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An Afternoon Tea Jewish Wedding With a Bespoke Beaded Gown at The Pillar, London, UK

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It’s always very plain to see when a couple is creative by nature, and never fails to make for an aesthetically gorgeous wedding. 

Makeup artist, Amy, and presenter, Adam’s wedding was, in addition to making a lifelong commitment to one another, about two things: making friends and family feel loved and looked after, and making everything around them beautiful.

Both objectives were achieved and then some! This was particularly evident in the advice to couples at the end of this post – words of wisdom that showed a deep consideration for others.

The ceremony was totally tailored to Adam and Amy, with music being the most important and prominent element – we got the chills reading about it!

Armed with the perfect color palette of pastel-pretty flowers, two-tone fabrics and metallic gold accents, the couple created a clean, chic wedding wonderland, complete with an absolute stunner of a five-tier cake.

Beautiful bride Amy went bespoke with her beaded, two-tone gown, and played an instrumental role in the design, along with Elizabeth Todd, literally bringing her dream dress to life. 

Photographer, Paul Toeman, captured the details and emotion of the day with the glorious spread of pictures below, and Amy wrote the incredibly eloquent account of all the action. Take it away, Amy!

 

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Jewish Wedding Pillar Hotel London UK_0016

Jewish Wedding Pillar Hotel London UK_0016

A venue with history

Amy, the bride: We booked The Pillar Hotel, a kosher venue in Hendon, north-west London for 30th June 2016. We needed a venue that was close to my parents’ home in North London, as my father has final stages Parkinson’s disease.

We could have booked any top London hotel, but we couldn’t see the point in making an experience about love without the people we love being there, so a small hotel in Hendon it was!

Ironically, this particular venue used to be a convent, and so it was no ordinary hotel. The room we chose to have our ceremony in, was in fact the room where the nuns used to pray, and so the walls of exposed brickwork, arches and ornate windows were all steeped in history, spirituality, prayer and love.
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A Marchesa Bride for a Stunning Jew-ish Destination Wedding with a Fabulously Floral Chuppah at Villa Aurelia, Rome, Italy

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Destination Jewish Wedding Villa Aurelia Rome Italy

Some real weddings just have it all. Diane’s and Teddie’s big day was, without a doubt, one of those weddings. A beautiful blend of cultures? Check. A breathtaking, historical destination venue? Check. A chuppah so awe-inspiringly gorgeous that we mayyyy have spent half of our morning just gazing lovingly at it? Check, check, check.

Today’s supermodel of the Jew-ish wedding world (of course it had to be Italian) was planned by none other than our fabulous Recommended Vendor, Wed in Italy. 

The couple, who first met in London, had such diverse backgrounds, with Diane being American and with Chinese heritage, and Teddie from Finland, decided to have their dreamy multicultural destination day on neutral territory.

With a 17th Century grand, historical venue the heart of Rome, with its impeccable, manicured gardens and ornate sculptures, the couple would have been forgiven for letting the venue do the talking when it came to dà©cor, but they went one better.

An abundance of fluffy floral arrangements in hues of pink adorned the venue, culminating in a chuppah sprawling with soft, blush pink roses, and one of the most simply stunning backdrops for a big day that you could possibly imagine.

Yet, despite all of the high-end dà©cor, bride Diane still managed to steal the show in her sweeping Marchesa Bridal Couture gown – what a beauty!

The romantic and cinematic video below was created by videographer, Paolo Manzi, and all of the divine details were captured by photographer, Lucy Tanner. We just know you’ll love this big day as much as we did. 

Destination Jewish Wedding Villa Aurelia Rome ItalyDestination Jewish Wedding Villa Aurelia Rome Italy 

Destination Jewish Wedding Villa Aurelia Rome Italy

Destination Jewish Wedding Villa Aurelia Rome Italy
How They Met

Raffaella Alflatt from Wed In Italy, the wedding planner: Diane and Teddie first met in London, United Kingdom. Both of them were far from home. Diane had come over to work from America, and also has Chinese origins, with both her parents being from Hong Kong.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Romantic, Family-Oriented Jewish Wedding at The Trolley Barn in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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Jewish Wedding The Trolley Barn Atlanta Georgia USA
It’s time for STG to take a trip down south, to Atlanta, Georgia, where Sarah and Steven held their wonderful Jewish wedding in their own neighbourhood.

Sarah, a high school educator, and Steven, a healthcare billing manager, were high school sweethearts. Their parents are best friends, making the joining of the two families a long time coming, and especially joyous. 

