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A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Neon Jungle Jewish Wedding at the Mandarin Oriental, New York, New York, USA

05/08/2019 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We are totally obsessed with the neon jungle theme Jessica and Brant chose for their Jewish wedding – it was just the most perfect way to bring the vibe of the tropical destination wedding the couple initially hoped for to their hometown of New York City, where they ended up marrying to keep the big day accessible to their friends and family.

Bride Jessica says she knew from the moment she got engaged she wanted her wedding to be unique, and did she ever pull it off! With bright colors galore, plenty of palms, a tequila bar, neon signs, and so many more Instagramable touches than we even have room to list here, it’s safe to say she achieved her goal of making her guests feel as if they were transported to the chicest jungle. Don’t miss the photos from The Day by Nathan Smith.

Obviously their stunning chuppah was the pinnacle of jungle chic, and we love that, wanting to get the maximum enjoyment out of it, Jessica and Brant opted to repurpose it for the party, displaying their gorgeous cake and a cool neon sign under it.

But don’t let the fab aesthetics make you think these two skimped on the ceremony – far from it. They made it a priority to honor their late grandparents – they used Brant’s grandfather’s tallit under the chuppah, and Jessica’s wedding band originally belonged to her great-great-grandmother (and has been used by all of the women in her family ever since!) – and even got their dog involved with a walk down the aisle. They made it a priority to find a beautiful ketubah that could serve as a cherished piece of art in their home, and opted for a totally stunning paper cut design from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay.

We’ll let Jessica – who looked stunning in Monique Lhuillier – fill you in on the rest…

A New York Wedding

Jessica, the bride: We got married at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. Brant and I always thought about having a warm climate destination wedding, and we looked almost everywhere. However, after a few months of looking, and keeping friends and family in mind, we thought Manhattan (our hometown) would be the best and easiest. Me being born and bred in Manhattan, and Brant growing up on Long Island, the city was our perfect destination. When we walked into the Mandarin ballroom for the first time and looked out those huge windows to see Central Park and the city skyline, it took our breath away.Continue Reading

An Intimate Rustic Jewish Wedding with a Pregnant Bride at The UC Berkeley Faculty Club, Berkeley, California, USA

22/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon 1 Comment

Redwoods? Check. Sunlight? Check. Perfect Arts & Crafts architecture? Check check check. Yep, we’re just a little bit obsessed with Helena and Alex’s gorgeous venue for their Jewish wedding,the UC Berkeley Faculty Club. Everything about it captures the beauty of Northern California so perfectly.

With such special surroundings, you don’t need much embellishment – and we love that the couple chose to keep things simple, with a sweet rustic birch chuppah and subtle florals in soft, spring tones. Photographer Simone Anne’s poetic images capture the cozy aesthetics so well – not to mention all the love between the couple, and the fun they so clearly had on the day!

And we love how Helena, who was pregnant with the couple’s first child at the time of the wedding, found the perfect flowy gown to complement both her changing body AND the ever-so-slightly boho vibe of her venue – can you believe it was the first one she tried on?!

Now over to the bride…

An Outdoor Wedding

Helena, the bride: we got married at the UC Berkeley Faculty Club. Having an outdoor ceremony was high on our list and with some help from the weather fairies, the sun broke through and we had a beautiful ceremony on the big lawn. We also loved the rustic, classic Berkeley feel. Elegant, cozy and a little eccentric.

A Rustic Chic Family-Focused Jewish Wedding at Gedney Farm in New Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA

15/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple puts friends and family at the center of their big day – and that’s exactly what Miri, a social worker at the Women’s Prison Association, and Dan, a doctor and is the assistant professor of pathology & cell biology/assistant director of clinical microbiology at Columbia Presbyterian, did.

Not to say that they didn’t pay attention to the aesthetics – it’s hard to go wrong in the beautiful Berkshires, and we’re in love with their gorgeous rustic venue. And that floral chuppah – so sweet and simple, yet so perfect! If you’re anything like us, Christopher Duggan’s wonderful photos will have you wishing you could transport yourself to Western Massachusetts ASAP.

