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My daughter Annabelle and my son in law Ben had the wedding of dreams! Below are some photos and videos from their special day.
Click on the link below to watch a short one and a half minute black and white video summarizing their wedding day:
Click on the link below to see the entire wedding ceremony on Vimeo:
Annabelle and Ben’s entire wedding ceremony: https://vimeo.com/1004910195
Click on the link below to see a wonderful summary of Annabelle and Ben’s wedding and a wedding that was at the camp the week before of their friends Mayla and Josh:
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1499676027585936&id=100010309506979
Click below to see Annabelle’s and Ben’s first dance as a married couple!
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| The Father of the Groom and Father of the Bride! |
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| Duchess the Schneider-Farris Family’s shared dog was the “Dog of Honor” |
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| Our good friends Marina and Larisa |
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| After the wedding celebration…Our dog and I were still dressed up, but my son Joel changed into comfy clothes |
My son Joel’s brother of the bride speech pasted below:
Annabelle: I am so proud of all you, and all you have accomplished, from your achievements with your education to your achievements in skating…. you have always been smart and talented and you are also a great pair skater, and ice dancer. You have also found a man who will be a great husband and possibly a father fingers crossed. I wish the best for you going on your journey you work so well together and my dog duchess goes bonkers anytime you are home. I remember when Annabelle was little, she would come into my room and knock over everything, and so when I was a kid I put signs all over our house saying “no babies.
Your art is just incredible and I have shown it to my friends and they are all very impressed.
It is no surprise that you have won art competitions and gotten recognition at your school.
Ben is like a brother to me, who not only is comfortable being around our family, but goes above and beyond to help us. From helping us load up: bikes, scooters, kayaks, paddle boards and playing a bit of hockey. You are an incredible hard working individual. I also wish you luck on your journey with my sister. I wish you both the best of luck and you are already incredibly successful and you have even more wonderful things to come!
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| Annabelle made her own wedding cake! |
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| Carly-Joe Spirio and my son Joel sure enjoyed dancing together! |
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| Jo Ann, Claudette Patton, Jo Ann’s cousin Cherie Kadison-Jay, and our good friends Dane and Felicia Spirio |
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| Jo Ann and her lifelong friend Marion |
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| My lifelong friend Marion, her husband Bruce, and the mother of the groom Judy Kahn |
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| Felicia Spirio |
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| Hair and Make Up |
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| Getting ready |
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| The Getaway Car |
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Father-Bride hugDan’s Father of the Bride Speech:Now Annabelle has quite a competitive streak, in case you didn’t know. So one day while she was still quite young, my son Joel got the bright idea to swallow a nickel. Annabelle, not to be outdone, decided to swallow a quarter. Joel digested his nickel without incident, but I had to rush Annabelle to the er to get a gastroenterologist to fish the quarter out of her throat. Such drama. Annabelle has been a fierce ice skating competitor her whole life and received more testing gold medals than I can shake a stick at. But Annabelle may be unaware of the thing that surprised me the most. When she joined BBYO she became a leader and she was even elected President of her chapter. In her family were doctors, lawyers, engineers, mathematicians, statisticians, nuclear physicists, inventors, businessmen, teachers, but not any presidents. I checked records back to 1860, no presidents. So on this day of so many beginnings, my dear Annabelle, don’t change. My words to Ben, my son-in-law are “hold on to your hat, you’ve got a wild ride ahead of you”!’ |
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| Joyously dancing with my son Joel |
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| Up in Chairs! |
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| Annabelle’s longtime coach Dalilah Sappenfield with her mother Marta |
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| Breaking the wine glass! |
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| Our dog Duchess watching the wedding |
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| Mothers and bride circling Ben seven times! |
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| My beautiful daughter Rebekah |
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| My son Joel and I joyously dancing together! |
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| Time for wedding cake! |
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| Father of Bride and Mother of the Groom |
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| After the wedding |
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| Annabelle’s bridesmaids dressed up as “parts of Annabelle” the night before the wedding! |
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| Annabelle’s bridesmaids |
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| Annabelle and her bridesmaid Ilana |
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| Josh and Mayla got married a week before Annabelle and Ben’s wedding and here they are smiling with bridesmaid Ilana |
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| Ben and bridesmaid Ilana |
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| Dancing! |
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| Dancing with my son Joel! |
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| Ben’s cousins dancing |
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| Annabelle and Ben’s decorated car! |
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| The day after the wedding the Schneider-Farris Family smiles together! |
My Mother of the Bride Speech is pasted below:
MOTB Speech
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Isn’t this the best wedding ever!!!!??? And…I’m so happy to be the mother of the bride!
Let’s see if I can do this without crying….
Annabelle:
You will always be “my little Annabelle.” Yes….you are incredible and now you are a married woman! And…I must add this:….a recent college graduate who completed the University of Colorado Boulder with honors by the way!…and 25 years old! Oh my!
I remember a certain day in July of 1999, shortly after you were born, right after I brought you home from the hospital: Our housekeeper Sonja (who is sitting right there!) entered our house to clean. I was sitting on the couch holding you. Your eyes were wide open and you were looking around as if you were checking the house and your surroundings out. Sonja took a look at you and said, “That baby looks like she is ready to go!”
Well…yes…Sonja was right…. you were ready to GO as soon as you were born and you’ve been going and going and going ever since! You were a wonderful baby, toddler, and a little girl that everyone adored always in pink or purple…you were very determined and competitive and you always knew what your wanted…
When you were ten years old and when you insisted on going to THIS camp because your sister Rebekah was going to THIS camp, I knew there was no way I could say no to that wish.
