Can you believe this beautiful Jewish wedding was planned by a bride in the midst of her general surgery residency?! Juliane deserves some kind of wedding planning award – and groom Guy doesn’t have it much easier as a detective with the LAPD!
Despite their busy schedules and short planning period – just six months, so the couple could wed before Juliane had to move across the country for her colorectal surgery fellowship – these two were committed to being involved in their planning and crafting an ultra-personal day. To make it happen, they enlisted the fantastic team at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Amethyst Event Productions.
In the bride’s own words:
My advice is to get a wedding planner. You don’t have to break the bank and they don’t have to plan your whole wedding (but they also can), but they can definitely make it a stress free zone on the day of the wedding. Our wedding planners made every last detail and vision come together and our wedding was so memorable because of it.
Before we turn you over to the bride – who looked so classically elegant in Enzoani– we have to remark on how much we adore Juliane and Guy’s simple white chuppah – with just a few arrangements at the corners, and a tallit canopy, it just goes to show you don’t need to go over the top to create a super-memorable chuppah. Don’t miss the photos from White August Photography!
How We Met
Julianne, the bride: Guy and I met via the dating app J Swipe. We texted via the app and then Guy called me. We had a lengthy conversation and by the end of it Guy apparently wasn’t convinced enough to ask me out because he told he would call me again instead of asking me out. I remember being surprised and disappointed that we spent so long on the phone and he didn’t mention a date! Eventually after another phone call we did go out. Our first date was at the Black Liquor Market and it is the last first date each of us has been on since.
Indoor Outdoor
We got married at the Castle Green in Pasadena. Guy wanted an indoor wedding – he was convinced it would rain in April (even in Los Angeles) but I wanted an outdoor wedding so we were looking for combination. We were sold by the elegant venue that was classic. The coordinators of the Castle were also a huge sell. Dior was like a mother and a godsend. She had so many tips and started helping us before we even finalized booking the venue.
A Personal Wedding
The most personal touch of our wedding today was that Guy and I made every single decision together from the cake to the venue to the food to the rabbi. And that thanks to our wedding planners we didn’t worry about a single part of the day.
What ‘Smashing The Glass’ Did For Us
Our wedding coordinators told us about the site after the wedding. I wish we had known about it before. It has so many great wedding features of all shapes and sizes from all over the world. It would have definitely given me even more ideas.
Invitation
Our invitation was actually an electronic invite only! We didn’t have a lot of time for planning and I think avoiding mailed invitations helped save time, effort, and money.
We had roughly 6 months from engagement to our wedding. We didn’t particularly want to rush the engagement but I would be moving for my colorectal surgery fellowship in July and I did not want to wait until I got back or try to plan a wedding from across the country.
Hair + Makeup
I feel most confident with my hair down so I just went for classic curls with a side comb. Jessica made my hair a dream come true. And Kim made my makeup feel glam but natural.
An Enzoani Dress
Nothing special about the dress just that I loved it and that I found it with my best friend on a crazy day of leaving the hospital after working all night only going back to work after finding the dress. I knew if I felt pretty despite having no sleep for 24 hours that it must be the one and I was really relieved to find it because apparently I should have been looking about 6 months prior! The dress was purchased at Bella Bridal in Koreatown. The designer is Enzoani and style is Lesley.
Accessories
I had a veil and a haircomb. The veil was borrowed from one of my good friends Jenny. Our other friend Zabie also wore the veil in her wedding. So it was something borrowed. I did not initially plan for a veil but we decided to do the badeken/veiling as part of our ceremony after our wedding planner mentioned it.
Shoes
One pair of skyscrapers and one pair of wedges! Both Badgley Mischka. I barely made it through the ceremony with the 4 inch heels. I was happy I chose to have the wedges for the rest of the night. I was actually hoping to find blue shoes but nothing fit the bill! The heels I wore in the ceremony were satin off white with lots of rhinestones and the wedges were also satin off white with embellishments
The handsome groom
Guy spent almost as much money on his bespoke tux as I did on my dress. We both picked out the fabric and style and it was custom made by a company called Distinguished Gentleman. Despite that I was part of the process Guy was adamant that I not see the tuxedo before the wedding day! The first look was truly a first look for both of us. I hope he gets a chance to wear it again, he looks very handsome in all of his suits but that tuxedo fit him perfectly. His cuff links were a gift from me for Hanukkah. I got them because they remind me of Guy’s profession as a detective for the Los Angeles Police Department.
Bridesmaids
I had 4 bridesmaids. My sister, and 3 of my good friends. They were bluish grey in color. I didn’t really pick them for theme more for a color I thought would be flattering on the diverse set of women they were being worn by!
My sister, Guy’s brother and a few of our closest friends were part of the bride and groom’s parties.
Chuppah
The company that did our catering had a lovely basic white chuppah. I bought sheer fabric to drape over it and our florist handled the arrangements like the rest of our wedding we just wanted something simple and elegant. We did not want the florals to take away from the beauty of the chuppah itself as well as the tallit.
