Their second date was a Passover seder at the home of the president of the groom’s Upper East Side Orthodox synagogue and their third date was at the Whitney’s Gordon Matta Clark exhibit. Jill Slater, blogger, food activist and former city planner introduced Marc Schwartzberg, owner of Dallek—an office furniture and commercial interior design company—to controversial theater, underground performances, camping off-the-grid, sustainable food, and a lot of DIY; and Marc introduced Jill to extravagant weddings and bar mitzvahs, the perks of the Upper East Side, the appeal of religious observance, and his openmindedness.
Marc and Jill met at a party on the Upper East Side at the end of March 2007—a neighborhood in which Jill rarely found herself and where Marc has spent most of his adult life. Prior to their first date, Jill, single and Jewish with no children, learned that Marc had four children and was orthodox—two things Marc had not mentioned during their short chat at the party. Jill worked to absorb the newly learned facts such that when Marc mentioned them on their first date, Jill could nod nonchalantly.
By date number 18, Jill decided to stop counting and was officially charmed. She proposed marriage in July—four months into their relationship—and while Marc was shocked at the reversal of roles but flattered beyond words, he asked whether he had to answer right away. Jill said “no.” Marc then proposed seven months later, on the evening of February 14th, not because of the romantic alignment, but rather that Jill was leaving for a trip to San Francisco the next morning.
The couple’s wedding, like their living situation (shared uptown and downtown residences), is bifurcated. Part I was a short, religious Jewish ceremony strictly limited to the tenets required under Jewish law to create a union—in keeping with the groom’s comfort level. It took place in Central Park’s Hernshead. Following the ceremony, the intimate wedding party strolled en masse, through the park, to the couple’s uptown residence for a meal prepared by the bride. Part II continues where Part I left off and includes a more interpretive set of rituals associated with a Jewish wedding—in keeping with the bride’s comfort level. It unfolds at a raw space in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn, accommodating hundreds. The couple explained that they’d rather invite all of their loved ones and serve less food than exclude friends for the sake of a second course. Part I and II offered an all kosher, all organic menu—satisfying both the bride and the groom’s dietary standards.
The bride handmade all the invitations, cooked all the food, knit her veil, made the couple’s chuppah, and designed and sewed her formal wedding dress over a couple of months of late nights.
The night of the celebration offers a lineup of great musicians (friends of the couple) as well as art projections, and light installations by local artists. The industrial space is softened by natural elements such as a bed of moss covering the buffet table.
The evening bridges generations and neighborhoods, cultures and political views—where a punk klezmer band can rally the mass to dance 'til their pants fall off, and hora 'til they drop.
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