We could not be any more excited to share the absolutely incredible micro wedding of our beloved STG Brides Club member Nina to Lee! I know we’re all tired of hearing the word “pivot” at this point – but thes two truly pulled off one of the very best pandemic pivots we’ve seen.
Initially, Nina and Lee had planned to have two big celebrations this summer: one in Israel, where Lee’s family lives, and the other at Nina’s family’s home on the beach in Connecticut. When it became clear that neither of these festivities would be able to go forward as planned, rather than scaling things back or postponing, the couple opted to totally change course and do something totally different.
And in just three weeks, these two managed to plan the most gorgeous micro wedding with 14 guests (friends only – since Lee’s family was unable to travel from Israel, the pair opted to have all relatives participate via Zoom) in the hills of beautiful Malibu – a place neither of them had so much as visited before! – to be followed up by a two-week RV honeymoon driving up the California coast and then east to their engagement spot of Steamboat, Colorado! With all the traveling involved in their original wedding lineup, Nina and Lee hadn’t been planning on a honeymoon at all, and they count being able to go on one as their biggest replanning win.
We’re also obsessed with the couple’s beautiful chuppah canopy, which the bride’s mother knit by hand into an intricate pattern with hearts hidden in the details, so that with the sun shining overhead during the ceremony it cast heart-shaped shadows all around Nina and Lee! What an incredibly special touch – don’t miss it in the exquisite photos by photographer Jess of We are Matt and Jess. And how gorgeous is Nina and Lee’s colorful ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com?! They wanted something out of the box, and we think they found just the thing to match the vibes of their laid-back boho day.
There’s so much more we could say about this awesome wedding, but we’ll let Nina, who looked effortlessly chic in Willowby by Watters (turns out the dress she’d picked for her wedding in Israel worked perfectly for Malibu!), fill you in on the rest…
Oh… and just before we hand over to Nina – make sure you join our Wedding Planning Bingo Challenge which starts today! A must for every Jewish and Jew-ish bride, you can sign up here.
How we Met
Nina, the bride: Lee and I met the way many couples meet these days…on a dating app! When we matched, Lee was living in Colorado and I was living in Boston. Lee was in Boston for a week for work, and while we didn’t have time to meet before he went back to Colorado, it just happened that I was headed to Colorado for a work trip the very next week!
The only time Lee and I had to meet face to face was while I was at a bar with company…Lee brought a friend and swung by the bar where I was hanging out. We chatted for a bit, went on a walk around the block just the two of us. The next week Lee flew back to Boston and took me to a matinee performance of The Blue Man Group and then out for Israeli food! From that point on, Lee and I were all in.
We did a few weekend trips going back and forth between Boston and Colorado, skiing, going to concerts, and eating delicious meals (all of our favorite things). A few months later, Lee made the decision to relocate to Boston and after 5 months of dating we moved in together! One year later we were engaged and just about a year later we were married! When you know, you know.
A COVID Wedding – Planned in Three Weeks!
Like most couples planning a wedding in 2020, our plans changed dramatically from our original wedding plans. Lee is Israeli and his entire immediate family, as well as much of his extended family, live in Israel. Our original plan was to have a large Israeli wedding in June 2020 in Tel Aviv at The Q, an outdoor wedding venue with a beautiful wooden structure for eating and dancing and a gorgeous garden for the Chuppah. We then planned to have a reception in Madison, CT in August 2020 at my family’s private home on the beach. In total, we had about 300 guests planning to celebrate with us across the 2 events!
When it became clear that COVID would make it difficult to have either of these celebrations, we totally changed course. We both knew that we wanted to get married this summer, even if that meant it would look very different than the large celebrations we had planned. Ultimately, Lee and I decided to get married in a place neither of us had ever even been to – Malibu, CA! We chose Malibu because our new revised dream was to get married and then go on a two week honeymoon, in an RV, up the California Coast, over to Lake Tahoe and end at the spot where we were engaged, Steamboat, Colorado!
In just over 3 weeks, we planned our entire micro wedding at a private Airbnb in the hills of Malibu with just 14 guests and our Rabbi. Since Lee’s family was unable to make it over from Israel, we decided to keep the wedding friends only. Our family from around the world joined via Zoom and while it was difficult not having family by our sides as we committed to each other forever, it allowed everyone to participate, witness our love and feel safe doing so and was intimate and special in so many other ways.
My mom was on Facetime as I got ready with my 3 friends, Lee’s family all gathered in Tel Aviv at MIDNIGHT to watch our ceremony and many people that would not have been able to attend were able to witness our marriage and celebrate with us remotely. While it was nothing like we would have imaged before COVID, it ended up being the wedding we always dreamed of.