The groom’s father officiated the wedding, and the bride’s father and uncle participated in the ceremony too. And we love that Miri and Dan divided up a modern version of the the 7 blessing among family so that even more of their relatives could participate!

We love that Miri opted to wear her mother’s 50-year-old wedding dress for the big day (with some tailoring and modernization to make it work for her body AND the 21^stcentury) – how special is that?

And the canopy on that gorgeous chuppah? It was taken from Dan’s mom’s wedding dress.

There’s so much more to say about this amazing day, but we’ll leave the rest to Miri…

How we met

Miri, the bride: We met on Tinder in 2014.

A Vera Wang Bride for a Magical Forest Jewish Wedding in the City at the Hilton Midtown Hotel, New York City, New York

08/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Okay, we’re still picking our jaws up off the floor from this INCREDIBLE chuppah. I mean… wow. Bride Rebecca says she felt like she was in a magical forest, and we can’t really think of a better way to put it than that. You don’t want to miss the exquisite photos by Cristina Calvi and Hy Goldberg.

Rebecca and Eric, who both work in finance, wanted to bring the outdoors in to their big day – despite getting married smack dab in the center of Manhattan – and did they ever. The fairytale trees and flowers surrounding the couple under their chuppah, amidst an uber-romantic background of flickering candles, was just beyond.

The flowers for the rest of the wedding were totally outstanding, too – the arches of hanging ombre wisteria that formed the backdrop of the badeken, the luxe tablecenters, even the flowers adorning the couple’s gorgeous wedding cake.

Now over to the bride…

How we met

Rebecca, the bride: We grew up only a few blocks from each other and were one grade apart, but we “officially” met and starting dating in high school (Rebecca’s junior year, Eric’s senior year) and we have been together ever since. We only figured out years after we started dating that we had been on the same bus in elementary school!

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Modern Classic Jewish Wedding at Cipriani 25 Broadway, NYC, New York, USA

26/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Every so often, we come across a wedding trailer that truly moves us – one that captures all the emotion and beauty of the day so well, we feel as if we’d been there ourselves.

That’s certainly true of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kiss the Bride Films’ beautiful coverage of the Jewish wedding of Jess and Brett. The couple emphasize how important it was for them to pick vendors they enjoyed spending time with, and we’re not at all surprised that working with Kiss the Bride was “a dream come true” for the pair, or that their comfort with and confidence in their video team helped them enjoy their big day stress-free.

Photographer Roey Yohai was equally fabulous – Jess and Brett say he’s known for bringing out the realest smiles in his couples, and judging from theirs that certainly seems like an accurate statement!

One thing’s for sure: there was plenty for the photo and video teams to capture, from the majestic venue – an Italian neo-Renaissance masterpiece with 65-foot ceilings – to the breathtaking white orchid chuppah. We love how the couple picked transparent lucite poles to represent “the openness and transparency of our future home, our relationship and our hearts.” Awwwww! (And if that didn’t already put you into cuteness overload, did we mention that Jess and Brett even got their sweet puppy Jojo in on the action?)

There’s so much more to say about this exquisite wedding, but we’ll let Jess – who looked radiant in Monique Lhuillier – fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Jess, the bride: We first crossed paths in October 2010 at an AEPhi and APES mixer during our sophomore and senior years at Emory University. We made an instant connection and soon started dating. When we met up over winter break that year, our families suspected we were a perfect match – as our date involved shopping at Bloomingdale’s!

Brett graduated in 2011 and moved to NYC and two years later was reunited with Jess when she graduated from Emory and started dental school at NYU. 24 hours prior to their joint commencement, as Brett graduated with a master’s from NYU on the same day as Jess, Brett popped the question atop Bow Bridge in Central Park much to the surprise and excitement of Jess.