Today, we’re flying away to the picturesque Old City of Cartagena, Colombia! Americans Paula and Aaron knew they wanted a destination wedding, and since Paula’s mom is Colombian and she grew up spending time in the country, Cartagena, with its charming Spanish colonial style, was an obvious choice.
We love that Paula and Aaron’s goal for the big day was to “make Judaism cool” and show their guests just how awesome a Jewish wedding can be. They certainly set a stunning atmosphere, between their breathtaking floral chuppah and the hundreds of candles they had hanging from the ceiling in the ceremony room.
The couple’s chazzan, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Choni G, also had a lot to do with the magical atmosphere – Paula and Aaron can’t stop raving about his wonderful performance throughout the celebration, from Havdalah to the badeken to the chuppah to the hora, and finally bentching.
To cap things off, Paula and Aaron paraded through the Old City following the ceremony – don’t miss the incredible imagery from Las fotos de Vale!
Now over to Paula, who looked so elegant in her gown by Israeli designer Chana Marelus...
How We Met
Paula, the bride: It’s interesting – our paths crossed many times, but it was never the right time until Hashem said it was the right time. We both went to University of Florida and had many mutual friends. We both separately moved to Washington, DC (I moved for a job in tech consulting and Aaron moved for law school) and my roommate at the time knew Aaron and invited him over for a party they were having. They had a great conversation and most importantly, Aaron hit it off with Milo (my dog). Aaron eventually asked me out on a date and we started dating. After dating for 3 years, we embarked on our religious journey and became religious together. This culminated in our wedding in June 2023.
A Wedding in Cartagena
We got married in Cartagena, Colombia. Paula’s mom is Colombian and she grew up going to Colombia for 3 months every year. We both always wanted a destination wedding and started to look into the Old City of Cartagena. We fell in love with the old Spanish colonial style and felt like we could have a truly unique Jewish wedding. We specifically chose the wedding venue Casa 1537 for a few reasons. We were able to have a completely kosher wedding here. Additionally, we rented the entire space out so everyone that was there was apart of the wedding, which created such a magical experience for us and our guests. We were able to bring so many different backgrounds together and appreciate a Jewish wedding.
Theme + Planner
We had the most incredible wedding planner!!!! Daniela Lopera from Caribe Cordial Weddings was an angel sent straight from Hashem who brought our vision to life and made sure the entire weekend was magical. Paula wanted to accentuate the beauty of the venue and Cartagena while creating a romantic environment. We had many flowers in the shades of white, peach, light pink, light yellow to create that feel. Overall, our goal was to “make Judaism cool” and we wanted our guests to appreciate how amazing a Jewish wedding is.
It was the most incredible wedding weekend. One cool thing we did was a parade around the Old City after the ceremony. The entire day had so much energy, especially the bedeken.
A Chana Marelus Dress
My dress was from Chana Marelus. I fell in love with the sleeve detail, it had the most beautiful flowers along the arm. Additionally, I loved the A-line style without it being a huge ballgown. It was light and airy but still elegant and unique.
Bridesmaids
My friends all wore different vibrant color dresses to match the vibrancy of the Old City of Cartagena.
Ceremony & Chuppah
We had hundreds of little candles hanging from the ceiling in the room that the chuppah was in, it was truly magical. Additionally, our chazzan, Choni G, really created such an incredible environment throughout the entire ceremony. Aaron’s grandmother is an award winning water color artist and painted our ketubah. She created a beautiful image of Jerusalem in water color for us.
Our music choice
Choni G did the most amazing job for the Havdalah, Bedeken, Chuppah, Hora, and Bentching.
We had way too many songs to count! For our first dance, we danced to ‘Latch’ by Sam Smith in acoustic and then it turned into the electronic version and had our friends and family join the dance floor.
We had both a band and a DJ – DJ Ariel Waldman. You can’t get married in Cartagena without a Latin band! The Nelson Gomez Band performed for the bedeken, chuppah, we had a parade around the city after the ceremony, the cocktail hour, and alternated with the DJ for the party. Additionally we had an Hora Loca, where we had a special show by Pargo Project.
Flowers
Daniela from Cartagena hojas y pistilos brought everything to life! I showed her a few different inspo pics and her design company created the most beautiful bouquet. It was different white flowers.
Photographer and videographer
Both our photographer and videographer styles were documentary style. I wanted the genuine moments of our wedding to be captured. Our wedding video is INSANE!!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Focus on you two!! This day is for the two of you so focus on what you want. Also, it’s just one day – things will “go wrong” but who cares, focus on the fact that you’re marrying the love of your life and its just the start to the most amazing journey together.
PAULA + AARON’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Las fotos de Vale
Videography – MAWI
Venue – Casa 1537
Planner – Caribe Cordial Weddings
Bride’s dress – Chana Marelus.
Hair + Makeup – Jesús Díaz
Flowers – Cartagena hojas y pistilos
DJ – DJ Ariel Waldman
Chazzan – Choni G
Band – Nelson Gomez Band
Hora Loca – Pargo Project
Catering – Ideas & Catering by Vane Figueroa
Stationery/Invitation – Sweet Dates Prints
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.
