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5 Ways to Incorporate Jewish spirituality into your wedding and home – with Micaela Ezra, founder of AHYIN

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AHYIN-MICAELA-EZRA
This Monday July 2, we are going live with the incredible Micaela Ezra, founder of AHYIN, to talk about  how to incorporate Jewish spirituality into your wedding and home.

As brides, we spend so much time thinking about the aesthetics and logistics of our big days, sometimes it’s easy to overlook the spiritual element of your Jewish (or Jew-ish) wedding — and of the home you’re building together.

That’s why I’m SO thrilled to be going live with NYC-based Micaela Ezra, the powerhouse designer behind AHYIN, a jaw-droppingly gorgeous line of contemporary Judaica that we on Team STG are absolutely OBSESSED with.

ahyin-shabbat-table

You’ll learn all about:

– How to incorporate spirituality in the lead up to your wedding

– How you might want your wedding to “feel” as opposed to material elements

– What spiritual Jewish path you might want to embark on with your partner

and so much more!

There’ll also be an exclusive gift from Micaela for everyone who watches… you won’t want to miss this!

We welcome any questions you may be – either comment live during the broadcast, or you submit a question in advance by emailing karen@smashingtheglass.com

ahyin-shabbat-table

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Bringing Spirituality into Your Jewish Wedding and Your Home with Micaela Ezra of AHYIN

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Photography; Sasha Israel | @sashaisrael

As brides, we spend so much time thinking about the aesthetics and logistics of our big days, sometimes it’s easy to overlook the spiritual element of your Jewish (or Jew-ish) wedding – and of the home you’re building together. 

That’s why I’m so thrilled to be talking today to Micaela Ezra, the powerhouse designer behind AHYIN, a jawdroppingly gorgeous line of contemporary Judaica that we on Team STG are absolutely in love with. Micaela’s designs – she’s best known for her stunning challah covers, which bring together traditional Jewish symbolism and the embroidery traditions of the craftswomen of Hilando Mexico, a collective whose members hand-embroider each and every AHYIN piece.

Meant to start conversation around the Friday night dinner table, Micaela’s designs reflect her belief in the relevance of Jewish ritual to our contemporary lives, and equally in the fusion of spirituality and beauty.

Micaela’s wedding — Photography: Joe Buissink | @joebuissink

AHYIN’s pieces are intended to be handed down through the generations as heirlooms, and what a beautiful symbol of the beginning of your life together as a family. Even for those of us who are not exactly at the beginning of our lives together – I know I’m adding a few of these beauties to my own wishlist!

What makes Micaela so inspiring is that she really embodies her commitment to tradition and modernity, ritual and aesthetic, not only in her work but also in her life – as she detailed when talking to us about everything from her journey from fashion design to Judaica to how she incorporated spirituality into her own wedding. There’s so much more I could say about this fantastic lady and her art, but I’ll let you read it in her own words.

Photography; Sasha Israel | @sashaisrael

Photography; Sasha Israel | @sashaisrael

Photography; Sasha Israel | @sashaisrael

Photography; Sasha Israel | @sashaisrael

STG: What inspired you to create AHYIN?

Micaela Ezra: Actually a childhood friend from Australia asked me to design her a challah cover in the traditional Mexican Otami embroidery style (I am a designer and artist). The request prompted a creative journey into an industry I had never even considered. I serendipitously came across a community of talented artisans in Mexico and suddenly I realised that this work was the meeting point of so many life passions for me – textile design, Jewish spirituality and social change philanthropy.

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A Cool Jewish Wedding Gift List with Prezola

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Jewish-Wedding-Gift-List If you’re unsure whether to have a wedding list, let me tell you, from experience, you really do need one. Your friends and family will WANT to buy you a gift to show the love. But unless you direct them, you’re in danger of receiving presents that are either too chintzy or a tad off piste. Without a list you could be the proud recipient of something you already have or ever worse – never ever want to have.

Prezola really is THE modern wedding registry for our stylish Jewish couples. It’s super polished, eclectic and cool with over 300 top homeware brand to choose from. Including The White Company, Habitat, LSA, Jo Malone, Sonos, Joseph Joseph… 

And hot off the press, I can reveal that the truly stunning Graham and Green and Soho Home (my absolute faves!) have recently just added themselves to that illustrious list. So it’s not without reason that Prezola is now the UK’s favourite independent (multi award-winning) wedding gift list and honeymoon fund. 

Prezola-Karen

Why I love Prezola

I would have LOVED to have known about Prezola when I got married. It’s such a beautifully curated site with the most gorgeous selection of homewares I’ve seen in one place. It feels so hand picked whether your style is urban and cool or pretty and rustic, glamorous and shiny. And they’re SUCH a lovely company to work with. They’re one of my favourite STG finds and in fact I’ve already made a dream list with them.

Prezola understands the modern Jewish bride

Hugely exciting news is that Prezola now caters specifically for Jewish weddings. Alongside the perfect modern gifts (30,000 to be exact), they now also offer the more traditional Judaica style gifts that relatives just LOVE to buy you. 

These range from Challah boards and Matzah plates that you can use every Shabbat to Passover Seder plates used only two nights in the year

But get this, with brands like Alessi and the fabulous Jonathan Adler, Prezola now have traditional gifts with a modern twist. So STG!

