February 16, 2013
Photography: Gruber Photographers New York, NY
Jillian and Al met three years ago at a Manhattan Class Company fundraiser, where they were seated at the same table. Al overheard Jillian talking about a play she wrote, which had been produced in Los Angeles, and asked if he could read it. Having been involved with Broadway, he gave the impression he was interested in reading a new play, and Jillian gave him her number. The next day, Al called her for a lunch date, and they met at Shelly’s Restaurant–but he never mentioned the play…
The potential relationship almost came to an end when Al informed Jillian that he had just purchased the Madoff Penthouse for his ex-wife. Jillian explained that her mother had recently lost most of her money to Bernie Madoff and because of this connection, Jillian didn’t think she should see Al again without the approval of her mother. Al proceeded to call often to see if Jillian had received her mother’s blessing, and convinced her that by buying Madoff’s apartment, Al was helping to pay her mother back.
So they began dating, and Jillian knew she was falling in love with Al when he asked her out on a Friday night and she said she couldn’t go as she was going to temple to say the Kaddish for her grandmother. He said, “You’re Jewish? I didn’t think you were Jewish,” and instead of taking no for an answer, he offered to go with her. Wearing a nice suit and bringing a bouquet of flowers, Al arrived to pick Jillian up. That evening, Jillian told Al that her grandmother had married her grandfather after having known him for only four weeks, as he had just come over from Russia. After services at the Central Synagogue, Al took Jillian to the Russian Tea Room for vodka shots and caviar.
In the summer of 2012, Jillian and Al got engaged on a friend’s yacht in St. Tropez and immediately started looking for a place to get married. Being from Minnesota, Jillian loves the snow and cold weather, and wanted to get married in a winter wonderland. During a weekend trip to the Berkshires, they stayed at Wheatleigh, where one night after attending a concert at Tanglewood, they were driving back to the hotel and Al’s vintage Rolls Royce died in the middle of the road. The lights faded and since he couldn’t see the entrance of Wheatleigh, they almost crashed through the gate! The car stalled in Wheatleigh’s driveway and Marc Wilhelm, the general manager, came out to see what had happened. Everyone there was so wonderful, and the hotel was so beautiful, that it really felt like being in someone’s home, and Al and Jillian knew this was the place where they would gather their family and friends to celebrate their wedding.
They chose the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield–a beautiful, old theatre meticulously renovated to its original style–as the site for their ceremony. Since Jillian is an actress and writer, and Al is a producer, it seemed only fitting to do something theatrical. Joe Calarco, a friend of Jillian’s and a wonderful director, generously offered to direct the ceremony as a wedding gift. Jillian walked down the aisle–or actually from upstage to downstage–in an “aisle” of light snow falling to a Cold Play song, “Reign of Love,” arranged by the Broadway musical arranger Mary Mitchell-Campbell. And it was Al’s idea to reenact the wedding scene from Fiddler on the Roof–The Bottle Dance–so Joe arranged for the dancers and choreographer to travel from New York City to perform the dance as part of the wedding ceremony.
They capped off the beautiful wedding weekend with a honeymoon safari in Africa.
Ceremony Location: Colonial Theatre Pittsfield, MA; Reception Location and Caterer: Wheatleigh Hotel Lenox, MA; Cake: Sylvia Weinstock Cakes New York, NY; Event Planner: Destination Bride by Lisa Light; Floral Design: Ariella Chezar Floral & Event Design; Stationery: CECI New York; Wedding Dress and Veil: Ines Di Santo at Bridal Reflections New York, NY; Bride’s Shoes: Valentino; Bride’s Fur Cape: J Mendel; Groom’s Tuxedo: TOM FORD; Photography: Gruber Photographers New York, NY