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A Winnie Couture Bride for a Boho Chic Jewish Wedding on the Beach at Mahayana Tulum, Tulum, Mexico

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How gorgeous is the beachy boho Jewish wedding of California couple Amber, who works for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and Elliot, the owner of Golden State Corals?! This travel-loving pair opted for a destination wedding weekend in Tulum.

Amber had always dreamed of an intimate, laid-back celebration with the couple’s nearest and dearest – and fortunately, she was able to make that dream come true despite getting married during the pandemic. The couple’s fantastic planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Lucy Gallagher, helped them bring it all together – which is no easy feat when planning from abroad in the best of times, let alone during COVID.

We love the relaxed California vibes of the day, and Moni Adri Photography’s wonderful pics make us feel as if we were right there with Amber and Elliot.

Now over to the bride, who looked stunning in her custom Winnie Couture gown…

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How we Met

Amber, the bride: I’m from New Jersey and Elliot is from Maryland.  We moved to California separately, around the same time.  We both adopted German Shepherds, his a female and mine a male, around the same time.  We met at the dog park.  Our dogs became obsessed with each other first. We got engaged on the Amalfi Coast in September 2019.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Allison Webb Bride for a Beachy Destination Jewish Wedding at Ana y José Hotel in Tulum, Mexico

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There’s nothing like a Jewish wedding on the beach, and Julia and Nick’s minimalist celebration in swoonworthy Tulum, Mexico, ticks all our boxes and then some.

First off, we love that these two knew they’d stumbled onto something special with their venue – I mean, can you believe that beach?! – and decided to keep a low profile with their décor so as to let the surroundings speak for themselves. They stuck with mostly natural materials and native flowers, greenery, and pampas grass (with the exception of some prominently placed protea flowers in a nod to the couple’s shared South African roots).

And we’re totally obsessed with Julia and Nick’s simple but stunning chuppah, consisting of nothing more than natural driftwood-esque branches and the couple’s grandfathers’ talitot. Against the backdrop of the ocean, does it ever make an impact! Don’t miss the incredible photos from Someplace Wild Photography.

We’ll let the bride, who looked so beautiful in her lace gown from Allison Webb, fill you in on the rest…


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How We Met

Julie, the bride: Nick and I have known each other forever, and I know a lot of people say that, but really, we have! Both coming from South African Jewish families, our lives have been intertwined for as long as I can remember, so it only seemed natural then when I got to high school (two years after Nick) that he was a kind, familiar face in a see of thousands of new ones, as I was coming from a small private school to a large public high school. Our story begins in high school, dating off and on as teenagers and A LOT of sneaking out of my parents house! When it was time for college, we parted ways, Nick two years older and off to New York City for his own adventure.

Fast forward a bit, and we are both at NYU, both living in New York City. It was an incredible and very intense way to reconnect. Somehow, even when we were “broken up” we kept finding our way back to each other. Once we both had matured a bit, we finally decided it was time to really be together. After a few years in New York, we decided to make our way back to our home base, Atlanta, where both our families and extended family lives.  

Although a rollercoaster, we really have watched each other grow up and taken time to do that separately. To be with someone who has witnessed a lot of your life is pretty crazy and we are constantly grateful to continue to have the front row seat to each other’s life. 

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5 of our Favorites: Jewish Beach Weddings to Take You Away

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Amy and Dan‘s Jewish Beach Wedding at Al Hayam | Photo by Your Story Wedd 

Welcome back to “5 of Our Favorites,” where we showcase some of the most stunning Jewish weddings from our archives, each curated around a unique theme. This week, we’re taking you to the shore with 5 of our favorite Jewish beach weddings.

There’s something truly magical about standing under the chuppah with the sound of waves crashing in the background and the sand beneath your feet. Whether it’s a tranquil coastline, a dramatic cliffside, or a tropical paradise, these beach weddings offer the perfect combination of natural beauty and romance.

