There’s nothing like a beach wedding – and the Jewish wedding of Sarah, who works in advertising sales, and Josh, a VP at an investment bank, at Ocean Place Resort & Spa is pure perfection.
So much so that you’d never guess it was their plan B, after they had to rethink their original plans for a 200+ person wedding when COVID hit – scroll through the incredible images captured by Andrew Graham Todes and we bet you’ll agree. Despite a few challenges – for instance, it was so windy during the ceremony that the bride’s veil blew off! – Sarah and Josh pulled off the ultimate pandemic-safe minimony, featuring custom welcome bags packed with monogrammed hand sanitizer, masks, and fans with ceremony details and safety tips, as well as plentiful signs instructing people about COVID precautions.
We’re in love with the couple’s ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com, whose trademark exemplary customer service was on display when they provided Sarah and Josh with a free reprint after their initial COVID wedding location fell through at the last minute.
If you’re looking for direction on how you can plan a micro wedding just as beautiful as Sarah and Josh’s, or trying to decide whether to go forward with an intimate affair vs. postponing, or struggling with absolutely any kind of COVID-related planning drama, sign up for our Bye Bye Coronacoaster, Hello Action Plan workshop on February 21 – full details here.
How we met
Sarah, the bride and Josh, the groom: On a brisk winter night in early February 2017, Josh was getting ready to start his next chapter in NYC after moving back home from Boston. Josh’s friends invited him to the NJ Devils game and his first night out in Hoboken. After bouncing around, they ended up at 10th & Willow Bar. On the same evening, Sarah was having a girls night which included dancing in a bar when no one else seemed to be. Sarah caught Josh’s eye and after building up some courage, Josh decided to approach her once she finally sat down. Much to his surprise, Sarah immediately rejected him (after all, it was girls night).
Sarah claimed that Josh was too young for her, convinced that he was in college. Feeling confused, Josh went back to the bar to buy some drinks for his group. However, most of his buddies were going separate ways so he was left with 6 Bud Lights to himself. Feeling a second wind of confidence, Josh decided to try and approach Sarah again, hoping to break down her defenses with an offering of Bud Light and an ID inspection. After realizing Josh was actually the same age, Sarah became more interested and even impressed by his persistence.
They talked over the beers until the lights came on. To end the night, Josh ordered 8 (yes, 8) Jimmy John’s sandwiches for the two of them, 6 of which were donated to Sarah’s fridge. Sarah was undoubtedly intrigued by Josh. They exchanged numbers, had their first date 1 week later and the rest is history.
Venue and wedding plans
We got married at the Ocean Place Resort & Spa in Long Branch, New Jersey. Our original plans included 200+ people at a different venue. September 6th 2020 was the date that we wanted to stick with, it started to mean so much to us and we wanted to make it work safely. A backyard wasn’t an option for our micro wedding as my parents moved to a 55+ community and we live in an apartment in the city so we looked around locally all summer for potential locations – parks, synagogues, etc, but nothing was really catching our eye.
We had been living with my parents for 6 months during Covid and they came home one day with gifts for me and Josh – we opened them up to find a piece of paper that said “say yes to the tent on the beach.”
Ironically, it had been my dream to get married on the beach but since we had initially planned a big wedding most of the venues in Jersey didn’t accommodate our number of guests. Now with a micro-wedding of our closest family and friends, the beach was perfect. I stared at the piece of paper for a few minutes, confused as I had been so stressed and it wasn’t sinking in.
Eventually I started crying tears of joy and relief. It’s crazy how in the toughest of times things can work out in a really special way.
Beachy Vibes
Our theme – beach, whimsical, romantic. Color scheme – navy blue and blush.
Invitations
Josh’s sister, who is Art Director at Alpine Creative Group in NYC designed our invitations, but no one has seen them yet. Hoping to use them next year!
