Okay, HOW amazing is Samantha and Brandon’s uber-dramatic chuppah for their Jewish wedding?! These two built a raised platform above a hot tub in the groom’s parents’ backyard, where they wed, to form a dramatic perch from which they got to look out at all their guests while making it official. Samantha says they went “a little over the top,” but we think they got it just right. Don’t miss it in Mindy Briar’s epic shots!
The custom chuppah platform is also the kind of thing that would probably be hard to pull off in a traditional venue. The couple, who had originally planned a big black-tie wedding, pivoted to something much more intimate so that they could marry on their original date ofOctober 3, 2020, and we love that they took advantage of all the options afforded them by their Plan B. Gathering with just local family, and including loved ones from outside the New York area via Zoom, Samantha and Brandon shifted gears to pull off the magic secret garden-themed wedding of their dreams – and it was all inspired by their amazing custom ketubah!
These two had a clear vision of what they wanted, and they worked with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tallulah Ketubahs to bring their dream ketubah to fruition – and then some! Founder Rachel was ultra-attentive to the couple’s wishes, and, in addition to the gorgeous, colorful hand-painted florals framing the text, she incorporated ultra-personal touches, like the pair’s cats, and passports to represent their love of travel. The level of detail is just phenomenal – we bet you’ll be just as blown away as we are!
Now over to Samantha, who’ll fill you in on all the other special details of the day…
How We Met
Samantha, the bride: Brandon and I grew up about five minutes down the street from each other and attended the same middle school and high school, but had never crossed paths. I knew who he was because he was the cute, albeit slightly obnoxious, boy in my freshman math class. When he showed up on my Tinder 15 years later I couldn’t resist swiping right. Once we started talking we just never stopped!
Brandon is a Finance and Business Operations Manager for WeWork and I am the President and Creative Director at Auburn Jewelry, a custom jewelry company based in New York. We spend our free time together cooking, baking, dancing, gardening, hanging out with our two rescue kitties and enjoying each other’s company.
Venue and wedding plans
Brandon and I got engaged in September 2019 on our 3 year anniversary. We began wedding planning right away and had originally set a date (October 3rd, 2020) at a local boutique venue in Westchester, New York (near where we live). By April 2020 it seemed pretty certain that the wedding we were planning wasn’t going to come to fruition. As things with Covid worsened Brandon and I quickly pivoted! We went back and forth whether to postpone the wedding a year or not. Ultimately we decided we wanted to get married on our original date even though it meant replanning from scratch.
Our new venue was Brandon’s parents’ house, the house he grew up in, in Chappaqua, New York. We cut our guest list to include only family who live in New York and included our friends and family around the world virtually through zoom.
Magic Garden
Originally we had planned to have a black tie wedding with all white florals. That idea went out the window when we switched venues, and we couldn’t be happier about it! Our theme once we pivoted was something we called Magic Secret Garden. It was rustic, colorful, fun and magical! Our custom ketubah inspired the new theme and color scheme. Our ketubah, invitations and florals were all coordinated to create a single cohesive theme.
Right off the bat I knew I wanted a day of coordinator, this was before we moved the wedding to the house and needed one even more than if we were at a venue. I interviewed a few and ended up signing with Party by Monique, a local party planner who came extremely highly recommended. As Brandon stated multiple times throughout the planning process and on the day of our wedding, “working with Monique was the best money we spent on anything.”
She made the day flow seamlessly, working behind the scenes so we didn’t have to worry about any of the details that we had spent months planning. She was truly priceless to have at our side through the whole process. Monique was there any time I had a little question or a big concern. She was like part of the family by the time the wedding rolled around. We couldn’t have done it without her (well, we could have but, it wouldn’t have been nearly as successful or stress-free!)
Invitations / stationery
We worked with an amazing local business, Laura Damiano Designs to create custom invitations, menus, favors, signage and coasters for us. We told her our vision and she executed it to perfection. We wanted everything to go together seamlessly so we sent her the final sketch of our ketubah to work off of.
The invitations were acontemporary floral design with gold foil + hand torn edges. Unfortunately, because of the ever changing situation with Covid we never got to mail them out (we just picked up the phone to call the few guests that were attending since they were all our closest family and friends!) But it was so nice of Laura to create them for us to have as a keepsake.
Not only does Laura specialize in wedding stationery, she is also a branding and graphic design expert. She created a logo for us based on our moniker – The Manateam (because of our love for manatees). She branded our favors and custom coasters with the logo. This was so absolutely special and one of our favorite custom details we had commissioned for the wedding.
