This is SUCH a New York wedding, and we are all over it. Jenny, who works as an associate media director at an ad agency, and Zach, who works in real estate development at a private equity firm, brought the city vibes to their Jewish wedding with everything from their choice of venue – the super cool Knockdown Center in Queens, which manages to combine industrial chic while being able to bring in greenery and rustic sophistication seamlessly – to their decision to bring in iconic NYC eats like Robertas Pizza andthe Shake Shack food truck.
And how incredible is the couple’s floating chuppah?! With all four sides open – so all 375 guests seated in the round could see the couple clearly – it brings some serious enchanted forest vibes to an otherwise urban setting. Photographer Tory Williams captured everything so perfectly.
Now over to Jenny, who looked stunning in Galia Lahav – one of our fave Israeli designers!
Industrial Rustic
Jenny, the bride: We got married at the Knockdown Center in Maspeth Queens. We were looking for a venue that was “us” and not typical. We wanted a place we could create what we wanted but that had natural beauty. Zach works in real estate and loves finding raw spaces and making them beautiful. This space had the perfect contrast of industrial chic while being able to bring in greenery and rustic yet sophisticated beauty.
Outdoor Vibes
We used Brita Olsen Creative as our wedding planner who understood our creative vision. She helped us piece together our vision and mix beautiful seasonal flowers with greenery. My middle name is Rose, so we mixed in gorgeous burnt roses.
We really embraced the space. We had low tables, with string lights and a disco ball hanging from the ceiling. The cocktail hour looked like no place anyone had ever been. It was held outside – we had a tiki bar with greenery draped surrounding it and string lights everywhere.
INVITATION
Max and Maiden were unbelievable with all our printing. I wanted our invitation to connect with the vibe of our wedding – we used handmade paper, with traditional fonts. The contrast of block lettering with script for our names and venue set the tone of the event really nicely.
A Galia Lahav Dress
I got my dress at Bridal Reflections – it was Galia Lahav, the FABIANA dress. I am a beach girl, and I always knew I wanted something flowy- but we were having a black-tie wedding and it wasn’t at the beach. This was a true COUTURE dress, and it was absolutely stunning in every way. The model in the dress looked nothing like me so I didn’t think it would end up working out but I had to try it.
It was perfect from the moment I put it on – and my 2 best friends, my mom, Grandma, and sister all agreed. It wasn’t a question, it was the one. I felt like a queen bride in it – the way that it moved when I walked was regal. I am not an overly confident person especially when it comes to my body, but I felt amazing in this dress and I think that is how you are supposed to feel. It was truly the most beautiful and romantic dress I had ever seen.
Accessories
I wore a veil from Bridal Reflections and earrings from Kenneth Jay Lane. We tried on long and fancy veils, but I wanted my veil to be simple and elegant since the dress really spoke for itself. The only time anyone was really going to see the train of my dress was when I walked down the aisle, and I didn’t want a long veil to get in the way. I tried to keep it all understated because I didn’t want any accessories to take away from the dress
Shoes
I wore platform silver sparkly Miu Miu heels. I wanted to be comfortable, but fun. These shoes were the perfect mix. I changed into platform sneakers that my mother in law had graffitied for me the day of the wedding.
Hair + Make-up
I chose my hair and makeup people based on who would make me feel best that day.
Heather Synnamon has been doing my hair for over 10 years and has such good energy – I met my makeup artist Susy Verdecia-Paz at my best friends wedding- and she also had amazing energy. I think hiring people who make you feel calm is as important as hiring good quality people.
I had two hair styles. For the ceremony, I wanted my hair to go with the vibe of the dress with romantic waves, and pulled off my face so you could see the full front of the dress. Right after the ceremony, I had my hair put in a pony tail. We were not looking for our party to be anything short of a PARTY. I wanted my hair up and out of my way- and it also gave the opportunity to show how special the back of the dress was.
For my makeup, I wanted to look like myself. I also still had a nice summer tan, so we went with a pretty gold shimmer on my eyes and a natural vibe of makeup.
The handsome groom
Zach wore a custom midnight blue tux by Victor Talbots – with Louis Vuitton shoes. He ended up shirtless by the time the party really got started though!
Bridesmaids
I did pick your own black dress for my bridesmaids. I wanted it to look clean and everyone to be comfortable- but then I had my 2 matrons of honor and my maid of honor (my sister) in rose gold, gold and a mix of the two to go with the burnt rose flowers.
Ceremony
We did our ceremony in the round so it felt more intimate amongst 375 people. We used all 4 aisles, so when the ceremony started and people thoguth they didn’t get great seats they were pleasantly surprised to see there wasn’t a bad seat. My parents walked me down my own aisle to add an extra element of surprise.
