A Classic Springtime Jewish Wedding at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, USA

How we Met

Emily, the bride: Harrison and I are currently federal government contractors. I make a career shift this fall through Clemson University’s accelerated nursing program. Harrison and I met in September 2017 in Charleston, SC at a bar (formerly) called Voodoo. I had just moved to Charleston two weeks before and it was an instant connection. We got engaged on New Year’s Day 2021.

An Asheville Wedding

We got married at The Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. Harrison and I have been to many weddings together and did not want a summer wedding because it gets into the 90s-100s in the South. Spring/Fall are much cooler and Spring has the distinct advantage of not contesting college football (which to many down here is a religion unto itself).

We love Asheville and wanted to choose a location where we would love to go back to for future anniversaries. We picked the Country Club venue for its historical importance. It was the original country club/golf pro shop that has been around since the 1930s. The architecture and finishings provide a unique venue. We really wanted a venue where guests could stay for the weekend and have enough around them all weekend to be entertained.

What ‘Smashing The Glass Brides Club’ Did For Us

I grew up in a military family where we moved a lot. There were not many Jewish communities around the posts and it was a very small community within the Army. The Brides Club allowed me to meet new people and posit questions I would not have known by myself. Brides Club was an amazing way to have the support of a Jewish community and the resources to create the traditional ceremony of my dreams. We found Noa Attias, our ketubah artist, through Brides Club and are so grateful we did!

Historical Vibes

Once we chose The Omni Grove Park Inn as our venue I wanted to carry on the historical feeling and did not want to overdecorate the venue since it has so many beautiful details. With this in mind, I focused on making the florals the accentuating factor. I borrowed antique silver pieces from my mom, my mother-in-law, and our dear family friend to use as the vessels for the floral arrangements. Overall, I wanted the feeling to be mimic the soft lightness of Spring and to feel classic and not fussy.

Invitations / stationery

I found Jerry and Julep on Etsy and we worked together to custom design the invitations. I am a lover of stationery and spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted them to look like. I was initially drawn to a watercolour suite however our wedding was black tie and I was worried the watercolour would not have matched the formal evening tone.

I have always loved architectural drawings so when I found Jerry and Julep it was a perfect fit. I originally commissioned a black and white sketch of the Grove Park but when looking at the proof it felt like something was missing. Sure enough, after adding color they were perfect. I finished them off with a mossy green ‘B’ seal and they looked perfect for a black tie event at the Historic Grove Park.

Hair + Make-up

Makeup and hair was the area I was least concerned with. After getting a few quotes from companies I was blown away by how expensive it was and thought I might just have my sister give me a simple updo and I would do my own makeup. Fortunately, my best friend’s youngest sister, Jacki Ladouceur, is currently in cosmetology school and offered her services in exchange for practice for her school portfolio. She is so incredibly talented, and I could not have dreamed of more beautiful work.

Dress

I bought my dress at a local Greenville, SC bridal store called Dimitra Designs. Besides stationery, I think wedding dresses were the thing I consumed the most content of prewedding and became obsessed with different designers and styles, etc. I had so many pictures saved and designers that I was interested in, it was very researched. The way I picked my dress was the exact opposite! My mom took me to Dimitra Designs in February randomly right after I had gotten engaged in January to do a preliminary try on just to gauge how I’d feel about dress shopping before involving an entire group of people.

We tried on about five dresses and I fell in love with my dress that day. We held off on buying the dress however and returned in June with my sister, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and my mom. I knew I wanted to try the dress on again, but we picked an additional ten so everyone could join in on the fun and I could be sure of my choice. I had reached out to other bridal salons but none of them had availability on the day we needed so we only went to Dimitra Designs.

We decided to save the dress I loved for last and the dress I tried on right before it was a crowd pleaser, especially with my sister. The dress was beautiful but the beading under my arms was scratchy, and it was a little tight and I remember thinking “I just want to put my dress on”. We headed back to the dressing room and as soon as I slipped it on, I knew it was definitely the one. When I walked back out my family agreed as well! The dress is a simple A line style with little buttons all down the back and draping on the bust that is so flattering.

I knew it would be a dress that would always be classic. It was also incredibly comfortable, and I loved feeling happy in my body just as it was without the pressure of trying to be thinner for the wedding. I would recommend Dimitra Designs to anyone. They are size inclusive and I think being able to try a dress on that was not six sizes too small on me is part of what made my experience dress shopping so positive.

