Wedding Details

When

Another couple’s chuppah at The Lighthouse.

Sunday, October 16, 2016
14 Tishrei 5777
11 o’clock in the morning

Immediately after the ceremony will be a formal & fun reception with dancing and food. Please wear something fancy-shmancy that makes you feel fabulous!

Where

The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers
Pier 61
West 22nd Street and the West Side Highway
New York, NY 10011

Arriving by Public Transporation

The 6, N/R, F/M, 1, and C/E trains all stop along 23rd Street, and the M23 crosstown bus will drop you right at Chelsea Piers and 12th Avenue (at Pier 62, a short walk to Pier 61). Please check the MTA website (www.mta.info) for any scheduled maintenance or route changes.

Click for larger image in new tab

Arriving by Car

You can only enter Chelsea Piers from the downtown (southbound) side of West Side Highway. As soon as you enter, stay in right lane and turn right into Pier 61. There are signs above the Pier 61 entrance saying “The Lighthouse” and “Sky Rink.” The valet drop-off is located at the entrance to The Lighthouse (and is complimentary, including gratuity).

There will be signs for GRUBERG/BLACKFORD wedding, but if you miss the turn into Pier 61 you must exit the Chelsea Pier complex and re-enter again from West 24 Street since all traffic within the complex is only one-way.

Need a place to stay?

We have reserved blocks at two hotels in Chelsea, about a 25-minute walk from The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers. A taxi from either hotel will be about $10, and the M23 is $2.75 per person.

The Eventi, on 6th Avenue between 29th & 30th St. (The happy couple is staying here.)

The Hilton New York Fashion District, West 26th St. between 6th & 7th Ave.

Julia’s mom Jane lives in Chelsea between the hotels and the venue; you can drop your bags there if you need to check out on Sunday morning before the wedding.

More info…

We know many of our friends and family have not attended a queer Jewish wedding before. In hopes of making everyone comfortable, happy, and not confused, here is some information about the ceremony and reception.

We will be married under a chuppah, a traditional Jewish wedding canopy. It is a sacred space. Once we enter the chuppah, our officiant, Rabbi Ellen Lippmann, will ask that all cameras and phones are put away, so please do not take any photos during the ceremony. We will read the content of our ketubah, the Jewish wedding contract. We wrote the ketubah in consultation with Rabbi Lippmann. We recognize that it is futile to vow to always listen with compassion and to never get angry. The ketubah is a document that disavows vows in favor of realistic aspirations. For example, we vow to try to listen with compassion and not express our anger hurtfully. It won’t always happen like that, but after almost 6 years we know how to rebound from arguments. The ketubah is a public document and will be displayed during the reception; we hope you all will read it. Part of the Jewish wedding is the involvement of the community in witnessing our commitment and reminding us of our aspirations during the course of our marriage. You are all here because you are important to us, you comprise our part of the world, and we want you to know how we intend to live our married life so you can hold us accountable and share our love.

We will have two bathrooms available, both open to all genders, though only one will have urinals. Please use whichever bathroom you choose. You may have noticed on the RSVP card that we used the gender-neutral honorific “Mx.” Not everyone at our wedding, or in our community, identifies with Ms. or Mr.