Today’s Jewish wedding is just SO classically elegant, we can’t get enough of it. Brooke, who works in marketing, and Jacob, in impact investing, crafted the most exquisite day at The Rockleigh in New Jersey, and we are all about their glam style – don’t miss the bride’s gown from Israeli designer Mira Zwillinger!
There’s no question that this wedding is a stunner – don’t miss the joyous photos by Ira Lippke Studios and trailer by The Totos – but that’s hardly all there is to it. Brooke and Jacob were committed to crafting a day full of personal, meaningful touches – like their custom ketubah by Britt Yudell of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor BritColors, incorporating embroidered mountains to reflect the couples’ love of skiing and a beaded sun to commemorate the acoustic version of “Here Comes the Sun” Brooke chose for walking down the aisle.
Brooke tragically lost her father at age six, and the couple thought up some beautiful ways to incorporate him into the day. The pair wrapped themselves in Brooke’s dad’s tallit for the blessing by the parents, Brooke got ready wearing a robe made from her mom’s wedding dress, and the rabbi who officiated was best friends with Brooke’s dad.
Read on for all the other wonderful details of this very special day in Brooke’s own words…
How We Met
Brooke, the bride: We met on Hinge after the algorithm suggested us saying that it thought we would be a perfect match – clearly it was right! We started chatting over Thanksgiving week in 2018 and had both never enjoyed talking to someone so much before even going on a first date, so we knew that it was special even before meeting in person. Once we had our first date we hit it off and the rest is history!
The Rockleigh
We picked The Rockleigh because it is beautiful and we know that they put on a great event. Brooke’s older brother got married there in 2018 and the food and service was incredible. Brooke grew up kosher and we were able to use all kosher meat for the catering which is in house and the venue was extremely accommodating. There is also a ton of gorgeous indoor space, which was super important as we were having a March wedding and didn’t want to leave any room for disappointment if the weather was bad. It ended up torrentially raining all day which was fine because we had so much beautiful indoor space for photos.
Classic Elegance
We stuck with classic black and white – luckily our wedding was also during the few weeks of the year where you can get cherry blossoms as part of the floral arrangements, so we leaned into that! Brooke was our wedding planner with the help of both her and Jacob’s moms. The Rockleigh also has Bari Puli who is absolutely fantastic and so helpful. We hired a coordinator for the weekend of to manage small logistical details such as the buses, dropping off necessary items at the venue in advance, etc.
Invitation
We used Sharon Aach of You’re so Invited! She also did our signature drink signs, menus, rehearsal dinner seating chart, place cards, table numbers and hotel welcome bag schedules/info!
Hair + Makeup
Makeup was by Bridget Lembo and hair by Mia Puleo. I couldn’t have asked for a better glam team. Bridget and Mia kicked the day off with the greatest vibes and made sure everyone was happy and felt beautiful. For me, the most important thing was that I felt like myself on my wedding day, and Bridget & Mia truly made that happen. I didn’t feel like someone else looking in the mirror, I really just felt like the most beautiful, confident version of myself, which is what I know Jacob fell in love with!
Stacie of Styling by Stacie Houlker was recommended by a family friend and she was literally my SAVIOR and sidekick on the wedding day. She steamed everyone’s dresses and tuxedos to make sure they were in tip top shape, she laid out all of the accessories and details for the photo ops and always had water for me to sip (with a straw of course as to not ruin my lipstick). She knew exactly how to bustle my gown and showed my sister how to hold the dress while I circled Jacob at the start of the ceremony. Truly – these three women are the DREAM TEAM and really set the tone for the day.
A Mira Zwillinger Dress
I got my dress from The Wedding Salon of Manhasset. Designer is Mira Zwillinger. It was so special to get a dress from Israel. I knew it was the dress because I just couldn’t stop looking at myself in the mirror. I felt confident, comfortable and like a bride. After I tried it on for the first time my mom and mother-in-law urged me to sleep on it and make sure I was in love. I just couldn’t wait to try it on again and wear it on my wedding day. The day I decided to get the dress I didn’t want to take it off!
