We love a DIY Jewish wedding, and Hadassah and Natanya’s is one for the books! The Jerusalem-based brides, who opted to wed near Natanya’s hometown at Floriana in Ipswich, Massachusetts, added so many incredible handcrafted elements to their day, and we here for it.
Despite the long distance, the duo planned the entire wedding themselves, and it was a priority to make every detail of the day totally, 100% them. They crafted a halakhic same-sex ceremony featuring each bride circling the other 7 times, a modified birkat erusin blessing followed by egalitarian kiddushin, sheva brachot recited by family and friends, and finally a joint smashing of the glass!
And of course there’s all the awesome DIY projects. The couple did their own flowers, designed their ketubah, and crafted custom benchers – and perhaps coolest of all, Hadassah sewed her own wedding gown from scratch! Don’t miss all the gorgeous details in the wonderful photos by Lana Shevorski.
Read on for the full story in Hadassah’s own words…
How We Met
Hadassah, the bride: We met as students at the Joint Program between the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University. We first got to know each other in a class about Martin Buber junior year, and started dating second-semester senior year.
New England Charm
We were looking at venues local to where Natanya grew up in Sharon, MA and found the GORGEOUS Floriana in Ipswich, MA. Surrounded by greenery, we chose the Floriana for its New England charm and elegance and its flexibility for its indoor and outdoor spaces (which we were thankful for when it downpoured the morning of our wedding that was supposed to be outside).
We also loved the Floriana’s three large prep suites, since we each wanted a comfortable space to get ready with our bridesmaids.
DIY Details
We planned the entire wedding ourselves, all the way from Jerusalem where we live. Hadassah is very artistic and crafty, so it was important to us that we DIY’d a lot of the wedding. We wanted every detail of the wedding to feel like us.
Dresses
Natanya rented her dress from a bridal designer based in Modiin, called Adili, who worked hard to make sure she had a dress she loved and fit her perfectly. Natanya chose a sleek dress with a corset back, and found the perfect jewelry to match from a talented, independent Tel Aviv jeweler, Meital Bar, that elevated the look.
Hadassah chose to sew her wedding gown from scratch, a process that from beginning to end took nearly 8 months. Hadassah has loved to sew since she learned as a child and had a particular imagine in mind for her dress, so she decided to take on the challenge.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Our main goal was to alter the traditional ceremony as little as possible. We are so grateful to our officiant who did significant research to help us craft a halakhic ceremony. We began with each of us circling the other 7 times, a modified birkat erusin blessing with a nod to a verse from Bereishit 2:24 where our officiant blessed that we לִדְבוֹק זוֹ בְּזוֹ וְלְהִיוֹת לְבָשָֹר אֶחָד, followed by egalitarian kiddushin. Finally, family and friends recited the sheva brachot and we broke a glass together!
The process of adapting the ceremony allowed us to understand each aspect and its role in our transition to marriage. We went into this keeping in mind the weight of tradition and how important it was to maintain that at our own chuppah.
Ketubah
Like the ceremony, we worked with our officiant to craft a text for our ketubah that was egalitarian but also closely mirrored the traditional text and matched our ceremony. We looked at many variations of egalitarian ketubot and landed on one that reflects the obligations spouses promise to one another in a traditional ketubah — promises that lay the foundation for a loving, vibrant, and happy Jewish home.
Hadassah digitally designed the ketubah herself. We chose to focus the design around the words אהבה, אחווה, שלום, ורעות (love, friendship, harmony, and fellowship) which are from the Sheva Brachot and are included in our ketubah as well. They represent some of the values we hope will characterize our home. After printing the ketubah, Hadassah added some embroidered details for a handmade touch.
Our music choice
We used Yoni Battat and Zachary Meyer wedding band as both a band and DJ. We worked with them to plan out the music we wanted for each special moment. We were blown away by their skills and energy, and their ability to meet some of our specific requests.
Flowers
We chose to DIY all of our flowers using Flower Moxie, which is a company that assists people who want to do their own wedding flowers. We met with a florist a couple times beforehand who helped us plan out the design and logistics of everything. Together with 2 of our bridesmaids we processed the flowers and assembled all the arrangements on the Thursday and Friday before our wedding. It was definitely a huge and stressful undertaking but the flowers turned out beautifully!
Photographer and videographer
We found our photographer, Lana Shevorski, on Instagram and immediately LOVED her photography. After meeting with her, we felt that her friendliness, excitement, and overall great vibes were what we wanted in our photographer. Day of, Lana and her two assistants Allison Basttista and Jade Gilman, were always moving around, capturing every moment of the day. They worked so confidently and seamlessly together — we felt very at ease during all the formal photos and barely even noticed they were there the rest of the wedding.
We are absolutely overjoyed with the photos we have received. We really feel the energy of the event in the photos, and we know we will appreciate that aspect of the photos forever.
Food and cake
For the catering, we used Dushez Catering, a kosher caterer in Boston. They were on top of things we didn’t even think about, and on the day itself we knew everything would go smoothly, and it did. Dushez brought so much professionalism and knowledge, while still giving us the space to make a menu that felt like us. The food looked beautiful and we got so many compliments afterwards about how delicious it was.
Also, they were extremely conscious of dietary restrictions and allergies, which made us and our guests feel very at ease.
Extra Details
Our biggest joint DIY was making our own benchers for the wedding. We wanted a bencher that contained all of the songs and rituals we love, so we made our own! Natanya compiled, formatted and edited all of the text, and Hadassah illustrated the entire bencher.
We have already used it for a number of Shabbat meals and we love the joy it brings. It has prompted us to teach some of the zemirot (songs) in it, as well as learning new ones from our guests.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
The number one piece of advice we have is that when planning the wedding, ensure that everything is set to run smoothly day of so that you can be present and just have fun. It is your wedding and you want to enjoy it! Looking back at the wedding, the first thing we say is that we had a fantastic time, and that is thanks to our family, friends, and vendors.
Our second big piece of advice is that if you are going to do a lot of DIY like we did, make sure you know your limits and don’t over exert yourself, especially for the week leading up to the wedding. You want to enjoy the DIY process and not have it be a point of stress.
HADASSAH & NATANYA’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Lana Shevorski, Allison Basttista and Jade Gilman
Venue – Floriana
Natanya’s outfit – Adili Studio
Jewelry – Meital Bar
Flowers – DIY with Flower Moxie
DJ – Yoni Battat and Zachary Meyer
Catering – Dushez Catering
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.
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