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A Stella York Bride for a Romantic Outdoor Summer Jewish Wedding at The Waterview in Monroe, Connecticut, USA

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Jewish Wedding The Waterview in Monroe, CT USA_0016

This gorgeous Jewish wedding is just the absolute essence of summer. Between the idyllic lakefront setting, the soft pastel color scheme ranging through everything from the lovely bridesmaid dresses to the romantic papercut ketubah from Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com to the gorgeous in-season blooms — we’re pretty smitten with this one.

We love that Emelia, a 4th-grade teacher, and Jon, an engineer, took full advantage of their July wedding date. This wedding is positively bursting with roses, peonies, and hydrangeas — some of our summertime faves — and Shaina Lee Photography and videographer Mark Holst from Your Event Matters captured that summer sunlight exquisitely.

This duo also had a fantastic hora — no mean feat considering that Emelia converted and few members of her family had never so much as attended a Jewish wedding before! After a bit of initial confusion, Jon’s family and the couple’s friends showed them the ropes, and pretty soon everyone was joining in and having a blast.

So if you’re planning a wedding where, for whatever reason, the bulk of your guests may not be familiar with Jewish wedding customs — don’t worry! The moral of this very happy story is that Israeli dancing is easy to pick up and pretty much universally enjoyed.

Now over to Emelia, who struck the perfect balance between refined elegance and laid-back summer style in her strapless lace Stella York gown…

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How We Met

Emelia, the bride: We went to the same college, had many mutual friends (including Jon’s sister, who was in my sorority!) but didn’t meet until a few years after we graduated – on JDate!

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A Sincerity Bridal Bride for a Mountain Top Jew-ish Wedding at Kachina Basin, Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico, USA

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Jewish Wedding at 11,420 feet on the top of a mountain (Kachina Basin) in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico USA_0008
Yes, you read that right: today’s couple, Tema and Brad, really did hold their Jew-ish wedding on top of an actual mountain at 11,420 (!) feet. How high is that exactly, those of you from flatter locales may be wondering? So high, guests could only attend via chairlift, that’s how high!

The couple’s whimsical boho wedding style was the perfect fit for their mountaintop surroundings — rustic enough to work for the extreme location, simple and sweet enough not to distract from the natural grandeur of the surroundings.

Tema, who provides sustainability consulting services to commercial real estate owners, and Brad, a business analyst, had the sweetest birch chuppah, keeping it simple with just a touch of floral dà©cor draped over the top and Tema’s mother’s wedding veil as the canopy (aww!) — this is a great example of how you can pull off a beautiful floral chuppah while keeping things subtle!

And the couple’s delightful ketubah from Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Tallulah Ketubahs, adorned with whimsical watercolor succulents, is so on point we just cannot even. Have you seen a sweeter ketubah?

Rockstar photographers Shaun and Shannon Menary got THE most stunning captures of the day, from Tema’s fab boho bridal style — did she rock that Sincerity Bridal dress + flower crown combo, or what? — to the majestic mountaintop views.

Oh, and did we mention Tema and Brad have one of the cutest how-they-met stories of all time? Prepare to be charmed…

Jewish Wedding at 11,420 feet on the top of a mountain (Kachina Basin) in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico USA_0015

Jewish Wedding at 11,420 feet on the top of a mountain (Kachina Basin) in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico USA_0021

Jewish Wedding at 11,420 feet on the top of a mountain (Kachina Basin) in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico USA_0015

Jewish Wedding at 11,420 feet on the top of a mountain (Kachina Basin) in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico USA_0021

Jewish Wedding at 11,420 feet on the top of a mountain (Kachina Basin) in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico USA_0015
How We Met

Tema, the bride: The story of how we met is very unusual and funny. We both had our cars towed and met at the impound lot picking up our cars! We stood in line for 3 hours and Brad was there with his dad.

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A Monique Lhuillier Bride for an Outdoor SoCal Jewish Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA

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You know who sometimes doesn’t get enough love around here? Child wedding attendants. Flower girls, ring bearers, and the like bring so much joy (not to mention just plain cuteness) to so many of the Jewish weddings we feature here on STG.