The robe I wore to get ready was actually made from my mom’s wedding dress that she wore to marry my dad. We used Unbox The Dress which is a company that repurposes bridal gowns into special items that can be used. My mom made my niece (who was the flower girl) a lovie and made my getting ready bridal robe using her wedding dress. It was so incredibly special!
Accessories + Shoes
Veil was by Mira Zwillinger to match my gown. Shoes were Manolo Blahnik and were so gorgeous! I am planning to dye the shoes black so I can get more use out of them in the future!! For my after-party, I got custom converse with our wedding date embroidered on the side. Jacob’s sister, Jessica, is the CEO and founder of her own jewelry company, Bondeye Jewelry. She designed custom studs and cufflinks for Jacob and the groomsmen/parents, and she also designed our wedding bands. She offers a custom wedding jewelry package and is so incredibly talented.
Bridesmaids
We didn’t do traditional bridesmaids and groomsmen – we just had our siblings and their significant others in the wedding, which was really special. Sometimes having a wedding party can feel like it is excluding people or establishing that some friends are more important than others, and we didn’t want to set that precedent. It was so special having our immediate families play a big part in the wedding day. When it came to dresses, Brooke didn’t want to make everyone wear a certain fabric, brand or obscure color that would be hard to find.
All the bridesmaids wore black and were able to choose whatever black gown they wanted. This way they could wear it again in the future and get use of it at more events! With black, you also don’t need to worry about different shades clashing. It ended up being so beautiful and stuck with the theme of letting everyone feel like the best version of themselves!
Ceremony & Chuppah
We were able to honor some of our family members who had passed by incorporating them into the ceremony and wedding events in meaningful ways. For the blessing given by the parents, we were wrapped in Brooke’s dad’s tallit. Brooke’s father passed away when she was just 6 years old, so it was a very meaningful and special way to honor his memory during the ceremony. The florist included Jacob’s grandfather’s tallit into the chuppah and we used his other grandfather’s kiddush cup during the ceremony.
On Friday night for our rehearsal dinner, we used Jacob’s gramma’s challah board. For our chuppah design, we went with acrylic as the columns supporting the chuppah so we could ensure everyone was able to see us throughout the ceremony – sometimes too many flowers can make it hard to see the bride and groom, and we wanted everyone to be able to share in our joy no matter where they were seated. It was also incredibly special that Brooke’s rabbi, Rabbi Craig Scheff, performed the ceremony. He was best friends with Brooke’s dad and really added a special personal touch to the ceremony.
Ketubah
We absolutely LOVE our ketubah. It was important to us to have a ketubah that was unique like us and one that we would never get tired of looking at. After doing a lot of research, we landed on working with Britt Yudell from BritColors to create a custom ketubah. Britt uses unique techniques such as embroidery and beading to add an extra special flair to each ketubah. We wanted our ketubah to be bright and colorful like the sunrise and incorporate elements of nature including a beaded sun.
Brooke and Jacob love to ski so Britt incorporated mountains into the ketubah design as well. Brooke walked down the aisle to an acoustic ‘Here Comes the Sun’ so it all felt like it blended together so nicely. The embroidered mountains and sun are set on a canvas of striking watercolor. The combination of all of these elements made for a fantastic piece that we will enjoy for the rest of our lives.
Our music choice
Our band was from Element Music, called the All Stars. They are TRULY All Stars. We worked with Chyrisse and Erin in advance to share some of our favorite songs and music taste and they are clearly VERY talented at what they do because the music was SPOT ON. Our entrance song was ‘All the Small Things’ by Blink-182 because we wanted to kick the party off with a banger and it was awesome. Every member of the band contributed something special to the overall sound and they made sure the night flowed beautifully. The rapper was a HUGE hit and it felt like we were at a concert. The music was THE ingredient that made the party so much fun. The dance floor was packed the entire night and we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way!