From intimate seaside ceremonies to vibrant, sun-soaked celebrations, each of these weddings captures the essence of a Jewish wedding by the water. We can’t wait to share these breathtaking beachside celebrations with you and inspire your own seaside dream wedding!

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Or and Paul‘s Wedding in Chaldea, Greece | Photo by Papacharalampous Photography

Or and Paul’s Irish-Israeli Jewish Wedding in Chaldika, Greece

We love a multicultural Jewish wedding, and today’s is really something special. Bride Or is Israeli, while groom Paul is Irish – so they decided to split the difference by making things official in Greece!

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Or and Paul‘s Wedding in Chaldea, Greece | Photo by Papacharalampous Photography

The pair turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Sirtaki Events to help them craft the perfect wedding weekend, combining both their traditions plus the vibrant local culture of Greece. Anat and Yonathan of Sirtaki helped Or and Paul find their dream venue, an intimate hotel by the sea with beautiful grounds and an epic pool that the couple secured for exclusive use through the weekend.

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Or and Paul‘s Wedding in Chaldea, Greece | Photo by Papacharalampous Photography

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Amber and Elliot‘s Jewish Wedding | Photo by Moni Adri Photography 

Amber and Elliot’s Jewish Beach Wedding at Mahayana Tulum, Tulum, Mexico

How gorgeous is the beachy boho Jewish wedding of California couple Amber and Elliot?! This travel-loving pair opted for a destination wedding weekend in Tulum.

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Amber and Elliot‘s Jewish Wedding | Photo by Moni Adri Photography 

Amber had always dreamed of an intimate, laid-back celebration with the couple’s nearest and dearest – and with the duo’s loved ones split between the East and West Coasts, Tulum was the perfect choice. 

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Amber and Elliot‘s Jewish Wedding | Photo by Moni Adri Photography 

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Amy and Dan‘s Jewish Beach Wedding at Al Hayam | Photo by Your Story Wedd 

Amy and Dan’s Wedding at Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel

You’ll never believe the wild story behind this absolute stunner of a Jewish wedding! Amy and Dan had the most gorgeous Israeli Jewish wedding at Caesarea’s Al Hayam  – but until two days prior, they were actually planning on marrying at a totally different venue in the south of Israel!

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Amy and Dan‘s Jewish Beach Wedding at Al Hayam | Photo by Your Story Wedd 

A security situation in the south meant they had to change things around at the very last minute – but luckily they had an amazing planner, Yana from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia Events, on hand to save the day. In the span of 48 hours, Yana secured Al Hayam for the couple – and they ended up loving it even more than their original choice. 

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Amy and Dan‘s Jewish Beach Wedding at Al Hayam | Photo by Your Story Wedd 

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Things to Consider When You’re Planning a Jewish Destination Wedding in Mexico and the Caribbean

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Who doesn’t love Jewish destination wedding? Just imagine making it official in a tropical paradise like Mexico or the Caribbean, with the ocean breeze drifting through your chuppah – pure perfection!

That said, there are some extra considerations you’ll need to keep in mind when planning your Jewish wedding abroad – and we brought in our friends at Destination Weddings by Vacationeeze to walk you through them.

Vacationeeze is a family-owned full-service travel advisor specializing in destination weddings in Mexico and the Caribbean. They’ve helped many Jewish couples from all kinds of backgrounds create the weddings of their dreams, and they’ve got an awesome portfolio of top resorts who understand how to bring a Jewish wedding to life.

The team at Vacationeeze understands how important your Jewish wedding is, and they’ve shared with us some of the key things to consider when planning your special day. We’ll let them take it from here…

What type of ceremony?

One of most important decisions you need to make is about what kind of ceremony you want. Do you want a traditional Jewish ceremony, or something more personal with Jewish touches? Or maybe you’re interfaith?

Regardless, you’ll need to secure your officiant – whether a rabbi or cantor or otherwise. You might choose to fly out someone from home, or you can work with your planner or venue to help find a suitable local officiant who suits your needs. Not all locales will have a rabbi or cantor available – especially if you need one from a particular denomination – so this is something to sort out right at the start of your planning.