Hair + Make-up
This was one aspect of the wedding I was super stressed out about. I’m a control freak and like to be able to do everything myself. I can’t even remember how many trials I did and with how many different vendors. I kept telling my family and friends that I really wanted to do my own hair and makeup from the very beginning but they convinced me I needed a professional. I did finally book a hair and makeup person and felt so relieved.
Fast forward 6 months, in the middle of a pandemic, and all that went out the window! My makeup artist was incredible – she gave me zoom makeup lessons and told me what products to purchase. I watched a few youtube videos and figured out how I wanted my hair. Even though these services were available on the day of our wedding I opted to do everything myself to limit my exposure to people. I felt like myself and really loved how the look came out!
Dress
My mom, best friend Cristina, and I went to Kleinfeld to pick out my wedding dress in October 2019. It was the first dress I tried on. I tried a few after it but went right back to it. It was exactly what I had been looking for. We placed the order and was told it would arrive three months prior to the wedding.
When Covid happened, I started to worry my dress wouldn’t arrive in time so I took matters into my own hands and ordered a few dresses online to try. One of them was just perfection. I held on to it as a backup in case my real dress didn’t arrive. Luckily my real dress did arrive in time but at that point I was also very excited for my backup dress.
So, I decided to do an outfit change half way through the wedding and wear them both! I was so happy with the decision because as much as I absolutely loved my real dress, it was heavy and hard to manoeuvre in. The backup dress was sleek and effortless. They were totally different styles (and price points) but I loved them both so much!
Accessories
I knew I wanted to keep my accessories to a minimum and that if I was going to have any they’d have to be meaningful. I wore a cathedral length veil from Kleinfeld which was my ‘something new’.
I handcrafted a custom charm bracelet for myself with five charms: an ‘S’, a ‘B’, a disc engraved with our wedding date, a heart, and a manatee to represent our love of manatees and the fact that we’re known as The Manateam. I wore my mom’s diamond earrings which were my ‘something borrowed’.
My great aunt sent me her garter from 1973 to wear which was my ‘something old’. My engagement ring and wedding band were designed by Erstwhile Jewelry and are vintage inspired. Brandon used his grandmother’s stone in my engagement ring which made it extra special. I also created a custom charm of a blue heron that we attached to my bouquet to represent my late grandma – that was my ‘something blue’.
Lastly, I had a leather jacket painted by an artist for me to wear later in the night when it got chilly. She incorporated the same flowers that were in our ketubah and on our invitations, as well as my new last name!
Shoes
I must have ordered and returned over 10 pairs of shoes in my hunt for the perfect pair. I’m all about comfort so I knew I needed something that I could stand in all day long and I’m definitely not a “heels girl”. Not only did they have to be comfortable, they had to be the perfect shoe as far as looks go! I tried everything from Jimmy Choo to shoes from Macy’s. I didn’t care about the name, just the look and feel. Ultimately I found the most beautiful pair of block heels from Loeffler Randall.
After months of searching, I had finally found MY shoes! That is, until I had my first dress fitting in them and realized I should have gotten them with a shorter heel. Two weeks before the wedding I opted for the same shoe just shorter. They were the perfect shoe to wear with my real dress.
Then I needed a shoe to wear with my second dress and I opted for one of the many pairs I had ordered and loved too much to send back. They were these gorgeous stilettos from Sarah Flint. Strappy and silver and much higher than I usually choose to wear but they were SO comfortable! I was able to dance the night away in them!
The handsome groom
When searching for the groom’s look, it was clear we needed a lot of guidance (originally Brandon was insisting he wanted a green tux). Through a local Facebook group we were directed to San Marko Formals in Westchester. And let me tell you, these guys were amazing! Right off the bat, Scott talked Brandon out of green and into navy.
We went with a navy tux with black lapel, white shirt, suspenders, and beautiful shiny tuxedo shoes. The style and color is just the beginning – the team at San Marko Formals custom tailored the suit to fit Brandon to perfection. He looked like a million bucks!
What really made Brandon’s look come together were his custom accessories. Marquis Rashoid, a custom bow tie and pocket square designer based in New York, handpicked his bow tie and pocket square fabrics. The bow tie was black with a subtle floral pattern that would catch the light.
