Okay, how cool is that customized leather jacket, today’s bride Lyubov paired with her classic Rebecca Ingram gown? We just love the touch of edge (not to mention the massive dose of personality) it adds to today’s fab Jewish wedding — and did we mention that Lyubov DIY’d it herself? #goals
There are just so many awesome touches in this fantastic day, from the sweet invitations — complete with cartoon portraits of Lyuobv and Juan, who both work in the pharmaceutical industry, in their W-day attire! — to the beautiful rustic birch chuppah, dolled up with touches of lace and greenery.
Fergie Medar Photography not only captured all the details beautifully, she really did an amazing job illustrating the love between these two and all the emotion that went into their day.
We’re also bowled over that the pair pulled off a tri-lingual (!) wedding. With the bride’s family speaking Russian, the groom’s speaking Spanish, and friends speaking English, Lyubov and Juan had speeches in not one, not two, but THREE languages. Prepare to be bowled over by Jonny Havens Wedding Films’ touching video.
Now over to Lyubov, who credits Smashing The Glass for providing loads of inspo in creating this special day!
How We Met
Lyubov, the bride: Juan and I met our freshman year of college in English class (he sat behind me), and we instantly connected. We were friends for a bit, and then started dating.
A Rustic Venue
We got married at Ferncroft Country Club, in Middleton, Massachusetts, USA. We loved the feel of it, the beautiful nature around it, and how it could be transformed to this rustic but still classic space.
Bringing the Outdoors In
We fell in love with the idea of bringing the greenery indoors and mixing it with white flowers, as well as trying to bring the rustic feel into a country club space. We wanted a small intimate wedding that was filled with love, and details, we wanted our wedding to feel like us. We love wooden elements, and greenery.
Both of our fathers passed away when we were young, so we wanted to incorporate our mothers into the wedding even more, due to the tremendous and amazing work they have done raising us. They walked us down the aisle alone, gave speeches along with Juan’s two brothers and my grandmother, and danced our parent-children dances. They mean a lot to us, and we wanted to show that in our wedding as well.
Smashing The Glass helped me see what other brides had done to make their beautiful days extra special. The site helped me narrow done what I wanted, and it was a source that I constantly used.
Cartoon Invitations
We wanted to do something different with our invitations, so we found a seller on Etsy, Oh Lilly Designs, who customized our invitations to fit our wedding theme. We wanted something different when it came to our invitations, so we had her draw cartoon portraits of us in a wedding dress and tux.
Hair + Makeup
For hair and makeup, as well as my beautiful nails, I went with Behind The Scene Girls, who did a great job bringing my vision to life. I wanted my hair up so my leather jacket would be visible, but I still wanted my updo to be detailed and stand out as well. For my makeup, I wanted it to be bridal but fit the rocker element of the jacket with a smoky eye, and a mauve lip.
A Rebecca Ingram Dress
I went dress shopping with my mother, mother-in-law, and my grandmother. The thing that was special about the dress was that my grandmother picked it out. It is Victoria by Rebecca Ingram.
When going wedding dress shopping, I was not sure what silhouette I wanted, what designer, or even what the wedding theme would be. Therefore, I wanted a dress that was comfortable (I cut off the train during alterations), light for the summer, and classic. Therefore, when we went to Camilla’s Bridal in Arlington, I knew mine was the one the moment I put it on.
A Leather Jacket for the Bride
My hair accessory and earrings I got from USA Bride, as well as a drop pearl necklace from BHLDN by Twigs and Honey. I wanted them to all look cohesive and tie in with the belt from Maggie Sottero from Camilla’s Bridal.
My leather jacket was a DIY, made by me. I just wanted a stand-out element in my outfit that was not a traditional wedding accessory.
Shoes of Prey
I designed my own shoes through Shoes of Prey, I wanted them to be white and added a little bow to make them feel like me. I also added light blue into the inside of my shoe as my something blue.
I love comfort so I had a little heel as well, and they were just perfect! During the getting ready process, I wore “The Bride” slides that were from Jade & Deer.
The handsome groom
My husband wore a tux, dress shirt, cufflinks, and shoes from Miltons in Chestnut Hill. He got his bow tie and suspenders from the Tie Bar in Boston.
All in the Family
We didn’t have bridesmaids or groomsmen but wanted to include our mothers and brothers during our getting-ready portion. I got the mother’s boyfriend shirts to wear for getting ready from Plum Pretty Sugar, as well as my robe and romper. All the brothers had matching polka dot ties in different hues from the Tie Bar in Boston as well.
The flower girls getting ready pajamas were from Etsy (Modern Kimono Robes), and I wanted them to match our getting ready outfits. Their dresses were also from Trish Scully, and I wanted them to have lace on them, in order to in some way match my dress. The ring bearer wore a black suit with a polka dot tie to match Juan and the brothers.
