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Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Hayley + Ashley… how they met to the present day

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Today on the blog it’s the first post from our crop of gorgeous 2017 and 2018 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Hayley who will be marrying Ashley on 17th September 2017 at El Cortijo De Los Caballos in Spain.

THREE FACTS: (1) Hayley & Ashley met on Tinder (2) Ashley proposed with a Haribo ring (after which he pulled out the actual engagement gem!) (3) Hayley is converting to Judaism to marry Ashley.

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How We Met

Our love story is my favourite, I saw Ashley’s profile on my screen, his pictures yelled out “if you want a laugh, I’m your man, he was just what I was looking for. I swiped right on a dating website (I’m sure everyone knows which one this is…). My phone pinged back, we both matched!

I waited for all of about an hour being the impatient person I am and in the 21st century I decided to send the first message…. “My mum says you’ll be perfect son-in-law material” with obviously lots of laughing faces.

Suddenly I received a message straight back, this was the beginning of ‘US’

Our First Date

After messaging and numerous phone calls, we decided to meet in a bar in Chelmsford. As I was driving into a car park very nervous and a little early for our date I noticed a car driving into the ‘Exit’ of a car park…..yes I said Exit!

I drove past thinking really that’s super stupid, I hope that isn’t my date…Guess what it turned out it was! Thankfully we already had something to talk about, or more to the point something to laugh about.

We spent all night chatting away Ashley staring at me mostly, I’m not sure if that was because he was already in love or the fact that I had something stuck in my teeth (that I haven’t ever forgiven him for not telling me). 

The next day Ashley jetted off to Thailand for 2 weeks to see some of his friends, he FaceTimed me every night! Smitten he was indeed, but I was also falling for this very humorous guy. 

We dated for around a year and a half to some of the most beautiful restaurants in London, we went on the most amazing holidays to L.A., Vegas (including pool parties at the Encore), Venice and finally Spain, where I met Ashley’s parents for the first time before I asked him to move in.

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An industrial-romantic Jewish wedding at London’s last lighthouse, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, UK

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Nicole and Daniel’s lighthouse / warehouse industrial-meets-romantic wedding is cooler than a polar bear’s toenails. FACT.

From the alternative, urban venue, to the dress designed by gorgeous bride, Nicole, the atmospheric lighting to the floating-effect Chuppah design, the bridesmaids in black to the groomsmens’ bow ties – everything about this big day looked picture perfect.

We love how the pair, who had been together for 15 years before saying ‘I do’, took everything in their stride. When their photographer disappeared on them, they found two more, with just days to go (kudos to James Frost, and a second shooter, Benjamin Wheeler, for stepping in and saving the day). When the lights went out during their meal, they ran with it, calling it atmospheric, and continued by candlelight. If they can cope so calmly with wedding day mishaps, then they’re truly prepared for the rollercoaster ride that is marriage.

This is genuinely a wedding to feast your eyes on, but also read Nicole’s brilliant writeup (and check out her Instagram, @nicolelevypr) and take a few minutes to watch the gorgeously cinematic wedding video below, by Our Further Project. 

Over to beautiful bride, Nicole, for the full report. 

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How we met

Nicole, the bride: Daniel and I met at a mutual friend’s engagement party nearly 15 years ago, and we’ve been together ever since. We got engaged in 2014, so I guess you could say we’ve taken our time with the whole marriage thing.

I have my own fashion PR company Nicole Levy PR, which Daniel helps me run, and he is also an IT Director for another company.

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A black-tie-meets-rustic Masorti Jewish Wedding at Manor by the Lake, Cheltenham, UK

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Tissues at the ready, folks, because if you don’t well up within the first 30 seconds of Sam and Jonny’s stunning wedding video (just below) then you’re made of stone!

Sam and Jonny met on the job as lawyers, and their meeting of minds blossomed into true love.  Together, they planned every detail of their black-tie-meets-rustic wedding, and ensured every element, from the Masorti ceremony, where the couple circled each other and smashed the glass together, to the bride’s speech, and even this write up, was completely equality driven.

