Monthly Archives: September 2010

Real Weddings | Los Angeles, CA

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Alison in Real Jewish Weddings

Some couples see their wedding day as an extension of their courtship. Other nearlyweds feel that their wedding day is a new start to their lives. Neither vision is wrong, but for today’s Real Weddings couple, we are looking at a celebratory event that marks another day in six years together. The concept that Michael and Kristen decided on for their June wedding was a fun, casual, environmentally-conscious day with a core group of family and close friends, and lots of creative touches to express their personalities.

Michael is Jewish and Kristen is Protestant, but they have always enjoyed incorporating Jewish rituals into their home life together, and it was a natural choice for them to decide to have a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony with a very musical reform rabbi. They found the perfect, off-beat spot at Smog Shoppe, an amazing, indoor/outdoor eco-friendly venue in Culver City, California with vertical succulent gardens lining the walls and eclectic vintage furniture and decor. Next, they hired an organic caterer, arranged for planted succulent centerpieces rather than cut flowers, and picked conflict-free, recycled platinum wedding rings.

Despite being in grad school and working part time, Kristen poured hours and hours of time and creativity into the wedding planning, crafting almost all the details herself. Her list of projects included designing all the invitations and paper products, sewing different napkin sets for each table with corresponding fabric swatch escort cards (plus a coordinating backdrop for the homemade photo booth at the reception and a bag for Michael’s big glass-breaking moment for the ceremony), collecting vintage white compote dishes to use as planters for the centerpieces, designing and creating the chuppah canopy, as well as screen printing the favor bags, which Kristen and Michael filled with ruggelah cookies from Canter’s Deli on Fairfax.

Michael was no creative slouch either, mixing all the music and visual playlists in advance, and editing a movie of photos of their lives to show before dinner at the reception. For anything they couldn’t do themselves, Kristen and Michael tried to support small local entrepreneurs, from the dress to the cake. They both agreed that the day came together even better than they thought it would. Guests raved about the ceremony, the food was delicious, and everyone packed the dance floor, pitching in to lift the chairs for the Hora and creating a giant Love Train winding around the room!

Mazel tov, Kristen and Michael!

Venue – Smog Shoppe
Photographer – Suthi Picotte
Day Of Coordinator – Ruby Events LA
Catering – Eco Caters
Officiant – Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels
Cake – Kiss My Bundt
Bride’s Dress – Alix & Kelly
Belt – Ban.do
Hair and Makeup – Mandy Perez
Centerpieces – Succulent Love
Chuppah Stand – Happy Chuppah
Ketubah – New Ketubah
Favor Cookies – Canter’s Deli
Groom’s Suit – J Crew
Rings – Brilliant Earth

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All Dressed Up

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Alison in Inside Scoop

You love your wedding dress, right? Who doesn’t?! It’s the prettiest, whitest, and probably most expensive dress you’ll ever own so it’s quite possible you’d welcome any additional opportunity to wear it after your wedding day! While it’s unlikely you’ll throw it on to go to the market to pick up groceries (don’t think I haven’t considered that!), there could be more eventful reasons to get back into your bridal costume to prance around and feel maaaaahvelous.

Most photographers offer “Trash the Dress” or “Day After” sessions. This is a more casual photo shoot that can be solo or with the groom. Up to you. Discuss with your photographer if you’d like to capture additional sweet moments in new settings or if you want to go all out and get down and dirty in your dress. We’ve seen brides go in pools, surf waves at the beach, play in the mud, or even play paint ball. “Trash the Dress” can literally be just that. But if permanently ruining your dress makes you a little nauseous, we definitely recommend a “Day After”-style session. We think of it more like engagement photos… but in your wedding dress. Either way, both sessions make for great pictures and a fun time rewearing your get-ups from the big day.

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Ask photographers if they’re doing any photo shoots for their own artistic endeavors. Photographers need more than just a camera; they need subjects! Many photographers and miscellaneous wedding vendors set up shoots for their own portfolios or for marketing and branding purposes. They need models and that would be you in your wedding dress! Remember when The Wedding Yentas coordinated the bolero photo shoot back in May in order to provide you fashionable ideas for covering your shoulders? Well, the photographers needed brides, so they recruited some recent married ladies who buttoned themselves back into their wedding gowns to pose for the cameras. It was fun for everyone and the finished product was gorgeous! If you’d like to be involved in something like this, you can probably send a message to local photographers whose styles you like and let them know you’re interested if they need models with wedding dresses.

Bridal salons are often coordinating fashion shows at bridal fairs. Why not call up the store from which you purchased your dress and ask if they have any upcoming involvement in wedding shows? You could model your dress, or, better yet, you could model lots of dresses! Go ahead and Google bridal shows in your area and see if there are upcoming dates. You’d have a blast and you’d be around all things wedding — and if you’re anything like us, that’s a good thing!

