Cool ketubah alert! We’re totally obsessed with Kara and Dan’s gorgeous nature-inspired design, handcrafted by the wonderful Rachelle Tchiprout of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush. Kara says Rachelle was one of her very favorite wedding vendors, and we’re not surprised – she is totally lovely to work with, not to mention being a mega-talented artist.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to awesome things about this wedding. We love how the bride, a clinical social worker, and the groom, a legal assistant, crafted a day focused on their families – they even chose Kara’s parents’ 34thwedding anniversary as their wedding date! All the love in the room comes through so clearly in the beautiful photos from Anna Schmidt Photography and video from Just Hitched Films.
They had lots of unique creative touches, too, like their guest book – they had mini polaroid cameras for their guests to use to take pics and then past them into the book alongside their messages! They also had Jenga tiles for guests to write messages on – both awesome ideas that are just a little bit different than your standard guest book (and if you’re looking for ways to add creative personal touches that are totally you to your big day, don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Jewish Wedding Planning Bootcamp, starting June 3!)
The couple also had an artist, Maggie Smith Kuhn, on hand to paint their first dance live in real time – what a beautiful memento to have from the big day!
Now over to the bride, who looked so lovely in Legends Romona Keveza…
How we met
Kara, the bride: We met as roommates 7 years before tying the knot. We have lived together since the first day we met!
A Classic Venue
We got married at the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore, MD. We just loved the ballroom. which was large enough and available on the date we wanted – 11/3/18. My parents’ wedding anniversary is 11/3/84, so we really wanted to get married on the 3rd too. The Belvedere is a beautiful, classic venue that is a staple in Baltimore.
We got married in the Grand Ballroom on the 12th floor – the ceremony and reception were held in this room. The cocktail hour was held in the Platinum Ballroom which is where the guests went after the ceremony for the cocktail hour while the Grand Ballroom was being flipped after the ceremony and set up for the reception.
Our rehearsal dinner was at the Ciao Bella Restaurant in Little Italy, hosted by the groom’s parents. The day after the wedding my parents hosted a brunch for the out of town guests, family, and bridal party which was held on the 13th Floor at the Belvedere. Dan and I also hosted an afterparty at the Owl Bar located on the first floor of the Belvedere after the wedding reception ended.
All in the Family
We did not use a wedding planner. My sister got married in June 2017 so it made things a lot easier. We used the vendors of hers that we liked and made a few changes with some of the vendors.
We did not have a theme or color or style. The Belvedere is beautiful on its own and we didn’t need to decorate as a result. My mom was basically the wedding planner.
Invitation Deja Vu
Apparently when my mom and I picked out my bat mitzvah invitation back in the day I gave my mom a bit of a hard time. By the time I picked it out, the invite was super sophisticated and not something a 13 year old would pick out per my mother. She always said it looked like a wedding invitation. I told her when I was 13 that I loved it so much that we could use the same invitation for my wedding. I didn’t really mean it but turns out that’s what happened!
Well – still love the bat mitzvah invitation and we used the same font, colors, and style. It was literally the same invite only the bat mitzvah one was vertical and the wedding one was horizontal with a pocket! Dan helped me to finalize a few things for our wedding invite but otherwise it was basically the same thing; so I would say that was something unique and special. We used Jenifer Sirkis Designs for the invitation, program, place cards, and thank you notes!
Hair + Makeup
I used the same stylists my sister used just a year and a half prior at her wedding. Makeup artist was Heather Rea (Heather Rea Style Studio), and Kimi Harbaugh was the hair stylist from Bridal Hair by Kimi Collins. I wore fake eyelashes which were awesome! My hair was half up and half down with a braid and wavy at the bottom! We got ready in a bridal suite at the Lord Baltimore Hotel and the groomsmen got ready at the Belvedere in their parlor.