Modern Traditional Gifts

A wedding list is a beautiful thing — it allows you to let people know exactly what you want without the embarrassment of actually telling them personally.

For an engagement present, a beloved aunt bought me and Mr. STG a challah cover, which lets say, left a lot to be desired in terms of design. It now spends its life in the messy drawer in our kitchen. If I had a list at Prezola, I could have chosen a more ‘us’ traditional gift and not feel guilty every time I catch a glimpse of that lavishly embroidered cover.

I love tradition but I also love design. Who says I cant have both?

Prezola certainly knows how to do Friday night, STG style..and it makes me smile whenever I look at this Jonathan Adler brilliant brass bird Menorah below. Here are my dream Judaica picks from Prezola (never thought I would use the word ‘dream’ and ‘Judaica’ in the same sentence till I saw Prezola’s list!)

To see all their fabulous Judaica, click here.

Prezola-Judaica

The Modern Take

If you’ve already set up home, it’s especially important to have a wedding list. You simply don’t need two toasters. And the best part is that you can browse and go a little wild. You know those things that you possibly wouldn’t have bought when you had your sensible head on. Prezola’s list lets you get the big stuff — think gorgeous linens and stunning cookware, but also the fun, cool additions to your home.

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Real Jewish Brides: Creating The Perfect Jewish Wedding Gift Registry

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DAWN-INTRO-IMAGE
How many times have you asked somebody “What do you want for your birthday?” or “What do you want for Hanukkah?” only to hear the usual “I don’t know. You don’t have to get my anything!”

Being on both the giving and receiving end of this conversation numerous times, I love wedding registries! They make wedding gift shopping so easy for a guest and eliminate that dreaded question, “What do you want for your wedding?” for the bride. and groom It can be extremely awkward to ask for specific items, especially if they are on the more expensive side, but the wedding registry allows your guests to see exactly what it is that you and your partner want or need as you begin to build your new lives together while being able to stay on their own personal budget.

Jewish-Wedding-Gift-Registry
You’ve Got to Start Somewhere!

As with most wedding planning aspects, building your registry can be both fun and a bit stressful. You may find that you and your fiancà©(e) value different things, and who knew that you’re actually supposed to register for a certain number of gifts at different price points based on the number of guests you’re having?!

We decided it would be best to register at two stores with a nation-wide presence because it would give our guests options and would make things simpler for those who are coming from out-of-town. We also knew not to limit this process to one day because it can easily become overwhelming.

Many stores that offer a wedding registry service, including the two we used (Macy’s and Bed, Bath, and Beyond) do a great job or providing Wedding Registry Guides/Checklists and a personal shopping assistant to help you through the process.

They definitely alleviate some of the stress that comes with an afternoon full of decision-making by offering information about best sellers and items that typically are left on the registry, as well as those items that you may think are necessary but usually end up getting returned after the wedding. They also do fun events and promotions to get couples excited about registering, such as Macy’s “Sip and Scan” event where Harley and I won two nights at the Palm Beach Gardens Marriott. We’re saving it until after the wedding, so we still have a staycation to look forward to!

Cool-Menorah
(From L to R) Menorah by Jonathan Adler  | Menorah by Studio Armadillo

Registering for Jewish Holidays and for your Lifestyle

One of the benefits of having a 16 month engagement is that we’ve gotten to experience a whole year of life and annual celebrations in that time. There are so many things that I did not consider when we initially set up our registry that came up in that time. For example, I only added an Apple & Honey Dish to the registry after Rosh Hashanah, and I never would have thought about adding an electric knife until our Thanksgiving host and hostess went on the hunt for one that day! (Side note: Many people have complete knife sets on their wedding registries, but according to folklore, it’s bad luck to give knives as a wedding gift because it signifies a broken relationship. Expect a penny from me if this is your gift of choice!)

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10 Stylish Judaica Pieces For Your Home

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Cool-Judaica
This is a guest post by Andrea Cohen

In 1984, the same year Miami Vice premiered on American TV and Frankie Goes to Hollywood was getting us all to ‘RELAX’, I was a 13 year old Bat Mitzvah. I spent almost every other weekend that year attending another friends’s Bat Mitzvah, and sneaking out of her service to peruse the temple’s Judaica collection. I was a budding artist and designer on a search for objects that were new, clever, modern and inspiring. Would there be anything in those vitrines that I’d like to see on my holiday or Shabbat table?

Uh, no, not really…

Suffice to say I was an unimpressed tween, disappointed by the short range of Judaic styles on display. As far as I could tell back then, modern Judaica fell into three general categories:

1. Chagall inspired colourful designs
2. Brightly colored geometries reminiscent of Agam’s work
3. Cold and severe steel or silver minimalist works

Where were the warm, modern, tasteful menorahs, seder plates, and kiddush cups for design-savvy Jewish girls like me?

32 years later I’m still asking the same question.

Stylish Modern Judaica. Does it really exist?

There are many talented Judaic artists working today, but there is still limited contemporary Judaica available that reflects the tastes of young, modern, urban, assimilated Jews. However, there are a handful of Judaic pieces that would bring me joy to have in my home–works that reflect my personal style and aren’t a throwback to the 1980s (or 1880s). Any of them would also make an excellent wedding gift. So here are my top 10 picks for my favourite modern Judaica, with links to where you can find them.

 

1. Futura Seder Plate by Jonathan Adler $150

Modern-Seder-Plate

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