Sunday night, we went to a "vort" - an engagement party. First, though, we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Very yummy. I had sukiyaki, and finished maybe 1/3 of it, so I took it with me and it was lunch today.
Then off to the party. Last time I'd attended a vort, I'd worn exactly the wrong clothing - an old t-shirt and knit skirt, and a snood. Never took my coat off. This time, I knew better and wore an outfit I'd wear to synagogue. It wasn't as fancy as the suits a lot of the ladies wore, but right in line with what the women from my synagogue put on.
See, the bride is the daughter of people from our shul, so a good portion of the crowd came from there, and we're a more casual sort of group. I could have worn a suit, but the rust jacket, pale green skirt and black sleeveless mock turtle shell worked better.
Apparently, the greeting at a vort is "mazel tov!", no matter who is saying it to whom. Which, yes, happens at wedding and bar/bat mitzvahs and brisos as well.
The bride is a lovely girl who'd just turned 21 when her young man proposed Thursday before last. He's 26, a full-time accountant. She won't be the only woman in her college class graduating with a sheitle, either. Her parents are *thrilled.* To quote her mother, Mattisyahu is "delicious."
The wedding is the first week in February. They had to have it then because her father, his father and he are all accountants, and they need to not have to plan a wedding during tax season. Also, three months is a fairly normal engagement - you only need so long to plan the wedding, and wedding halls aren't, therefore, booked a year in advance. And then they won't run into Purim and Pesach and all that.
The party itself was basically dessert, so it was a good thing we'd eaten.
