Jenna will be marrying Mat on 13th June 2021 at The Lodge at Ventana Canyon in Tucson, Arizona. Click here to read all Jenna’s planning posts to date.
THREE FACTS: (1) Jenna + Mat have known each other all their lives – they met when they were both one-year-old at a baby class! (2) Their relationship began at the University of Arizona in March 2012 (3) Mat proposed at Jenna’s parents house in December 2018
Judaism is a huge part of our identity – both for my fiancé, Mat, and for me. We not only grew up at the same synagogue, where we were bar and bat mitzvahed, but also attended Jewish summer camps (and worked as counselors), were members of our Jewish youth group USY, went to the Jewish day school or the synagogue’s Hebrew school, and so much more (I taught b’nai mitzvah class for 5 years!).
Growing up for me, I always remembered going to Shabbat dinner at my Bubbie and Grandpa’s house – I even learned how to bake challah from my Grandpa, who would bake two fresh loaves every other week. We always celebrated all the Jewish holidays as well, with the entire family getting together to eat good food and celebrate. For Mat, going to Hebrew school 3 times a week at the synagogue kept him connected in his daily life to Judaism – it is where he learned about our history, culture, religion, and it taught him the importance of his Jewish identity.