Our ketubah signing was very special – we held it on Thursday before Shabbat started with my Rabbi (Rabbi Klibanoff) who has known my family forever. We had 4 signers, 2 of Zachs best friend’s and 2 of mine – all have been our friends for over 25 years.
The ketubah was designed by Great Neck Judaica.
Chuppah
The chuppah was a dream come true – I always wanted an open hanging chuppah where everyone could see us clearly. The mix of greenery and flowers was absolutely stunning.
Our music choice
Zach walked down the aisle to the instrumental version of ‘Something Just Like This’– one of our favorite songs to dance to
Our grandparents walked down to ‘Edelweiss’ from the Sound of Music, which honored my grandpa who watched the Sound of Music with me everyday growing up
Our bridal party walked down to ‘Love on Top’ as the band sang which was a lot of fun- we love Beyonce.
Our flower girl and ring bearer walked down the aisle to ‘Wrecking Ball’ by Miley Cyrus- This had special meaning as our ring bearer is our cousin and he is disabled – this song has brought him joy and made him laugh since he was very young.
I walked down the aisle to ‘Can you Feel the Love Tonight’ – instrumental. My dad always tells the story of the first time I cried in a movie was when he took me to see the Lion King. It was special for my parents to walk me down the aisle to this song.
When the ceremony was over, we walked up to the band singing ‘Crazy in Love’—of course, we love Beyonce- and our hashtag was #soJZinLove
Flowers
Pear Tree Flowers – Liza Lubell was outstanding. The flowers were a mix of greenery and seasonal flowers- with burnt roses to represent my middle name.
Photographer and videographer
Tory Williams was our photographer and we absolutely loved her. She had done a wedding I loved in Michigan- and I liked that she wasn’t super mainstream in the wedding world. She works a lot with The Wing and she is amazing at candid photos. When she came to meet us, my husband really clicked with her which was important to me. I wanted him to feel comfortable when taking pictures. She has an amazing calm cool and collected demeanor.
Our videographer was LoveBrain Films – our short video came out really nicely.
Food and cake
Sonnier and Castle did our overall catering- they were great. They had 3 stations organized at cocktail hour- a Dim Sum Station, A “New York Station” which encompassed things like pastrami sandwiches and knishes, a mediteranean station to appeal to any vegetarians.
We also had Nisen Sushi so our sushi catering and had sushi at cocktail hour.
We kept dinner simple with Sonnier and Castle with a roast chicken served family style and vegetables.
However, we also had Robertas Pizza cater during dinner and pass around pies of pizza for people to eat with dinner. This was a big hit.
For Late night, we had the Shake Shack Food truck waiting for people when they were leaving- this was the perfect end to a perfect night.
Instead of cake – we had an assortment of our favorite frozen desserts- we didn’t want to stop the party to cut a cake! We had Hagen Dazs ice cream pops and marinos ices.
Entertainment
We used theTotal Entertainment band called “The Gold Keys”. They were unbelievable- the lead singer Keren was what brought us to love them initially- and they had the cool factor as a band that we loved. They really rocked our party. We then had a Total Entertainment DJ for our after party.
One of our best friends performed at our wedding and it became a concert – the entire dance floor was filled NO ONE was sitting.
Favours
Total Entertainment gave out sunglasses and fun headbands while people were dancing.
Honeymoon
Australia and New Zealand! Our travel agency Beyond the Blue has been amazing.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
I found wedding planning to be stressful- but the day of was the best of my life. I had all my bridesmaids get ready with me and they really came through with a great attitude and fun.
JENNY & ZACH’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Tory Williams
Videography – LoveBrain Films
Wedding planner – Brita Olsen Creative
Venue – Knockdown Center
Bride’s dress – Galia Lahav found and fitted at Bridal Reflections
Bride’s shoes – Miu Miu
Bridal Stylist – Fashion4Brides
Bride’s accessories – Bridal Reflections, Kenneth Jay Lane
Groom’s attire – Victor Talbots, Louis Vuitton
Hair + Makeup – Heather Synnamon, Susy Verdecia-Paz
Flowers – Pear Tree Flowers– Liza Lubell
Band and DJ – Total Entertainment
Catering – Sonnier and Castle, Nisen Sushi
Late night food – Robertas Pizza, Shake Shack
Ketubah – Great Neck Judaica
Stationery/Invitation – Max and Maiden
Rabbi – Rabbi Klibanoff
Honeymoon – Beyond the Blue
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This is very wonderful and attractive blog. love to see you both . have a great life god bless you. and thank for sharing this blog.