Wedding in Meah Sharim

Some time ago I posted about the book Coming Up to Yerushalyaim with Chana Pappenheim which tells the story of a family of German Jews who settled in Meah Sharim, Jerusalem. I was at a wedding this week that I am told was held in a hall built by that family. It was an old Yishuv style wedding and very impressive for being so low key. The chuppah was held outside and it was very humble. The civudim were simple. No big announcements followed by the long march up to the chupah. All the men who had anything to do with the kiddushin were already standing there. The women were so modest and maybe 30 meters away, davening. There was no photographer that I saw and certainly no photography umbrellas or flashing lights. Interestingly, the smashing of the cup came before the sheva brachos. The kallah was completely covered. I couldn't see her face. When it was all done, a man said, mazel tov, mazel tov. And the chason and kallah walked off, not to raucous singing and jumping. We then went to the hall and the first thing I saw was a table for the poor. Then a room of only men. I believe the women were in another room entirely. The music consisted only of drums and singers. It was not loud. You could hear yourself think. They started serving some food. The whole experience was very positive and absent of so much of what at least I find distasteful in weddings today - the noise, the flashing cameras, the over-the-top wild dancing, immodesty, and materialism.