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A Golden City-Themed Jewish Wedding at The Julia Morgan Ballroom at the Merchants Exchange Building, San Francisco, USA

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Anyone who’s had the good fortune to have visited San Francisco will know that it’s one mighty city, and certainly worthy of having a whole wedding theme dedicated to it. 

That’s exactly what brilliant couple Rachael, a pediatrician, and David, a scientist, did – their beautiful Jewish wedding was a total love letter to the Golden City, which is their hometown, and the beautiful backdrop to their romance.

We are all hearts for eyes over the amazing floristry, particularly the gorgeous and colorful bridal bouquet, and matching centerpieces and chuppah arrangements – simply stunning. 

Family participation was integral to the celebration, with the wedding party comprised of family members, and special family heirloom jewelry worn by the bride. In fact, family played such a crucial role that all the guests were gifted one of the bride’s mom’s famous cookies, which sound absolutely delicious. We’ll wait for ours in the post! 

We hope you’re as head over heels for the beautiful images by Nightingale Photography as we are, and that you enjoy Rachael’s wonderful, sparkling write up of her and David’s wedding day, particularly her anecdote about kiddush wine, which had us chuckling at our keyboards. 

Take it away, Rachael!

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A venue with character

Rachael, the bride: We chose to get married at the Julia Morgan Ballroom because we wanted to get married in downtown San Francisco, but we were looking for something with more character than a basic hotel ballroom.

We quickly fell in love with the beautiful design and architecture of the Julia Morgan Ballroom, and they had the date we wanted to get married available, so we snatched it up. It also didn’t hurt that the entire ceremony and reception was inside, so we didn’t have to worry about rain ruining the big day.

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A DIY ‘Jew-Bu’ Wedding at The Wildflower Barn, Driftwood, Texas, USA

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There’s no two ways about it, Rachel and Michael’s gorgeous Texas Jew-Bu wedding ticks all of the STG boxes. Creative? Tick. Cool? Tick. Unique? Tick. Emotional? Tick. The couple’s quirky, alternative vibe was evident in every little detail.

With a little help from some very crafty friends, acupuncturist-moonlighting-as-an-office-manager, Rachel and product manager / DJ, Michael put their personalities into all of the DIY touches, from their origami cranes to their Tibetan prayer flag chuppah, their sunflower centerpieces to their gorgeous home baked cakes, courtesy of a friend.

Rachel looked every bit the beautiful bride in her stunning, textured Theia Couture gown, chosen for its immense huggability (totally a word), which we think is just adorable. We also have total style envy over her cute cat-eye makeup look and lashes!

The day was recorded for the ages by fabulous photographer, Caitlin McWeeney, we hope you enjoy the images, and Rachel’s brilliant write up, as much as we did.

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How we met

Rachel, the bride: We met at a party in May of 2008. Michael was DJing. I danced. The rest is history!

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An Equality-Driven Jewish Beach Wedding at The Fairmont Miramar, Santa Monica, California, USA

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Some real weddings are just so full of love, heart and emotion that it shines through in every image we see, and every word the couple writes. Ryan and Jessica’s Santa Monica beach celebration was certainly one of those days. 

Set in the shadow of an enormous fig tree, the tear-jerking day included a uniquely equality-driven badeken (we LOVE this idea, we suspect many couples will be borrowing it), and a ‘web of love’ during the ceremony. 

The pair tied the knot in their hometown of Santa Monica, paying homage to their beachy lifestyle and adding in a minty colour scheme, which carried through in all of the details, captured so beautifully by photographer Scott Clark Photo. 

While we’re talking details, we adore (amongst many other things) the rustic-look chuppah, succulent buttonholes and meaningful circle-of-life ketubah – the epitome of Jewish wedding chic. 

We’ll leave you with Jessica’s lovely write-up now, but pay special attention to the ‘web of love’ image a little later in the post – so very moving and just what getting married is all about.

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How we met

Jessica, the bride: Ryan and I met in Los Angeles while pursuing graduate degrees in Business Administration at the University of Southern California in 2011. We’ve been on a long journey together since: over the past six years we moved twice, first to New York and then back to LA. In 2016, Ryan joined the Jewish faith, we got engaged, and less than a year later, we were married.

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A Rainy Rustic Barn Jewish Wedding at The Lodge at Mount Ida, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

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A chuppah draped with foliage, a three-tiered buttercream cake topped with fresh flowers, a country barn venue – these are just some of the reasons we wish we’d been at Sandra and Matt’s rustic big day. 

The whole wedding was a visual dream, with pops of bright, spring colors against dark, earthy backdrops, at a venue with special meaning to the couple. 

Despite dramatic weather, Sandra and Matt soldiered on, even making the rain a feature of their wedding, with the bridesmaids in adorable rain boots (or wellies, for the Brits!).

The beautiful photography below was provided by Don Mears Photography, so we’ll let you go and gawp at it now. Enjoy Sandra and Matt’s big day story (we adore the tale of their first meeting – it’s like something out of a movie!) 

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How we met

Matt, the groom: Our relationship started as so many do: with Bill Clinton. Freezing in line to see the former President stump for Hillary in the 2008 primaries, I started making fun of Sandra for being short, the surest way to any girl’s heart.

Sandra, the bride: I knew I was in trouble when I bumped into him later that night. I was at a party Matt had invited my friends and me to at his fraternity, and had gone up to the bar to grab a drink. Lo and behold, Matt turned around to serve me. He smiled, and I was smitten.

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A Nicole Miller Bride for a rustic, outdoor Jewish wedding at Shady Lane​ Farm, Maine, USA

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Wellies on – it’s time for a good, old-fashioned farm wedding. Sophie and Henry’s rustic big day was everything you’d want and more – rustic, natural and simply gorgeous.

New York couple Sophia, a social worker, and Henry, a non-profit professional at a human rights NGO, met at college, on Sophia’s birthday, ten years ago. As it turned out that a boyfriend is for life, not just for birthdays, and, a decade on, the pair made it official!

The couple tied the knot at Shady Lane Farm, a childhood haunt of bride, Sophia. The wedding was adorned with beautiful, laid-back wildflower bouquets, the most woven stunning birch sapling chuppah, with a lovely story behind it and bridesmaids in blush. In fact, the entire wedding was handmade, with friends and family pitching in, in an all-hands-on-deck effort to make everything as beautiful as it turned out to be.

The love and personal details were perfectly reflected in the pictures by A.Fogarty Photography

Stunning Sophia wore a divine lace Nicole Miller dress, with beautifully braided hair – a vision of boho chic. 

Over to Sophia for the full story behind her and Henry’s perfect Jewish farm wedding!

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How we met

Sophia, the bride: We met in college, when we were introduced by two of our closest friends, on Sophia’s birthday! This was ten years ago in March.

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