It’s always a special day when we get to feature the Jewish wedding of one of our beloved STG Brides Club members, and we’re especially psyched to see the beautiful day Nargiz, an attorney, practicing criminal defense and real estate/business litigation, and Ryan, a mechanical engineer pulled off.
Nargiz did such a beautiful job chronicling her efforts to include her late mother in the celebration so movingly (which she wrote about in this moving blog post for STG) – not to mention the couple’s work to craft a day that reflected both the bride’s Azerbaijani Jewish background and the groom’s Ashkenazi American one.
She and Ryan also happen to have put together an absolutely gorgeous wedding. With an all-white theme – how elegant is that chuppah?! – and a glam mermaid gown by Enzoani, this pair’s aesthetic was on point, as captured exquisitely by photographer Visi Productions and videographer was Blue Racer Productions.
Getting married without a beloved parent is always a bittersweet experience, and we’re so moved by some of the special touches Nargiz worked in as remembrances of her mother, from attaching a picture of her mom to her bouquet to making a contribution in lieu of favors to the American Cancer Society and Mazon.
And we love how Nargiz brought her heritage into the day with Azerbaijani food (plus bottles of vodka on all the tables!) and Russian singers performing traditional Kavkazi songs.
As a member of STG’s Brides Club, Nargiz loved trading stories and advice with Jewish and Jew-ish brides from all over the world. If you want to join the Club too (we’re currently particularly supporting brides-to-be whose wedding plans are affected by the pandemic) click here.
We’ll let Nargiz – who blogged her wedding planning journey on STG – tell her story from here…
How me Met
Nargiz, the bride: We met through mutual friends 6.5 years ago.
Keeping it Local
We got married at Farmington Hills Manor in Farmington Hills, Michigan. We picked this venue because of its close proximity to our homes and most of our guests, and because of their lenient policy on allowing us to bring in outside caterers. We had two caterers, one was for the majority of the guests, Allegro Restaurant in West Bloomfield and the other provided kosher food for 30 guests of ours who keep kosher. The venue was also big enough to host 300 guests for ceremony and reception which was key.
White Wedding
I wanted a simple and elegant wedding. We went with an all-white wedding, white flowers, clear chairs, white tablecloths, clear candelabras. I wanted a big white chuppah and my florist was able to bring my vision to life. It was stunning! The chuppah held a huge meaning for me as I was looking forward toward the ceremony the most.
I did have a planner for the day of festivities, A June Event. Someone who was able to make sure everything was on track. Lauren and June from A June Event were lifesaving.
What ‘Smashing The Glass Brides Club’ Did For Us
My experience with Smashing the Glass’ Brides Club has been amazing. All the girls that are part of it have been able to share their wedding planning stories and have been able to gather input from other brides around the world. We were able to see all kinds of Jew-ish weddings planned around the world.
It has been very helpful knowing what someone else is doing for their wedding, and getting ideas for yours based on that. I found our kippah vendor, Yarmulkes, on the Brides Club vendor list and received a discount as result of it. We ordered simple black satin kippah with our names and wedding date on it.
Invitation
My invitations were very simple. I did not want anything shiny, blingy, or over the top because that’s not my style and not the vision I had for my wedding. I had my invitations made by a local printing company. They were white with black writing and black border. I had the RSVP cards, the Wedding Menu Cards, the Wedding Programs and the table seating cards all match this look.
Hair + Makeup
I wanted my hair to be down with big curls, sort of an effortless look but with some effort. I went with Raquelle from Beauty Lounge in West Bloomfield, MI because she was able to do my hair just the way I wanted. I have thick long hair, so it is not necessarily easy to work with. She was my second hair stylist that I did a trial with, and once she was done, I knew I had to book her!
I wanted my makeup to be bronze, natural colors for the eyes and a little smokey. My makeup artist was Ashley Ayar. She did an amazing job making me look extra pretty on my wedding day! Before the wedding, we did a trial and she was able to go over what things I wanted to change for the wedding day.
An Enzoani Dress
My dress was from Bridal Couture at their Plymouth location. The designer was Enzoani. It was a form fitting mermaid style dress with a low back. The dress had everything I wanted and the moment I saw, I had a feeling it may be the one. When I tried it on and saw how it looked, I knew I can stop looking for a dress! It is satin and lace at the top with clear beads and has a tulle bottom with a huge train. I love it and wish I could wear it all the time.
Accessories
As for jewelry, I wore diamond drop earrings. Because my dress had thin straps with some beads on them, I did not want to wear a necklace as I thought it would be too much. So I focused on finding the right pair of earrings and I did. I also had two diamond bracelets, one on each arm.
Aside from my engagement ring and wedding bands, I also wore a ring my sister let me borrow. The ring was given to her by our mother, it had sapphire stones in it. That was my ‘something borrowed and something blue’.
I did not have a tiara because it is not my style. I did, however, have two veils. I had my veils custom made by a local (Jewish) wedding accessories designer, Ariel Taub. She made my ceremony veil which was over 12 feet long and covered in Swarovski crystals. I also had a similar but shorter veil made which I wore as a blusher at the ceremony and as a party veil during my reception.
Shoes
I love wearing heels and I wear them often. My husband is 6’2 and I am 5’1, naturally, I was going for high heels. My shoes are Badgley Mischka and I love them. They are silver and have a little bling on them. Perfect for a wedding!
The handsome groom
Ryan mixed two different tuxes into one. He chose a dark blue tux jacket and wore black tux pants with them, white shirt and black bow tie. He looked absolutely handsome, as I knew he would!
