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Home > Jewish Rustic Weddings

A ‘Mediterranean meets rustic South’ DIY Jew-ish wedding in the woods in rural Tennessee, Nashville, USA

05/10/2016 by Karen

colourful-rustic-outdoor-diy-jewish-wedding
Michelle and Joseph’s wedding is one of the loveliest I have ever set eyes on. Their wedding concept was ‘Mediterranean meets rustic South’, and was inspired by a blend of the bride’s Israeli heritage, with its rich, vibrant colours, and the groom’s Southern American roots reminiscent of the lush, vibrant greenery of summers in his native Tennessee. What a gorgeous mix!

They were lucky enough to get married on Joseph’s family property that has been home to four generations of his family, and being two graphic designers, there are so many gorgeous creative details to lap up.

One of the most striking is their chuppah which the two of them built from scratch to match the rustic surroundings. I love that they added in golden paper lanterns as a reference to the golden-dome buildings throughout old Jerusalem. They also hung multicoloured tassels from the ceremony chairs and planted Moroccan-style lanterns around their chuppah to tie back into their theme of ‘Mediterranean meets rustic South’.

Read on for all the fabulousness — you won’t want to miss the amazing serendipitous stories of how Michelle found her super cool dress, AND how she and Joseph found their photographers… Clue: it has something to do with a chance Uber Pool ride in San Francisco — yes, seriously!

Without further ado, I give you Michelle and Joseph and their dreamy pictures by The Image Is Found.

diy-rustic-colourful-outdoor-jewish-wedding_1
How we met

Michelle, the bride: Joseph and I met in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco, during a freelance gig. We were both freelance designers at the time and also tied up with other significant others. But we had both just recently moved from the South–me from Atlanta, GA, Joseph from Chattanooga, TN–within a week of each other and bonded over our mutual transitions to this new city. Eventually we realised there was so much more there, and got together romantically. We became musicians together, started a band, raised our dog/fur-baby together, and six years later we were married 🙂

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A Boho bride for a rustic ‘beer garden’ Jewish wedding at Houston Hall, New York City, USA

16/08/2016 by Karen

Jewish-Wedding-Houston-Hall-NYC
Apologies for the late posting of this morning’s real Jewish wedding – I’m still recovering from last night’s dazzling Brides Magazine Bloggers Dinner. And when I say recovering, it may just have something to do with the fact that Brides had the genius idea of serving a series of cocktails to accompany every course! The whole do was utterly magical from beginning to end — great company, great food, and an exquisite atmosphere in the private dining room at central London’s Haymarket Hotel.

I snapchatted and Instagram-storied live from the dinner so hurry on over and take a look if you want to see what the wedding bloggerati got up to as all the stories will be wiped after 24 hours!

So on to today’s very special real Jewish wedding… Well, where do I even start? Rachel & Robert somehow managed to incorporate a whole host of personal ideas into their Big Day whilst keeping it chic, stylish and super pretty.

There are so many gorgeous touches that I don’t know what to pick out first; there’s Rachel’s special maid of honour — her 91-year old Grandma Betty, the coolest polaroid picture escort cards (you’ll all be wanting to steal that idea!), oh so pretty floral crowns, Louboutins, personalised Converse, a beautifully flowy Nicole Miller beaded wedding dress (this bride has serious style), and a naked red velvet cake.

And instead of just eating leftover wedding cake on their year anniversary; Rachel and Robert have been eating a piece every month, thereby celebrating their anniversary every four weeks… DEFINITELY my kind of couple

Enjoy this one peeps — the day was captured perfectly by The Markows Photography with a glorious film at the end by NST Pictures.