A Calla Blanche Dress
Dress: Calla Blanche – v-neck sheath with a semi cathedral train. Store: Bridal Loft
I drove my mom and my MOH a little crazy with the dress… we must have gone to 10 different stores. I was losing hope that I would find the one but I know this was it. Once the dress came in during the height of Covid, we were too nervous to do fittings in the city so we had it shipped to my parents. My mom’s good friend is a seamstress, and she did all of my fittings in my parents’ garage and made some tweaks to create a scalloped back applique. It worked out perfectly!
Shoes
Alexandre Birman block heel with ankle ties for the mini dinner/reception. Pearl beaded barefoot sandals for beach ceremony
Ceremony
Wind: Our rabbi did an incredible job at our ceremony and we give him a lot of credit because it was the WINDIEST day you could ever imagine- I’m talking gusts of wind so strong that my veil flew off toward the end – he was amazing given those circumstances, speaking so everyone could hear.
Signing of the ketubah: We had my grandmother and Josh’s grandfather sign the ketubah as our witnesses. We chose our grandparents because both sets had lifelong loving marriages that we looked up to as we hope that we can create a marriage of our own until we grow old as they had. It was also a way to honor their spouses/our grandparents who have passed.
Breaking the glass: When the rabbi passed the glass over to Josh, he told him it was “the last time he’ll get to put his foot down” – you’ve never seen a groom smash the glass with so much excitement!
Ketubah
The ketubah was done by Ketubah.com, they were very helpful and accommodating! We had to have a re-print (for free) as our initial COVID wedding location fell through last minute. The water color print had the design aspects Sarah wanted and the more traditional look Josh wanted.
Music Choice
Our first dance was ‘Parallel Line’ by Keith Urban. We taught ourselves how to dance via YouTube channels in quarantine- it was a fun date night at home experience in the weeks leading up to the wedding!
Flowers
Michelle at The Flower Bar was absolutely incredible. She was on the phone with my mom on the nights leading up to the wedding, helping her with the centerpieces.
As for my bouquet, she completely brought my vision to life – Sweet Eskimo Roses, White Stock, White Ranunculus, White Spray Roses, Light Pink Astilbe, Pale Lavender Fuji, Spider Mums, Navy Astilbe, Faith Roses, Succulent, Playa, Blanca Roses, Dusty Miller, Italian Ruscus, Assorted, Eucalyptus (Bouquet Holder).
Photographer
Andrew Graham Todes was our photographer and he was absolutely incredible. We love his photo journalistic style and his use of humor put us at ease. We love how he captured our day and will always have these amazing photos to remember it by.
Favours
We worked with The Local Line in Red bank, NJ as well as Sarah’s mom to design custom welcome bags (monogramed: sanitizer, masks, fans with ceremony details and safety tips). Around the event we had many signs instructing people about COVID precautions, drinks, etc. I happened to have a crazy work week the days leading up to the wedding so I’m so grateful for The Local Line and my amazing creative mom! We couldn’t have pulled this off without them.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
I’ve envisioned what my wedding would look like since I was little, and in more detail of course when we got engaged. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought there would be a global pandemic that would change everything. But my biggest piece of advice is this- let your vision change. Get married. If you can get married safely, do it! No matter what, it will be the best day of your life because you are marrying your best friend.
What ‘Smashing The Glass’ Did For Us
I love all the inspiration from Smashing The Glass!!! Our wedding was actually our first Jewish wedding that we’ve had together given that we haven’t had any family weddings and most of our friends are not Jewish. Smashing The Glass was a site that we often referred to for inspiration and ideas since we were a little newer to the Jewish wedding traditions.
SARAH & JOSH’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Andrew Graham Todes
Ketubah – Ketubah.com {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Wedding planner – Kathleen Deo
Venue – Ocean Place Resort & Spa
Bride’s dress – Calla Blanche
Bride’s shoes – Alexandre Birman
Makeup – Makeup – Lorena Fereirra
Flowers – The Flower Bar
Catering – Ocean Place Resort & Spa
Cake – Chocolate Carousel
Stationery/Invitation – Alpine Creative Group
Favours – The Local Line
Rabbi – Marc Kline
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
What an awesome day Plan B turned out to be!