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A Pronovias Bride for a Rustic Destination Jewish Wedding at Topnotch Resort, Stowe, Vermont, USA

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A destination Jewish wedding doesn’t have to take place thousands of miles from home to have a seriously big impact. For evidence, see the gorgeous rustic wedding of Erica, a content manager in the pharmaceutical industry and adjunct professor in business communications, and Jared, an electrical engineer.

They knew they wanted an intimate wedding that would allow their family and friends – who hadn’t spent much time together due to living far apart – to really get to know each other. So they opted to host #GordonWeddinGetaway in Vermont’s breathtaking Green Mountains – far enough away from their home in Philadelphia to qualify as a bona fide destination while still accessible to their guests.

We love that Erica and Jared really focused on keeping everything low key and fun for their 45 guests, and never lost sight of their ultimate goal for the wedding weekend: connecting with their nearest and dearest – and allowing their family and friends a chill couple of days to connect with each other, too! And based on the wonderful photos from Jesse Schloff Photography, it seems to have gone exactly to plan.

One of our biggest goals here at STG is to make sure all brides (and grooms) to be are able to craft a wedding day (or weekend!) that’s exactly how they want it to be – and we’re so excited to be launching our first-ever FREE Jewish Wedding Planning Bootcamp, starting TODAY, Monday, June 3! It’s going to be full of tips and tools for creating the wedding of your dreams, stress-free (or just about), and it’s not too late to sign up!

Now over to the bride, who looked exquisite in her off-the-shoulder mermaid gown from Pronovias…


How we met

Erica, the bride: Like many others these days, we met online—Jdate specifically. From reading his profile, I thought we had a lot in common (we’re both from the same town). I liked that he said he liked to go mini golfing and play board games—nerdy things that I also enjoy. We also both lived in South Florida; we even went to the same high school in PA but were a year apart. 

 We set up our first date for October 2, 2015. We went bowling and split a pizza. I thought he was very cute and felt a connection right away. Early on, I could see Jared being “the one.”

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A Nitzan Krispil Bride for a Laid-Back Seaside Wedding at Beit Andromeda, Tel Aviv, Israel

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Jewish wedding Beit Andromeda Jaffa, Tel Aviv Israel
We’re always obsessed with Israeli oceanside weddings…. especially when they’re smack dab in the middle of picture-perfect Old Jaffa. Like the gorgeous Jewish wedding of Olga, a graphic designer, and Chen, a programmer, which we’re totally and completely obsessed with.

It’s hard to go wrong when you’re starting out with a venue like Beit Andromeda. Throw in cool, contemporary photography with just a little bit of edge from mega-talented Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Gamba Photographers (the couple have known Gamba’s Avihai since their military service!), and you’ve pretty much got a slam dunk.

And that’s before we even get into the awesome touches the couple added to reflect the fact that their wedding was the day before Rosh Hashanah – in honor of the holiday, Olga and Chen adopted the themes of blossoming and new beginnings, and added sweet details from honey jar favors to fun dancefloor props embellished with floral and fruit motifs (handmade by the bride and her friends in the buildup to the big day – love that!).

We also love the couple’s commitment to making sure they crafted a wedding that truly reflected who they are – so in line with what we believe her at STG, and what we want to make sure all brides (and grooms) to be have the tools to accomplish for themselves. That’s why we’re so excited about our first-ever FREE Jewish Wedding Planning Bootcamp, starting this Monday, June 3 – it’s going to be truly unmissable, so if you’re planning a Jewish or Jew-ish wedding, do sign up!

 Now back to Olga, who looked effortlessly romantic in her two-piece Nitzan Krispil…

Jewish wedding Beit Andromeda Jaffa, Tel Aviv IsraelJewish wedding Beit Andromeda Jaffa, Tel Aviv Israel
How we met

Olga, the bride: We met during our military service at a mutual friend’s birthday party, and got married 6 years later.

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A Romona Keveza Bride for a Family-Focused Jewish Wedding at the Belvedere Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

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Cool ketubah alert! We’re totally obsessed with Kara and Dan’s gorgeous nature-inspired design, handcrafted by the wonderful Rachelle Tchiprout of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush. Kara says Rachelle was one of her very favorite wedding vendors, and we’re not surprised – she is totally lovely to work with, not to mention being a mega-talented artist.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to awesome things about this wedding. We love how the bride, a clinical social worker, and the groom, a legal assistant, crafted a day focused on their families – they even chose Kara’s parents’ 34thwedding anniversary as their wedding date! All the love in the room comes through so clearly in the beautiful photos from Anna Schmidt Photography and video from Just Hitched Films.