Most importantly, Brandon wore custom cufflinks designed by Auburn Jewelry, my company. I handmade them for him with a quote in one and our wedding date in the other – For All Eternity and 10.03.20. I also handcrafted his wedding band out of white gold and we had it engraved with Manateam 10.03.20. Back in 2003 my high school jewelry teacher had told us that she made her husband’s wedding band and I had always wanted to do that as well. I’m so thrilled I was able to.
Bridesmaids
Originally we had three bridesmaids and three groomsmen but when we had to cut the guest list we opted to not have a wedding party because we thought it would be silly if a third of the guests were in the wedding party! It worked out great – they still gave speeches and luckily almost all of them were able to be in attendance.
Ceremony
Due to Covid our original officiant, Brandon’s cousin from Switzerland, sadly couldn’t attend our wedding. We quickly pivoted and asked Brandon’s brother to take on the role of officiant, in addition to best man. Luckily, he was up for the challenge and did an amazing job at both! We had a traditional Jewish ceremony.
We wanted it to be very personal so we wrote our own vows and also incorporated items from family who couldn’t attend, for example, we used my grandpa’s kiddish cup.
The biggest change with the ceremony was that because of Covid we were able to share this special moment with so many more people than we even originally planned on! We set up a zoom link and ended up broadcasting the ceremony worldwide! It was so nice to have this as an option even though we missed everyone terribly.
Ketubah
We searched far and wide for the right ketubah artist. We had an idea in mind based on Brandon’s sister and bother-in-law’s ketubah and wanted to make sure it was perfectly executed. When we came across Tallulah Ketubahs we knew we had struck gold! Rachel worked with us on every aspect and detail of our custom ketubah from the size, to the colors, right down to the specific type of tomatoes we grow in our garden. She hit it out of the park! Our ketubah has a flower border which incorporates some of the most important aspects of our relationship.
Most prominently, at the top, is the front door of the house I grew up, where Brandon proposed, and the house we’re currently buying. We included our two cats, our adopted manatee, passports to represent our love of travel and a handful of Auburn Jewelry charms with symbols ranging from the Tinder logo to the Matterhorn. The level of detail blew our minds. After the wedding we got it framed at a locally at Mount Kisco Frame Shop, who did an absolutely beautiful job!
Chuppah
Our chuppah was built and designed by our amazing floral team at Fleurish, based in Connecticut. We had originally signed with them before Covid and they stayed with us for the change in venue (more on them later!). Our chuppah consisted of 4 white birch branches, gorgeous asymmetrical bunches of wildflowers and to top it off, Brandon’s grandpas’ talitot were draped across the top. We went a little over the top with the placement of the chuppah.
We had a platform built over the hot tub and the chuppah was overlooking the pool and our guests. It was absolutely breath taking to stand under the chuppah looking out on our (socially distanced) guests and the beautiful view.
Our Music Choice
Another vendor that stayed with us through all the changes was our DJ, Kaos Productions. They were so flexible and easy to work with through the difficulties of wedding planning during a pandemic. As our guestlist decreased, so did our entertainment needs and they were accommodating to our new plan. We had a harpist play during the ceremony and to welcome the guests. Brandon walked down the aisle with his parents to ‘Go The Distance’ (from Disney’s Hercules) and I walked down to ‘Here Comes The Sun’ by The Beatles.
Right as the ceremony concluded, the DJ played Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones! Our first dance was a compilation, beginning with ‘Beauty and The Beast’(are you seeing a trend here?) and went right into ‘The Best’ by Tina Turner. Our playlist for dancing was mostly songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s with a few newer tunes mixed in. We love our oldies!
Flowers
As we mentioned previously, our team at Fleurish Florals was incredible. They went above and beyond every step of the way. When the venue changed to Brandon’s parents’ house, Tori came out multiple times prior to the wedding to make sure every detail was correct. Originally we were going with an all white floral theme and a black tie event. When the wedding got moved to the house we did a complete 180 and decided to go with brightly colored wildflowers. I couldn’t be happier that we made this change.
The flowers were so spectacularly beautiful, rustic, and unique. They went with our new theme of “magic secret garden”. On the long table for the immediate family, Fleurish created a runner of mix-matched glass bottles each with one flower in them and candles. On the round tables we had groupings of bottles in the middle with candles mixed in.
Tori created something that was straight out of Pinterest. My bouquet was also all windflowers and wrapped in burlap ribbon. Fleurish put pink rose petals and whole flowers in the pool along with lanterns all over. It was truly magical.
