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A Sarah Seven Bride for a Super Cool Jewish Wedding Celebrating Mexico City at Hacienda de Cortes, Jiutepec, Mexico

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Alana and TJ, Hacienda de Cortes, Jiutepec, Mexico

When Alana and TJ, both American entrepreneurs living in Mexico City, set out to plan their Jewish wedding, they knew they wanted to use it as an opportunity to share their beloved adopted hometown with their family and friends – and they found the most perfect venue in Hacienda de Cortes, a gorgeous hotel full of character with space to accommodate guests.

We love how the couple opted to embrace the natural beauty of their venue, opting for a color scheme of all greens when it came to flowers and décor and a wooden chuppah adorned with more greenery – with some disco balls thrown in for good measure!

And we’re especially obsessed with Alana and TJ’s fabulous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tchotchke. In Alana’s words,

All of the designs are things that you’d want to keep on display year round because they’re so beautiful, and we wanted a ketubah we’d love to have up forever. We looked on Etsy and other websites and didn’t love the super traditional options.

Then we found Tchotchke, founded by Adam Paskow, who designed gorgeous menorahs, mezuzah’s and more, and it was hard to pick one as they were all fantastic. Ultimately, we decided on the “shapes” design by Emunah Winer, who has a creative agency, rum and tequila brand. We didn’t know how cool she was before we picked it, but we should have.

Don’t miss it in the stunning images from Efege Photography.

Read on for all the details of this very special day in Alana’s words…

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How We Met

Alana, the bride: We met at a dinner in Mexico City! I had been in the city for 4 years and TJ a few months when a 5 person dinner turned into a 17 person dinner and we sat next to each other. Our friend Kate eagerly asked what I thought of him after the dinner as she thought he could “match my energy,” and we exchanged numbers.

We saw each other two nights later, though both were entertaining friends from out of town, and then I invited him to a party, and to my house for a pre-party, which was 8 mostly Spanish speaking women and TJ. Despite not speaking Spanish well yet, he did great. We had a great time at the party and went on a date before he left Mexico to move out of his San Francisco apartment and planed to be back in a month.

During that month we kept chatting and he invited me to join him and his friends in Napa for a birthday trip. Since we barely knew each other I didn’t know what to say or do, so I did nothing. Then he took the pressure off, Kate assured me I wouldn’t get murdered, I decided to go on the trip, it was fantastic, and we’ve been together since!

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A Mira Zwillinger Bride for a Designers’ Jewish Wedding Featuring a Sea Moss Chuppah at Chablé Maroma, Riviera Maya, Mexico

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Steph-and-Brett-Chable-Maroma-Riviera-Maya

When two design pros get married, you can bet their big day is going to be something special – and that’s absolutely the case when it comes to the fabulous Jewish wedding of NYC couple Steph and Brett.

These two put their own stamp on their Riviera Maya destination wedding by designing and building everything from the event programs to welcome bags to table assignments – and their choice of ultra-stylish boutique hotel Chablé Maroma set the perfect backdrop.

Naturally, when it came to choosing a ketubah, only the best would do – and when Steph and Brett stumbled onto Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Brit Yudell of BritColors, they knew they’d found just the artist to craft their magical embroidered ketubah.

We’re also in love with the couple’s chuppah, crafted from locally sourced wood and covered in sea moss – don’t miss it in Amanda Young’s exquisite, artistic photos.

We’ll let Steph – who looked positively radiant in her gown by Israeli designer Mira Zwillinger – take it from here…

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How We Met

Steph, the bride: We met through work! Brett was a producer at a fabrication shop, and I was looking to hire someone to build my company a booth for a trade show. Given the small scale of the project, we never would have needed to meet if not for my pushy creative direction—I figured if I lived a few blocks from the shop, why not go in person and explain my vision? I’m so glad I did, because once I locked eyes with Brett, it was on.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Things to Consider When You’re Planning a Jewish Destination Wedding in Mexico and the Caribbean

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Who doesn’t love Jewish destination wedding? Just imagine making it official in a tropical paradise like Mexico or the Caribbean, with the ocean breeze drifting through your chuppah – pure perfection!

That said, there are some extra considerations you’ll need to keep in mind when planning your Jewish wedding abroad – and we brought in our friends at Destination Weddings by Vacationeeze to walk you through them.