The moving celebration was captured on film by Velvet Wedding Studio, and in beautiful stills by our much-loved STG Recommended Vendor, Blake Ezra – and what a stunning job they both did. 

Sensational bride, Sam, looked every bit the A lister in her show-stopping Louise Marie gown – and she did an astounding job with her own makeup. What a beauty! 

Sam and Jonny did a beautiful job describing their big day in detail, so we’ll pass you over to them now (note how well they talk about each other’s big day experience – a masterclass in marital listening).

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How we met

Sam, the bride, and Jonny, the groom: Jonny and Sam first met briefly at a law firm, on a law summer placement scheme in 2009 (whilst actually competing for a job!). Jonny and Sam then became close friends whilst attending law school in London, but it wasn’t until they worked at the same firm, when they became more than just friends.

Jonny and Sam got engaged in April 2014. Jonny proposed in a photo booth, and the couple plans to return to the same photo booth annually to capture each year of marriage.

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Real Jewish Brides: Putting the “Jewish” into our Jewish Wedding

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As I write this, it is the fifth night of my last Passover as a Friedman (which is pretty much how I’ve been thinking of every event this year), so what better topic to write about than intertwining Jewish traditions and symbolism with our more modern, American wedding? (Disclaimer: This blog is more general than usual. Now that we’re less than 3 months away from the wedding, I’ve become more interested in the element of surprise!) 

When it comes to having a meaningfully Jewish wedding, it all starts with the Rabbi! With Harley’s childhood Rabbi living in Canada and my family being a part of multiple synagogues growing up, we really didn’t have a “family Rabbi” we wanted to marry us.

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Rabbi Kaplan

Luckily, my friend Chelsea’s dad is a fabulous Rabbi who performs the most beautiful wedding ceremonies I’ve ever seen. Admittedly, I’ve only seen Rabbi Kaplan perform Chelsea’s wedding, but I’m sure it will come close! He is such a popular Rabbi in South Florida who is known for beautiful life events, so we were absolutely thrilled when we were about to book him over a year out.

We met in his home office and spent hours talking about our vision for the ceremony, Panthers hockey, and playing with his tallit-adorned puppy. Needless to say, Harley was sold after the hockey conversation!

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A gold New Year’s Eve-themed Jewish wedding at Hyatt Regency New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! OK, maybe that’s a little premature, but we love the idea of sneaking in an extra New Year’s Eve,for one night only, and that’s exactly what Amanda and Harry did with their gold, NYE-themed big day.

Amanda and Harry first met as children, and they share so much in their upbringing and communities. But it wasn’t until adulthood that they were reunited, and this time, it was love! In fact, they celebrated their shared history by having their ceremony at the synagogue they both grew up in.

The larger-than-life couple poured their personalities into their big day, with everything from giant ‘Amanda & Harry heads’ to a table dedicated to past family weddings. 

Everything was kept in the circle of family and friends, including Harry’s mother singing Amanda down the aisle and the hair and makeup. 

The day was captured by dynamic photography duo, Nick and Kelly Photography, and the epic wedding video, just below, is the work of Delia Studios.

Over to the happy couple, now, to tell you all about their big day details! Take it away, Amanda and Harry. 

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How we met

Amanda, the bride and Harry, the groom: We knew each other as children. We went to Solomon Schechter Day School of Rarity Valley from age five Along the way, we were also members of the same synagogue, Congregation B’nai Tikvah.

During those years at SSDSRV and B’nai Tikvah, our paths didn’t really cross, but they did in the summer of 2009 at The Knight Club in New Brunswick, NJ. Harry was out celebrating his last law school final, and Amanda was out with a girlfriend.

Amanda recognised Harry from across the bar, and since he was staring back, she thought he recognised her, too. She approached him only to find out the staring was simply because he thought she was pretty (but don’t worry, she embarrassed herself by knowing his entire name, while he had barely any clue who she was!) It all worked out, though! 

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