Aly, a pre-K teacher, and Josh, a warehouse manager, were planning a big wedding at a winery – until COVID came into the picture. Opting to move forward with their plans to wed on their original date, these two cut their guest list down by 100 and shifted the proceedings to the bride’s parents’ backyard.
But if we hadn’t known all this backstory, we’d never have guessed Aly and Josh’s gorgeous wedding was anything other than plan A. Their intimate day was so full of love – not to mention beautiful details like a chuppah swathed in gauzy white fabric and dramatic fall florals and an exuberant, colorful ketubah inspired by Philadelphia’s famous Love sign by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Nava Shoham of 1-800-Ketubah. And, of course, personalized hand sanitizer favors for the guests.
Now over to the bride, who looked simply ravishing in Martina Liana…
How we Met
Aly, the bride: Josh and I technically met on the app Snapchat! One of my good friends posted a photo of him stating he was single and I didn’t waste a minute to tell her to hook us up. The next morning I got a phone call from her telling me to be ready by 9:00 and that we were going on a double date. The second we met we knew that we wanted to continue to get to know each other. We went on another date, then another, then another until we started seeing each other every day and eventually he asked me to move in.
A Backyard Wedding
Josh and I got married in my parents’ backyard. We were originally supposed to be married at Rose Bank Winery but when covid struck we had to change our plans, cut down our guest list by over 100 people and moved it to my parents backyard. It was so intimate and gorgeous and comfortable.
Fall Colors
We made our wedding completely about us. Since we had to move to my parents’ backyard we were able to totally personalize it. We chose a fall color scheme of burgundy, burnt orange, greens, and dark blues. We decided not to use a planner and did everything ourselves with our vendors.
Invitations & stationery
Since changing our wedding so last minute we received our invites off of Etsy by Love at Every Sight. They were rustic and gorgeous and had fairy lights on them.
Hair + Make-up
When getting our hair and makeup done we all went for a more natural look. Everyones hair was blown out and I wore a gorgeous tiara on my head so it was naturally curly. Maria at Susan Matthew Salon Spa and Becca helped with making us look our beautiful best!
A Martina Liana Dress
My dress was purchased at Bridal Garden in Marlton, New Jersey. The designer of my dress is Martina Liana style number 1105. This gown was my dream dress. It’s gorgeous and exactly what I wanted. This dress was the second dress I tried on and I refused to take it off.
Accessories
I wore a gorgeous tiara on my head along with a beautiful long sparkle veil. They were also both from Bridal Garden. I wore my mommoms ring as my something borrowed as well as my grandmothers earrings since she recently passed away due to covid.
Shoes
My shoes were gorgeous block heels by Loeffler Randall. They were pearl colored and matched my dress perfectly.
The handsome groom
Josh wore an amazing blue tuxe with a burgundy bow tie from Schweons Clothing. He looked absolutely handsome and I couldn’t help but to cry when looking at him knowing he was going to be my husband.
Bridesmaids
I had 4 bridesmaids and 1 maid of honor. Their dressed went with our color scheme. 2 wore wine color, 2 wore a light pink, and my MOH wore mauve.
Ceremony
Our ceremony was so special. The rabbi that married us has known me forever so it made it personal and she could really talk from her heart. My favorite part of the ceremony was our rabbi reading Josh’s email that he had sent to her saying how much he loved me and Josh’s favorite part was her officially pronouncing us as husband and wife.
Ketubah
Our ketubah was definitely something special. We are from Philadelphia so the Power of Love ketubah emulated the love sign in the city. Our designer was Nava Shoham from 1-800-Ketubah.
Chuppah
When deciding on our design for the chuppah I knew I wanted tons of flowers and something dramatic. Our florist definitely understood our vision and made it come to life.
Our Music Choice
Since it was at my parents home we played any music we wanted to. My dads friends who are in a band came and played for a couple hours and it was AMAZING! For our processional our bridal party walked to ‘You are the reason’ by Calum Scott and the bride walked to ‘A thousand years’ by Christina Perry. For the recessional we all walked out to ‘You shook me all night long’ by AC/DC.
Flowers
For our flowers we used an assortment of flowers. I had sent a photo of what I liked to our florist and she totally recreated it. Her name is Pat and she works for Bucks County Roses in Newtown, PA.
Photographer
When looking for a photographer we were looking for something full of life and not someone who photographed stiff people. When we saw Lauren Driscoll Photography‘s work we knew we needed to have her. She takes the most gorgeous, intimate, and really captured who we are together.
Food and Cake
Osteria Saporino in Huntingdon Valley, PA. They made our wedding super special and did foods that everyone loved. We got our cake from Lochel’s Bakery in Hatboro, PA. They made us a gorgeous naked cake that our florist added flower to. To top off already amazing food we did gorgeous cupcakes from Tres Fiori. She makes cupcakes that look exactly like flowers and are way too gorgeous to eat.
Entertainment
For our entertainment my dad had his friend and his band come play for us. They were AMAZING. Their name is the Greg fox band.
Favors
For favors we sent our guests home with personalized hand sanitizers. We thought with everything going on hand sanitizers would be practical but also lighten the mood.
Extra details
At our wedding we had a few people make speeches and it was really intimate and special. Both of our moms made a speech along with my MOH and his best man. They really meant so much to us. What was really fun was when the band left we could play any music we wanted to. From current music to old music we had no one telling us we couldn’t. During our ceremony our rabbi read emails we sent her about one another.
It was so amazing to hear what Josh thought of me and what I thought of him, unedited, and no filter. During our ceremony we were able to zoom our wedding for the guest that could not be there. Seeing their faces on the computer after was truly so amazing to see that even though they could not be there physically, they still wanted to be apart of our day and watch from their homes.
Honeymoon
For our honeymoon we went to Cape Cod and spent a day in Boston and Marthas Vinyard. We stayed at Catham Bars Inn and I would recommend this hote to ANYONE and EVERYONE. While this was not our original plan it was still really nice to get away and celebrate. When there is a vaccine and we can travel again we would love to go to Greece.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
A little piece of advice I would give is enjoy your day. It goes by so fast but you really need to slow down and take in every little bit of it. Another piece of advice is try not to stress. Everything will work out and at this point everything out of your control. Your amazing parents and bridal party will handle any issues and you just need to calm down and get excited that you are getting ready to marry the person of your dreams.
ALY & JOSH’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Lauren Driscoll Photography
Ketubah – 1-800-Ketubah – Nava Shoham
Bride’s dress – Martina Liana found at Bridal Garden
Bride’s shoes – Loeffler Randall
Bride’s accessories – Bridal Garden
Groom’s attire – Schweons Clothing
Bridesmaids – Bridal Garden
Hair + Makeup – Susan Matthew Salon Spa
Flowers – Bucks County Roses
Catering – Osteria Saporino
Cake – Lochel’s Bakery , Tres Fiori
Stationery/Invitation – Love at Every Sight
Rabbi – Rabbi Mimi Polin Ferraro
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.
The brides’ wildflower bouquet looks amazing! The colors she put together compliment each other so well!
The brides’ bouquet, with all of those colors, looks amazing!