Start spreading the news – we’re leaving today… to head to NYC for Julie and Noam’s city chic Jewish wedding!
Shot by extraordinarily talented photographer and our fabulous recommended vendor, Ben Kelmer, the happy couple opted for an elegant monochrome theme with metallic accents and a hint of a rustic aesthetic.
Beautiful bride, Julie, a fitness and wellness brand strategy consultant (which, incidentally, is how she met fitness instructor to the stars, Noam), looked like a Hollywood A-lister in her stunning lace-illusion Pronovias gown, and meaningful family heirloom jewelry.
The wedding was filled with heart and soul, particularly with the attention paid to the meaning of the ceremony, and the importance of having three generations of family under the chuppah.
There’s so much to love about this perfectly cohesive and wonderfully themed big day (we’re looking at you, magnificent, florally adorned chuppah!) but one thing that really stood out for us was the absolutely fantastic idea of having a note jar for a guest book, for the couple to read on their first anniversary. We’re sure plenty of couples will be stealing that one for themselves.
We’ll pass you over to Julie now for the full writeup of her and Noam’s very special day. Take it away, Julie!
How we met
Julie, the bride: We met through a friend who asked me if I knew him because we worked and lived in similar circles. It started as me trying to get Noam/TS as a client, but at our first meeting it was clear that we had a connection and the rest, as they say, is history.
We realized we both grew up close to each other, we both lived in Israel at one point, had family there and actually at one point lived on the same street in NYC and never knew each other.
A venue to tick all the boxes
We chose the Roundhouse in Beacon, NY. I was really torn between getting married in Israel and New York (we both have family in Israel and have a special connection). We decided to have our wedding in NY July 2017 and have a celebration in Israel in October 2017.
We chose the Roundhouse because it fit our priorities – Upstate New York (we are both from about an hour north of NYC), within one hour of our grandfathers, rustic yet elegant from the inside out (in case it rained) and, of course, amazing food.
We had a connection with the area because we had been up there before and have spent a lot of weekend getaways in the Hudson Valley which is becoming so popular due the amazing hikes, adorable towns, and great food. We looked at a lot of venues, that was the hardest part for us.
A monochrome theme with metallic accents
We did not use a wedding planner. The venue had a coordinator that helped with logistics but we designed and planned the wedding and weekend ourselves.
Our wedding was black and white themed; all guests were asked to wear black and white as well. We had gold and silver accents. Noam wore navy, and I, of course, wore white.
Noam’s last name is Tamir so we decided to use the hashtag #cheerstamirs because it was too perfect not to. “Cheers” became a mini theme we had a little “cheers” sign. Since it was also July 4th Weekend, we leveraged sparklers to end the night of the rehearsal dinner and to end the wedding in front of the hotel.
Minimalistic invitation design
We wanted simple, minimalistic and elegant invitations and of course, black and white.
We used the company Shine Invitations as we felt their designs felt most like us. Our friend Jen Russell, has an invite design company and she made us a custom monogram which we used at the wedding on signage.
Get glam with a little help from my friends
I am so lucky that my dear friends are the most talented stylists and colorists in NYC. Cassie Harwood-Jacquet, owner of Maison Jacquet styled my hair and Richy Kandasamy, co-founder of Rikoko, did my beautiful hair color. I used natural human hair extensions. This was a lot of work for these two, as my hair is much shorter than you see there.
My makeup artist was fantastic. Her name is Flynn Pyykkonen, she does weddings and editorial shoots and I just loved that her style was natural glam. Also since it was a summer wedding, I trusted her to have my makeup stay put. We did a trial, which I highly recommend, one look and she nailed it. She is also super lovely.
A Pronovias illusion gown
My dress was Pronovias. I had a vision to wear an Israeli designer but before I even got that far, I tried on three gowns at Pronovias and was sold on the Vicenta gown.
My mother and dear friend, Renee, was with me, who has impeccable taste and it just wasn’t a question, this was the one. It felt different than a typical wedding dress, and it also flattered my frame. I’m quite petite at only 5’1 and it elongated with a high waist.
It’s an illusion gown, which I was totally against going into it, so I encourage everyone to be open minded; you never know what will look best on you!
‘Something borrowed’ accessories
I wore my mother’s long pearl necklace, worn as a choker, draped down my open-back dress. These were actually my grandmother’s; my grandfather gave them to her when my mother was born. He has the best taste.
