sushi meal, then brought ourselves back down to work by addressing the thank you cards.

Friday September 18 1998

Finally sent off the Thank You cards - or at least, the ones we've written.

The next batch will be coming soon!

The first week back at work has really helped to bring us back down to earth. There's nothing like going about your everyday business to take your mind of jet lag and the like. But hey! - off again next week for Rosh Hashanah!

How much more leave can one couple handle?

Saturday September 19 1998

Slept late, again. Went to Lorraine's in the afternoon and finally got to see some wedding pictures, the ones that Leslie's cousin Melanie had taken on the day.

They are pretty spectacular, we will have to get some copies made and send them to people.

Also, we finally got around to transferring our New York video (including wedding footage we shot ourselves) to videotape. We watched it ourselves twice, then took it over to Karen and Edward's tonight and viewed it again, under the influence of some of Marcus' finest kosher Chinese provisions.

For an amateur video it is actually pretty good quality and the wedding stuff is excellent.

Karen and Edward had some photos as well which they gave us copies off, which are also pretty good, as well as some beautiful orange china cake plates and salad bowls.

Sunday September 20 1998

We have had some beautiful wedding presents (we finally got around to opening the parcels in the spare bedroom this afternoon) but finding a place to put them is a nightmare.

My brothers and families gave us this gorgeous decanter and cocktail glasses and where can we put it? Back in the box in the spare room, that's where. It's the only place it will fit right now. We need a bigger place to put all our stuff in!!

Visited Leslie's grandparents' graves in the morning, then went to my folks tonight for the first night of Rosh Hashanah.

Watched the wedding video again and looked at the pictures, even more pictures in fact, as they had the ones they had taken.

Monday September 21 1998

Guess what! We watched the wedding video again!! This time it was for the benefit of Lorraine, Jacki and Stephen, whom we joined for the second night of Rosh Hashanah.

Went to Shul in the morning, making my debut as a be-hatted member of the congregation (not too hard a task as it happens), and actually got to have a bit of a rest in the afternoon. Now there's a novelty.

Tuesday September 22 1998

Spent the day with my parents today, went to Shul again, came home with Leslie at about 5 and spent the evening catching up on

Wednesday September 23 1998 Only one week to go until Yom Kippur (what fun!) Back to work today, in my new position as News Editor! It seems very strange not chasing people for film reviews, or release dates, or whatever else, but I daresay I'll get used to it. Yet more post-holiday ironing to come home to this evening.

Still, it has to be done.

Thursday September 24 1998

Tonight was our annual Editorial Awards, in which the 100 or so magazines we publish all congregate at Alexandra Palace, a huge venue in North London, to find out who's going to be Designer Of The Year Writer Of The Year, Editor Of The Year, Magazine Of The Year, and so on. As usual Empire was entered for countless awards, and once again we came away empty-handed.

This has happened to us before, but it is of course always a disappointment when it happens again. That said, it was a fun evening, there was a pretty good DJ afterwards, and the whole thing went on until about one in the morning when the final coaches departed. I refused to get a coach back to London as I have tried this before and they invariably deposit you in the middle of nowhere. Being a special night, I splashed out on a cab. Still didn't get home until about 1.30 though.

Friday September 25 1998

Inevitably, not much work was done the day after the Awards. Had a nice cosy Friday night in with Leslie tonight, am still exhausted from yesterday.

Saturday September 26 1998

Spent the morning catching up on the housework, before heading off to catch up on the shopping.

Leslie and I have stumbled upon this marvellous Japanese shop where everything costs a pound. Sounds a bit cheap, admittedly, but some of the stuff is marvellous. And they're pretty big on storage baskets and the like. We stocked up on them - never could resist a bargain!

Took it pretty easy tonight, heading off to the much-mentioned Two Brothers fish and chip place in Finchley, North London, for some dinner.

We hadn't tried it out before so we were understandably keen. The food was good, but the service, it has to be said, was a tad doolally. Which was a pity, as it let itself down a little.

Sunday September 27 1998

Spent the morning at the gym (great way to spend a Sunday, work off the fish and chips for one thing), and the afternoon clothes shopping, before heading home for some chores and housework (they do seem to pile up during the week!)

Must try and catch up on some this week so it doesn't all mount up on a Sunday.

Monday September 28 1998

The day before the day before Yom Kippur. Went out to eat tonight at Dizengoff in Golders Green, a place we haven't been to for ages. The food actually was pretty good, it's improved since we were last there.

Also got the chance to see Antz today, DreamWorks' computer animated movie about life in the ant kingdom. Woody Allen provides the voice for the leading man, or should I say, insect. It's a really cool movie - not your usual animated lark with songs and comedy animals, very dark, no songs, and not a great deal of obvious humour, but really clever and stunningly drawn. Can't wait to see it again.

Tuesday September 29 1998

Entered into the calorie storage process to survive the upcoming 24 hours.

Abandoned all thoughts of diets for the day - after all, I will manage to burn it all off over the next day. Left work early and went to my parents' for some pre-Yom Kippur food, before going back with Leslie and sorting him out with dinner prior to the fast.

It was weird not spending Kol Nidre night at my parents. You kind of get used to these things after a while, but it was nice and peaceful to spend it in my own flat with my husband. We both opted for an early night in the end, which was probably a good idea.

Wednesday September 30 1998

Well, the fast went absolutely fine, as I had hoped. I didn't even start to get hungry until about 4 pm and by that time I didn't have to skip any more meals, so it didn't matter too much. Leslie took me and my mum to Shul in the morning, where I stayed for about five hours, then he picked me up a little later and we went over to Jacki and Stephen's to break the fast.

As expected, Jacki filled us so full of good food that our abstinence was swiftly forgotten. And then, for the benefit of Jacki's aunt and uncle Simon and Rika, who hadn't yet seen it, we watched the wedding video once again. It still looks good.

The real fun will start when we begin repeatedly showing the official wedding video to people - which will run for approximately two hours.

& nbsp;