Having doubts about a backyard wedding? So did today’s bride, Jodi. But Jodi and Joseph’s incredible wedding just goes to show a well-planned wedding at home is NOTHING like your average lowkey barbecue.
Israeli couple Jodi, a student at Hebrew University and the director of a program called Here Next Year, a Nefesh b’Nefesh organization that supports teenagers who are making Aliyah during their gap year in Israel, and Yoseph, who’s currently serving in the IDF, had initially planned a big Thanksgiving 2020 wedding at a gorgeous venue in Israel. But when it became clear that their original plans wouldn’t work out, they moved their date up to October and changed their venue to Yoseph’s backyard.
With the help of planner and florist Penny & Co Events, the space was transformed into the vintage garden fantasy of Jodi’s dreams, with tons of orange and pink flowers amidst lush greenery, beautiful lights and candles, and vintage styled furniture. Every inch is positively dreamy – don’t miss the incredible photos by mega-talented Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman Photography (who also happens to be the very first vendor the couple booked when they got engaged)!
There’s so much more to say about this glorious day, but we’ll leave the rest to Jodi, who looked stunning in Mia Pava… Before we do that, though, just a reminder that our virtual Jewish Wedding Planning Party is coming up on Sunday, June 20! In addition to, well partying, our founder Karen Cinnamon will answer all your burning wedding planning questions, plus guide you through everything from what to ask your vendors as you plan during the pandemic to creative ideas on how to make your wedding unforgettable. This event is free, but slots are limited – so sign up to claim yours today!
How we Met
Jodi, the bride: We met through a mutual friend named Yonatan. Yoseph grew up with him and I had gone out with him once. About a year after I met him, Yonatan texted me – “I know your husband.” The rest is history 🙂
A Backyard Wedding
We had planned on a Thanksgiving wedding at HaGiva, which around July time we realized wouldn’t be possible. My sister is a nurse and was scheduled to work on Thanksgiving, and her job-site was giving her a hard time about taking off, especially with quarantines on both ends. So contrary to (almost) everyone else, we actually moved our wedding up to October.
We ended up getting married in my husband’s backyard. His neighbors were incredible and allowed us to use their yards as well, so we had 3 capsules of 20 throughout them all. Originally I was super anti-the idea of getting married in his backyard – I wanted our wedding to feel special and not just like a backyard barbecue. I was so wrong! With lots of help from our event planner and florists, they transformed the yards into everything I wanted, and more.
Vintage Meets Nature
We used Penny & Co Events. Penny and Shoshana were fantastic at making sure that my dreams were heard and realized. Our wedding was a hybrid of vintage and natural styles. We had gorgeous orange and pink flowers surrounded by lush greenery EVERYWHERE, beautiful lights and candles, and lots of vintage styled furniture.
Invitations / stationery
Daniella Kotowitze designed our invites. Yoseph and I read Song of Songs before shabbat each week, so the verses from that book were a must to include! We’d spent parts of our relationship long-distance, and so the verse “deep waters cannot extinguish our love” was printed over a gorgeous watercolor of the ocean.
Hair + Make-up
Allma Hair & Make-up got me all glammed for the day. I wanted to make sure I looked like myself on our wedding day, and they made me feel like a princess while also ensuring that I was recognizable.
A Mia Pava Dress
My dress was designed by Mia Pava. It was a gorgeous a-line gown with delicate tulip-shaped beading all over it. There was a peachy undertone, which I really wanted because I thought that white would be too “bridal,” and I wanted something more unique. It had a looooong train which was fantastic for pictures, and it bustled up for dancing. My favorite flower is tulips, so once I saw the fabrice I was set.
Accessories
I had a hair vine from Kala Jewels that I had ordered a few days before the wedding. My earrings were actually my mom’s. They were beautiful pearl drop earrings that my sister had worn at her wedding, and that my mom had received as a gift from my dad for my younger brother’s bris. We call them the Simcha earrings 🙂
Shoes
I wore cute light pink kitten heels, that brought out the peachy underlay of my gown. The minute the Chuppa was over, I swapped into personalized Converse that had my married name and our wedding date embroidered on them.
The handsome groom
Like the good Israeli he is, Yoseph was NOT interested in wearing a suit. After some convincing, he agreed- as long as he didn’t have to buy it. So he borrowed a navy blue suit from a neighbor that happened to have fit him perfectly. I had knitted him a kippah in our wedding color, which he wore. He also got new glasses right before the wedding and surprised me with them at our first look. He was beyond handsome.
Bridesmaids
A lot of my bridesmaids were from overseas, but I had a close bunch who were able to be at the wedding! They wore gorgeous maroon gowns that tied in beautifully with our vintagey vibe.
Ceremony
We made sure to include females in our Chuppah ceremony, so I gave Yoseph a ring under the chuppah and my close friend, the mother from my host family, recited an “8th blessing” that focuses on all of the beautiful wishes people say to a newly married couple.
Ketubah
Our Ketubah by Tzion Art included the ocean design from our invitation, and had little golden music notes sprinkled around the text, as Yoseph has played classical piano since he was little and music is a big part of our relationship.
Chuppah
The truth is, towards the end of planning the wedding, I was exhausted with all of the corona craziness and the disappointments. Once it became clear that we were going to have to re-plan the wedding again in order to make sure it could happen during the seger (lockdown), I respectfully requested to step out of the planning and just focus on the positives. So in short, Penny (our event planner and florist) totally designed it on her own, and she really ran with my original ideas and made it beautiful.
Our Music Choice
We stuck to the classics. Towards the end of the wedding, Yoseph pulled me aside and said he had a surprise for me. He then took to the piano and played ‘Canon in D’, his favorite piece to play, and the first piece he ever played for me. Needless to say, it was an emotional moment!
Flowers
Penny and Co events were our amazing florists! My bouquet was made up of green leaves, light colored roses, and grevillea.
Photographer and videographer
Herschel Gutman Photography was the first vendor we booked. He’s an amazing photographer and really captured every moment from the wedding perfectly.
Our videographer, Chaim Snow, was awesome! He sat with me to go over our highlights clip and put together the exact video I wanted. He was super patient and really talented!
Food and Cake
Luiza Catering catered our wedding. They actually set up a fully equipped kitchen in my husband’s driveway, and were literally making every meal fresh! Yoseph and I are both big meat eaters, so we definitely had our fair share of meats.
Entertainment
Just the Rimonim Band !
Extra details
We had a special zoom before the wedding began, so that we would be able to celebrate interactive with friends and family from overseas.
Yoseph and I also learned a tractate of Gemara together in the weeks leading up to the wedding. We made a siyum together and I spoke. It was a really beautiful experience to work on our relationship in a different form, and extra special to get to celebrate that with all of our guests.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
It can sometimes be hard to remember the KEY point of the day (that you get to marry the love of your life!) especially with Corona as an added gamechanger. Keep reminding yourself and your future spouse how lucky you both are to have found your person- the rest is just details.
JODI & YOSEPH’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photographer – Herschel Gutman Photography {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videographer – Chaim Snow
Wedding planner, Design and Deco – Penny & Co Events
Bride’s dress – Mia Pava
Bride’s shoes – Converse
Bride’s accessories – Kala Jewels
Hair + Makeup – Eliana Make-up , Allma Hair & Make-up
Flowers – Chanie Rubinstein
Band – Rimonim Band
Catering – Luiza Catering
Ketubah – Tzion Art
Stationery/Invitation – Daniella Ackerman
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.
