We love it when a couple puts their own stamp on their wedding – which is exactly what Lyndsay, a PharmD working in the biotech industry, and Eric, who works in finance, did! When planning their Boston Jewish wedding, the duo prioritized making the day a true reflection of their unique story, incorporating so many lovely personal touches and meaningful details.
How cute is it that Lyndsay and Eric put together a wedding newspaper they shared with their guests, incorporating stories, games, guest awards, and a guide to the Jewish wedding? They even brought Lyndsay’s maiden name, Golden, into their classic color scheme of white, black, and champagne gold. Don’t miss it all in the wonderful images from Lee Asher Photos!
And we’re obsessed with the couple’s seating chart, which consisted of an envelope for each guest with their name and table number containing a personalized letter. What a special way for Lyndsay and Eric to show their gratitude for the people in their life on the big day!
Read on for more in the bride’s own words…
How We Met
Lyndsay, the bride: An excerpt from our wedding day newspaper: As Eric likes to say, this love story began the ‘good old fashioned way’….with a swipe on JSwipe in 2022. Unknowingly, Lyndsay and Eric were essentially neighbors and only lived about a 7 minute walk from each other. Their first date was a simple coffee and tea outing in the Boston Seaport with their now shared corgi, Lulu.
Venue
We chose the Langham Boston as it was not only in the heart of Boston, but also perfectly blended elegance and history. The venue’s unique charm, housed in the iconic old Federal Reserve building, offered a timeless backdrop for our celebration. It was even more special that the Langham only hosted one wedding a day, ensuring that our event received exclusive attention and care. The venue featured multiple beautiful and iconic spaces (like Grana and the Fed), each showcasing the grandeur and history of the building. Additionally the greenery in the park just outside the hotel provided the perfect setting for some lovely photos.
Theme
We made our wedding a true reflection of us by incorporating personal touches and meaningful details that told our unique story and celebrated the people and moments that shaped us. Our overall theme was classic and elegant. We wanted to incorporate the use of my maiden name, Golden, so our colors were a champagne gold, white, and black.
From the rehearsal dinner, we chose to make each moment feel personal where we featured personalized place card cookies, gifts for our bridal party and parents, icebreaker games (who is more likely to game and had each guest share some special memories from a list of questions they pick from a bag), panna cotta (Eric’s favorite) and Boston cream pie (Lyndsay’s favorite dessert). This set the tone for a deeply personal celebration.
For the guests staying at the hotel, we created personalized wedding gift bags complete with all Boston related snacks and drinks, Langham signature chocolates, as well as our wedding newspaper which incorporated stories, games, a guide to the Jewish Wedding, and guest awards.
On our wedding day, Lyndsay gifted Eric a very specific pair of cowboy boots as a surprise, fulfilling a wish he had shared with her early on in their relationship. She also wrote letters every month leading up until the wedding to gift him as well. Eric gifted Lyndsay with a beautiful tennis bracelet that she wore as she walked down the aisle. Additionally, Lyndsay wore gold pins from her late mother with a photo attached on her bouquet, keeping her sprit alive in the ceremony.
During the ceremony, we incorporated heirlooms like Lyndsay’s grandfather’s kiddush cup from Israel, as well as a yarmulke and tallit that was gifted to Eric from Lyndsay’s grandmother, ensuring that family traditions and memories were woven into the fabric of the day. Seats were lined with wedding day newspapers to help our guests who had never been to a Jewish wedding understand with the guide. The ceremony itself was incredibly personal, with the signing of the ketubah, the inclusion of families and friends delivering the seven blessings, and our decision to exchange personalized vows.
As we moved into the cocktail hour, we kept the personal touches. We designed a unique “yearbook” guestbook that not only captured our guests in photos as you would see in a yearbook, but also celebrated family members who were lost, but not forgotten through a heartfelt memorial table. Our signature cocktails were Lyndsay’s elderflower and cucumber G&T and Eric’s Old Fashioned, which were adorned with gold corgi drink stirrers, a playful nod to Lyndsay’s maiden name ‘Golden’ and our fur baby, Lulu.
Perhaps one of the most personal aspects was our seating chart. Instead of the traditional chart, we hand wrote letters to each guest, expressing how much they meant to us. Each letter was displayed with the guest name and table number on an envelope with a note inside. It was a way of showing our deep gratitude for the special people in our lives.
For the reception, our space was transformed into an elegant formal champagne and white candlelight feel, featuring rose based arrangements accented by dahlias, delphiniums, ranunculus, and greenery. Our first dance was another example of how we made the day about us. We chose the song ‘Dandelions‘ by Ruth B, a song that Lyndsay had shared with Eric early on in their relationship because it reminded her of him.
As we danced across the floor to our choreographed dance, the fog rolled across the dance floor creating a magical atmosphere that truly was reflective of the love we share. The DJ/Band hybrid setup was extremely unique and something no one had seen before. With this touch, we had the ability to blend the best of both worlds — we could enjoy the live band playing classic wedding hits, while also incorporating more personal songs by the original artists that truly reflected us.