I had a vision for what it would look like but I have to say between out florist and wedding planners they really made it come alive. It was the first thing I saw when I walked in the venue and it really solidified that we were getting married.
Ceremony
I only kept one secret from at him and that was hiring a violinist to play our recessional music. He loves classical music and I thought he would like to hear our recessional played live as opposed to a recording.
We both always wanted to have a fairly traditional Jewish wedding and we both agreed that our favorite part was the Yichud. Thank goodness for our wedding planners for reminding us of this tradition. The wedding flew by so fast but this is the time that we actually got to breathe with each other and share our vows and our gifts and some food in private as newlyweds. Flying around in the chairs for the hora takes a very close second.
I think our Rabbi made the day quite special. He really captured our story and also maintained the Jewish traditions that we wanted out of a wedding while keeping our non Jewish guests informed along the way. I think the traditions are really what made our wedding. From having a ketubah signing with our families before the wedding to standing under the chuppah with our rabbi and our parents to wearing a veil to having a Yichud immediately following the ceremony.
A Ketubah designed by us
Our ketubah was designed for us. Guy handled most of the special touches which most importantly includes our dog and cat Maven and Mika.
Our music choice
The processional was ‘Canon in D’ – Pachelbel;
The recessional was ‘Siman Tov’;
Our first dance: ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ by Starship;
Guy and his mom’s : ‘Landslide’ (Smashing Pumpkin’s cover);
Jules’ and her dad’s: ‘Wonderful Tonight’ (Eric Clapton).
Flowers
Our florist was Danielle Kendall from Kendall Farms in Fallbrook. This part of the planning was a little less traditional. Danielle and I talked over the phone and I sent her some pictures of our visions. We never actually met until Guy and I picked up all the florals the day before our wedding. I thought it would be slightly stressful but Danielle had everything so organized and planned out in order to stay fresh for the following day. I wanted a neutral theme with lots of roses and green. Mainly she went with creams, greenery and a touch of blush.
Our flower arrangements were unique in that I saw a display at target of beautiful arrangements in mason jars and thought to myself why can’t I find arrangements like that for the wedding. On a whim I looked up the farm they came from and found Danielle Kendall. She makes flower arrangements that get distributed for selling but lucky for me she was also doing weddings! She is an amazing woman – she put my flower visions together from talking over the phone (I didn’t have a lot of time for meeting between my job and short timeline) and she made the most amazing chuppah arrangement. I did have to pick the flowers up but it was a nice trip for Guy and I the day before the wedding and we saved a ton of money without sacrificing what we wanted.
I wanted the table bouquets not to obscure our guests from talking across the table! And I bought a ton of votives to go along with the florals. I handed all of it over to Deniz and Jessica – our wedding planners and they made it look exactly as I pictured.
I was sad to have to leave the flowers behind since we were going on our honeymoon. I did however leave my bouquet in water in the fridge and it was good for another week after we got back!
Photographer
White August Photography. We picked Bryan mainly because he had experience at the venue for the wedding and our engagement photos and his photos were part of what peaked my interest for both venues. A Sunny Day Productions did our video.
Food and cake
Green Street Restaurant in Pasadena provided the food and Castle Catering served it. Our cake was done by Fantasy Frosting. Our cake was 2 flavors – creme brulee and pistachio. We also had mini cupcakes, cake pops and bars as part of our dessert table.
Entertainment
A violonist and pianist – both for Guy as a surprise as he loves classical music. A DJ for everything else. Our speeches were done by my dad, Guy’s brother, and my friend Zabie.
Favors
We had bottle openers with our names and wedding date. I initially wasn’t going to have them because I thought it would be too time consuming to decide. We just wanted to give out something that would be personal to our wedding but also usable on a regular basis.
Honeymoon
Kauai! We weren’t initially planning a honeymoon but my brother and sister in law gifted it to us and we could not say no. It was the best trip we have been on. Kauai is an amazingly beautiful island with lots of local restaurants and shops in addition to all the natural beauty. It was the perfect honeymoon for us.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
My advice is to get a wedding planner. You don’t have to break the bank and they don’t have to plan your whole wedding (but they also can), but they can definitely make it a stress free zone on the day of the wedding. Our wedding planners made every last detail and vision come together and our wedding was so memorable because of it. I am sure there were some hiccups during the day but we didn’t hear about them!
Make your wedding your own. Guy and I loved pretty much every part of our wedding except that it went by so fast. We did the planning together and we made most decisions together.
Look for your dress first!
Julianne & Guy’s little white book
Videography – A Sunny Day Productions
Venue – Castle Green
Bride’s dress – Enzoani
Bride’s shoes – Badgley Mischka
Groom’s attire – Distinguished Gentleman
Hair + Makeup – Kimberly B Wijangco
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club for step-by-step guides, handpicked wedding vendor discounts, Jewish wedding action plans, a free smash glass pouch, Jewish wedding checklists and templates, and SO much more!
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 minimizes wedstress and overwhelm and maximises your budget. Join our Brides Club here.