My solid rose gold wedding band was my great grandmother’s. My engagement ring was my grandma Shirley’s, her and my grandfather Cy were married for 64 years. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2013, but he was there at our wedding day walking down the aisle;
My earrings were Bloomingdale’s drop pearls to match the necklace, and my veil and blusher were from a friend, Cynthia, who got married last year.
Platform shoes
I wanted height, while still being elegant and comfortable. I went with a platform that I wore the entire night. They were rose gold Stuart Weitzman partisan satin heels.
A family-only bridal party
We did not have a bridal party. Our moms and siblings walked down the aisle and Noam had a best man, his brother.
A natural, elegant chuppah
We wanted a chuppah with white peonies and branches to have a natural, but elegant, look.
A meaningful ceremony
We chose non-traditional song for me to walk down the aisle and for the recessional. The wedding band was my great grandmother’s.
My favorite part of the ceremony was walking down the aisle, I was SO excited to do that.
The rabbi mentioned to us in our classes leading up to the wedding that, in Judaism, we believe that three generations before are present at your chuppah on your wedding as well as G-d. It’s a special time to connect with your grandparents, and generations before them, as well as praying for anything for you and anyone close to you. The rabbi also educated our guests about this.
It was my favorite part to connect with them and to G-d, and to pray for friends that are going through some hard times.
A bespoke ketubah design
We picked a design and language we loved for our ketubah and our Rabbi helped us customize it to exactly what we wanted it to say.
A reggae recessional
Noam walked down the aisle to the traditional Canon in D. I walked down to Bon Iver Holocene. Our recessional song was Bob Marley One Love, we love reggae.
Pretty peonies
We used Forever in Bloom for our floristry. We used peonies for the chuppah, the cocktail hour tables and bouquet. At the reception, we lit up the tables with floating candles and votives to have a romantic candlelit feel.
Our fabulous photographer and videographer
Ben Kelmer was our photographer and Tomer Fuchs of Fuchsia both flew in from Tel Aviv for the entire weekend, and could not have been more happy with them. They actually became friends of ours and calmed me down when I was stressed.
A gluten-free cake
The Roundhouse has an amazing in-house chef. We went non traditional and had the choice of duck or cod as the entrée. A four-tier cake was included but since I am gluten free and dairy free (I have celiac disease) we decided to use a delicious gluten-free bakery right in the town of Beacon called Ella’s Bellas (which is also our dog’s name!) to make a cutting cake and we decide to forgo the in-house desserts and Ella’s Bellas also made a selection of cupcakes, and other fun desserts on the table. Everyone raved about them and no one knew they were actually gluten free and vegan,
We had a J &N gold cake topper made from Etsy.
A note jar
We used a band called Next Phase from Faze 4 Bands. It was important to us that the music was current, and people just danced. We didn’t want the band to ask people to sit and stand throughout the night, just dance!
We also did a non-traditional guest book. We had a note jar where people wrote a note that we open on our one year anniversary.
Three generations under the chuppah
My dad, Noam’s brother and both our mom’s made speeches. We are very close with our family and it was a beautiful for our family to speak. My grandfather, as is traditional, did the blessing over the challah.
Building off the theme that three generations are present on your wedding day under the chuppah, we had a table of pictures of our ancestors up to three generations before as well as current ones of us (and our dog Ela) and had a numbering code so people knew who was who. Everyone commented how amazing that was.
Extra events
We also had a ‘send off’ bagels and bubbles brunch at the house we rented that my mom helped with which was so personal and lovely. The day before, we met people at Dia Beacon to walk through the art museum, take pictures and an evening welcome drinks under the stars (and fireworks).
Advices to couples currently planning their wedding
Do ‘you’! I knew I would get overwhelmed on the big day, so I did not want to get ready with a lot of people, I had a little oasis away and just got ready with four girls, and that included my makeup artist and hair stylist.
This is your day don’t be pressured about what you ‘should’ do or what is ‘usually’ done. Also mediation that morning and yoga was very helpful. I use an app called Headspace.
Julie & Noam’s little white book
Photographer – Ben Kelmer
Videographer – Fuchsia
Venue – Roundhouse
Bride’s dress – Pronovias
Bride’s jewellery – Bloomingdale’s
Bride’s shoes – Stuart Weitzman
Groom’s attire – Hugo Boss, YSL, Ted Baker and Gucci
Hair + Makeup – Cassie Harwood-Jacquet of Maison Jacquet, Rikoko and Flynn Pyykkonen
Flowers – Forever in Bloom
Band – Next Phase from Faze 4 Bands
Cake – Ella’s Bellas
Stationery – Shine Invitations and Jen Russell
Cake topper – Etsy