A Romona Keveza Dress
I purchased my dress from Garnish Boutique. The designer was Legends Romona Keveza. It was an A line gown – ivory and natural white with a belt although we did not use the belt that came with the dress. We purchased a less expensive belt from Garnish Boutique and had it sewn on by the seamstress when I did my fitting!
Family Jewelry
I wore a pair of my grandmother’s earrings and the veil that my great aunt and mom wore on their wedding days. The ring I used during the ceremony was my paternal grandmother’s which she wore when she married my grandfather. She died before I was born, and I am named after her! The only jewelry I wore on my wedding day were the earrings and of course my engagement ring and wedding band. No hair accessories. I took off the veil after the ceremony. My mom’s first cousin Michael was able to recreate the veil so that the color matched my gown and it was cathedral length – he is a tailor! Dan took my parents to look for rings which was also very special to me.
Engagement ring/wedding bands purchased from Radcliffe Jewelers.
DSW Shoes
Wedges from DSW! They were silver/gold combo. Brand was called Nina. Style Vanida Wedge Sandal.
Bella Bridesmaids
I had 5 bridesmaids, one maid of honor (sister) and a matron of honor (sister) – 4 wore charcoal colored dresses in different styles from the same designer and the other 3 wore different styles from another designer in a light grey/green color called mineral. The dresses were from Bella Bridesmaids and they were long. Some wore flats and others heels. I did not have a preference. I wanted everyone to have the opportunity to choose a style that worked best for them and was in their price range!
First looks
Dan and I got each other gifts and wrote each other letters the day of which was a nice touch that we got on camera and in photos! We did a first look so we wouldn’t have to do it during our cocktail hour. Before Dan and I had our first look at the Belvedere, my dad and I had our own first look at the hotel where we were getting ready. My dad and I are twins (literally) and I cried when we did the first look! Special moment!
An Anniversary Wedding
It is significant that we got married on my parent’s 34th wedding anniversary. Dan did not break the glass on the first try and my dad did the same thing 34 years ago! We were married by Rabbi Steven Schwartz from Beth El Congregation and my parents were married at Beth El Congregation (not the same Rabbi). My aunt Sharon sings in the shul’s choir! Dan also converted to Judaism and the conversion was done by Rabbi Schwartz at Beth El in Baltimore, MD as well.
My parents travelled to Israel years ago with Rabbi Schwartz and in addition to being a rabbi, he is also a big fan of the Grateful Dead as well as a fan of some of our favorite local artists as well! We have a female rabbi at Beth El which is super cool too. The cantor also converted to Judaism years ago. We like how inclusive the congregation is!
My aunt Sharon bought Dan his first tallis from Israel which we used during the ceremony. The kiddush cups we used during the ceremony were given to me by my maternal grandparents – one was engraved with the date of our wedding and the other one was given to me for my bat mitzvah which was also engraved. We had photos of our family members on display from their wedding days which was also cool!
A Gorgeous Ketubah
Our ketubah was amazing! Designed by Rachelle Tchiprout with The Delicate Brush. Hand made all the way from Israel! One of my favorite vendors! Highly recommend!
Dan selected one of his oldest friends, Nathaniel, from childhood to sign our ketubah as a witness, and I chose our friend Andrew who is basically the person who introduced us. We lived with Andrew as roommates. There were 4 of us in the house, and I knew Andrew. Andrew was friend’s with another guy who lived in the house who worked with Dan. We all moved in together years ago but Dan and I did not meet until we moved in… and the rest is history!
Here Comes the Sun
Processional: ‘Rain Song’ by Simply Three, Recessional was ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams.
My parents walked me down the aisle to the Beatles ‘Here Comes the Sun’, and my parents walked my sister down the aisle to the same song on 6/24/17 – so that was special!
First dance was ‘Crazy Love’ originally by Van Morrison but the version we did was by Ben Harper. I danced with my dad to ‘My Wish’ by Rascal Flatts. Dan danced with his mom to ‘Go Daddy-o ‘ by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The live band was called Jukeboxx with East Coast Entertainment. The live string musicians who played during the ceremony were also through East Coast and they were called String Poets – we had a guitarist and a violinist duo.
