Barbra Streisand & James Brolin's Wedding

The sunset wedding ceremony, performed by Rabbi Leonard Bierman, took place in the main house's formal living room shortly before 8 p.m. and not outdoors in Barbra's extraordinary flower garden, as the couple would have preferred. The previous evening, Barbra chose to remove the ceremonial huppah canopy and allow floral designers to create a backdrop by draping blooming stephanotis vines, burgundy hanging Amaranthus, smilax, and variegated ivy around a 10-foot wide curtained window. Tucked into the greenery were gardenias and burgundy and pink roses. Positioned in front of the window was a garland of plumosa fern, seeded eucalyptus, and salal, in addition to 750 dark red and chocolate-colored roses. With a 16-piece orchestra featuring 10 violins, Marvin Hamlisch conducted an atonal arrangement of the "Wedding March," which quickly segued into Andre Previn's "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (both at Barbra's request), and other processionals during the ceremony. The bride descended a staircase latticed with 750 red roses, dark ivy, and ivory lace ribbon and appeared breathtaking in an off-the-shoulder white gown gifted her by friend Donna Karan. Exquisite and shimmering with thousands of handsewn crystal beads, Barbra's gown, selected just two days earlier, was overlaid by a 15-foot diaphanous tulle veil flowing down to form a train from a simple coronet of antique wax flowers. "I picked this dress because I loved the delicate crystal beading on tulle. It was so fragile. Donna knows my love of antique clothes, and this dress is reminiscent of the past and yet totally in the present," said Barbra. "I felt like a princess." She added, "I'm a bride for the first time, with a bouquet, the whole shmeer." She further embodied elegance with a precious Edwardian pearl and diamond choker. Karan commented on the bride to People magazine, "She had every dream come true of what one could want to look like at a wedding." The bride's large Victorian style bouquet was composed of 150 stems of lilies of the valley, 50 white gardenias, Stephanotis vines, and hydrangeas. Gardenias were blended with ribbon streamers beneath the bouquet. Her son, Jason Gould, gave her away. The groom's matching boutonniere included miniature gardenias, lilies of the valley, and ivy. The groom's son, Josh Brolin, served as best man, with Barbra's sister, Roslyn Kind, as maid of honor. 

Also participating in the ceremony: Barbra's goddaughters, Caleigh and Skye Peters, carrying the bride's train; Jim's daughter, Molly, and grandson Trevor, bearing rings; Barbra's great-niece, Haley, and Jim's granddaughter, Eden, scattering rose petals; Barbra's career-long manager, Marty Erlichman; her brother, Sheldon; Jim's brother, Brian; his sisters, Barbara and Susan; his mother, Helen; and Barbra's friend, Richard Baskin. Others attending included Barbra's mother Diana, Jim's father Henry, Jim's son Jess, Barbra's niece Erica with husband Steve, and Jim's longtime manager and friend Jeff Wald and wife Deborah, who also served as official photographer. Also among the 105 guests were Donna Karan, John Travolta and Kelly Preston, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, directors Sydney Pollack and Irvin Kershner, Jon Peters, Quincy Jones, President Clinton's brother Roger Clinton and wife Molly, Tom and Dodi Laughlin, Mo and Evelyn Ostin, and Alan & Marilyn Bergman.

During the 15-minute traditional Jewish ceremony, hardly a dry eye could be found when the rabbi said to the bride and groom, "As two years have gone by, you've had time to deepen, reflect, and remember; and now you have committed your life to a new way. Love has spoken to you in its own private language." After he pronounced them husband and wife, Jim crushed the ceremonial glass and embraced Barbra in a long passionate kiss, reflecting their joy to all in attendance. In fact, seas of flowers from Designs by David were omnipresent - 500 gardenias, 2500 Stephanotis blossoms, 100 stems of lavender delphinium, 300 stems of hydrangea, 400 pink and lavender Canadian lupin, and 4000 roses, all pronounced "breathtaking...gorgeous" by the bride-to-be shortly before guests arrived. "I love different flowers in the same color range," Barbra remarked. 35 years after a no-frills civil ceremony to marry Elliott Gould, Barbra pulled out the stops and spared no expense in planning an exquisite top flight evening for herself, her groom, and their guests. In fact, it all took just two and a half weeks. "I had to make quick decisions; I couldn't ponder for months," says Barbra. "Choices about guests and food had to be instinctive and from the heart. There is a saying: 'What comes from the heart goes to the heart.' And I wanted the wedding to be intimate and emotional for everyone attending."

