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A BHLDN Bride for an Interabled Couple’s Ultra-Personal Egalitarian Jewish Wedding at Finsbury Old Town Hall, London, UK

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It’s no secret that we love seeing a couple who crafts a unique Jewish wedding that’s totally, 100% them. And that’s exactly what today’s bride and groom did. Candy and Max are passionate about documenting their life together as an interabled couple at Riding Everest – Max, an investment analyst, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, and in addition to a career in writing and social media Candy cares for Max, assisting him with all the tasks he needs help with due to his disability – and showing the world that relationships where one partner has a disability are just as loving, normal, and beautiful as any other.

And that seems to go doubly for weddings, based on Kristian Leven’s radiant, joyous photos of the day. This wedding was SO full of love, happiness, and cool personal touches, from papel picado in honor of Max’s Mexican heritage, eucalyptus leaves to reflect Candy’s Australian family, and tiny plastic horses scattered around the venue for guests to find as a nod to the couple’s 2018 horseback trek to Everest Base Camp! And they also worked in plenty of DIY touches, from hand-painted place cards (Max worked with a paintbrush held in his mouth, and Candy took charge of the calligraphy) to homemade gin favors.

We also love that these two opted to get married twice in one day, starting their day at the register office and ending it under the chuppah, which Candy and Max loved because it gave them the opportunity to have both a small, intimate wedding with just family AND a big Jewish wedding where they celebrated with their community.

And then there’s the exuberant Jewish music by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Shir! This mega-talented group not only helped the couple pick their favorite tunes and iron out logistical creases in their day, they also led the Israeli dancing and made sure that everyone – even guests who’d never before attended a Jewish wedding – got involved!

There’s so much more we could say about this awesome wedding, but we’ll leave it to Candy – who started the day in a pale blue vintage tea dress before a secret pre-chuppah costume change into a beaded dress from BHLDN – to fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Candy, the bride: We met after my masters, when I needed a part time job (an MA in playwrighting isn’t a very lucrative way to get into the job market) and Max needed a PA at work. Then we accidentally fell in love and the rest is history!

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A Galia Lahav Bride for an Industrial Rustic Jewish Wedding at Knockdown Center, Queens, New York, USA

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This is SUCH a New York wedding, and we are all over it. Jenny, who works as an associate media director at an ad agency, and Zach, who works in real estate development at a private equity firm, brought the city vibes to their Jewish wedding with everything from their choice of venue – the super cool Knockdown Center in Queens, which manages to combine industrial chic while being able to bring in greenery and rustic sophistication seamlessly – to their decision to bring in iconic NYC eats like Robertas Pizza andthe Shake Shack food truck.

And how incredible is the couple’s floating chuppah?! With all four sides open – so all 375 guests seated in the round could see the couple clearly – it brings some serious enchanted forest vibes to an otherwise urban setting. Photographer Tory Williams captured everything so perfectly.

Now over to Jenny, who looked stunning in Galia Lahav – one of our fave Israeli designers!

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Jenny, the bride: We got married at the Knockdown Center in Maspeth Queens.  We were looking for a venue that was “us” and not typical.  We wanted a place we could create what we wanted but that had natural beauty.  Zach works in real estate and loves finding raw spaces and making them beautiful.  This space had the perfect contrast of industrial chic while being able to bring in greenery and rustic yet sophisticated beauty.

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An Eve of Milady Bride for a Magical Jewish Wedding with a Floating Cake at Temple Beth El, Cedarhurst, NY

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We throw the word “magical” around a lot when talking about the beautiful Jewish wedding we’re privileged to feature… but this one brings it to another level! You see, the groom, Eric Wilzig, is a professional magician and illusionist, and the big day took its cues from his background – with some fun inspired by Eliana’s career as a gymnast, gymnastics coach, and manager at a gymnastics gym.

The couple’s “floating” chuppah (thanks to lucite columns) is pretty cool, but there’s no question that the piece de resistance was the couple’s wedding cake, which was actually levitating – no strings or wires involved.