Little did I know that that decision meant you would continue going to what was then Ramah Outdoor Adventure…now Ramah in the Rockies, every summer from that point on (except for the summer where you transitioned from being a camper to a counselor) and THIS camp would lead to you meeting the fabulous and incredible Benjamin Kahn when you were in high school!!!
Ben…you truly are fabulous and incredible and I love you so much. Thank you for being there not only for “my little Annabelle” but for being the brother my son Joel always wanted and always being there to help our family when we need you.
What you did for my dad, Dr. Arthur Schneider, and my family when my father was on his deathbed will never be forgotten. Thank you for helping all of us take care of him until the day he died. My Daddy…my kids’ Grandpa…loved you too. You held a special place in his heart and you hold a very, very special place in my heart. I’m so glad you are now my son-in-law!
Ben…you also have the most wonderful parents ever. They housed Annabelle before the pandemic while you were away at university. They treated “my little Annabelle” like a daughter then and even allowed Annabelle to ride one of their bikes into Manhattan from the Bronx. They rescued Annabelle from New York City’s lower east side when the world shut down due to Covid. They spent time with us in my late father’s beautiful Colorado home and got to know the Schneider-Farris family. We love and appreciate Judy and Roger Kahn so much!
Now I also want to recognize some of the people here that have been a part of “my little Annabelle’s” life who are here on Annabelle and Ben’s special day:
I have already pointed out our family’s longtime housekeeper and baby sitter Sonja Gonsor. She is family to my children and was there before “my three treasures” Joel, Rebekah, and Annabelle were born and was part of our family’s life until she retired in 2019.
Also…my dear friend, Larisa Gendernalik is here with her husband Larry. They too knew Annabelle before she was born. Larisa is an amazing artist and skating coach who has been a great source of encouragement and support to my family. We love you Larisa!
And Felicia, Dane, and Carly-Joe Spirio are also here. Carly-Joe and Annabelle were born almost at the same time and the Spirios have been the type of friends like the Carole King song “You’ve Got a Friend” talked about. They were there whenever we needed a friend even when we were “down and troubled!”
Also…one of Annabelle’s long time skating coaches is here! Olympic coach Dalilah Sappenfield began teaching Annabelle when she was five years old. She saw a special talent and drive in my daughter when she was a little girl and believed in her. She coached Annabelle and Joel and Rebekah in pair skating and single skating and is one of the reasons Annabelle earned seven US Figure Skating test gold medals! Side note: Dalilah came to Annabelle’s Bat Mitzvah in 2014! Dalilah, what an honor it is to have you here on Annabelle’s and Ben’s wedding day!
Also my cousin Cherie is here! She first met Annabelle when Larisa and her son Alex and Annabelle and I went to the 2010 Winter Olympics together in Vancouver. We flew into Seattle and spent some time with Cherie and her family before and after the Olympics. Cherie is like a sister to me and is the best cousin ever! Cherie flew from Seattle to Colorado for Annabelle’s Bat Mitzvah in 2014. It is so good to have you here Cherie!
Also, I must honor our dear friends Paul and Judy Steiner. Paul and Judy went to every skating test, every birthday celebration, were the first to RSVP to this wedding, and are Joel, Rebekah, and Annabelle’s adopted aunt and uncle! They held all three of my children when they were babies…wow how wonderful that they are here!
Donna Schoon is another friend and skating coach who has known my three children since they were babies. Donna’s daughter Katherine just got married by the way too! Donna remembers “little Annabelle” skating around the rink and playing with her dolls…Donna..thank you so much for coming.
Claudette Patton is also here. She has just been such a source of encouragement to our family. Claudette and her family decorated and did the set up in Temple Beit Torah’s finished basement for my daughter Rebekah’s Bat Mitzvah celebration in 2011. Who would have thought, more than 13 years later, that Claudette would be able to fly to Colorado from Louisville, Kentucky to be with us today?! Thank you Claudette for coming!
And my friend Marina Rolbin is here. Marina too has been a source of encouragement and a wonderful friend to our family. She brought us food when my dad became very ill near the end of his life and food again the day he died. Thank you for being here Marina!
And…Marion and Bruce Curtis are here! Marion is my lifelong friend. She is family and is like a sister to me. We are so glad Marion and Bruce could be here on Annabelle and Ben’s special day! I was Marion’s Matron of Honor at their wedding 35 years ago by the way! Marion was like a daughter to my late mother Edith Kadison Schneider and to my father Dr. Arthur Schneider and even lived in my Grandma Fannie’s house for a time. Marion even called her Grandma! Marion and I both know how special this day would have been to my parents and Grandma.
It is also an honor to have Rabbi-Cantor Robbi Sherwin here. She was the rabbi in Sun Valley, Idaho where our second home is and has been part of Annabelle and Ben’s life. I’m so glad you could be here Rabbi Robbi!
And…Ellie Emerich who ran the religious school at Temple Shalom in Colorado Springs is here! Ellie tells me that Annabelle and Ben were her answer to prayer when she needed religious school teachers. I’m sure Ben’s extensive knowledge of “all things Jewish” helped a lot. Thank you for coming Ellie!
Did I forget anyone?
Thank you to all who traveled to Colorado and to THIS camp for this wedding!
Anyway…Annabelle and Ben…Congratulations! Mazel Tov! May God Bless You and Keep You and May His Face Shine Upon You and may the life you begin together be one that includes wonders and miracles. May your future hold nothing but the best to come! (In fact…the words “The best is yet to come were sang when I married your dad over 45 years ago.). I LOVE YOU!
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| Ben smiling with his cousins |
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| Ben Dancing With His Parents! |
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| Even our family dog Duchess signed the marriage certificate! |
