You spend so much time and energy coming up with a beautiful chuppah design for your Jewish wedding – isn’t it a shame that it only really features for the duration of the ceremony?
Lindsay, who produces TV commercials, and Ben, a project manager for Google Fiber, thought so. And when you see the photos of their fantastic rose-strewn canopy, by Gia at Cory Ryan Photography, we think you’ll see why.
Loving the symbolism of the chuppah as their“new home,” after the ceremony they set up underneath it so that guests could come talk to them. They even stayed put under the canopy for dinner – such a great way to resolve that mealtime seating dilemma, right?!
Speaking of the meal, we just cannot get over Lindsay and Ben’s Fantastic Mr. Fox-themed wedding cake, inspired by the pair’s favorite movie. The cake topper, naturally, was bride-and-groom foxes, and the bottom layer featured the sweetest quote from the film.
Now over to the bride, who looked smashing in her striped dress by Hayley Paige…
How we met
Lindsay, the bride: We were introduced by a mutual friend who years later confided in us that “she didn’t think we would hit it off THIS well.”
A Winter Wedding
We were married at The Allan House in Austin, Texas. I am from Texas and know better than to get married in the heat. I knew I wanted a winter wedding and I fell in love with the clear tent and the twinkling lights. It is magical.
A Fab Planner
I used Gillian at 36th Street Events as my wedding planner. She and the entire team are amazing! Gillian took our style and made the whole thing work. I love things that sparkle and metallics, and my husband wanted to keep things classy, so we settled on a winter wedding with navy and silver.
We decided to do really fun table numbers and place cards that all meant something to us. For example, one of our tables was the coordinates where we got engaged. We put the story and photos on each table and they made for a fun sprinkle of “us.”
Hair + Makeup
Gertie Glam is the sweetest and best! She did my hair and makeup and assembled a kick-ass team to do hair and makeup for a whole group of us. It allowed us to get ready in the hotel and to feel less stressed about the entire day.
A Hayley Paige Dress
My dress was an amazing dress by Hayley Paige. I got it at The Dress Theory in Nashville. I am obsessed with it. I was so scared I wouldn’t find the perfect dress and I didn’t want to feel “fat.”
My sister finally convinced me to go shopping and the moment I put the dress on I felt like I was at home for the first time ever. I would live in the dress if I thought that was socially acceptable. My favorite part is that the dress had “stripes.” If you had told my teenage self that I would be wearing stripes at my wedding I would have called you a liar.
Jimmy Choo Shoes
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something Choo! I had amazing Jimmy Choo silver sparkly heels that are honestly the most comfortable heels I’ve ever had.
The handsome groom
He is a West Point grad and Army veteran, so I loved seeing him dressed up with the medals. They are a small way to show that you still value honor, duty, and country but don’t have to dress in your military uniform. That would have made him feel very uncomfortable. I’m super proud of his service though, so I’m glad he got to show that off in a small way. He also had boutonnieres with hops in them. He is an IPA and beer connoisseur, so it was good that he could get creative with his accoutrements.
At Home Under the Chuppah
We wanted to literally symbolize our “new home,” so after our ceremony we set up a little area under the chuppah where people could come up and say hi and sit with us for a bit and we were still able to eat dinner and talk with people. It was fun! I wanted something simple.
An Emotional Ceremony
The rabbi who officiated over the service was the same rabbi who officiated my bat mitzvah, so it was very special that he travelled to Austin for our special day.
Having our families there was truly special. My dad is a big softy and he cried so hard during the ketubah signing. Those are probably my favorite photos. My husband and mom are laughing at my dad, who really can’t control his emotions.
The Luckiest
The groom walked down the aisle to Here Comes Your Man by the Pixies. He picked out his own song. I picked out The Luckiest by Ben Folds to walk down the aisle.
Our first dance was choreographed by me to This Will Be Our Year by The Zombies. It had its very own Dirty Dancing moment and my husband trying to lift me up and twirl me around so I was very excited.
Our fabulous Photographer
I worked with Gia at Cory Ryan Photography. Both Gia and Cory have an amazing sense of storytelling. It is so much more than just framing and composition. I didn’t just want someone who could take a great portrait, I wanted to work with someone who could really capture the moment.
I loved the way their work captures a feeling and you can really see the individuality of people in all of their photographs. I think that’s really important when looking for a wedding photographer. You have the pictures so you can look back and feel just like you felt. They should convey a mood and tone, and I was thrilled with the photos that Gia and her team took.
A Fantastic Mr. Fox Cake!
I LOVE SWEETS. We used a place called Sweet Treats and we knew we wanted more than just cake. We had lemon bars, cookies, little pies, and I think we even had Rice Krispie treats. Our cake looked like a chalkboard and had a quote from one of our favorite movies, “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” It said, “We’re all different but there’s something kind of fantastic about that, isn’t there?” And we had a cake topper that was two foxes that has our name and anniversary on it.
Our overall catering was done by Pink Avocado and the food was great. The venue didn’t have a kitchen but they were able to serve everything and keep it fresh and hot.
Sparkly and Fun
I like things sparkly and fun, so we had a bunch of neon glasses and rings and lots of things that lit up for the dance floor. I wanted everyone to be rocking and rolling and having a great time.
Planning the Honeymoon
We decided to wait to take a honeymoon. We are one year away from swimming with humpback whales in Tonga, near Fiji. We will also be diving the Great Barrier Reef.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
If I knew how amazing and fun the day would be, I would have NEVER complained about it being hard. The best advice I can give is to get a wedding planner. Spend the money, you won’t regret it AT ALL! It takes almost all the stress away.
Also, when something doesn’t go “right” or isn’t what you want, ask yourself, “Will I care about this one day, one month, one year after my wedding?” If you won’t care or won’t remember a year after your wedding than it isn’t worth worrying about. Also, let your mother say all the crazy things she wants. You will really enjoy the stories you can tell your friends. My mom thought she might want to cut up her wedding dress and use it to decorate the chuppah. She was trying to make it sentimental. Find things that truly mean something to you and your family, don’t try to force sentimentality. But for sure know that you can always start a new tradition.
Lindsay & Ben’s little white book
Photography – Cory Ryan Photography
Wedding planner – 36th Street Events
Venue – The Allan House
Bride’s dress – Hayley Paige purchased at The Dress Theory
Bride’s shoes – Jimmy Choo
Hair + Makeup – Gertie Glam
Flowers – Stems
Catering – Pink Avocado
Cake and sweets – Sweet Treats
What an amazing looking days, if only all weddings were like that, there would be more happiness in the world.
Loved, Loved, Loved the article. Gotta admit that this was my daughter’s wedding, but I thought the photography was every bit as good as Lindsay said. And if you can remember your wedding day so fondly, that’s what every mother wants for her daughter!
Mazal Tov – you must be so proud. Your daughter, son-in-law and this whole fabulous wedding are totally dreamy!