Photographer and videographer
I had worked with Mindy before and knew she was the right photographer for us. Her upbeat, enthusiastic attitude mixed with her insane talent drew us to her. She captured our engagement shoot as well as the main event and we were blown away by her work, which speaks for itself when you look at these photos.
For videography we used a pair of brothers Reese and Landon Highbloom from Drone Zone Media. They were also enthusiastic and incredibly talented. They used handheld cameras and drones to capture out wedding.
Food and Cake
We tried out a few caterers before landing on Susan Lawrence Catering in Chappaqua, New York (the town Brandon and I both grew up in). Before interviewing Susan Lawrence for the wedding, we had always heard great things but hadn’t experienced them first hand. I can now 100% say they are absolutely amazing at what they do.
From helping us plan to executing, to serving, to the actual food we were astounded by their effort, attention to detail and the genuine care they put into the event. The food was so delicious that we heard from almost every guest raving about it.
And then there was this…Things you hear happen at other weddings and never think they’ll happen to you; ie: the wedding cake collapsing! After the cake we had ordered from a different vendor collapsed, Susan Lawrence’s team did everything in their power to ensure we had a wedding cake to cut.
They took the smashed cake back to the restaurant, had their pastry chef meet them there and completely recreated a cake for us, all within the 2 hours between the ceremony and the cake cutting. Susan Lawrence was so amazing (and so was Monique) that Brandon and I didn’t even know anything had happened! She let us just enjoy the evening and took care of the mishap behind the scenes.
Favors
We decided to give out mini customized bottles of champagne and beautiful blankets meant to be used when the temperature dropped a bit at night. We ordered the mini champagne bottles from an amazing organization called One Hope that donates a portion of sales to charity. The champagne bottle labels were designed by Laura Damiano Designs. She turned our custom logo into a wax seal and adorned the bottles with those, along with our names, wedding date and a thank you note on the back. They turned out great and tasted fantastic!
Extra details
Brandon and I put so much effort and thought into every aspect of our wedding (both the original plan and the new one). We loved the idea of customizing it to tell our story and had so much fun with each element. Pre-covid we immediately signed up for dance lessons at a local studio, Arthur Murray Mount Kisco, so we’d be wedding ready. We loved it so much but had to stop at the studio before coming up with a professionally choreographed dance. Fortunately, we had such great teachers and learned enough moves that we were able to choreograph it ourselves and practiced daily in our living room for weeks leading up to the wedding.
From the beginning of our engagement I was obsessed with the idea of taking wedding pictures on a vintage couch, so we purchased one and put it in the field at Brandon’s parents’ and used it as a beautiful prop on the day. The pictures came out stunning. The couch is now in our home and referred to as “the wedding couch.”
Lastly the most thought and effort went into keeping our guests safe at this unprecedented time. First off, we only invited guests that live in New York, where the infection rate was below 1% at the time. Our entire wedding took place outside (which was quite nerve racking leading up to it and watching the weather forecast every day for a month!). We asked our guests to remain socially distant, supplied custom facemasks and last but definitely not least, we asked every guest in attendance and every vendor to get Covid tested prior to the wedding.
We felt so lucky that this was an option for us as we know it isn’t something that every couple can do. Luckily our guests and vendors were accommodating. The measures we took worked, thank god, and none of our guests got sick. We are so thankful that we were able to celebrate with the small handful of immediate family and closest friends on our wedding day.
Honeymoon
As with everything else, our honeymoon plan changed as well. We decided to put a larger trip on hold and took a short minimoon to a stellar resort in Connecticut called Winvian Farm. We spent four nights in a private luxury cabin relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.
There were lots of outdoor activities to partake in such as hiking, biking, cornhole and walking around town. We enjoyed the perfect outdoor spot at their 5 star, on-site, restaurant to enjoy our meals! It was the perfect little getaway that we needed.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Be flexible and enjoy the things that go right.
SAMANTHA & BRANDON’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Mindy Briar
Ketubah – Tallulah Ketubahs {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videography – Drone Zone Media
Wedding planner – Party by Monique
Bride’s shoes – Loeffler Randall, Sarah Flint
Bride’s accessories – Kleinfeld, Auburn Jewelry
Groom’s attire – San Marko Formals, Marquis Rashoid
Flowers – Fleurish Florals
DJ – Kaos Productions
Catering – Susan Lawrence Catering
Stationery/Invitation – Laura Damiano Designs
Ketubah frame – Mount Kisco Frame Shop
Dance lessons – Arthur Murray
Jewellery – Erstwhile Jewelry
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.
