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Detroit, MI May 27, 2007 - On Sunday afternoon, at the Whitney, in Detroit's University Center, three generations of women gathered to celebrate the age-old custom of feathering the nest of a young couple soon to be wed. Today's event was in honor of Elene Panageas and her intended Dan Opperwall, a July wedding is planned at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, with a reception at the Detroit Athletic Club immediately following the nuptials. Maternal Aunt Mary Koukios and the Bride-to-be's Grandmother, Vasiliki Goffas, hosted the lavish luncheon. Guests included fifty friends and family from across the state and Canada. The menu offered an array of selections to please every palette. Spring Tulips in the palest of pinks reigned over each table setting. Hearts were the theme and each guest received a heart handled letter opener to remember the day. The bride wore a charming soft turquoise and golden tapestry tea-length dress with a matching turquoise satin band cinching her delicate waistline selected by her mother, Nota. Gifts wrapped and displayed generously bespoke the love felt for the young couple. Watching the women merrily interact with one another brought back memories of so many earlier celebrations, baptisms, graduations, and countless Christmas' and family dinners. Actually watching your life pass before your eyes, through this beautiful and poised young woman, reminding each guest that they had been a part of Elene's joy filled childhood and that they would now be a part of her future adult endeavors, and yet wondering where the years had gone so fleetingly. Everyone enjoyed participating in a bridal trivia led by Aunt's, Mary and Holly Goffas. Of course, the highlight of the event was the opening of gifts. The wedding shower is America's answer to the prika (dowery) and this bride's hope chest is now very well stocked, Waterford glassware, a heart sculpted Tiffany vase, selected silver place settings, kitchen utensils, and more. Gifts presented as tangible reflections of friendship and the love shared by each in the room for this wonderful giving family. Aunt Mary's gift was the last to be opened and she presented Elene with an elegantly sculpted octagonal silver stephanothiki to carefully preserve the stephana after the ceremony. The stephana are one of the most important symbols of marriage, gifted by the koumbari as part of the wedding ceremony, they remind the couple that they are now united in their own kingdom with the blessing of God. The blessed crowns are normally displayed in the master bedroom and/or iconostasio in the home. The bride is pursuing her Masters in Social Work at the University of Michigan and the groom is working on his Masters in Classical Languages at Wayne State University. Elene is the daughter of Costas and Nota Panageas and sister of Thomas, and Petro of Clinton Township, MI. "The Whitney - an American Restaurant in an American Palace," was built in 1894 by David Whitney Jr. a successful lumber baron, at a cost of $400,000. Designed in the Romanesque style by architect, Gordon W. Lloyd, it is 21,000 square feet and boasts fifty-two rooms, ten bathrooms, 218 windows, and twenty fireplaces. The grand staircase's first and second landing flaunts a bronze balustrade illuminated by magnificent Tiffany stained-glass panels. The picture included with this story was taken at the foot of this staircase, a fitting backdrop for this lovely group. Na zisete eftychismini! Malista! |
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