Wedding bells at Woodstock

Woodstock is proud to be the site of another wedding! Thamini Swensen and MoryamVan Opstal tied the knot on December 20th right before winter break. Tami came to Woodstock in fall 2007 after first hearing about the school from her mother who had visited Woodstock more than twenty years ago. Tami was convinced to join Woodstock School not only by her mother's relative Ms. Kaye Aoki, who happened to be Principal, but also by seeing the photos on the website. Tami was planning on spending the next two years apart from her boyfriend, Moryam, who had gotten a position teaching ESL in Taiwan, but the romance began to move more quickly than anticipated after the first winter break. Over Christmas Moryam sprang the question and Tami came back to Woodstock an engaged woman. Over the course of the spring semester Tami convinced Moryam that he would much rather work at Woodstock and, subsequently, be closer to her. This past summer Moryam happily joined Tami and the rest of the Woodstock community where he settled into residence life at Ridgewood Dorms.

The blissfully engaged couple spent the fall taking care of their charges and enjoying each other's company all the while procrastinating over the planning of their summer wedding. After the very last day of work before holidays, Moryam and Tami were lamenting their concerns about winter travels without wedding bands, when Jared and Emily Hatch, the consummate problem-solvers, suggested that Tami and Moryam just simply get married. After a lot of consideration, wry jokes, and Maureen Fromme's excellent lemon meringue pie, they decided to tie the knot the next day. A frantic night and morning of planning ensued. At 11 a.m. the next morning, Ben Lall, Director of Finance, received a call from Moryam to get an official "okay" for the event and, more importantly, to receive their invitations to the wedding a mere three hours later. The wedding was presided over by Reverend Taeyong Jun and held at Rachna and Sondeep Peters' Ridgewood apartment.

The Bride wore a stunning silk white and gold sari which matched the groom's traditional sherwani. She was presented with a black and gold mangal sutra by Vijeta Emmanuel to keep remembrance of her impromptu wedding in India. The couple honeymooned and celebrated their marriage with Moryam's extended family in Holland.

Returning to India involved moving into a Ridgewood apartment together, which they currently share with two other staff members. The four of them have a grand ol' time living their sitcom-like lives together. And, thank you to Judy Crider, the welcome-back staff banquet became a traditional wedding reception including toasts, tinkling glasses and a first dance. Their happiness and joy is obvious to everyone around them, including the excited students they work with everyday. Woodstock is honored to host another wedding.