This is one cool Jewish wedding. Alana, a social impact manager at a food & beverage company, and Ian, a regional director at the international Jewish fraternity AEPi, wanted a chill wedding that was totally them – and that’s exactly what they ended up with. Featuring late night-karaoke, laid-back speakeasy vibes, table centerpieces featuring the couple’s own cookbook collection, and the coolest colorful floral gown, this special day at BlueJacket Brewery in Washington, DC, was just so full of personal touches, and we can’t get enough of it.
How cool is it that Alana hand-wrote the couple’s invitations – each including a customized message to the recipient – on vintage DC postcards? Not only that, she also designed all the signage for both the wedding and the welcome Shabbat dinner – plus customized Shabbat place card holders made of modelling clay for the Shabbat dinner!
We also love that Alana and Ian found their ketubah on Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com – the two have different styles and often struggle to pick art together, but the wide array of options available on Ketubah.com meant they were able to find a beautiful paper-cut navy blue design they both loved. Don’t miss it in the wonderful photos by Jalisa Roslyn!
Read on for the full story in Alana’s own words…
How We Met
Alana, the bride: We met on Lox Club, a Jew”ish” dating app that prioritizes connection over location – Ian was living in Syracuse and Alana was in DC.
A Chill Wedding
We got married at BlueJacket Brewery in Washington, DC. We both knew we wanted a somewhat “chill” wedding – no seating charts, no plated dinner, no excessive flowers lining the aisle – and BlueJacket was the perfect spot!
Half the guests sat during the ceremony while half stood above us in a U-shape on the balcony, and instead of fancy tables guests had delicious bar food in booths & at long tables.
Jewish Joy
Alana has been following Modern Rebel since they were founded, and was 100% set on working with them given their values-based culture and funky attention to detail. MR asked us to come up with a “wedding mantra”, and while we couldn’t fully narrow it down, we really wanted the vibe to feel somewhat like a speakeasy, somewhat silly, and overall just a whole bunch of Jewish joy.
Invitation
Alana HAND-WROTE the invitations on vintage DC postcards! They all included a customized message to the recipient, sharing why they were invited and what the couple was looking forward to doing with them during the celebration. It took three months, but was a true labor of love.
She also designed the welcome signs for the Shabbat dinner as well as the wedding, and all other signage. Lastly, she created 30+ place card holders out of modeling clay for the Shabbat dinner of all different foods, customizing each one to the individual guest.
Hair + Makeup
Alana asked her hair stylist of 6+ years in DC to do her hair, which was one of the smartest decisions. Yesi from Aura Spa Bang Salon knew exactly what she was doing, and made Alana’s hair as large and long as possible (without extensions!).
She received a make-up recommendation from a colleague and was thrilled with the results – her MUA from Unveiled Artistry was the perfect balance of low-key energy and perfectionist professionalism.
An Alexia Maria Dress
Alana’s dress was ordered online sight unseen from Alexia Maria – she went dress-shopping IRL one time and pretty quickly knew something super-traditional was not going to work. She asked Ian if he was okay with her wearing something a bit unconventional, and he shared he’d be concerned if her outfit WAS conventional.
The combination of the simple silhouette with the rainbow flowers was to die for, but Alana decided to be slightly extra (as she is) and get custom-made detachable puffy sleeves. She jokes that the fanciest part about the wedding was the dress, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Accessories
The veil was thrifted from a small consignment store in San Diego during a stay with Ian’s mom! Accessories were largely our families’ – Ian wore his dad’s watch, and Alana wore her paternal grandmother’s pearl earrings and maternal grandmother’s Jewish star.
Ian also created an amazing piece of jewelry using his aunt’s engagement ring and gifted a necklace to Alana the morning of the wedding. The wedding rings were by Ascot Diamonds.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Ian’s rabbi from his hometown, Emily Hyatt of Emanuel Denver, officiated the wedding, which was incredibly meaningful; she spoke at length about Ian’s growth as a person and the amazing union that we were forming. The chuppah was designed with two of Alana’s grandfathers’ talit on the top, and Ian’s father’s Tallis was used in the ceremony.
A few of the most amazing parts… we walked down the aisle together with no additional processional, we played rock-paper-scissors to see who would read their vows first, and our sheva brachot readers each interpreted their blessings into a song lyric, poem excerpt, or well wishes.
Ketubah
The ketubah came from Ketubah.com – it’s always a challenge when we try to pick art together as we have such different styles, but we found a beautiful paper-cut navy blue design we both loved.
Most importantly, the text we selected spoke about growing our individuality and our partnership at the same time, which resonated deeply with both of us.
Our music choice
We walked down the aisle together to ‘Simply the Best’ like in Schitt’s Creek. Our first dance song was Lord Huron’s cover of ‘Harvest Moon’, and our final dance before the “adults” left was ‘New Year’s Day’ by Taylor Swift’.
One amazing element of our night included ending the evening with karaoke – there was a LOT of Abba poorly covered that night.
Flowers
We loved our florist, Biofloria, and Alana essentially gave her carte blanche within the budget – she called our event “eclectic elegance” and we thought it completely captured the vibes. She also incorporated our own massive collection of cookbooks into the table displays, which was awesome and personal.
Photographer and videographer
Our photographer, Jalisa Roslyn, was the most amazing woman – we were very intentional selecting a small business owner (and a female business owner!) and she blew us out of the water.
We did an amazing engagement shoot replaying our first date in DC, first visiting the DC arboretum and following that up with dumplings at Union Market, a local food hall.
Jalisa & her husband made us feel comfortable, confident, and immediately understood that we were going for something a little different. We couldn’t imagine this day without her!
Food and cake
One of the most important parts of our wedding was the food! We are both huge foodies and love trying new restaurants – we knew for our wedding, we prioritized comfort food and taste above all else.
Bluejacket Brewery makes amazing tater tots, fried chicken sandwiches, and Caesar salad, which all received rave reviews from our guests. Above all else, we love dessert and knew we had to have our favorite – MilkBar – brought in for the wedding. In fact, we still have a small cake in our freezer for our one-year!
Extra Details
Literally everything about this wedding was customized and personalized: hand-written invitations on vintage DC postcards, our cookbooks integrated into the florals with the decor, Alana’s grandmother’s cookie jars used as card boxes, the family talit used in the ceremony, flying in Ian’s rabbi from Denver, etc.
Alana even had a surprise for Ian – she sent out the CU Fight Song lyrics to everyone in advance (Ian’s a big college sports fan) and her uncle ran onto the dance floor wearing a giant inflatable costume.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Everyone says to focus on your day and that it goes by so fast – we’d both say that’s completely correct!
The largest piece of advice we have is to set your morning up in a way that’s meaningful for you – Alana went to her favorite workout class and cafe with her girlfriends before getting ready with her mom, and Ian went to a delicious deli and watched sports with his friends from out of town. No one’s opinion matters except yours!
ALANA AND IAN’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Jalisa Roslyn
Ketubah – Ketubah.com {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue & Catering – BlueJacket Brewery
Planner – Modern Rebel
Bride’s dress – Alexia Maria
Rings – Ascot Diamonds
Hair – Aura Spa Bang Salon
Makeup – Unveiled Artistry
Flowers – Biofloria
Desserts – MilkBar
Rabbi – Emily Hyatt of Emanuel Denver
Dating app – Lox Club
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.