The result was a dynamic, high-energy performance that had everyone on their feet all night long. The saxophonist and guitarist even joined in on the dance floor, adding their talents to the mix. We also added a flower wall photo booth and an ice sculpture luge creating little surprises here and there. As the night moved on, we added light up cowboy hats and glow foam sticks to the mix as a tribute to Eric’s love of country music. Lastly, what Boston wedding would be complete without cannolis?
Dress
My dress was from Alexandra’s Bridal Boutique. The designer was actually the owner of the store. The style in my opinion was classic elegance. The train of the dress is really what made it so stunning.
Accessories + Shoes
Wedding Bands and Rings were from Bellman Jewelers – we loved! Eric also gifted a tennis bracelet to me on the day of as well. Eric is a whole foot taller than me, so to maintain some height, and comfort, I opted for some Dolce Vita shoes. However, my rehearsal dinner shoes were the best and were from Dee Ocleppo.
Bridesmaids
Yes, Lyndsay had 4 bridesmaids. Each was allowed to pick out their own dress as long as it was black. They all wore gold heels and jewelry to mimic Lyndsay’s maiden name, Golden.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Our favorite part of the ceremony was exchanging rings – this meant that we were officially husband and wife. We also loved that we went outside of the traditional realm and shared personalized and custom vows with each other in front of our family and friends. There were so many different elements of the wedding ceremony that were special though.
From the inclusion of my grandfather’s kiddush cup, to the yarmulke and tallit gifted from Lyndsay’s grandmother to Eric, to our family and closest friends delivering the seven blessings, to smashing of the glass, it all was truly a dream. Additionally, Lyndsay walked down the aisle to a slowed down version of Dandelions upon which she walked around Eric 7 times as well before the both stepped under the chuppah. For the chuppah design, we modified this multiple times. Our florist really helped with the vision.
Our ketubah by beketubah was special as it represented us and our current home.
Our music choice
We chose to go with a DJ/Band hybrid – EMG Riverside with DJ Jason. The DJ/Band hybrid setup was extremely unique and something no one had seen before. With this touch, we had the ability to blend the best of both worlds — we could enjoy the live band playing classic wedding hits, while also incorporating more personal songs by the original artists that truly reflected us. The result was a dynamic, high-energy performance that had everyone on their feet all night long. The saxophonist and guitarist even joined in on the dance floor, adding their talents to the mix.
This team was also so unique because they had an app that we could use to upload any and every song that we wanted played or highlighted the day of and at the reception. We met with the team at least 2 times to go over everything and they really excelled.
Flowers
Overall styling by Poppy Floral: Elegant formal white and champagne feel, with rose based arrangements accented by dahlias, delphiniums, ranunculus, and greenery to add depth and interest. Soft, elegant style with gold candelabras.
Photographer
Our photographer, Lee Asher Photos, photographed one of our closest friend’s weddings (they were actually in the bridal party). She is also a Jewish photographer which made her understand the importance of capturing certain elements through the day.
Food and cake
Everything was catered by the Langham and it was fabulous. Most guests don’t enjoy wedding food but everyone commented how wonderful the food was.
The cake was from Dessert Works and it was 3 tiers. two tiers of gold and one tier that was white with gold flakes in the center. The cake was also accented with champagne, ivory and white florals along with a Lyndsay and Eric cake topper. The cake was two flavors, tuxedo and strawberries and cream! We even got a mini replica of our cake to eat on our one year anniversary!
Extra Details
We both made a speech to welcome everyone to our wedding. What was a funny element of our night was when we arrived back to our hotel room at the Langham following our wedding reception, we came back to floral petals lining our room and bed with personalized robes from the Langham. Unfortunately, the robes said “Nick” and the other said “Laura”. Obviously, not our names but it gave us a good laugh. This mistake was fixed in the morning with our names “Lyndsay” and “Eric”.
Honeymoon
We are headed to Botswana and Stellenbosch, South Africa for our honeymoon in July/August 2025. We decided to book a safari through Abercrombie & Kent where we were able to customize everything. This was a dream of both of ours and we are so excited to see the big 5 animals along with soaking in the rich culture and experiences the food and wine in Stellenbosch.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Cherish EVERY moment. The day goes by so fast. Elements of your day will not go according to planned, but the whole point is to get married to your best friend and life partner. Set aside 10-15 minutes post ceremony to just embrace being newlyweds, join your cocktail hour – your guests want to see you!- and really enjoy every moment.
LYNDSAY & ERIC’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Lee Asher Photos
Ketubah – beketubah
Venue – Langham Boston
Bride’s dress – Alexandra’s Bridal Boutique
Bride’s shoes – Dolce Vita
Wedding Bands and Rings, Tennis Bracelet – Bellman Jewelers
Hair + Makeup – Mari Cruz Hairstyles, Jacquelyn Sabella Makeup
Flowers – Poppy Floral
Band/DJ – EMG Riverside, DJ Jason
Catering – Langham Boston
Cake – Dessert Works
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.