Bridesmaids
I had 7 bridesmaids, 2 were my sisters and MOH’s. All my bridesmaids were able to pick out their own long black dresses. The black dresses tied into the black borders of all the wedding printing products and the black tie attire we had at the wedding. I did want my sisters (my MOH’s) to stand out, so their dresses were extra glamorous.
Ceremony
I loved how our rabbi was able to bring in our personalities into the wedding ceremony. We used Ryan’s tallit during our ceremony. It is a Sephardic tradition to be wrapped in a tallit and be blessed. Ryan was given that same tallit at his bar mitzvah that happened exactly 17 years to the day of our wedding.
We had two kiddush cups, one from each family, to symbolize two families becoming one.
Ketubah
Our ketubah was done by 3d Ketubahs owner Gabrielle Malin. She did an amazing job. It was a little pricey but worth it to me as I do plan on hanging it up in our house. The ketubah had the same saying as we had on our wedding invites and our wedding programs, “Ani Ledodi Vdodi Li”.
Chuppah
I looked through many pictures on Instagram for chuppah ideas. The only designs that stood out to me where the chuppahs that were clear and/or white. So I gathered a couple of pictures and showed them to my florist and she was able to bring the chuppah to life.
Our music choice
During the ceremony, I had the bridal party and parents walk down to the song ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri, a violin an piano cover. It is a very beautiful and classy song.
The song that I walked down the aisle to is called ‘Boii Bshalom’ by Itzik Orlev. When I first heard that song, I fell in love with it and knew I had to have it played for when I walk down the aisle.
White Flowers
My florist was Amy Guzzardo with Designs by Guzzardo.
She did an amazing job. We went with all white flowers which included roses, hydrangeas, baby’s breath, and lots of greens to add into the mix. We went with high floral center pieces and some low ones for rectangle tables. Our sweetheart table had a long arrangement of low centerpieces, going across the table. It was beautiful.
My bouquet had a picture of my mom attached to it. I loved looking down at my bouquet and seeing her.
Photographer and videographer
Our photographer was Visi Productions. They were amazing and super talented. We also had our engagement pictures done with them. They are creative and knowledgeable. They have done amazing work on other people’s weddings, so I knew I was placing our memories into the right hands.
Our videographer was Blue Racer Productions. That was the first vendor I booked after choosing our venue and wedding date. They are known for their amazing highlight videos. I knew I had to have them. They did an amazing job with our wedding vignette.
Food and cake
Our caterer was Allegro Restaurant located in West Bloomfield. Allegro is an Armenian/ Azeri/Russian styled restaurant. They have amazing food and I had to have them cater our wedding. Our food style was very Azerbaijani, lots of courses and options and all family styled.
Our cake was done by Batter Up! Cakes. I sent her a few pictures of what I wanted and she created just that. It was a simple, 4 layer white cake with some flowers on it.
Entertainment
We had 2 Russian speaking singers and 1 DJ. Many of the guests were from my side, and our Kavkazi songs are fun. So I chose to have the Russian speaking singers at the wedding to bring my culture into it and have our guests enjoy the night. We also had a DJ Vamos, from Canada come in, he spoke Russian and is familiar with Kavkazi songs. He was able to play English songs and some Russian techno songs for the younger crowd.
Between the three of them, we had great music playing all night until past 1 AM. Our guests danced nonstop and that is what I wanted.
Charitable Favors
In lieu of favors and in memory of my mom, we made a contribution to the American Cancer Society and Mazon.
Showered with Money
The speeches were made by our siblings (we each have 3) and our parents. Our siblings had the best and funniest speeches I have heard, and many of our guests even said that after the wedding.
Ryan’s friends also decided to shower us with money. They brought with them $600 worth of singles and chose a fun song for everyone to dance to, and started throwing money at us. It was amazing and everyone was loving it.
Aside from having an open bar until 1 am, we also added bottles of vodka on the tables. It was a little touch for my side of the family that I wanted to add. Toward the end of the night, around 1 am, some of our guests gathered chairs on the dance floor to start a little vodka pouring train. It was fun and a great way to end the night.
Honeymoon
We did a minimoon to Mexico a few days after the wedding. We stayed at Secrets the Vine for 6 nights. We wanted to go somewhere close and tropical. It was nice and relaxing, we slept in, laid out, and recuperated from the wedding festivities. It was a very nice resort!
For our honeymoon, we went to Thailand and Singapore, with a short stop in Paris where we got engaged. We went for 2.5 weeks over Hanukkah break. Both countries are beautiful and we had an amazing time!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
My advice to future brides is do what your heart desires for your wedding. At the end of the day, it’s your personal memories so make them the way you want them to be. Not everything will go according to plan but it will be very close. Also, I found that having a planner for the day of was extremely helpful and relieved me of any stress on the wedding that I may have had if I did not have a planner.
NARGIZ & RYAN’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Visi Productions
Videography – Blue Racer Productions
Kippah – Yarmulkes {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Wedding planner – A June Event
Venue – Farmington Hills Manor
Bride’s dress – Enzoani found and fitted at Bridal Couture
Bride’s shoes – Badgley Mischka
Bride’s accessories – Ariel Taub
Hair + Makeup – Beauty Lounge, Ashley Ayar
Flowers – Designs by Guzzardo
DJ – DJ Vamos
Catering – Allegro Restaurant
Cake – Batter Up! Cakes
Ketubah – 3d Ketubahs
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
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.