What ‘Smashing The Glass Brides Club’ Did For Us
We could not have planned any of our 3 celebrations without Bride’s Club. Originally, I was so daunted by planning a destination wedding in Israel. Bride’s Club helped us find our venue in Israel and overall provided so much support and guidance planning a wedding from afar.
When we had to switch gears and plan our Malibu wedding in 3 weeks, I immediately turned to Bride’s Club and it felt as though every member rallied around me to help get it done! We ended up finding our AMAZING rabbi through a recommendation from many ladies in Bride’s Club. I also had so many ladies help work through getting a marriage license in California and give overall support and encouragement during the entire crazy wedding planning process.
Invitation
We had our original invites designed in Israel (one in Hebrew and one in English) but we actually never sent them out! We stayed in touch with guests via our wedding website and email.
Hair + Make-up
Afton (MUA) and Andrea (hair) from Afton Williams were an amazing duo when it came to making me and my bridesmaids look and feel our best! We had a Friday 2pm wedding, so I wanted to look natural and not overdone. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the dewy, natural look Afton achieved and the loose beachy waves that Andrea styled for me. All of my bridesmaids were raving as well. My makeup even held up when I jumped into the pool!
Because of COVID, of course we wanted everyone to feel comfortable getting their hair and makeup done. Afton and Andrea were highly professional, making sure we felt safe, cleaning and sanitizing between each person and wearing masks the entire time. It couldn’t have been a better experience.
A Willowby by Watters Dress
I purchased my dress from Nordstom’s Bridal Suite and it is Willowby by Watters. Luckily, the dress that I had originally picked for the wedding in Israel translated to our casual daytime Malibu wedding vibe. It was the perfect combination of romantic and boho and made me feel comfortable and beautiful. It was HOT in Malibu on our wedding day so, after our ceremony, I changed into a short white dress from Lulu’s. I also wore a cute bathing suit from Arie and ended in sweatpants for the party that went into the wee hours of the morning!
Accessories
I always knew that I wanted to wear my mom’s veil for the ceremony. We did an aisle badeken and my mom’s veil with blusher worked perfectly for this tradition and complimented my dress beautifully with its scalloped edge and pearl detailing. I opted for inexpensive subtle jewelry from Etsy, except for a beautiful diamond bracelet that Lee’s mom designed for me with a piece of her own jewelry as an engagement gift. I loved having two sentimental accessories from the mother’s to wear on my wedding day. It made me feel closer to both of them and like I had a piece of both of them standing with me on the day.
Shoes
I chose to go with a small comfortable circular black heel covered in rhinestones from Jeffery Campbell. I loved having a surprise bit of sparkle on my feet!
The handsome groom
Lee picked a beautiful dark blue suit for the ceremony and added his signature look, tying a white patterned John Varvatos scarf to his belt loop! Lee has always dreamed of being a cowboy and so after the ceremony, he changed into jeans and a blue button down. He completed the look with cowboy boots, a bolo tie and a cowboy hat! We did an intimate sunset photoshoot on the hillside next to the house in our western gear and they are some of my favorite shots from the wedding!
Bridesmaids
When we had to switch gears with our plans, I knew that it wouldn’t be possible for all of my bridesmaids to be at the wedding. Three of my best friends were able to stand by my side wearing dresses of their choice!
Ceremony
Where do I even start. I loved every minute of our ceremony from the ketubah signing to the badeken, the beautiful story our rabbi told during the ceremony and the intimate moment Lee and I had when the rabbi wrapped us in a tallit that had been passed down to him through generations. Having such a small guest list for our ceremony made it feel that much more person and allowed Lee and I to fully focus on the rabbi’s words.
Ketubah
Lee and I both wanted to go a bit out of the box with our ketubah. We found a fun and colorful Ketubah on Ketubah.com. Actually, the only time I shed a tear on the day of our wedding was when I was reading through the English translation that we chose for our ketubah!
Chuppah
Our chuppah was my favorite detail of the entire day. My mom is an amazing knitter and from the moment she knew Lee and I were planning on getting married under a chuppah she knew she was going to knit our covering. She chose a gorgeous off-white color and knit an intricate pattern with hearts hidden in the details. With the sun shining right above us during the ceremony, the chuppah cast heart shaped shadows all around us during the ceremony!
I could cry just thinking about how beautiful and meaningful it was, especially since I converted to Judaism and my mom is not even Jewish. Having her contribute in this way to the ceremony filled my heart to the brim with her love and support.