Vacationeeze is a family-owned full-service travel advisor specializing in destination weddings in Mexico and the Caribbean. They’ve helped many Jewish couples from all kinds of backgrounds create the weddings of their dreams, and they’ve got an awesome portfolio of top resorts who understand how to bring a Jewish wedding to life.

The team at Vacationeeze understands how important your Jewish wedding is, and they’ve shared with us some of the key things to consider when planning your special day. We’ll let them take it from here…

What type of ceremony?

One of most important decisions you need to make is about what kind of ceremony you want. Do you want a traditional Jewish ceremony, or something more personal with Jewish touches? Or maybe you’re interfaith?

Regardless, you’ll need to secure your officiant – whether a rabbi or cantor or otherwise. You might choose to fly out someone from home, or you can work with your planner or venue to help find a suitable local officiant who suits your needs. Not all locales will have a rabbi or cantor available – especially if you need one from a particular denomination – so this is something to sort out right at the start of your planning.

 

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A Winnie Couture Bride for a Boho Chic Jewish Wedding on the Beach at Mahayana Tulum, Tulum, Mexico

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How gorgeous is the beachy boho Jewish wedding of California couple Amber, who works for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and Elliot, the owner of Golden State Corals?! This travel-loving pair opted for a destination wedding weekend in Tulum.

Amber had always dreamed of an intimate, laid-back celebration with the couple’s nearest and dearest – and fortunately, she was able to make that dream come true despite getting married during the pandemic. The couple’s fantastic planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Lucy Gallagher, helped them bring it all together – which is no easy feat when planning from abroad in the best of times, let alone during COVID.

We love the relaxed California vibes of the day, and Moni Adri Photography’s wonderful pics make us feel as if we were right there with Amber and Elliot.

Now over to the bride, who looked stunning in her custom Winnie Couture gown…

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How we Met

Amber, the bride: I’m from New Jersey and Elliot is from Maryland.  We moved to California separately, around the same time.  We both adopted German Shepherds, his a female and mine a male, around the same time.  We met at the dog park.  Our dogs became obsessed with each other first. We got engaged on the Amalfi Coast in September 2019.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Allison Webb Bride for a Beachy Destination Jewish Wedding at Ana y José Hotel in Tulum, Mexico

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Julia-and-Nick-Tulum-Mexico

There’s nothing like a Jewish wedding on the beach, and Julia and Nick’s minimalist celebration in swoonworthy Tulum, Mexico, ticks all our boxes and then some.

First off, we love that these two knew they’d stumbled onto something special with their venue – I mean, can you believe that beach?! – and decided to keep a low profile with their décor so as to let the surroundings speak for themselves. They stuck with mostly natural materials and native flowers, greenery, and pampas grass (with the exception of some prominently placed protea flowers in a nod to the couple’s shared South African roots).

And we’re totally obsessed with Julia and Nick’s simple but stunning chuppah, consisting of nothing more than natural driftwood-esque branches and the couple’s grandfathers’ talitot. Against the backdrop of the ocean, does it ever make an impact! Don’t miss the incredible photos from Someplace Wild Photography.

We’ll let the bride, who looked so beautiful in her lace gown from Allison Webb, fill you in on the rest…


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How We Met

Julie, the bride: Nick and I have known each other forever, and I know a lot of people say that, but really, we have! Both coming from South African Jewish families, our lives have been intertwined for as long as I can remember, so it only seemed natural then when I got to high school (two years after Nick) that he was a kind, familiar face in a see of thousands of new ones, as I was coming from a small private school to a large public high school. Our story begins in high school, dating off and on as teenagers and A LOT of sneaking out of my parents house! When it was time for college, we parted ways, Nick two years older and off to New York City for his own adventure.

Fast forward a bit, and we are both at NYU, both living in New York City. It was an incredible and very intense way to reconnect. Somehow, even when we were “broken up” we kept finding our way back to each other. Once we both had matured a bit, we finally decided it was time to really be together. After a few years in New York, we decided to make our way back to our home base, Atlanta, where both our families and extended family lives.  

Although a rollercoaster, we really have watched each other grow up and taken time to do that separately. To be with someone who has witnessed a lot of your life is pretty crazy and we are constantly grateful to continue to have the front row seat to each other’s life. 

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