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A Vera Wang Bride for a Magical Outdoor Jewish Wedding at The Vineyards in Simi Valley, California, USA

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Jewish wedding The Vineyards in Simi Valley, California, USA_0012
We are absolutely and unequivocally in love with today’s gorgeous outdoor Jewish wedding. The garden chuppah, the California vibes, the perfect summer light… just WOW. Miki and Sonja Photography captured it all SO perfectly, and videographer Stavro Productions made such a moving recording.

But this awesome celebration was about so much more than the magnificent surroundings. Lisa, a therapist who works with Holocaust survivors in addition to running her own concierge practice, FeelingConfidential, and Alexander, a personal injury attorney, also made sure their big day was full of unique personal touches.

For instance, we love how the duo designed their ceremony programs to be folded into fans, so that guests could use them to keep cool during the outdoor ceremony.

And how sweet is it that Lisa recorded herself reciting a blessing, and then arranged to have it played while guests (and the groom, of course) were waiting for her to walk down the aisle?!

Now over to beautiful Lisa, who looked like an absolute modern day princess in her gorgeous Vera Wang… 

Jewish wedding The Vineyards in Simi Valley, California, USA_0012 

Jewish wedding The Vineyards in Simi Valley, California, USA_0012

Jewish wedding The Vineyards in Simi Valley, California, USA_0012
How We Met

Lisa, the bride: Although we both lived in NYC at the same time, lived in Israel at the same time, and attended various parties and events over the last 10 years, we had never met.

3 years ago Lisa was living in Los Angeles, and Alex in his hometown of Las Vegas. My best friend and Alex’s best friend set us up the old fashioned way. We went on our first date in Las Vegas on the strip… the date lasted 7 hours 🙂

Flash forward a few months later, Alex knew he couldn’t take the LA girl out of LA, so he quit his job, passed the CA state bar, and started anew in LA to be with me. The ultimate sacrifice for love 🙂

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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 Chana Marelus Bride for a Pretty in Pink Fairy Tale Jewish Wedding at Ein Chemed, Jerusalem, Israel

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Jewish wedding Ein Chemed outside Jerusalem_0014
We just cannot get enough of today’s Jewish wedding. We see a lot of beautiful weddings here at STG, but this one is really and truly unlike anything we’ve encountered before. Bride Daniella always wanted “a fairy tale princess wedding,” and she and groom Natan went ALL OUT to make it happen.  

It didn’t hurt that this is pretty much the ultimate industry insider wedding — wedding planner Adena Mark at A to Z Events just happens to be the mother of the bride, and Daniella herself is a bridal makeup artist. So it’s safe to say this mother-daughter duo knew what they were doing.

Between the knockout pink flowers on the ultra-romantic chuppah, the pink chiffon arches lining the entrance, and the pink sweets table, this wedding really was, this was the kind of Jewish wedding that would do Cinderella proud. You’ve got to check out Shabi Kedem’s photos of it all.

And then there’s that dress. We love that Daniella wasn’t afraid to make a bold choice, bypassing traditional white for a sparkly pink princess gown she custom designed together with Chana Marelus. With intricate floral beading and a huge, poufy skirt, this is the kind of gown that absolutely takes center stage. Now over to lovely Daniella…

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Jewish wedding Ein Chemed outside Jerusalem_0024

 Jewish wedding Ein Chemed outside Jerusalem_0024Jewish wedding Ein Chemed outside Jerusalem_0024
How we met

Daniella, the bride: Natan and I grew up in the same small community, so it’s amazing we didn’t meet earlier than we did. We met on my 15th birthday through some mutual friends. Through the years we were close friends and hung out in the same social groups but we both dated other people through high school.

During my post-high school year of National Service and while he was waiting for his draft date into the IDF, we found ourselves hanging out just the two of us more often and talking on the phone for hours until morning. One night rather than directly asking me out, he tricked me into a date. I thought we were meeting with our big group of friends but when he picked me up alone I discovered he had asked everyone else not to come. Unbeknownst to us, they followed us and joined us for sushi dinner and then just he and I went back to his place, watched a movie, and carved a watermelon into a shark.

We’ve been together through his entire 3.5 year army service, an earthquake in Nepal, too many family losses, and lots of celebrations, and throughout it all, we never doubted the strength of our relationship. Four and half years later he finally popped the question and, now, 5 years later we share a last name 😊

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An Inbal Dror Bride for a Fashion-Forward Jewish Wedding at the Edition Hotel, Miami, Florida, USA

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Jewish wedding Edition Hotel Miami FL USA_0021
There’s so much to love about  Katy (@katyilana) and Max’s Jewish wedding at the stunning Art Deco Edition Hotel in Miami — from the Cuban food to the afterparty at a club/bowling alley to the welcome bags designed by the bride (she’s an artist!) — but what we really want to talk about is the fashion.

First off, there’s Katy’s jawdroppingly gorgeous Inbal Dror dress. Katy said she wanted something a bit sexy that would still keep her grandparents happy, and the ivory lace boho stunner she chose definitely fits the bill. With long sleeves to balance out the open back and plunging neckline, it’s just the right combination of edgy and classic. And as a bonus, it was extra meaningful for Katy to buy a dress handmade in Israel, her father’s home country and a place she has lived herself.

Katy’s not the only one making bold fashion choices at this wedding, though. This laidback bride instructed her bridesmaids only to dress in light colors; beyond that, she left them to their own devices when it came to choosing their wedding attire. Risky? Perhaps, but I think you’ll agree with Katy that this was a gamble that paid off: her perfectly mismatched ’maids look so effortlessly cool, and not a single dress looks out of place. As a bonus, Katy reports that this method was way less stressful for all involved.

Photographer Ricky Stern captured the ultra-glam day in all its glory. Now over to Katy to fill you in on the details…

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Jewish wedding Edition Hotel Miami FL USA_0001

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Old Miami

Katy, the bride: We picked the Edition because it was gorgeous. It was also the old Seville Hotel, an old Miami staple. My dad stayed there when he was younger and even has a photo by the same dividing board that is still there today. 

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A Rockstar Jewish Wedding with a ‘Sunset in the Garden’ Theme at New York Botanic Gardens, NYC

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Get your lighters out and get ready to turn the volume right up, because Andrea and Mark are, without a doubt, the rockiest couple we’ve ever featured on STG! 

Their Jewish wedding took place in the ultimate rockstar city, New York, at the beautiful New York Botanical Garden, with a ‘sunset in the garden’ theme that ran through the dà©cor and color scheme. The flowers were in auburn colors and gradients of red, and looked absolutely sublime.

The couple first met through their shared love of music, and are in a band together, along with bride Andrea’s sister. In fact, their band, MANCIE, gave a surprise performance at the wedding. The idea was to demonstrate how the pair communicates through their music, which we think is just wonderful. What an incredible and very special extra element to have in a relationship! Watching the brilliant wedding trailer by Nicholas Oliver, you can really see them in the zone! 

When they weren’t bringing the house down with their own music, the creative couple entrusted their entertainment to none other than Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, the fabulous Hank Lane Band! High praise indeed, to be booked by two musicians. 

Andrea is also a professional photographer, and so two of her colleagues,  Cory Goldberg and Kurt Sneddon were entrusted with capturing the story of the day – and didn’t they do a magnificent job?>

We’re just the warmup act, so we’ll pass you over to Andrea for the lowdown on her and Mark’s Jewish wedding – everybody make some noise for Andrea!

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How we met

Andrea, the bride: We met through music, as we are both musicians as well as entrepreneurs, so music and a great party were very important to us. There is more info about how we met here.

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