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A Jewish Scandi-Danish wedding, with Israeli influences, at Calhoun Beach Club, Minnesota , Minneapolis, USA

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This is the love-filled, creative Jewish wedding of Talia and Yoni. Talia’s wedding report is fabulous, as are her artistic talents — she designed all the wedding stationery and each and every painting that graced the reception tables.

There is so much meaning and symbolism to this wedding to reflect the couple and their loves ( and when I say ‘loves’ I mean in the sense of what they adore, and their nearest and dearest).

So for instance, they had originally dreamt of a small, casual, wedding in Israel, but being surrounded by family and community trumped this desire. So whilst they chose to have a wedding on their home turf of Minnesota, they channeled an ‘Israeli style’ by having their guests standing around them informally during their ceremony, open seating during the meal, a buffet lunch filled with fruits, veggies, fresh breads and pastries, and  plenty of Israeli music on their playlist.

Absolutely every detail was thought through and beautifully styled, but I must just take a moment to single out Talia’s bouquet, flower crown, and the chuppah. They really are to die for — just so gorgeous, natural-looking, colourful and creative.

The love and happiness radiates from every single image by Lauren Renee Designs, and it’s a joy to see and hear about so many orthodox Jewish wedding traditions embraced by a very modern couple. An (abridged) example, in Talia’s words, is as follows:

Yoni and I choose to partake in the Jewish wedding tradition of not seeing each other for one week before our wedding. This was absolutely worth navigating some tricky logistics for, as the build up allowed so much raw emotion and excitement to show in ways we could never have anticipated.”

Do take a moment to read through Talia’s beautifully written account of her planning, prep, and what the traditions meant to her and Yoni. There are some really useful tips and a big dose of super advice all the way through.

Jewish Wedding at Calhoun Beach ClubJewish Wedding at Calhoun Beach Club
How we met

Talia, the Bride: We met a Hebrew speaking, hummus tasting event that I had organised with my roommates called “Hebrew Shmebrew.”  I was initially intimidated by his fluent Hebrew, so we hung out a couple more times with friends before he called to ask me out. We happened to live three blocks away from each other, so the rest is history!

Jewish Wedding at Calhoun Beach Club

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Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Lauren + John… how they met to the present day

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It took me a long time to pluck up the courage to go on a date with someone I met online. Whenever I did I just seemed to meet weird men who gave me flowers in a Sainsbury’s bag or people that thought they were far superior to me and acted as if I was lucky to be in their presence… I was fed up.

It was about this time that John and I started chatting on match.com. After a few weeks of message chat John asked me to go on a date during my school’s half term break (I’m a teacher, not a student!) John couldn’t seem to wait the 5 days and kept pushing for a Valentine’s Day date the next day. I was not impressed by his pushiness and was about to tell him where to go. But my best friend told me I had nothing to lose, so I went. I turned up VERY late to the pub that was just opposite where I lived (a sure sign that I was not keen) and we hit it off instantly, bonding over cookies, practical jokes and our love of Lego.

We spent the next three weeks together with very little time apart and when my 30th birthday arrived, he took me for a romantic  trip to The Shard and then the next day I thought I’d test him and drag him along to my parent’s house for a birthday tea and meet my ENTIRE family in one go. I was so surprised by how well he coped with all my family and knew there was someone very special there.

The more we spent time together, the more I fell for him. We had both been through some tough times individually and we seemed to find each other at the exact moment when we were back on the rise and ready for this new stage in our lives. I used to daydream that I would find someone who would be generous with his time whilst making me feel completely loved and protected. I didn’t ever think I would actually find that person… then along came John! I can remember the moment I knew I was going to marry him. I was dropping him off at work on the morning I was going away with a friend for a week and I couldn’t stop crying. Even though I was so excited to go on holiday, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling devastated about not seeing him for a whole seven days. I had never felt this way before about anyone and I think I shocked myself a little bit with how strongly I felt.