"Prior to the ceremony, guests gathered on the wide lawn and rose gardens of the estate's adjacent house," according to publicist Dick Guttman's statement. Concealed speakers played Irish Uilleann pipe music Barbra and Jim first heard in 1996 while in Ireland, as guests mingled, enjoying lemonade, iced tea, and hors d'oeuvres of sushi, vegetable wontons, smoked salmon on warm corn cakes, potato rostis, and ricotta-filled blintzes with cherry jam. But, that was only the beginning. "The expansive water lily and candle strewn pool of the main house, overlooking the ocean, was the site of a cocktail [and Cristal champagne] reception, which followed the ceremony and preceeded the dinner...string ensembles serenaded the two receptions and the guests' progression to the various events of the evening." Barbra worked closely with Hamlisch planning the evening's music, "I asked the violinists not to play my music. I didn't want to hear 'People' at my wedding," she later commented. Meanwhile, Deborah Wald photographed the bride and groom, wedding party, and families indoors.

Barbra and Jim entered the ivory voile tent to a standing ovation, Hamlisch announcing them as "Mr. and Mrs. James Brolin," and musicians playing their favorite song, Gershwin's "Isn't It A Pity?" to which they danced as husband and wife for the first time. Guests then enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner under the 2800 square-foot heated tent adorned with rose garlands, covering the front lawn and motor court. Appetizers included sushi, pizza, smoked salmon, and roasted small potatoes filled with caviar, crème fraîsh, and dill. The main courses included soft-shell crab, profiteroles, rotisserie chicken, roast beef, and porcini ravioli. Barbra easily determined the menu, selecting foods she and Jim loved to eat, including portabello mushroom ravioli first sampled in Carmel. "We don't need brownies, chocolate bread pudding, and warm chocolate gateaux with vanilla ice cream, but we love them all, so why not!" However, the bride told reporters that she and the groom ate nothing, "too busy hugging and talking to everybody." Nine 72-inch diameter round tables were each decorated with seven monochromatic posy arrangements (white, cream, pink, red, burgundy, and lavender), three hurricane-shaded candles, and ten votive candles. Weaving around the vases and candles and right up the plates were ivy and Stephanotis vines and a dozen each of gardenias and burgundy and white roses. Between each of the six couples at each table, the damask tablecloths were drawn up and pinned with clusters of gardenias and ivy. One of several tunes to which the newlyweds danced was "I Finally Found Someone." During the evening, Barbra joked, "This is a very humbling experience - after all Marvin's Grammys, Emmys, and Oscars, he's back playing weddings!" She later observed, "I've never seen a more accommodating, brilliant musician. Only Marvin could do this on such short notice."

When it was time for after-dinner speeches and toasts, Barbra donned eyeglasses, thanked everyone, and sang two love songs to the groom, who bent down in front of his wife holding up the lyric sheets. The first, "I've Dreamed Of You," began as a beautiful instrumental called "Heartstrings," composed by Rolf Lovland and included on his group Secret Garden's 1995 Songs From A Secret Garden CD (highly recommended). Before her wedding, Barbra asked Ann Hampton Callaway to write lyrics for an upcoming album project. Callaway explains, "The Sunday before Barbra got married, I got inspired to turn it into a wedding song. I knew that sometime this year she and James were planning to tie the knot, so I decided to tell the story from Barbra's perspective. When I faxed the lyric to Barbra's producer that evening, he was very happy with it, and, after a few minor changes, sent it to Barbra. Monday, I learned that Barbra loved the song and that she wanted me to record a demo and send it immediately. Tuesday, I recorded the demo and overnighted it to Barbra's assistant. Apparently, three hours before the wedding, she heard the demo and decided to sing the song along with a song she has already planned to perform by Melissa Manchester and Tom Snow. It was my playing and Irwin Fisch's string arrangement that accompanied Barbra as she sang "I've Dreamed Of You" to James Brolin. It's a revelation to me how in love Barbra must be to have the courage to be so spontaneous on such a momentous occasion. A friend of mine who spoke to Marvin Hamlisch was told it was an absolutely stunning moment." An excerpt from one of the verses: And just when I thought love had passed me by we met/That first look in your eyes I can't forget. The final verse: For God must know how I love you so/He's blessed us here today as man and wife/Come dream with me as I've dreamed of you all my life. Listen.