A Rustic Chuppah
Boston Rustic Wedding Rentals, who did all of our rentals, put together the fabulous chuppah, and the greenery was done by our florist. We wanted the chuppah to tie into our theme (that is why we decided on the birchwood design), as well as match the design of Ferncroft Country Club.
We also wanted lace incorporated into it to give it a more delicate feel, and just bring the beauty of the outside indoors through the fabulous greenery our florist added. To tie it all together, Boston Rustic Wedding Rentals draped the chuppah with a white cloth.
A Personal Ceremony
During the ceremony, our rabbi, Sam Seicol, personalized the wedding to fit us as a couple. We had a mixture of English and Hebrew, which was important to us as a couple, as well as writing personal vows to each other and having the modern interpretation of the Seven Blessings.
A Colorful Ketubah
We wanted a bright ketubah to fill our home with color and light. So, we picked one made by Mickie Caspi of Caspi Cards, that had Jerusalem on it, with our favorite quote on it.
Marry Me
We played a mixture of English and Spanish songs, due to the fact that many of our guests came from Guatemala. For the processional, we chose one of my husband’s favorite songs which is Marry Me by Train, and for the recessional, we choose Siman Tov u’ Mazel Tov.
For our first dance we chose Perfect by Ed Sheeran and Beyonce due to the fact that when we first heard the song, we just felt an instant connection with it.
Fantastic Florals
Our florist was amazing. Jennifer Josserand from Boston Event Divas did a fabulous job understanding our vision and bringing it to life. We gave her the theme, colors (greenery and white flowers), and what we wanted and had her choose the perfect flowers and greenery for us.
No words can describe how perfect her floral designs and execution were; she went above and beyond. She brought the whole wedding together and helped me tremendously to execute my vision.
Our Fabulous Videographer
Our videographer, Jonny Havens from Jonny Havens Wedding Films, is such a gem, and we were so happy he was a part of our wedding day. He is a wonderful storyteller with his videos, and they are just works of art.
… and Photographer
This can be said about our wonderful photographer, Fergie Medar from Fergie Medar Photography. We wanted a photographer who was a storyteller, who would give us many candids (we did not want many posed pictures), and would show our love. We just fell in love with her style and knew she had to be a part of our day.
White Chocolate Mousse Cake!
Our delicious white chocolate mousse cake with buttercream frosting was from Cakes for Occasions in Danvers. We wanted our cake to be a mixture of frosted and naked as well, and they did an awesome job executing that. Oh, and the cake tasted delicious!
We were able to have greenery throughout the cake thanks to our lovely florist. We also bought these adorable squirrel cake toppers from BHLDN to add a pop of color.
Wedding Sparklers
During the ceremony and cocktail hour, we had George Pedro, a local guitarist, play a mix of our favorite songs. During the reception, we hired a bilingual DJ, Jose Joubert, also known as DJ Sensations, who MC’d the whole event in Spanish and English, as well as playing songs in those two languages.
Everyone also loved the marquee letters of our first name initials. It was a different kind of photo prop for the guests to take pictures with.
Since we were having sparklers at our wedding, we decided to have boxes of matches as our favors, with our names and wedding date.
A trilingual wedding
All of our family and friends speak three different languages: my family speaks Russian, his family speaks Spanish, and all of our friends and some family members speak English, so it was a trilingual wedding. Therefore, our wedding speeches were in three different languages as well.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
- Do not stress out. Our wedding was supposed to be on the rooftop but due to the chance of rain we had to move it indoors. Things won’t go according to plan, but it is important to remember that you are marrying the love of your life.
- Remember your voice during the wedding planning and do what you want to do with your partner, and what will make you happy.
- Have a wedding rehearsal, we were supposed to have one before the start of the wedding the day of, but everyone was running late so we never had one; that was one of our biggest regrets.
- Nothing is ever perfect: things will happen that you did not plan for. Remember to be in the moment, and not stress about what happened, especially after the wedding. You finally married the love of your life, none of those little details matter anymore.
Lyubov & Juan’s little white book
Photography – Fergie Medar Photography
Videography – Jonny Havens Wedding Films
Venue – Ferncroft Country Club
Bride’s dress – Rebecca Ingram and Maggie Sottero purchased at Camilla’s Bridal
Bride’s accessories – USA Bride and Twigs and Honey purchased at BHLDN
Bride’s shoes – Shoes of Prey
Groom’s attire – Miltons and Tie Bar
Flower girls – Trish Scully and Modern Kimono Robes
Getting Ready Outfits – Plum Pretty Sugar and Jade & Deer
Hair + Makeup – Behind The Scene Girls
Flowers – Boston Event Divas
DJ – DJ Sensations
Musician – George Pedro
Cake – Cakes for Occasions
Rentals – Boston Rustic Wedding Rentals
Marquee Letters – Doris Loves USA
Ketubah – Caspi Cards
Stationery – Oh Lilly Designs and Smitten Paper Props
Gorgeous wedding! I’m so happy to see another couple who got their ketubah from Mickie. I love her art!