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John and I come from very different backgrounds. I’ve been brought up in North West London and have had a lot of involvement professionally and personally in the Jewish community. My Jewish identity has been very strong from quite a young age and I think many people who know me always assumed that I would end up marrying a ‘Nice Jewish Guy’. I however never put that assumption on myself and have always said I would marry the person I fall in love with no matter where they are from. Little did I know I would fall for a ‘Bermondsey South Londoner’!

We may both be from London, but the North/South divide is very strong when it comes to London, never mind the religion! We both quickly integrated ourselves into each other’s families. My family was particularly surprised when John turned up one Friday night having learnt the Shabbat Blessings… From that point on he was firmly embedded in my family.

From quite early on we had discussed marriage and had a rough idea of when we wanted to get married. Things took a quick turn when I gained a teaching job in West London and decided we would move in together. For a variety of reasons we ended up living in a tiny studio flat near Twickenham. We thought if we could make it living that close to each other every day, then anything else would be a doddle. We made it through and last summer John went to a football match with my Dad (typical!) and asked him if we could get married. Luckily the legend that is my Dad said yes and two weeks later John took me on a surprise trip to The Shard again and proposed (surprise, surprise-ish!)

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A laidback Israeli wedding at Kalamata and Neve Schechter Center, at Neve Tzedek and Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel

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Orit and Ido  had a simple, contemporary wedding with a calming subtle blue colour scheme  that was  small, intimate, informal, and unquestionably stylish.

They decided to do away with many wedding traditions in favour of creating a day that reflected them as a couple as well as making it an amazing experience for all their friends and family, and I have to say that looking at their super stylish photos it definitely made for the most wonderful, personal  day.

On the fashion side, I’m totally coveting Orit’s  custom-designed dress  and those beautiful  bronze shoes  — the perfect accompaniment to the  scenic backdrop of sunnies  skies and golden  beaches.

I love how tuned in these two  were to their own desires and so much so, they chose not one but three different venues that they frequent regularly.  One of them,  Dallal, is one of my all-time favourite Tel Aviv brunch spots so I’m super happy to be featuring it today on  the blog!

With thanks to the lovely Danielle from  Danielle Yashar Photography  for submitting the eye candy. Happy Friday  folks!

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A wedding that reflected us and the things we love doing

Orit, the Bride: As we started planning our wedding, it was clear to us that we wanted it to be our day. For us that meant doing things we like the most, surrounded by our family and closest friends.

We wanted our event to be intimate and we wanted to have the opportunity to spend time with each one of our guests. We started our morning in the Dallal Bakery at Neve Tzedek where we regularly meet  friends for coffee at the  weekend. We strolled along the beach to Jaffa, which is so beautiful at this time of the year, and there we met our family for a brunch at Kalamata  restaurant (one of our favourite restaurants) which is located in old Jaffa over looking the Mediterranean sea.

Just before Shabbat we gathered our family and closest friends in a nearby synagogue at Neve Schechter-Legacy Heritage Center for our chuppah. After the exchange of rings we kissed our family goodbye and returned to Kalamata for a festive and upbeat lunch with our friends. To close the day, we invited everybody to a private concert by one of our favourite artists and whilst taking in  the sunset at  the Old Jaffa Port.

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A 50’s inspired bride for a chic Jewish wedding at New London Synagogue and the Royal Institute of British Architects, London, UK

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Rachel and Stephen  won their wedding photography through  a competition on this very wedding blog, and  when their fabulous photographer, Kate Nielen,  excitedly emailed me with the resulting gorgeous photos, I couldn’t wait to post them! Part of what Kate Nielen and I loved about Rachel’s winning entry was what she wrote below:

A Jewish wedding ceremony is steeped in tradition, ritual and spirituality. These are the elements I want to capture at the beginning of the ceremony whilst RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) is a classy and classic venue. We also have a New Orleans jazz band who will be playing klezmer.”