The second song was "Just One Lifetime," revised for the event by Melissa Manchester and Tom Snow. Manchester's original version of the song was released on her Mathematics album in 1985. The following story comes from Ms. Manchester's Web site. When she heard that Barbra was searching for a handful of great love songs to record on a "wedding album" for James, Melissa felt that "Just One Lifetime" would resonate with this time in Barbra's life (i.e. falling in love, a pending marriage, and feeling emotionally safe with her husband-to-be), so she sent along a new demo of the song to Barbra. "She loved the chorus," Melissa explains, "but she couldn't follow the verses, musically or emotionally, so she asked if they could be reworked. Tom Snow and I ended up creating an entirely new song, one that really mirrors Barbra's emotional state now. It is an entirely different song than the one I recorded in 1985. Originally, I got a phone call from Barbra's associate saying she wanted to record the song on her album in November -- could I please send lead sheets, etc. -- and I was so thunderstruck by this news that I kept asking him to repeat it. By the fifth time, when he reassured me, 'Yes, she's really going to record it,' I thanked him and hung up.  Luckily nobody was home, because I was screaming 'Thank you, God!' at the top of my lungs for 10 minutes, until I finally hyperventilated and had to lie down. A week or two later, there began a flurry of phone calls from the same gentleman, who was being very cryptic about his mission. He kept asking for tapes of the song in different keys, minor lyric changes, one version of the song edited and one without the edit...Finally, I heard that Barbra made this her wedding anthem -- it was beyond belief!" Melissa is quick to offer the story of how the song was originally conceived: "When we were newly married, Kevin and I were sitting in bed one morning, and he said to me 'Just one lifetime won't be enough time to love you,' and I said, 'Hold that thought -- there's a song there somewhere,' and I ran to phone Tom Snow with the great idea."

Jim joked about following his wife's singing, and then told everyone, "I can say at this point that you've made me so happy that you're all here to witness my deep, deep love for this woman...I'm the happiest person in the world...I can't tell you how lucky I am that this would happen to me so late in life. Every night is a new adventure. Sleeping is a waste of time. I can't wait to see her again in the morning." In his toast, son Josh said, "I'm glad you didn't go off to Vegas." Around midnight, Barbra and Jim cut a magnificent, five-layer tiramisu cake adorned with flowers, keeping the celebration alive for a little while longer.

John Travolta commented that it was the most beautiful wedding he and his wife had ever attended, and that he and Tom Hanks were the lives of the party. Seriously, he told reporters that growing up, Barbra was his favorite performer, and Jim was his favorite TV actor, and that it was "an honor to be at a wedding that's so magical. This is an event that cared about its guests." Jim's sister Sue likened the affair to a fairy tale and said, "The minute he met Barbra, Jim knew she was the right person...He feels natural and at home with her." Roslyn Kind observed, "Everybody was crying, and Jim just looks at her with such love in his heart...She was dazzling, she was happy, she was glowing...Her gown was exquisite, but I think it's the happiness from within that meant the most...It wasn't really a celebrity event; it was a family-and-friends event." Longtime close Streisand friend, music collaborator, and lyricist Marilyn Bergman observed, "In all the years I've known Barbra, I've seen her happy, but always with a cloud. This time, it was a clear blue sky."

Rumors of an impending wedding swirled for a year, some of which were ridiculous, relentless for the couple, and deliberately ignored on The Barbra Streisand Music Guide. When the huge white tent appeared on Barbra & Jim's Point Dume property, and caterers (Along Came Mary) and party suppliers began deliveries the day before the event, the couple confirmed they would indeed be married sometime during the week. July 1st didn't surprise those close to Barbra & Jim, who know that it's the two-year anniversary of their first meeting on a blind date. Jon Peters' ex-wife Christine had invited the two to meet during a dinner party at the Beverly Hills restaurant, Mr. Chow, in 1996, so the wedding date was chosen to commemorate that occasion.

Despite Dick Guttman's request on the couple's behalf that helicopters keep their distance so "sacred vows can be heard," TV choppers still hovered low during the afternoon and evening, managing to broadcast pictures of guests in tuxedos and flower girls entering the mansion for the ceremony. Clearly, many in the media had no respect for the couple's wishes and felt this private gathering should be made public, and as a result, those in charge of the wedding justifiably thwarted the media's attempts to intrude on the wedding's privacy and sanctity. As guests arrived and over the next few hours, even during the ceremony and party, a large black van, parked just yards from where journalists waited some distance from the estate gates, continuously blared a loud recording, "Thunder Kiss '65" by the metal band White Zombie. Barbra had her florist create an amaranthus and rose scrim covering the living room's picture window to preclude unauthorized photography. Views of most guest arrivals were obscured by the mini-vans shuttling them to the property, though some guests drove right up to the house. As night fell, a spotlight was beamed on the area where TV camera operators were working, preventing them from videotaping departing guests. These harmless security measures were unfortunately necessary, as the assembled and entrenched media indicated that they would not hesitate to invade the wedding's privacy if given the opportunity. Nevertheless, the evening delighted those who shared Barbra and Jim's memorable day at their Malibu home. Deborah Wald's wedding evening photographs were purchased by major international magazines, including People (U.S.), Hello! (U.K.), and Bunte (Germany), with exclusive print publication rights fees going to The Streisand Foundation. Some photos were later published in the A Love Like Ours album booklet.

"The couple plans to honeymoon at an undisclosed site," Guttman said after the wedding. The location was later revealed as a boat in the nearby Channel Islands off the Santa Barbara coast.