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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!

Jewish Wedding The Trolley Barn Atlanta Georgia USA_0005Jewish Wedding The Trolley Barn Atlanta Georgia USA Jewish Wedding The Trolley Barn Atlanta Georgia USA Jewish Wedding The Trolley Barn Atlanta Georgia USA
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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Destination-Wedding-Ronit-Farm-Israel_0019
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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An Amsale Bride for a Summer Camp-Themed Jewish Wedding at Kamp Kohut, Oxford, Maine, US

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Jewish Wedding Kamp Kohut Oxford Maine USA
Gather round the campfire and get those s’mores on the go, because we have Julie and Greg’s summer camp-themed Jewish wedding to tell you about this sunny Monday morning!

It is fitting that this gorgeous wedding was submitted by videographer Daniel at Latimer Studios, because we’re big enough to admit that the wedding video (below) genuinely made us ugly cry. 

We’ll get to the aesthetics of this very beautiful big day in a moment, but first, what struck us so profoundly about Julie and Greg as a couple was their charm, their intelligence, their sparkling sense of humour and their deep and sincere love for one another. Watching their cinematic wedding film, it’s abundantly evident that they are the real deal and then some. With such articulate loved ones speaking so eloquently about the happy couple, we’re treated to a real insight into their unique and wonderful connection to one another, and we feel privileged to watch.

Julie and Greg planned a fun summer camp theme at Kamp Kohut in Oxford, Maine, which is run by the bride’s parents. The theme juxtaposed the venue’s natural leafy greens, with a pretty pastel color scheme and stunning metallic accents (that CAKE!) and fabulous florals (that CHUPPAH!!). 

The couple described their meaningful Jewish ceremony as a ‘dream ceremony’, which is just a delight to hear. The day was bursting with personal meaning – a prime example of how to do things your way, and make a wedding all about who you are as a couple.

We’ll hand over to beautiful bride, Julie, for her full writeup on the day, along with the fabulous spread of images by photographer, Lara Kimmerer. Enjoy!

Jewish Wedding Kamp Kohut Oxford Maine USA

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 Jewish Wedding Kamp Kohut Oxford Maine USA_0037
How we met

Julie, the bride: We met on the dating app, Hinge. We both swiped right on each other, and began our conversation. We had three friends in common, so that helped us feel more comfortable.

Our first date was over coffee and sweets at a coffee shop in Los Angeles, and from there we were off to the races. We very quickly knew that we had found our person.

After two months, we were both thinking to ourselves that we would marry this person. After six months, we decided to move in together. We got engaged at a year, and then married a year later. Our officiant was one of our mutual friends from Hinge, Benji Samit.
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An Epic Super Luxe Romantic and Regal Jewish Wedding With an Eight-Foot Train and a Ten-Tier Cake at Thornton Manor, UK

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Jewish Wedding Thornton Manor UK
Get ready, because you’re about to witness a real Jewish wedding like no other. We’re serious – you will never see another wedding like this one, in all of its grand and romantic glory.

Haley and Boston’s big day included an astoundingly theatrical and beautiful dress, with a regal 8ft tulle-embellished train, and a stunning 16ft veil, topped with a crown fit for a queen. The entire look was evocative of Swan Lake and past royal weddings, with an edge of high-fashion glamor. Ah-mazing! 

Can we also take a moment to appreciate Haley and Boston’s literally larger-than-life ten-tier wedding cake? It was such an imposing centerpiece that the couple had to stand on a ladder to cut it!  

As bride, Haley, had been planning her wedding since she was three years old, it was going to take one incredible planner / stylist to pull off her epic vision of a romantic, stately aesthetic, accented with gothic black (we love the bridesmaids in black!). 

Enter our epically talented Recommended Vendor, Qube Events, whose spectacular work is evident in every image, and every frame of the gorgeous wedding video below, both shot by the awesome Jon Bird.

We just know you’re going to be absolutely adore this wedding as much as we did, so get ready to be blown away. Oh, and watch out for Haley’s very special surprise under the chuppah! All we’ll say is, that’s dedication! Enjoy!

Jewish Wedding Thornton Manor UK

Jewish Wedding Thornton Manor UK

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How we met

Haley, the bride: My husband is a professor and coffee roaster/coffee owner and I was working for a non-profit organization. But I recently went back to school to complete my masters and then hopefully my PhD after.

Jewish Wedding Thornton Manor UK

Jewish Wedding Thornton Manor UK

Jewish Wedding Thornton Manor UK

Jewish Wedding Thornton Manor UK
A traditional, English venue

We got married at Thornton Manor. We loved the Manor because it was traditional and English, but had a intimate feel to it. I was also happily surprised when they allowed us to have a dry bar. They were the only venue that didn’t react when we said we wanted a dry bar.

This was a huge part of our decision, that we weren’t treated any differently because we didn’t want drinking at our wedding.
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