To me,  this  epitomises a Smashing The Glass couple. The desire to blend wonderful ancient Jewish wedding rituals  with twists like a  New Orleans jazz band playing traditional Jewish klezmer.  I just wish I could have been a guest at the wedding myself!

There were so many lovely personal  touches, like the mother of the bride  creating a beautiful painting that was incorporated  on all the stationery  and was also displayed on a  screen at the entrance of their gorgeous reception venue,  RIBA,  in the heart of central London. She also made their very arty three-tier wedding cake – what a talented mama!

One of the best things about this job is how uplifting it is to look at images of people in love. And I think it’s fair to say that Rachel and Stephen  are insanely, crazily, and meant-to-be-together-forever in love. That besottedness radiates from every  image captured by Kate Nielen.  Enjoy this one folks!

Royal Institute of British Architects Jewish weddingRoyal Institute of British Architects Jewish wedding

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Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Fran + Gideon… how they met to the present day

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Marriage for me is something I have always wanted. It symbolises family and unity and from being a young girl I can remember always wanting to get married. Although Gid and I own a house, and after we get married nothing in our daily lives will change, for me it is a bond. A way of telling each other and the world that we are here, together, forever.

I always remember my dad saying to me once, after a break-up when I was 16 that “you will be the luckiest person in the world if you find someone who makes you as happy as your mum makes me” and to me, Gideon is that person and for me marriage is about telling the world and telling him.

Gid and I first met about 6 and a half years ago. We had started mixing in the same social circles and I had seen him a few times at our friends flat but we had never spoken much. We first properly spoke at a Halloween party where I was dressed as a leopard and Gid was, ironically, dressed as a husband with a ball and chain round his ankle. I remember him telling me that leopards hunt in trees (great chat). After that night Gid and I started messaging on Facebook and we hung out a few times. On a night out at Bar Solo in Camden for our friend Gemma’s birthday we had our first kiss. There has not been a day since then that we haven’t spoken.

Our first proper date was to watch Gid’s sister play a gig in Camden and I remember thinking, wow this guy and his family are pretty cool! I think I’m going to like him! That was until the second date when after a meal at Ask we headed to the cinema. Gid hadn’t finished his garlic bread so took a doggy bag which he then tried to take into the cinema. When they said no he asked them to keep it behind the counter-sure enough he actually went back after the film and ate it! At that point I realised he wasn’t quite as cool as I thought but he was definitely the one for me!

Over the course of the next six years we have been on an amazing adventure together. Building our lives and dealing with both the good and the bad together. Gid is very romantic (despite what he tells other people!) and loves our time together to be special and unique and that is one of the many reasons I know I’m so lucky to have him in my world. We love to get away from London together and to try new and exciting things. We have also been through challenging times together where things have looked rocky and uncertain, however, we have always said that as we have got through those times we know we are meant to be together.

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At times things have been really difficult and I wasn’t always sure we would get through certain things. My inability to move after having all my wisdom teeth out wasn’t easy and Gid really struggled with how little I could do/say. He became increasingly fed up of making sweet potato mash with cottage cheese which is all I ate and I worried if he struggled with this what would happen if I was really ill! However, we have always pulled through and I do believe that it does make us stronger and more resilient to what life has thrown at us and will continue to do. What I love is that with all of these challenges we face, we get to face them together and for me that is what marriage is about. The good and the bad times, facing the world together and supporting each other through anything.

Having lived together in a rented flat in East Finchley for a year and a half, Gid and I decided to move in with parents so we could save money to buy our own place. We knew it was the right decision but also knew that all four of us living under the same room was going to be intense. I felt like I was a child again and Gid felt he was a visitor. It was at times incredibly hard time for us (and my parents) and we had to remain strong despite having very little space that we could call our own. Although I do have the best parents in the world and they did do everything to make it as good as it could be. What was meant to be a 6 month stay ended up being 13 months and in the middle of it all Gid decided to propose…

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