Flowers
Eric from Amaryllis is truly a flower pro and we looked to him for guidance and advice on what he thought would look best. We asked him to do what he would do if it was his own family’s wedding and he surely did not disappoint. We stuck with white and blush flowers and kept the greenery limited to the stems. The main event was the cherry blossoms which truly electrified the space and created a wow factor.
Photographer and videographer
Our photographer was Ira Lippke of Ira Lippke Studios, and our videographer was Adrian Toto of The Totos. Both Adrian and Ira were focused on capturing the memories and real emotions of the day. We wanted to have a photographer/videographer who wouldn’t try to force any moments or shots for the content, and really just captured everything as it was so we can reminisce and have the photos and videos marry back to how the day actually was! We are absolutely in love with our photos and video reel (can’t wait for more!) and will cherish them for the rest of our lives.
Food and cake
Food was done in-house by The Rockleigh and was INCREDIBLE. Highlights were the cocktail hour stations and the after-party food. It was also so smart how they served gatorade and coconut water at the after-party to make sure everyone was hydrated at the end of the night! Cake was by A Little Cake and was simple and gorgeous – white with floral appliques. We did a pareve cake since the wedding was meat and it was delicious!
Wedding Registry
We used The Knot for our website and to house all of our registries across different retailers. It was super easy to use and intuitive!
Extra details
One of the most special things we did was write each other letters, which we exchanged right before our first look. While Jacob is a fantastic public speaker, Brooke was anxious about delivering vows in front of a crowd, so we opted to write to each other. It ended up feeling more genuine (like we weren’t tailoring our words to entertain our guests) and gave us a special moment before we saw each other to take a deep breath and read a special note from the person we were about to marry. We also wrote letters to both our own and each other’s parents which we gave them after the ceremony. It was meaningful for us to have a moment with them before the night officially kicked off.
Honeymoon
We went to New Zealand and Australia and it was truly the most spectacular honeymoon. We went a few days after the wedding which we would recommend, since it really gives you the chance to reminisce about the wedding and it isn’t such a stark return to your regular day-to-day. One of our favorite hotels was The Farm at Cape Kidnappers. We flew into Napier, New Zealand to stay in the Hawke’s Bay region. We visited a winery, a local shop where manuka honey is made and got to stay on a gorgeous property with a working farm and one of the top golf courses in the world.
The accommodations were beautiful and relaxing and the scenery breathtaking. Our favorite day was when we got to visit with the farmer and meet the farm dogs and watch them herd sheep (which is wild to see first-hand!). We got to help shear a sheep, and then went off on a can-am tour of the property – through the hills, down to the beach, to overlook the gorgeous cliffs and ocean views. It was such a special place.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Don’t lose sight of the reason behind it all – because you have found your person and can’t wait to start the rest of your lives with them. Don’t do things because they are trendy or cool – do them because they feel like you. Vows might be really sweet but if saying them are just going to give you anxiety all day, write each other letters or exchange them privately. The day is about your love and not about putting on a show. Things WILL go wrong. Don’t freak out and let your emotions affect you negatively.
Just let it go and remind yourself that you want to remember how happy you were, not how stressed you were. Leave the stressing to your team of professionals who are there to make sure it all runs smoothly. If something is REALLY important to you, tell people before the wedding day and don’t just assume they will read your mind. Also – find small ways to inject you and your significant other into the wedding. It’s really special to add personal touches that your guests will really appreciate.
BROOKE & JACOB’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Ira Lippke Studios
Videographer – The Totos
Ketubah – BritColors {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – The Rockleigh
Bride’s dress – Mira Zwillinger found at The Wedding Salon of Manhasset
Bride’s shoes – Manolo Blahnik
Bride + groom accessories, wedding bands – Bondeye Jewelry
Hair + Makeup – Mia Puleo, Bridget Lembo
Flowers – Amaryllis
Band – Element Music
Catering – The Rockleigh
Cake – A Little Cake
Stationery/Invitation – You’re so Invited!
Styling – Styling by Stacie Houlker
Rabbi – Rabbi Craig Scheff
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
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.