Jewish Wedding Houston Hall NYC_1
How we met

Rachel, the Bride: We met on Match.com. What makes it a good story is that Rob emailed me on Match in September 2012 and I waited two months to write him back! I received his email and I was interested but just not ready to meet someone at the time. It was a good thing he was still single and interested in meeting me two months later…

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A travel-themed Jewish wedding at Olympia’s Valley Estate, Petaluma, California, USA

02/08/2016 by Karen

A-Vera-Wang-Bride-for-a-travel-themed-Jewish-barn-wedding-at-Olympia’s-Valley-Estate,-Petaluma,-California,-USA
There isn’t a single thing I don’t love about this wedding. And when I say love, I mean head over heels, squeal-worthy adoration. As I was putting the post together I was genuinely bursting with excitement at how gorgeous everything is, how adorable Jill’s report is, and how fabulous the photography by Chrisman Studios is too. Honestly, I really had to stop myself from including every. single. image. I’m a big fan of Chrisman Studio’s work (I love how they tell a story), and it’s no surprise that I’ve featured their Jewish weddings on the blog many times before.

Jill is a professional photographer herself, and her work played its part in the way she met Mark. It’s a wonderful story and Jill tells it brilliantly. I literally had goosebumps. Although they met in the ‘new way’ (by which I mean over the internet), to me it feels like a truly romantic old-fashioned love story! Have a read and see…

These two married at a gorgeous rustic barn in California, complete with all sorts of travel-related elements (to reflect Jill’s travel photography career) including personalised passports for each guest with all the wedding details and a Jill and Mark crossword puzzle. Fabulous!

I must also single out Jill’s astonishing Vera Wang frock, and a Pop Art ketubah I am literally obsessed with. Indeed I featured it in this round-up of my favourite ketubah designs last year!

This is SUCH a lovely one, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Jewish rustic wedding at Olympia's Valley Estate in Petaluma, California. Jewish rustic wedding at Olympia's Valley Estate in Petaluma, California.
How we met

Jill, the Bride: In 2012, I received my first assignment from National Geographic. They sent me to Sydney, Australia for five weeks to photograph the National Geographic Traveler Guidebook: Sydney. When I got this amazing opportunity I had never been more excited about anything in my entire life.

About one week into my time in Sydney I got a message on OkCupid from Mark. Mark’s email made me laugh. He was thoughtful. His profile was witty and he looked very cute in his photos. He also took the time to find my photography website, stalk me, and tell me what he liked about my work. I appreciated that effort. Something just intrigued me about him.

I wrote him back telling him I would be gone for the next month and that maybe if he was still single when I returned we could go on a date. He did not seem phased by me being gone at all. He said, “Why don’t we talk on Skype and see if we have anything in common and go from there?”

We decided to start off on Skype with no video, just our voices. Our first conversation lasted hours, as did our second and third. Then we turned on the video, which actually was not as awkward as you may think it could be. Our conversations were very easy. I felt like I was myself from the beginning, probably because I felt like I had nothing to lose.

He started serenading me early on, playing his guitar and singing for me. He would ask me what my favourite songs were and within 24-hours he had taught himself how to play and sing them to me over Skype. I became a Skype groupie. I would send him my best photos of the day and we would talk about my solo adventures. We talked everyday while I was away. I would catch myself on the phone just smiling the whole time, and daydreaming about this mysterious Internet man.

We really had a chance to get to know each other, and by the time we had our first real in-person date it felt like we had been dating for a month. We thought our mothers would be proud that we really took the time to get to know each other before jumping into a relationship.

I never would have admitted it out loud, because it sounds crazy, but there was a part of me that knew he would be my husband before we even met. He says the same thing about me.

The day after I returned home from Australia we had our first date. He came over to my apartment (probably not the smartest idea for a first date with someone you met online – but I felt like a murderer wouldn’t have put in so much time talking to me just to kill me). I was jet-lagged, exhausted and wanted a night at home. We went food shopping and Mark made me dinner. The date was so fun – it just felt right.