They had lots of unique creative touches, too, like their guest book – they had mini polaroid cameras for their guests to use to take pics and then past them into the book alongside their messages! They also had Jenga tiles for guests to write messages on – both awesome ideas that are just a little bit different than your standard guest book (and if you’re looking for ways to add creative personal touches that are totally you to your big day, don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Jewish Wedding Planning Bootcamp, starting June 3!)

The couple also had an artist, Maggie Smith Kuhn, on hand to paint their first dance live in real time – what a beautiful memento to have from the big day!

Now over to the bride, who looked so lovely in Legends Romona Keveza…

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Jewish wedding The Belvedere Hotel Baltimore MD USA_0024

Jewish wedding The Belvedere Hotel Baltimore MD USA_0024
How we met

Kara, the bride: We met as roommates 7 years before tying the knot. We have lived together since the first day we met!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Relaxing and Rustic Destination Jewish Wedding on a Budget at Porto Helidoni Villa, Crete, Greece

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An international destination wedding on a budget?! Yes, it’s possible – just have a look at today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding for proof.

Nitsan, a lawyer, and Oren, a neurobiologist, live in Israel – just a short flight away from their wedding destination, which they picked not only for its epic coastal beauty, but also as a way to honor the bride’s Greek heritage.

We love how these two focused on what mattered to them and let go of the rest. They made sure to pick out a venue that ticked all their boxes – close to the sea, with a relaxed, rustic picnic vibe – and made the most of it by adding professional lighting above the main table and fairy lights in the trees for a magical touch.

And they didn’t skimp on photography and videography, as you can see from their beautiful imagery and trailer by Andreas Markakis and his team.

On the savings side, Nitsan says she picked her simple gown because it was “the cheapest one I could find,” shopped her own closet for her wedding footwear, and did her own hair and makeup. Oren also opted to wear smart casual clothes he already owned rather than splurging on new wedding attire.

The couple opted for a simple, rustic chuppah that managed to match the rustic seaside vibe without breaking the bank – and it just goes to show you don’t have to go heavy on the florals to create a memorable look.

Now over to the bride…

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A Wedding in Crete

Nitsan, the bride: We got married in Crete, because I’m Greek. We both used to travel to Crete as well for our work and for holidays.

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A Galia Lahav Bride for an Elegant and Energetic Persian Jewish Wedding at the Sheraton Universal, Los Angeles, CA, USA

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We love a good Persian Jewish wedding here at STG, and today’s is no exception. Sadaf, a clinical pharmacist, and Payam, a personal injury lawyer, had an epic party – with over 500 guests, how could they not?! The awesome energy kept everyone on the dance floor nonstop, and we really do mean nonstop – the bride and groom were so busy tearing up the dance floor that they skipped dinner!

And we love how they followed the Persian Jewish tradition of having the wedding party and close relatives  walk down the aisle before the bride and groom and their parents – for Sadaf and Payam, that amounted to over 40 people, each of whom danced down the aisle to a song of their choice!

We’re obsessed with the glam photos from  V Production – and how cool is the post-wedding shoot they did of the couple at Malibu Creek State park?!

We’re so touched by how the couple included Payam’s mom, who had tragically passed away two years before, into the wedding, by dedicating the wedding to her on their invites and displaying a picture of her under the chuppah.

We’ll let Sadaf, who was nothing short of ravishing in her dreamy Galia Lahav mermaid gown, tell you the rest…

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How we met

Sadaf, the bride: Two and a half years ago, Payam and I attended a mutual friend’s house party. We never talked or met at the party. After the party, a mutual friend told Payam that she thinks we may be a good match for one another.

A few days later Payam send me a message on Facebook. Since we were not Facebook friends, his message went into my spam folder. After a few months I accidently came across his message, which was upper, cute. In the message he wrote: “a mutual friend has spoken highly of you and I would like to get to know you”. It was too cute to say no. I messaged him back and we started a conversation. On June 27th 2016, we finally went on our first date and the rest was history.

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