The bride as a celebrity

It was Andy Warhol who said that in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. When it comes to Israeli brides, their fame usually lasts for fifteen hours during which they are transformed from mere mortals to A list celebrities.

It begins on the morning of the wedding day when the bride wakes up in a lavish hotel suite. As is the case with pop divas, the bride does not awake on her own but is surrounded by her closest friends or, in this case, her entourage.

The bride to be and her ladies in waiting soon brake fast with a bountiful brunch. At this point, images of the bride begin to leak to social media networks such as Facebook and Instagram creating a buzz amongst her many followers. Since it is her wedding day, friends, relatives and even distant acquaintances of the bride “like” and comment on each picture catapulting her Klout score to the stratosphere.

As the brunch concludes, the celeb and her possy return to the hotel suite where the sound of Champagne corks let loose fills the room. This is when the first member of the paparazzi arrives, the stills photographer who shall accompany the bride from this moment fourth. At noon, the bride’s personal makeup artists and hair designer arrive at the hotel. Like Beyoncé, Brittney and other divas, the bride now has her own personal fleet of beauty experts who attend to her every need.

Once the bride has undergone facial treatments she adorns her wedding gown which may be just one in several outfits she will wear throughout the day. This gown is the result of a meticulous selection process undertaken by the celebrity and her personal stylist. Seeing as how the husband in not permitted to see the bride in her gown, select images are tweeted to the world, images showing the back of the bride or a bashful smile.

As the clock continues to race, the time has come for the husband, Beyoncé’s Jay Z, to arrive and greet his future wife.  Like all elements in Brittney’s Las Vegas show, this encounter is not left to chance but has been orchestrated so that it may also be recorder for posterity. Once the happy couple has met, they make their way to the hotel lobby where they are greeted by screaming fans. By now, the second member of the paparazzi, the video photographer, has also arrived in order to film the couple get into their vehicle which has been decorated so that all bystanders know that they are in the presence of glitterati royalty.

What follows is the wedding reception in which guests fight for a photo op with the bride who agrees only to exchange kisses in the air as any lipstick stain may tarnish the work of the makeup artists. Just as the final guests arrive, the bride suddenly vanishes. Soon, word gets out that the diva has gone backstage and rumors begin to circulate that the show is about to begin. Fans rush inside and create two rows along the future bride’s route from the reception hall to the Chuppah. Suddenly the lights go off, the music is turned on, the fans begin to scream and then she reappears- the celebrity, the superstar, more beautiful than ever. Instead of the walk of shame, this is her walk of fame. It is also the high point of her celebrity status.

When standing under the Chuppah, even the bride is taken aback by the number of eyes that are fixed on her and it is the sound of smashing glass that returns her to reality. Once the glass is broken, dozens of fans storm the Chuppah in order to hug and kiss the bride. The partition has been removed, the bride is now allowed to be seen, touched and even kissed.

Her transition back to a commoner begins.

The evening continues and formality is shed as youngsters take to dance floor swaying their bodies to the sound of the bride’s counterparts, Shakira and Rihanna. Everyone wants a dance, everyone wants a hug and every few minutes the bride is surrounded by a circle of gentleman bowing on their knees and clapping hands enthusiastically. Wherever she goes the horde of paparazzi photographers accompany the bride. Unlike the wedding ceremony, in which god spoken of but never seen, during the party god appears in the form of the DJ.

By this time, however, the dress in no longer white but gray, the white stiletto heels have turned black, the makeup and eyeliner begin to fade and the fans that were so committed but a few hours ago make their way home leaving the bride and her fame behind.

As the bride enters the hotel elevator with her husband, her hair is messy, her eyes black and her cloths are in shambles. With each floor that passes, she returns to obscurity. Her fifteen hours have ended, and though she is yet to experience much happiness and joy, she will most likely never again be as famous.