That night, he asked me if I would be his girlfriend. I was shocked. I was used to men waiting as long as possible to commit to anything solid, and here we were on our first real date and Mark wanted to be my boyfriend. He said, ‘Here is my rationale – we have been talking for a month and I don’t want to see anyone else. If this does not work out, we break up, if it does then great!’

That made perfect sense to me, and I said ok…

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A Boho bride in cowboy boots for a DIY rustic Jewish wedding at Moshav Mevo Modi’im, Israel

22/10/2015 by Karen

DIY-wedding-Israel
Nikki and Gavriel met via the power of Google search (no kidding… read their ‘how we met’ story below!) but their Jewish wedding was far from hi-tech. It was a super cool, relaxed rustic affair set in Gavriel’s home town in Israel with an abundance of lovingly crafted DIY details.

So much of the wedding was DIY’ed straight from the heart, from the stunning florals organised by the couple and their families (no pro florists involved at all!) to the home-made wooden signs, hay bale seating, BBQ menu and the beautiful bride’s jewellery all made by Gavriel’s mother. She also created Nikki’s stunning baby’s breath flower crown. Is she one talented mama or what?

I absolutely love Nikki’s bridal style and how she accessorised her dress with that deep green sash. And she totally rocks those cowboy boots of hers. I’ve always loved a bride in cowboy boots — such a cool look for a country style affair.

The whole W Day is full of natural and rustic details — unfussy and relaxed, but ever so pretty. Perfect for a venue surrounded by wonderful nature.

Enjoy this treat of a Friday wedding with images by one of our ever-talented Smashing Suppliers, Herschel Gutman Photography, who captures the essence of the day perfectly.

DIY wedding Israel
How we met

Nikki, the Bride: A friend and I were looking for a new experience and for whatever reason googled “religious farms in Israel”. We found a little family farm on a moshav and helped out a here and there with the farm duties on our stay. The daughter of the family asked if we wanted to hang out with her and her friends. We said yes and through her we met a group of guys. The mother of the family told us, “be careful — moshav boys are dangerous!” But over the course of the weekend I hung out with Gavriel on the moshav.. we talked and I listened to him playing the guitar and singing (as well as admiring his devastatingly good looks!) I couldn’t not give him my number…. Well the rest is history and here we are about two years later…. as husband and wife!

DIY wedding Israel
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Carmel & Edo | Forest theme rustic Jewish wedding at Baya’ar Hadera, Israel

02/09/2014 by Karen

forest-theme-wedding
Carmel and Edo certainly know how to throw a party. And throw a party they did — more specifically a big day that embraced their American and Israeli backgrounds, with lots of Jewish traditions modernised  by the couple in a fun,  original  way.

Personally I have a lot of love for this wedding. Carmel’s exquisite Mira Zwillinger wedding gown?  I  adore  it.  The incredible song that Carmel walked down the aisle to?  I love it and cannot actually stop listening to it… Personalised  ‘CARMELychee Martinis’ and ‘MojEDO’  cocktails? Yes, absolutely need those in my life!

And let’s not forget the epic dancing at the end — this hot couple and their  guests had  ALL the moves!

Forest theme rustic Jewish wedding at Baya'ar Hadera, Israel_0040 personalised wedding cocktails
AN AMAZING VENUE SURROUNDED BY NATURE
Carmel, the Bride: The venue we decided to have our wedding at was Baya’ar, which translates to “In the Forest”. It was actually the very first and last venue we went to — we both completely fell in love with the place the second we arrived and booked it immediately.

I wanted to be surrounded by nature during my wedding, which is exactly what this beautiful place offers. The grounds are filled with every colour of green imaginable; it really feels like you’re in a forest. This feeling is just the same inside, which is filled from floor to ceiling with glass windows with a view to the same beautiful greenery. The best part about the place is its lighting! It has the most incredible lighting system, which creates an amazing ambiance both during the dinner and especially on the dance floor! On top of everything, the owners of the venue took such great care of us and were there from early in the morning during set up and literally ordered us a cab to go home at 3:00am!

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