Eliza Gellis is a member of our Brides Club for Jewish and Jew-ish brides, and we’re so excited for her wedding plans!
Inside Brides Club, I personally help you to minimize wedstress and overwhelm, and maximize your wedding budget. Oh – and every Brides Club member gets a free smash glass pouch (designed by me) for under the chuppah posted out to them too. Mazal Tov!
Come and join Brides Club too – for advice, discounts, community, sisterhood… and your sanity!
ABOUT ELIZA
Where are you from? Flushing, MI (originally) / currently pursuing a PhD at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN
What do you do for a living? PhD Candidate/Graduate Assistant
How did you meet your partner? At a bar. She was on a date with someone else.
Where did you go on your first date? Jean drove up from where she was living at the time, about an hour and a half away, and we got food and then drinks afterwards. She was meant to come for dinner and ended up staying the whole weekend!
When did you first know you were in love? It sounds cheesy, but…our first date! I never believed in “love at first sight” or “just knowing when you meet the one”…until Jean. Plus, my notoriously shy cat took to her immediately. If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is!
How long had you been dating when you became engaged? A little under a year and a half.
What date are you getting married and where? Sunday, June 12, 2022 at the Fowler House Mansion in Lafayette, IN.
ABOUT YOUR WEDDING
Tell us about your wedding plans: We’re having a Sunday afternoon wedding at an historic mansion/museum, so we’re going for a garden tea party with ethereal vibes and lots of Jewish tradition!
What’s the most important part of your wedding day? The yichud (“completion”), where couples spend a few moments alone together. We’re both looking forward to having a private moment to reflect—and eat!
Fave Jewish wedding tradition? Again, the yichud. Couples need that time together on their wedding day!
What does marriage mean to you? I want marriage to represent a new stage in both our lives, more than just living together and having a joint bank account. Marriage for me means starting a new family—and joining someone else’s. It’s about embarking on a spiritual journey as true partners in life.
Best wedding planning tip (so far!): When it was time to collect addresses, I created a Google form and sent it to everyone I needed addresses from. Then I input the addresses I already had. You can make a spreadsheet from the responses, and it updates every time someone inputs their information. It’s been so helpful to have everything in one place and in a digital spreadsheet!
Sum up your wedding style in three words! Ethereal, genuine, and relaxed!
Any wedding vendors you would recommend? Our wonderful photographer, Jasmine Norris! She’s based here in the Midwest but travels worldwide. Her photographs are so beautiful: airy, natural, and full of light. And she is so wonderful to work with!
Fave celeb wedding? Do Arwen and Aragorn from Lord of the Rings count??
What do you love most about being a Brides Club member?
I love the sense of community! Having a traditional Jewish wedding, neither of us has a bridal party; we’re just having our parents accompany us up the aisle. But that also means we don’t have maids/matrons of honor to rely on for help! The documents, the meetings, and the whole community have been such amazing resources to turn to.
ABOUT YOUR JEWISH LIFE
Fave meal to eat together on Friday night? Anything we have time to cook and eat before temple!
Fave Jewish festival? Purim! It’s always on or right around my birthday. But even if it weren’t, I love the costumes!
Fave Jewish food? Bagels!
Fave Jewish tradition? This might sound weird, but Yom Kippur. The Sages say that Yom Kippur is the happiest time of the year. That might be hard to believe at first—who’s happy when they’re not eating or drinking anything??—but I think Yom Kippur provides us a unique opportunity to reflect on our actions and our community’s actions in a way that emphasizes self-growth and improvement.
FUN STUFF
Top of your Bucket List: Visit all seven continents!
Perfect weekend is… Visiting the farmer’s market and local boutiques, eating a wonderful meal that neither of us has to cook, spending time outside, and relaxing with a fruity drink.
Happiness is… “…to be able to become aware of oneself without fright.” That’s according to one of my favorite Jewish intellectual icons, Walter Benjamin. I love the idea that happiness means being honest with yourself and comfortable with who you are!
Photo credits: Jasmine Norris
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