Accessories

I wore a pair of Kate Spade earrings that I bought for and wore for my best friend’s wedding when I was her maid of honor. They were perfect for the dress but also had such a special significance. My hairpiece was from Emma Katzka, a small business in Charleston, SC. I found the shop originally on Instagram and after finding the Octavia headpiece knew instantly that I needed it for my wedding. It was the first piece of my outfit I planned for the day and set the tone for the rest of the ensemble.

I found my veil on Etsy after I was inspired by an embellished veil from Claire Pettibone. I wanted something a little lighter than the Claire Pettibone veil and was so happy with the gorgeous (and affordable!) veil I purchased. The veil and the dress truly complimented each other and I’m so glad I went more dramatic for the veil.

Shoes

I have been a lover of shoes and the series Sex and the City for years so naturally I ended up with a pair of dusty pink shimmering Manolo Blahnik heels. I chose a lower heel so I could be comfortable and am so glad about the choice! The shoes were very comfortable, and I made sure to break them in at a friend’s wedding before wearing them for my own wedding. I changed into a cute pair of Kate Spade flats that said Just Married later in the night for dancing. I love that I’ll be able to rewear my Manolos for years.

The handsome groom

Harrison chose a Vera Wang tuxedo from Men’s Wearhouse and chose to stick to a classic black and white look. Black tie was important to him so everyone had a dress code to follow. Everyone looked great and it really made the evening that much more enjoyable.

Matron of Honor

We decided to forgo a bridal party early on in planning. We have so many wonderful friends and knew we’d have a huge bridal party if we included everyone. So we decided to just invite everyone to be guests and to enjoy their time in Asheville and at the wedding! My sister however was my Matron of Honor and I told her to wear whatever she felt beautiful and comfortable in. She has great taste and picked a stunning dove gray Adrianna Papell dress.

Ceremony

Rabbi Wolff Alterman worked with us and provided several examples of Jewish weddings or aspects we could incorporate. We decided to stick to a more traditional style Jewish ceremony, with traditional Hebrew as well as English translations. With many of our friends and Harrison’s family not being Jewish, we wanted everyone to feel included and used this opportunity for them to also learn more about the ceremony. We made our programs to include the meaning of the chuppah, kippot, the Seven Blessings, kiddush, and other Jewish aspects. Rabbi Alterman also did a great job of explaining as he went along.

We were very grateful to all our friends and family for being respectful during the ceremony. We used our registry through Zola for our Spode Judaica (including our candle sticks, kiddush cup and challah board). Not only did we use them for the wedding but still use them for Shabbat. They help decorate our home and have a special place in our heart after everything. My favorite parts of the wedding were circling Harrison and watching him the smashing of the glass.

Ketubah

We chose a ketubah by Noa Attias, a STG vendor, and adore the finished product! Harrison and I were very thoughtful in picking our ketubah as we knew it would hang in our home forever. I had seen Noa’s work on STG before and knew she was exactly who I wanted to create ours. We decided on the Glory with a blue watercolour background.

Chuppah

My dad is very handy so there was no question he would be building our chuppah. He made my sister’s when she was married in 2018, but as I am much taller than my sister, he had to add another foot to his design for our chuppah! My dad purchased the wood and cut and predrilled all the pieces, so it was easy for him and my brother-in-law to assemble the night before at the venue.

My mom and I stained the wood a mahogany finish to make the wood look more finished. We then draped a piece of fabric my mom found on Etsy over the top. I gave my florist, Rachel, free reign on the floral design for the chuppah and I think it turned out perfect.

Our Music Choice

One of my best friends from college, Kelsey Lynch of BlushtoneCello, is a performance cellist who plays weddings often in the Southeast. She graciously offered to play our wedding and arranged all the traditional Jewish songs for us into pieces for the ceremony. She is amazing and made the ceremony so special processional, we chose ‘Mi Bon Siach’for the groom and our family and then moved into ‘Lecha Dodi’ for my parents and I to walk down the aisle.

Harrison and I love Fiddler on the Roof so we used ‘Sunrise Sunset’ for circling! And then ‘To Life’ for the recessional. Harrison and I’s first dance was to ‘Crazy Love’ by Van Morrison. My dad and I have always listened to Frank Sinatra, so we used ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ for our dance.

Flowers

Florals were the star of the show for our wedding. My friend from college, Rachel Baran, started a flower farm called Sun Dragon Flower Farm in Clyde, NC, right outside of Asheville after we graduated and has several acres now! I knew even before we were engaged that I wanted to work with Rachel. As the flowers would be grown on Rachel’s farm, we were limited to whatever would be blooming during the week of the wedding, luckily Rachel is an incredible flower farmer and I ended up with anemones, ranunculus, and garden roses to name a few.

