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Facebook Live Recap: Jewish Wedding Checklist Essentials {with JScreen and FAB Styling}

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I’m delighted to share with you my latest Facebook Live, all about two elements that I think are absolute wedding planning essentials: finding a gown you feel great in, and genetic carrier screening.

Last month, I chatted with Hillary Kener Regelman, Director of National Outreach at JScreen, a US-based not-for-profit at-home education and carrier screening program for Jewish genetic diseases, and New York-based bridal stylist Farrah Arrenson of FAB Styling, who specializes in helping busy brides find the dress of their dreams, stress-free. These two topics – dress shopping and genetic screening – are the ones I get the most questions about from brides, so I thought it made sense to bring them together into one fabulous session!

Hillary and Farrah are both incredibly knowledgeable in their respective fields, and they both care so much about keeping couples happy – with Farrah focusing on the big day, and Hillary focusing on the years to come after you make it official. 

I’ll start by summing up some of the bridal fashion wisdom Farrah shared with us!

ABOUT FAB STYLING

FAB Styling‘s Farrah Arrenson is devoted to providing brides with a custom-tailored dress shopping experience so that they can find their dream gown with minimum stress. She brings her own Jewish background plus work experience at some of NYC’s leading bridal salons (including Kleinfeld – yes, she’s been on Say Yes to the Dress!) to the table, and her full-service approach carries through to the wedding day itself, when she’s on hand to tend to your every need, keeping you happy, calm, and photo-ready throughout. No one knows bridal fashion like Farrah does.

Wedding planning is overwhelming, but finding your dress shouldn’t be. 

What should every bride know about before she starts looking for her dress?

First of all, Farrah wants brides to know that there’s a dress for everyone! That said, in order to find it, it’s important to be open-minded: what you think you want isn’t always what you’re going to end up with (in fact, Farrah reports this is the case for a whopping 9 out of 10 of her clients!). So don’t pigeonhole yourself – you might be surprised what dress you’ll fall in love with! 

I also love Farrah’s advice, when considering what styles to try on, to focus on what you love about your body and how you can accentuate that, rather than on the things you don’t like as much.

Ultimately, Farrah says, wedding dress shopping should be fun! Don’t let it stress you out, and trust your instincts.

What bridal fashion trends are coming up for 2022/23?

Reporting live from bridal fashion week, Farrah could not have been better positioned to fill us in on what’s hot and what’s not! She reports that styles are fashion-forward this year, with emphasis on sharp lines; clean, striking silhouettes; and richly detailed fabrics. Farrah’s seeing lots of statement sleeves (and lots of detachable sleeves too – a great option for brides who need to cover up for the chuppah). Modest brides rejoice: high necklines are coming back! And for the edgier brides, crop tops and hi-lo hemlines are in. 

What’s in for chuppah cover-ups?

Farrah’s favorite chuppah cover-up of the moment is something she affectionately refers to as “the doughnut” (love the name!) -basically, tons of tulle wrapped around the bride’s shoulders to provide coverage. She’s also seeing boleros, shawls, fur stoles for winter weddings, and even white leather jackets! She reports that capes – which were having a serious moment a couple years back – are out (but if you love the look, don’t let that stop you! Your Jewish wedding, your way!).

Which designers are great for modest brides?

For brides looking for modest gowns, Farrah especially loves Designers: Sareh Nouri, Rita Vinieris, Ines Di Santo, and Anne Barge – both for their timelessly elegant styling, and the fact that all of them are great when it comes to customizations.

What are some awesome options for affordable bridal attire?

Farrah’s favorites for brides on a budget are BHLDN (Anthropologie’s bridal brand) and Net a Porter’s bridal section (yes, believe it or not, their bridal stuff’s surprisingly reasonably priced – and also a great choice for brides on a tight timeline). 