Flowers
We let the florist Tina Owens from Wicked Willow decide our chuppah.
Hand-tied bouquet of mostly ivory creamy white tones with subtle hint of soft peach blooms; layered lush petal feel and muted green/grey sage tone foliage in an organic relaxed design.
Food
The event was catered by the Belvedere.
Menu:
Baby Spinach Radicchio Salad (Roasted Apple, Crispy Bacon, Golden Tomato, Red Onion Vinaigrette)
Entree Duet (Oven-roasted Atlantic Salmon and Coffee-rubbed Filet Mignon)
Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Sauteed Asparagus.
Cocktail hour:
Butlered Hors D’oeuvres: Crispy Tempura Shrimp, Lamb Lollipop Chops, Seared Ahi Tuna, Chicken Satay
Displayed Hors D’oeuvres: Le Jardin, Fruit and Cheese Board, Maryland Crab Dip.
Cake
Sugar Bakers did our cake – the top tier was carrot cake with cream cheese filling, then the next tier was chocolate cake with chocolate toffee mousse filling, then another tier was yellow cake with dulce de leche filling- it was 3 tiers and then we had a sheet cake which was the bulk of it and it was almond cake with amaretto raspberry filling which is the signature flavor of the bakery.
A Wedding Painter
We had a live band, live musicians during the ceremony, and a live artist, Maggie Smith Kuhn! She’s the best! She painted our first dance and the painting is displayed in our home!
Speeches
All speeches were done the night before at the rehearsal dinner so we didn’t have to stop the party for speeches at the reception. My sisters gave a speech at the rehearsal dinner and Dan’s brother also gave a speech/toast. My dad gave a welcome speech at the actual reception and my mom also gave a speech at the reception – but maid of honor/best man speeches were the night before and we didn’t have any other speeches.
Polaroid Guest book
The guest book was purchased from Etsy and we had mini polaroid cameras for our guests to take pics and paste them into the guest book with a message for us! We also had tiles from the game Jenga where guests could write messages to us! My mom had them at my bridal shower too so it was a continuation, and they are now displayed in our home.
Family
Family is super important to us and we tried to incorporate our family into our wedding by honoring them in some way. Our bridal party consisted of 7 bridesmaids/7 groomsmen, our parents, our grandparents, and 2 flower girls (our niece and one of my bridesmaid’s daughters).
Honeymoon in Thailand
We travelled to Thailand for almost 3 weeks! Our friends Lauren and Andrew helped so much with the itinerary. We spent half of the time in Chiang Mai and the other half on the Phi Phi Islands. We stayed at Zeavola Resort on the islands and highly recommend! Our favorite part was visiting the Elephant Nature Park!
Kara & Daniel’s little white book
Photography – Anna Schmidt Photography
Videography – Just Hitched Films
Ketubah – The Delicate Brush {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – Belvedere Hotel
Bride’s dress – Legends Romona Keveza found and fitted at Garnish Boutique
Bride’s shoes – Nina purchased at DSW
Groom and groomsmen – Tuxedo House
Bridesmaids – Bill Levkoff and Jenny Yoo purchased at Bella Bridesmaids
Hair + Makeup – Bridal Hair by Kimi Collins and Heather Rea Style Studio
Flowers – Wicked Willow
Cake – Sugar Bakers
Entertainment – Jukeboxx and String Poets
Live Artist – Maggie Smith Kuhn
Guestbook – Etsy
Stationery – Jenifer Sirkis Designs
Wedding rings – Radcliffe Jewelers
Getting ready – Lord Baltimore Hotel
Rehearsal dinner – Ciao Bella Restaurant
After party – Owl Bar
Honeymoon – Zeavola Resort and Elephant Nature Park