I sent Rachel some inspiration photos to work from and we came up with a plan to use bright spring colors and lots of greenery. From there I gave Rachel free reign to arrange the centrepieces and decorate the chuppah however she saw fit. I cannot express how beautiful and special the florals were and am currently having my bouquet pressed and framed! Rachel has become my forever florist and also has a tulip subscription service.

Photographer and videographer

Meekail is a coworker of my mom’s, and my former boss (!), who has been a photographer as a side business for many years. He works primarily with Getty Images but also photographed weddings. We were his last wedding he shot as he now spends his weekend with his sweet grandbabies! It was so nice to work with someone I was so comfortable with and who knew and genuinely cared about my family. The candids he captured are my favorite.

Food and Cake

The Omni Grove Park Inn use their in-house caterer and pastry chef. During cocktail hour there were passed appetizers and a charcuterie station. For dinner we served a poached pear and goat cheese salad and duet entrée of sea bass and filet mignon with a root vegetable puree. Our food was so delicious, and our cake was a triumph! We chose alternating layers of vanilla cake and raspberry compote and vanilla cake and Grand Marnier strawberries. The included tasting while planning the wedding was one of our favorite parts of planning!

Entertainment

Harrison and I love live music and Harrison wanted a band that had a horns section, played plenty of Motown/funk music, and could also play Hava Nagila. We found all of this and more in The Business through East Coast Entertainment. They were such an amazing vendor, and we would recommend them to absolutely anyone that asked.

Favors

We made welcome boxes for all the guests and put them in their room or gave them to them at the rehearsal dinner. They included things like bottled water, pain medication, gum, stain remover wipes, and snacks. We ordered small bags of popcorn from Cromer’s, a store in Columbia, SC where Harrison grew up, and included them in the boxes. It was such a fun thing for his guests who were familiar with the area.

Extra details

My now nieces were involved as the flower girls. I hand embroidered the bows we put on their baskets with their first initials on it. The girls are objectively adorable and had been in other weddings so they couldn’t wait to share this day with us. I knew this would be a core memory for them and wanted them to help celebrate our favorite day. We were able to have a signature cocktail which we named “Poodle Party” after our two Standard Poodles, Lenora and June.

These were a big hit and people drank them well into the night. A unique aspect in which we liked was our guest book. We got a photobooth, ZimZoom Photobooth, and had our guests put their pictures in our guestbook along with writing a personal note. Seeing the guest book pictures and wedding photos were special to us because it reaffirmed how much fun people had that night.

Honeymoon

We went to Sandals Montego Bay in Montego Bay, Jamaica. We highly enjoy the Sandals resorts and wanted to go to an island that was a quick flight for us. We had an amazing time and look forward to being back very soon!

Advice to couples currently planning their wedding

Any little pieces of advice you would like other future brides to benefit from your own personal experience….. How to enjoy the day, stress less etc.

I’m going to borrow a quote from my husband: “All you need for a wedding is good liquor, good food and a good band. Everything else works itself out.” I’ll concede this was one of the many things he was right about. It took a lot of work to get there, but the day of we just enjoyed it. It was great to see so many people who help shape and enrich our lives together in one place.

My only regret is that it was not longer. It seemed to go by in a flash so my advice would be to enjoy every second of it! Be sure to dance and get whatever food you were excited about during the planning process. Or better yet, get someone to grab it for you! We were very fortunate in that we didn’t have a lot of hiccups on the day, but focus on the positive and have fun! There’s truly no enough time to sweat the small stuff.

EMILY & HARRISON’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK

Ketubah – Noa Attias {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – The Omni Grove Park Inn
Bride’s dress – Dimitra Designs
Bride’s shoes – Manolo Blahnik
Bride’s accessories – Emma Katzka, Kate Spade
Groom’s attire – Men’s Wearhouse
Bridesmaids – Adrianna Papell
Hair + Makeup – Jacki Ladouceur
Flowers – Sun Dragon Flower Farm
Band – THE BUSINESS
Cellist – BlushtoneCello
Catering – The Omni Grove Park Inn
Cake – The Omni Grove Park Inn
Stationery/Invitation – Jerry and Julep
Rabbi – Rabbi Wolff Alterman
Cake Topper – All Cake Toppers For You
Guest Book- Catch This Moment
Judaica – Spode
Photo Booth- ZimZoom Photobooth
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}

---

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.

---