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Join Our Live Chat on Jewish Wedding Checklist Essentials {with JScreen and FAB Styling}

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There’s so much to keep in mind in the midst of planning your wedding. And I’m so excited to tell you about my upcoming Facebook Live, where I’ll take a deep dive into two elements that I think are absolutely essential: finding a gown you feel great in, and genetic carrier screening.

This Thursday, October 7, at 5:00 PM GDT / 12:00 PM EST / 9:00 AM PST, join me for an interactive chat on Facebook with Hillary Kener Regelman, Director of National Outreach at JScreen, a US-based not-for-profit at-home education and carrier screening program for Jewish genetic diseases, and New York-based bridal stylist Farrah Arrenson of FAB Styling, who specializes in helping busy brides find the dress of their dreams, stress-free.

These are two of the topics we get the most questions about, and so we’ve decided to put them together in one blockbuster event! Dress shopping is for your fairy tale moment. Genetic carrier screening helps ensure your happily ever after continues through your married life. What happens after you hang the dress up and you’re ready to start your future is where JScreen comes in.

This is going to be an incredible opportunity to get all your questions on both of these topics answered by the experts, so please do join in!

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The Songs You’ll Need for Your Jewish Wedding with Kimpton Fitzroy London and Sensation Band {Facebook Live Recap}

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I’m so excited to share my latest Facebook Live from one of London’s very best Jewish wedding venues, the glorious Kimpton Fitzroy London, featuring favorite Jewish wedding songs performed by our friends from Sensation Band, the world-class wedding entertainment outfit beloved by so many Jewish couples in London and beyond. 

We had such a fantastic team come together to make this event happen, including Adam Nathan Catering, who provided delicious canapes for our live audience of Smashing The Glass Brides Club members; Adrian Stone, who provided his videography services; Claudine Hartzel, who took all the gorgeous still shots of the event you’ll see here; LiT, who handled livestreaming and production; JF Styling, who styled the gorgeous chuppah under which Sensation performed; and Dimitria Jordan, who designed personalized stationery gifts for our wonderful Brides Club attendees!

Sensation Band have performed at hundreds of Jewish weddings of all kinds, and what they don’t know about Jewish wedding music isn’t worth knowing – plus, of course, they’re incredibly talented musicians! So it was really a treat to have them here with us, performing and sharing some of the wisdom they’ve gleaned from their many years of Jewish wedding experience. Sensation prepared a set list of classic songs you might consider incorporating into your Jewish ceremony – both traditional versions and some very contemporary twists! (Scroll to the foot of the post for all the names of the tracks and time stamps).

Processional Tracks

With Guy on vocals and Jason on keyboard, we started with a selection of songs that are popular choices for the groom’s processional. First, we heard “Vehi Sheamda,” featuring lyrics from the Passover Haggadah; then Omer Adam’s “Modeh Ani,” a popular Israeli track; next, “Yesimcha Elokim,” a more traditional choice, and finally, “Meheira,” which takes its lyrics from the Sheva Brachot. 

Hebrew or English?

Then we took a break for some audience questions, and a really important one came up: Can you use English (or whatever language) music in your ceremony, or does it all need to be in Hebrew? Sensation and I agree, this one really depends so much on your officiant – so be sure you discuss it with them. Sensation mentioned that they often set traditional Hebrew lyrics to popular contemporary tunes, which can be a great option – especially if you’re required to use Hebrew music but have your heart set on something different.

Welcoming the Bride

Then Guy and Jason performed their next track, the traditional Israeli love song “Erev Shel Shoshanim.” They suggest it as an option for the grandparents’ processional, and it’s also a popular option for brides to walk down to!

Next up was Boi Kallah, sung to the tune of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” – taken from Lecha Dodi, the lyrics are all about welcoming the (Shabbat) bride, so it’s an awesome choice for welcoming a non-metaphorical bride, too!

Then, continuing the theme of setting traditional songs to modern tunes, Sensation performed another version of “Meheira,” this time set to the tune of “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman.