Our Music Choice
Lee is a king when it comes to music. This is the area I let him have total and complete free range! In 3 weeks, Lee organized 2 different DJs, complete with a live Sax player for our ceremony- I was blown away. We chose to walk down the aisle to ‘Thank you’ by Led Zepplin as a tribute to our first concert together – Robert Plant.
Flowers
Flowers were something that I thought I didn’t care about when planning the wedding but now looking back on it, the florals at our wedding were one of my favorite things about the day. We found our florist, glorimer flower & co, through a recommendation from a friend. She had just moved to LA from Brooklyn and her wild, eclectic style was exactly what I was looking for. After speaking with her and looking through her Instagram, I felt it would be best if I gave her a little bit of guidance on color and then let her do her thing!
My favorite part of wedding planning on such a condensed timeline was that I didn’t have a ton of time to give our vendors direction or micro-manage. We hired people that we trusted through recommendations and then leaned on them to do what they do best! Glori saved us. She found us a chuppah frame and had it shipped to our Airbnb because didn’t have one with only 4 days left until the wedding! The chuppah arrived at 11am on the day of our ceremony and it was all hands-on deck getting it built and decorated.
I didn’t see the chuppah or the flowers until I walked down the steps for our first look and it was the best surprise ever! I couldn’t have dreamt of a more gorgeous chuppah arrangement that perfectly complimented our venue and my mom’s homemade chuppah covering. And the bouquet, I mean….
Photographer
Another highlight of our wedding was Jess from We are Matt and Jess, our wonderful photographer. She also came recommended through a friend and from the moment we spoke on the phone (6 days after she gave birth!) I knew that she understood our vibe. Jess was willing to work with us to fit into our budget and she was such a joy to work with. Lee and I had never taken professional pictures together, so we had no idea what to expect, but we had SO MUCH FUN.
The benefit of having a smaller wedding is that we have so many special moments captured of the two of us and our dozen or so guests. I truly feel like she captured every moment and I can relive the day through her photography. Our sunset photo shoot that ended with us jumping the pool was one of the highlights of the day!
Food and Cake
The food was the other detail of the wedding that Lee took control of and totally crushed it! We worked with Mali, a private Israeli chef working in LA. We opted for heavy apps before and after the ceremony with serve yourself cocktails, wine and beer. The kitchen situation at our Airbnb was less than ideal and I was so impressed by the way Mali and her team dealt with the situation and were able to deliver the tastiest food ever! Mali even prepared traditional a Shabbat dinner to leave with us to reheat that night. It was perfect for a big late-night meal after our party!
My family organized a wedding cake for the day of, we had totally forgotten about arranging a cake! But we were so wrapped up in the day, we never actually cut the cake the day of! It ended up working out for the best as we planned a Zoom call with my family and Lee’s family for the Sunday after our wedding. We all got to gather (remotely), talk about the day, hear a beautiful speech, IN HEBREW, from my grandmother (she doesn’t speak Hebrew), hear a speech from my dad and watch a video that Lee’s family made for us! It was great to have that special time with just our immediate families.
Favors
Lee’s family surprised us with custom masks and mason jars with our date and an adorable logo they designed. All of the guest were able to take these home after the wedding.
Honeymoon
The best part of all our replanning was that we got to go on a honeymoon, something that wasn’t in our original plans. Lee and I rented an RV and drove the coast of California from Malibu to the Sonoma Coast, East to Lake Tahoe and ended where we got engaged, Steamboat, Co!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
The best advice I can give is to relax. Yes, your wedding day is an incredibly special day that you will remember and cherish forever, but things aren’t always going to go to plan. And sometimes, that’s for the best. Planning a wedding in three weeks, we didn’t have time to stress over every single detail and we just had to go with the flow and trust that things would work themselves out. Things will come together and you will have an amazing day.
Keep it in perspective and enjoy the process as much as you can. My other piece of advice is not to give to much weight to what you are “supposed to do”. Our wedding ended up being much more authentic and a reflection of who Lee and I are as a couple because we threw a lot of the expectations out the window and did what felt right and what felt like us. Don’t let the traditions, Instagram, or family and friends pressure you into doing something that doesn’t feel right or authentic. At the end of the day, its about you and your husband- HAVE FUN and get creative!
NINA & LEE’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – We are Matt and Jess
Ketubah – Ketubah.com {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – Airbnb
Bride’s dress – Watters
Groom’s Outfit- John Varvatos
Bride’s shoes – Jeffery Campbell
Bride’s accessories – Etsy
Bridesmaids – Lulus
Hair + Makeup – Afton Williams
Flowers – glorimer flower & co
Singers – Yohai Portal, Adi Ben Yehuda
Catering – Mali D Private Chef
Rabbi – Rabbi Ed Feinstein
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.