 

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A Robert Bullock Bride for a Homegrown Jewish Wedding at Crested Hen Farms, High Falls, New York, USA

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Sarah & Joshua, Crested Hen Farms, High Falls, New York, USA

We love it when a couple plans a Jewish wedding that’s thoroughly, completely them. Which is exactly what Sarah, a bioethicist for a non-profit advocating for dignity at the end of life, and Joshua, a patient care manager for a specialty pharmacy, did.

They involved friends and family in their day as much as possible, and even their venue, Crested Hen Farms, is located in New York’s Catskills, where the groom grew up. Lots of vendors came from the pair’s own circles: the couple found their photographer, Sloane Dakota, through a friend of a friend, and Joshua grew up with videographer Sam Falconi. It was important to Sarah and Joshua to have an egalitarian ceremony – each circled the other three times, and they did one circle together – and they had special people in their lives bless them with the Sheva Brachot.

We’re especially in love with Sarah and Joshua’s incredible hamsa ketubah, featuring gorgeous stained glass elements and sunset colors, which they worked to design alongside Britt Yudel of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor BritColors. In Sarah’s words, “Britt was so amazing in how she helped make our vision a reality. Our ketubah very much feels like our hearts living outside of our bodies in the form of original art.”

Now over to Sarah, who looked so elegant in her ivory crepe gown from designer Robert Bullock…

Sarah & Joshua, Crested Hen Farms, High Falls, New York, USA Sarah & Joshua, Crested Hen Farms, High Falls, New York, USA Sarah & Joshua, Crested Hen Farms, High Falls, New York, USA Sarah & Joshua, Crested Hen Farms, High Falls, New York, USA
How we Met

Sarah, the bride: We met in New York City at a synagogue named Romemu on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Joshua had been attending Romemu for years, since it was founded in 2006, and Sarah started attending after she moved to the city for graduate school in bioethics, in the fall of 2015. They were both in relationships at the time that Sarah started attending. One day that Fall, Sarah brought a friend from school to shabbat services on Friday night, who elbowed her and said, “Sarah, look at that guy…I want a partner like that.” Joshua doesn’t remember making eye-contact with Sarah, but she remembers it vividly. We didn’t meet until three years later.

We officially greeted each other in that same Friday-night shabbat space at Romemu in June of 2018, with a smile and a big hug. Most everyone else had left the space for the night, and Joshua was slowly packing up his things. Sarah was helping to tidy up in preparation for shabbat services the next morning. When she saw Joshua, they made eye contact again, and she introduced herself: “Hi, I’ve seen you around but I don’t think we’ve actually met. I’m Sarah. Shabbat shalom.” Joshua smiled, introduced himself, and gave her the biggest, warmest hug. 

From there, they slowly started to circle in each other’s orbit, joining community potluck meals and striking up a friendship. By the early spring of 2019, Joshua asked Sarah if she wanted to join him at an event by his favorite Israeli Rabbi, Reb Doniel Katz. But Sarah didn’t realize that Reb Katz’ event was a date… until Joshua again asked her to join him at a performance of Freestyle Love Supreme – an improv comedy rap performance led by Hamilton’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda – at 10pm on a Monday. They ended up going on fun dates for about a month — like going to the Morgan Museum and eating sushi at Kazu Nori (delicious, highly recommend when you are in Manhattan!) – before they shared their first kiss.

Joshua had always desired a partnership that was rooted in seeing what was possible to create in a relationship instead of what’s lacking. Sarah always yearned for a kindred spirit to share life with and grow old together, surrounded by family and community. Today, there remains an underlying resonance of the importance of Judaism to both Sarah and Joshua. Since the beginning, with Sarah’s “Shabbat Shalom,” everything that encompasses Shabbat and larger Jewish life cycle events creates an underlying foundation in their lives. Shabbat, for example, is an important pause from the working bustle of their life, arriving every week like the steady beat of a metronome.Continue ReadingContinue Reading