Wrapping Things Up

They followed that up with “Eishet Chayil,” traditionally sung on Friday nights, about the woman of valor. This track is often played during the circling. First, Guy and Jason did a traditional rendition; then they changed things up by performing it to the tune of Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are”!

Then we were treated to “Mi Adir,” a blessing for the newly married couple, to the tune of “You Raise Me Up” by Westlife. Next was “Im Eshkachech,” traditionally sung just before the breaking of the glass, first sung to the tune of popular track “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” then the more traditional version. 

Next it was time for “Siman Tov Mazal Tov,” the lively tune that’s usually sung right after the smashing of the glass!

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Everything You Need to Know about Planning an Interfaith Jewish Wedding {Facebook Live Recap with 18Doors}

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Planning a Jewish wedding can be tricky. Planning an interfaith Jewish wedding? Even trickier. That’s why I’m so happy to share my latest Facebook Live all about how to plan your perfect celebration, one that combines your two backgrounds in a unique way that’s totally, 100% you.

On this Live, I spoke with Rabbi Robyn Frisch and Nicole Wasilus of 18Doors, a wonderful organization dedicated to empowering interfaith couples and families to engage in Jewish life. No one knows more about interfaith Jewish weddings than these two, and I learned so much from speaking with them.

If you’re in the midst of planning your own interfaith celebration, or suspect you might be soon, you can’t do any better than to watch the recording of this fantastic session – and for easy browsing, I’ve recapped the highlights for you below.

There’s so much information to be gleaned from this Live, but if you’ve got a particular question that isn’t answered, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the wonderful 18Doors team – they’ve got 26 rabbinic fellow spread throughout US and Canada, and they’d love to help you out however they can, wherever you are in the world. 18 Doors’ sole mission is to help interfaith Jewish couples and families, so this is really what they’re here for!

Read on for some of Rabbi Robyn and Nicole’s interfaith wedding wisdom…

Getting Started

Rabbi Robyn and Nicole emphasized that, at the very beginning of wedding planning, it’s important to start by talking to your partner and hearing what they have to say. You should do this before you reach out to officiants, and before you start involving your families.

What exactly might you want to discuss? Consider talking through the following:

  • Which traditions from your background are important to you, and are there any that aren’t?
  • Is there anything about your partner’s tradition that you’d especially like to include, or that would make you uncomfortable to include?
  • Is there anything you especially liked or didn’t like from other weddings you’ve attended?
  • Are there any important people you’d like to honor in your wedding? What are some ways you might like to do that?

Rabbi Robyn and Nicole also recommend checking out Anita Diamant’s The Jewish Wedding Now for reference and ideas.

Above all, it’s important to start having these conversations early, and to keep communication open throughout the planning process.

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Everything You Need to Know about Planning an Interfaith Jewish Wedding {with 18Doors}

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Here at Smashing The Glass, we get so many questions from couples looking for guidance on planning their interfaith Jewish weddings. Wedding planning can be a daunting process for anyone, but interfaith couples can face all kinds of extra challenges, from navigating tricky family situations to simply not having a clear roadmap for what your ceremony might look like.
 
That’s why I’m so excited to tell you that this Wednesday, May 19, at 9:00 am PDT / 12:00 pm EDT / 5:00 pm GST, I’ll be chatting on Facebook with Rabbi Robyn Frisch and Nicole Wasilus of 18 Doors, a wonderful organization dedicated to empowering interfaith couples and families to engage in Jewish life, all about how to plan your perfect interfaith Jewish wedding.  

Some of the topics we’ll cover include:

  • Starting the conversation about what’s important to each of you in planning out your ceremony
  • Choosing an officiant
  • Special considerations for interfaith couples planning a wedding (for example, ketubot)
  • Examples of creative touches interfaith couples have used to incorporate background of partner or put a spin on Jewish tradition
  • Advice for navigating family conflict 
  • Discussion of the traditional elements of a Jewish ceremony and what considerations interfaith couples may want to make when deciding whether or not to include each one
  • Understanding elements of the Jewish ceremony in an interfaith way 

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