Not many bakers could pull off a cake like this, but luckily Eric and Eliana found the dream team at Peboryon, lead by Christine and and Phil Jenson, and they worked out a design that would allow the top tier of the cake to float and spin. The couple were so taken with their concept and craftsmanship they ended up flying the Peboryon team out to New York from the UK to make it happen… and 228 (no, that’s not a typo) hours of work later, they did! Don’t miss the incredible pics from White Light Photo!

There were plenty of other magical touches to this one-of-a-kind wedding, but we’ll let Eliana, who looked ravishing in Eve of Milady, tell you about all of that…

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How we met

Eliana, the bride: We met through a mutual friend in NYC. A few minutes after Eric met Eliana, he did a magic trick to get her phone number…true story!

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A Chanukah Jewish Wedding at Hackney Town Hall, London, UK

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There’s nothing like a Chanukah Jewish wedding. The Festival of Lights is such a magical time to get married – which makes it a no brainer that Dvorit, who recently completed a master’s in genetics and now works in the charity sector, and Ollie, an urban planner, chose to wed on the holiday’s last night.

In honor of the holiday, Dvorit and Ollie lit candles, sang Chanukah songs, and even had a donut wall instead of a cake! We’re in love with the way Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel captured this joyous celebration in her luminous, natural photos – and videographer CCS Video brings the fab energy of the day to life!

And HOW stunning is the couple’s incredible London venue, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Hackney Town Hall? These two wanted an ultra-memorable spot to tie the knot, and did they ever find one – the breathtaking atrium, where the chuppah took place, is nothing short of majestic, and Dvorit and Ollie took full advantage of the lift handily located in the atrium to make a dramatic entrance. The bride and her parents entered the chuppah space via the lift before disembarking and walking down the aisle, and at the end of the ceremony the couple exited via the lift as well – talk about a memorable exit!

We’ll let Dvorit fill you in on the rest…

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HOW WE MET

Dvorit, the bride: Ollie and I met over 3 years ago when I was visiting my brother and his family here in London (I am from Montreal, Canada, and was studying in New York at the time). Ollie worked with my brother in Bnei Akiva and my sister-in- law suggested Ollie as a potential love interest. We started talking (with Ollie none the wiser what was going on), and started dating 3 months later.

We then did long distance for 2 years (thank god for Facetime!) until I moved to London in September 2018 to do my Masters at UCL. We got engaged in the summer of 2019 when my family was all together in Montreal for my grandfather’s 100th birthday. We then got married on December 29th 2019, on the last night of Chanukah. 

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A Berta Bride for a Spiritual Glam Jewish Wedding at the Millennium Biltmore, Los Angeles, CA, USA

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Is this #chuppahgoals, or is this #chuppahgoals? Yep, we’re totally obsessed with the luxe, glam Jewish wedding of Heather, a dermatology resident, and Alex, lawyer who specializes in litigation defense. These two made the wise decision to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Best Bride to bring their divergent tastes and traditions – the Ashkenazi bride wanted enchanted garden vibes, while the Persian groom preferred to keep everything white and sophisticated – together into one seamlessly perfect day.

This incredible chuppah – featuring abundant white flowers and lush greenery – was the stunning compromise Leora, founder of Best Bride, helped the pair settle on. Don’t miss the gorgeous photos from Katie Beverley! And Leora’s also a master when it comes to combining different backgrounds, so needless to say the cross-cultural elements of the wedding went without a hitch.

We also love that these two put as much thought into the spiritual side of their wedding as they did to the aesthetics. Heather was especially moved by the idea of a Jewish bride serving as a source of blessing on her wedding day, and decided she wanted to pray for as many people as she could on the day – so she shared a Google doc on Facebook and let her friends submit prayer requests for anything, anonymously. Such a smart idea! We’re equally obsessed with Heather and Alex’s gorgeous papercut ketubah by Enya Keshet, which they purchased through Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com.

Now over to the bride, who looked simply ravishing in beloved Israeli designer Berta gown…

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How we met

Heather, the bride : I moved from the East coast to Los Angeles in the summer after my third year of medical school to pursue a dermatology research year at USC. I thought that making a Hinge dating ap profile could be a good way to meet people in general. Alex was my first date in Los Angeles! The rest is history.Continue ReadingContinue Reading