On Aug. 19, two residents of the Meer Residential Community, part of Jewish Senior Life of Metropolitan Detroit, were married in a small Jewish ceremony. The bride wore a crocheted dress with a tulle skirt, pearls and a leash and the groom just a tuxedo shirt, a kippah and also a leash.
Oh, did I forget to mention the besotted couple are dogs? Jewish Senior Life of Metropolitan Detroit held an adorable Jewish wedding for two adorable Jewish dogs, Simba and Shelby.
Simba, an 8-year-old cockapoo, and Shelby, a 10-year-old poodle/shih tzu/Maltese mix, were initially introduced by their respective owners when they started going on dog walks together. As reported by People Magazine, Simba and Shelby quickly started seeking out each other’s company outside of walks and became close. Simba’s owner Jean Lutren and Shelby’s owner Audrey Demak devised the idea of a wedding as a way to show the dogs’ care for one another.
What resulted was an extremely joyful Jewish dog wedding. The ceremony, which was facilitated by administrators at the Meer Apartments, was attended by more than 75 residents and staff. The wedding party included bridesmaids, Lutren and Demak as flower girls and two helpers holding up a tallit as a chuppah. Or in this case, a chup-paw. Instead of the traditional sheva brachot, or seven blessings, said at a Jewish wedding, the dogs’ vows were written by the Meer Apartment’s creative writing class. At the conclusion of the vows, Lutren did the traditional breaking of the glass (or a material like glass) in her dog’s stead. As if the ceremony wasn’t cute enough, it was also imbued with tikkun olam. In lieu of wedding gifts, Simba and Shelby requested donations to Michigan Humane and $400 was donated in their honor.
Mazel tov, Simba and Shelby! May your lives continue to be filled with walks, treats and perhaps, in a few years time, a pair of bark mitzvahs.
You can watch the full wedding video here.