So today we’re putting them front and center where they belong. I mean, it’s hard not to when Jessica and Matthew’s sweet little ring boys drove a mini purple Porsche(!) with strings of tin cans down the aisle!!! So adorable, right?

But not so adorable as to overshadow Jessica’s stunning two-piece gown from Monique Lhuillier. Featuring a silk Chantilly lace beaded corset top (with a beaded shrug the bride wore for the chuppah) and a gorgeous trumpet skirt, it’s an absolute stunner. And Jessica’s made the most of it, saving the bolero to wear on her one-year anniversary and the top for the big ten-year! Such a cool idea, especially if you’re going with separates that can easily be dressed down.

There’s so much more to say about this fab wedding — we haven’t even gotten to how fantastically Armen Asadorian and Eric Film captured the day, or the gorgeous SoCal surroundings, or the fabulous Harutyunyan Events planning the whole thing to perfection!

Let’s hand over to beautiful Jessica to tell you about all the rest…

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Jewish Wedding Hummingbird Nest Ranch, CA, USA_0049 Jewish Wedding Hummingbird Nest Ranch, CA, USA_0049
A Ranch Wedding

Jessica, the bride: We got married at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, CA. We wanted to get married somewhere different and pretty low key — kind of like us.

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A Suspended Floral Chuppah for a Festive, Glitzy Jewish Wedding at Dock 5 in Washington, D.C., USA

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Jewish wedding Dock 5 Washington DC USA_0017You know there’s little we love more than a distinctive chuppah design at a Jewish wedding.

At first glance, today’s version may look like a fairly standard-issue floral design… but look again. Specifically, look at the poles – or, more precisely the lack thereof.

That’s right, Jillian, a reporter at the financial news site MarketWatch, and Steven, a dental student, went for a suspended chuppah for their big day, with asymmetrical greenery and white flowers descending from each of the four corners but stopping a good few feet from the floor. How cool does it look in Sam Hurd’s glam photos?!

The non-traditional (yet still permissible according to Jewish law — the couple checked with their rabbi) chuppah is just one of the wonderful ways Jillian and Steven merged Jewish traditions with their own 21st-century sensibilities.

For example, the pair liked the tradition of a pre-wedding tisch (a ceremony for the groom and male guests) and kabbalat panim (for the bride and female guests), but weren’t crazy about the gender segregation thing. Their solution? During the cocktail hour, they held both ceremonies, but made each gender-neutral so that all of the guests could experience both — and get in some valuable time with the bride and the groom. We LOVE that.

There’s so much more to say about this fun, festive wedding, but we’ll let Jillian — who looked so glam in her custom gold lace gown designed by family friend Sharon Wilkes — take it from here…

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How we met

Jillian, the bride: We first met through mutual friends – a close friend of Steven’s from growing up was one of my roommates in college – but then began dating while working together at HuffPost in New York, shortly after graduating from college. And of course our relationship continued through job changes and Steven’s career left turn into dentistry!

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A Pnina Tornai Bride for an Uber Glam Jewish Wedding at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, Florida, USA

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Jewish wedding Four Seasons Palm Beach Florida USA_0097
This mega-chic Jewish wedding is so picture perfect, between the dreamy Palm Beach setting and the jaw-dropping florals (have you seen that chuppah?!) you’d never guess that it almost didn’t happen. Brett, a social worker, and Dakota, who works in real estate, had to cancel their original wedding date at the last minute when their venue closed due to a Category 5 hurricane. Luckily, they were able to reschedule — with ALL of their original vendors, no less. How fabulous is that?!

But this wedding is so much more than its dramatic origin story. We ADORE Brett’s guipure lace gown by Pnina Tornai, which she custom designed alongside Pnina herself at Kleinfeld. It’s sexy without going over the top, and could it fit Brett any more perfectly?!

We’re also pretty smitten with the florals, courtesy of Lane of Dalsimer Atlas. The couple gave him more or less free reign over the flowers, and it turns out that was an excellent call.

Their floral chuppah is just the dreamiest, lush and romantic as can be. And we love the ultra-creative multilevel tabletop dà©cor setup Lane came up with! Check it out for yourself in Emily Harris Photography and Senderey Video Productions’s fantastic captures of the day.


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How we met

Brett, the bride: We met in college at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Go Blue!!) and have been together very, very happily ever since!

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