The aesthetic of the day was chic, simple and beautiful – hunter green accents, with beautiful foliage adorning the chairs and, of course, the stunning chuppah. 

The emotional day centered around family, with Sarah and Steven honoring lost loved ones by saving them a seat at the ceremony, beautiful bride Sarah wearing her mother’s veil, a grandfather-granddaughter dance, and each parent whispering a piece of advice in their children’s ears after the signing of the ketubah. We won’t ruin their moving words for you, all we’ll say is do read on! 

Speaking of the Ketubah, it featured a fabulous Atlanta skyline, paying tribute to the couple’s home town, and expertly crafted by our wonderful and much-loved Recommended Vendor, Ink With Intent.

We love bride Sarah’s sensational writeup, illustrated by gorgeous photography by Maggie and Rachel Photography and the adorable video by Wes Brawner. Over to Sarah!

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How we met

Sarah, the bride: Steven and I met at a Jewish high school, so this day was a long time coming…
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How to Plan a Wedding in Israel if you’re not Israeli

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Montana & Justin’s destination wedding planned by Danny Marx Events

For many Jewish couples, getting married in Israel has an understandable and irresistible appeal. Not only do many Jewish people feel a strong affinity with Israel, as the world’s only Jewish state, but as far as destination weddings go, it’s pretty unbeatable.

For such a small country, it has incredibly diverse terrain, from gorgeous, lush green forests to pristine, sandy beaches, vast deserts to stunning mountains, with indescribable views. A wedding in Israel can be pretty much whatever you want it to be – all the while bringing with its trademark ‘Israeli cool’, chilled-out vibe. Just check out our real Israeli weddings section, if you need any more proof! 

So, if we’ve sold you on the idea of having your wedding in the holy land, but you’re not sure where to start, never fear – we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to planning your Israeli destination wedding.

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Colette & Rob’s Destination Wedding in Israel planned by BE Group TLV

Who can have a legally binding ceremony in Israel?

First of all, let’s get the bad news out of the way. Getting married in Israel can be a little complex. All official, legally binding marriages are religious, and there is no civil marriage in Israel, per se.

Official Jewish marriages are performed by the Orthodox rabbinate, so both partners must be Halachically Jewish. This means that if one partner converted, but it wasn’t an Orthodox conversion, then they cannot be legally married under the Orthodox rabbinate.

The same goes for people who are Jewish by patrilineal decent – it has to be via the matrilineal line, or the person in question must undergo an Orthodox conversion.

Another rule of the Orthodox rabbinate is that a male Cohen is forbidden from marrying a divorced woman or a convert. Same-sex marriages are, unfortunately, also not possible under the rule of the Orthodox rabbinate but it doesn’t mean that you can’t have a same-sex wedding in Israel – as illustrated by yesterday’s real gay wedding in Israel.

You see the good news is, if you don’t want to, or can’t, go down the Orthodox marriage route, then it’s possible to have a liberal, or other, ceremony but with the caveat that this will NOT result in a marriage certificate, at least not from Israel. So, to be clear, you can still have a beautiful Israeli ceremony, and do the official bit at home, at another time.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Awesome Gay Jewish Wedding at Cultura, Tel Aviv, Israel

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Gay Jewish Wedding Israel

For those who aren’t aware, Tel Aviv is renowned for its thriving gay scene, with a wide selection of fantastic bars and club, and it’s against this backdrop that Aaron and Lotan met through a dating app (apt, for two software engineers) and fell in love.

Their beautiful same-sex Jewish Masorti wedding took place at a garden venue in the heart of Tel Aviv, with the pair planning every last detail themselves. 

We love that Aaron and Lotan designed their invitation together, with motifs that reflected their shared life and interests, and the theme ran throughout their entire stationery suite. They made everything themselves, even pulling together their own centerpieces for the guests to take home. 

We also adore the story of the kiddush cup used in the ceremony, but particularly the (coincidentally) rainbow tallit, which was just perfect and carried so much personal meaning. 

All of the divine images and film below were captured by Gilad Mashiah, and Gili & Lily Films, and the writeup was provided by both grooms! We hope you love this gorgeous pair’s W Day as much as we did! 

Gay Jewish Wedding IsraelGay Jewish Wedding Israel

Gay Jewish Wedding Israel

Gay Jewish Wedding Israel
How we met

Aaron and Lotan, the grooms: Aaron moved to Israel six years ago from Cincinnati, Ohio where he was born and raised, while Lotan is native Israeli from Barkan.

We met three and a half years ago, on a dating app, where we chatted for about three months before actually meeting each other in person.

Finally, we we decided to go on a proper first date at a bar, and the rest is history.

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