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Spice up your anniversary. Forget the lingerie and sexy bras and panties. Just put on your wedding dress! He’ll love it. Okay, actually, he probably won’t even really care (ugh! Men!), but you’ll get to mark the date you originally got all dressed up and looked your most beautiful to marry your love on the best day of your life. Something like that, right? It’s like looking through old high school yearbooks. The sentiments of a year’s passing are truly present when you wear the threads that are most symbolic of your wedding day. On our first anniversary, my husband was sick with the flu (poor guy), so while he was resting on the couch, I ran up to the closet, put on my dress, ordered in dinner, and before I popped in our wedding DVD for an anniversary screening, I did a few twirls to make the skirt all poofy and tried to remember parts of our choreographed first dance. What a sight that must’ve been. Who knew that a year later, he’d be in PJs, filled with fluids and Advil, and I’d be in my (a weeeee bit tighter) wedding dress and flip flops, with plates of spaghetti in our laps and a new little puppy between us. Life changes in a year, but your wedding dress remains the frozen artifact of your most memorable day.

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(above: embarrassing pictures of me. This means we’ve now entered a close friendship and you are now in my inner circle. I had just finished nursing my poor husband back to health during a lazy day at home. Ah, the beauty of marriage: not caring about bad hair days.)

Winner Announced!

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Alison in Friday Favorites

Look out! It just got hotter in the kitchen! We have a winner for our Friday Favorites giveaway sponsored by our very good friends at ModernTribe. In preparation for the upcoming Jewish holidays, we’ve partnered with ModernTribe Jewish Gifts to provide one lucky winner with the adorable Modern Pomegranate Apron.

We asked you to tell us your favorite traditional Rosh Hashanah foods and you delivered! Thanks to you, our tummies will be craving some delicious holiday food. But, we can only have one random winner, and the cook with the new modern style is Ally M.!

modern-tribe-israeli-apron

Thank you to everyone who visited The Wedding Yentas and participated in the sweepstakes! We wish we could toss aprons on all of you! Please come back and continue to enter for more chances to win. You know how much we love showering you in gifts. Mazel tov, Ally!

Friday Favorites | Cooking in Style

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Alison in Friday Favorites

It’s the Friday before Rosh Hashanah so we are gushing about something that was made in Israel that you can sport while you enjoy cooking adventures in the kitchen for the holidays.

Once again, our friends at ModernTribe have a practical item that’s fashionable and meaningful! Do you want to make sure you keep your temple clothes kugel-free? Want to avoid a clothes-altering explosion of powdered sugar from the honey cake you baked? Do you want to make it look like you were rockin’ it in the kitchen while you sneak in the catered platter for your holiday guests? Protect your outfit and look adorable! We are totally gushing over the Modern Pomegranate Apron designed by Barbara Shaw and made in Israel.

During this International Week at The Wedding Yentas, we wanted to make sure we tip our hats to some of the most exotic places to be married by honoring them with Real Weddings and a Friday Favorites installment. We’ve taken virtual trips to Mexico and South Africa and today we are visiting Israel by obsessing over the apron.

modern-tribe-israeli-apron

Why pomegranates? Pomegranates are a symbol of fertility and abundance, so it’s only fitting that you should wear it with pride during this season of new year, atonement, and harvest. Thankfully, ModernTribe brings Judaica and Jewish gifts to the new generation of Jews that will help them express and develop their Jewish identity, and this apron is another example of how ModernTribe successfully equips its customers with the best Jewish merchandise available.

And it could be yours! Get cookin’ and look cool while doing it. Just enter to win for your chance to have your own apron.

Leave a comment below and share with us your favorite Rosh Hashanah food! You may enter through Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced on Monday! May your luck be as sweet as your apples and honey!

Real Weddings | Cape Town, South Africa

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Alison in Real Jewish Weddings

Nicholas and Stasia’s story goes back to high school where they had known of each other but had no romantic spark. They were reunited when Stasia was 17 and Nic’s best friend was helping tutor Stasia in math. Naturally, Stasia and Nic saw more of each other and they began to have feelings for each other when they shared long chats on Clifton Beach and Nic would walk Stasia home each evening. By the end of the winter vacation, they realized there was something between them and just like that, a seven year love affair was set into motion.

Having dated for such a long period of time, they shared every milestone together: Stasia’s matric dance, Nic’s 21st birthday, graduations, home purchases, and family celebrations. Their courtship was a magical whirlwind of a romance so it’s only fitting that on the most romantic day of the year, Nic would pop the question. On Valentine’s Day, he got down on one knee, ring in hand, surrounded by rose petals in their bedroom, and asked Stasia to be his wife. As if a ring wasn’t enough, he presented a Yorkie puppy and storybook about them. Gush!

In usual Nic and Stasia fashion, the proposal was followed by a celebratory l’chaim with close family and friends at the couple’s home to toast to another happy milestone together. A few days later they set a date and got on with planning their big day. Originally, the couple aimed to say “I do” in Italy at a Tuscan Villa, but it meant that Granny Yetta, Stasia’s paternal grandmother, wouldn’t be able to come and in the battle of location vs. family, family wins.

We love to see beautiful weddings that honor timeless love between the couple and their families through Jewish traditions and meaningful moments.

Mazel tov, Stasia and Nic!

Ceremony Venue – Great Park Synagogue
Photographer – Mario Sales
Rabbi – Ryan Goldstein
Floral Design – The Bloom Room
Decor – Trendy Settings
Entertainment – Zenith Band
Wedding Dress – Abigail Betz
Groom’s Suit – Fabiani
Makeup – Mac Cosmetics