Monthly Archives: March 2012

Real Jewish Weddings | Minneapolis, MN

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Alison in Real Jewish Weddings

Rachel and Justin are lovely, relaxed, and very put-together people, so it’s no surprise that the same adjectives could be used to describe their beautiful Jewish wedding.

I love that the couple got ready and took photos in a modern location that looks great in pictures. The gallery art adds to the images of an already-gorgeous bride and groom! Let’s gush over Rachel: she looks incredible! I see her photos and instantly think: bridal model. For ultimate inspiration, the photos of the reception help confirm the beautiful purpley color scheme and delicately modern details. Fun touch for the end of the night: the Turkey to Go food truck {owned by a couple of the groomsmen}. Food trucks are the new photo booths. Think about it!

Mazel tov, Rachel and Justin!

real-jewish-weddings-|-minneapolis,-mn

Getting Ready & Photo Location: Le Meridien Chambers
Photographer: Erin Johnson Photography
Hair Stylist: Sara Grimaldi
Caterer: Oak Ridge Country Club
Event Planner & Designer: Amy Zaroff Events + Design
Floral Designer: Sadie’s Couture Floral and Event Styliing
Cake & Sweets Table Designer: Cocoa & Fig
Linens and Coverings: Linen Effects, Inc.
Equipment Rentals: apres
Makeup Artist: Andrea Holton

Pingback: Chuppah Rentals & Wedding Receptions Decoration Ideas|Wedding Planner

Personalized Jewelry

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Alison in Featured, Gotta Have It

It’s always nice for the bride to think of the special women in her life — bridesmaids, mothers, grandmothers, shower hostesses — during her wedding and offer them a token of love and gratitude. Keep in mind, though, that items like t-shirts, hoodies, or bracelet charms with BRIDESMAID embroidered or branded on, labeling the friend’s role in the bride’s day, may not be worn again after the wedding.

A more personalized gift like a piece of jewelry with the woman’s name or initial is much more personal and lasts, well, as long as her name does!

Baby Yenta was born last August and instead of wearing a necklace that says MOM, I am now wearing a piece with my daughter’s name and birth date and it’s much more special. Even when I’m not with her, I feel like she’s with me because I am carrying her name, literally, close to my heart.

I absolutely adore my necklace from Sima Gilady that just arrived and I think her pieces would make the most perfect gifts for VIWs: Very Important Women! The VIWs who are related to the wedding experience would plotz over this jewelry because Sima’s work is thorough and perfect, available in many different styles, and, the best part, is totally customizable.

Sima Gilady Jewelry make great gifts from the moment you hand it over to the lucky recipient. The packaging is impressive with a boutique flair due to the handmade care that went into each piece. I love the natural box, heart detail, and raffia ribbon.

sima-gilady-jewelry

The necklace I chose was exactly as I’d imagined it. The hammered discs were perfectly imperfect, and the baby’s name spelled correctly and displayed in an aesthetically pleasing way on the charm. I like that the discs are both silver and gold because I can wear the necklace with any outfit — day or night — and go casual or dressy. I’m a big fan of versatility and when you’re buying for someone else, it’s important to keep that in mind.

Then there’s Sima, the person. She is so kind and accommodating. Her service mirrors the final product: professional and desirable. It always feels good to give business to a small, independent artist and she deserves all of the success she’s had so far. Sima absolutely loves Jewish weddings and all special occasions. We had a great conversation about babies and kids, and I know she made my necklace with my daughter as her inspiration because she is a mother, too.

sima-gilady-jewelry

She speaks, reads, and writes Hebrew and can even stamp the discs with Hebrew letters! So, gentlemen, ahem ahem, if you’d like to buy your bride a wedding gift with the Hebrew date or your Hebrew names, Sima can definitely accommodate this! A bilingual jeweler who is great to work with and has talent, too? It really doesn’t get any better!

So for a bridesmaid gift, hostess thank you, or a symbol of your love for your mother who’s kvelling on her daughter’s big day, consider giving a beautiful piece of Sima Gilady jewelry that can be worn over and over again with great love and sweet memories.

sima-gilady-jewelry

Visit Sima Gilady on etsy, her website, and on Facebook.

Hamantaschen To Go

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Alison in Jewish Recipes, Jewish Traditions

As was discussed yesterday, it’s Purim!! What a fun and happy time! And if you’re getting married this weekend, then that’s a double dose of a fun and happy time!!! See all these exclamation marks? That’s how funny and happy Purim and weddings are.

The ooey-gooey, sweet, and oh-so-worth-the-diet-cheat-day Purim treat — the Hamantaschen — would be a great idea for a wedding favor. If you’re getting married next year around Purim, take note of this recipe from a yummy and helpful baking blog called Cupcake Project. And if you’re getting married this weekend, well, get to the kitchen immediately!

Even guests who are not members of the Tribe will like this goody to take home. Fruit or chocolate-filled pastries in fun triangle shapes? What’s not to love?

p.s. My personal favorite flavor is chocolate (duh). What’s yours? Oh, and to be clear, this is not my recipe. I am one of those Jewish girls whose specialty dishes include a great helping of Going Out or, the other delicacy, Ordering In.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 cup flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3 eggs
your choice of filling (jam, jelly, preserves, chocolate chips, nuts). The recipe also included directions for a prune filling: blend raw prunes in a food processor, adding the juice and rind of one lemon and 1/2 C honey for every pound of prunes used.

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Mix in butter and eggs.
Roll out dough and form hamantashen (I’ve got step by step visuals on this below).
Bake on a well-greased cookie sheet or on parchment paper for 12-15 minutes at 400 F.

How to Make Hamantashen

Roll out the dough and use cookie cutters or the rim of a glass to cut into circles. The recipe called for the dough to be 1/4 inch thick. Mine might have been a bit thicker than that. I didn’t measure. Don’t obsess about it.

You can make the circles any size you like.

Next, you’ll want to put a dollop of your filling in the middle of the circle. DO NOT put too much filling or it will overflow. Look at the first step’s photo to get a sense of the proportion of filling to circle. Follow pictures two through four to fold over the circle, magically turning it into a triangle.

Optional – You may want to moisten the edge of the circle with some water before folding. This will help it to stick shut. It’s especially helpful if the dough has gotten at all dry. You also may consider brushing the top of the triangle with egg to give it some extra shine.

We Jews seem to have a thing for pinching. [Insert mental image of a Jewish grandma squeezing a baby’s cheeks and saying, “Such a shayna punim (pretty face).”]

When I first attacked the task of turning the circles into triangles, my instinct was simply to pinch in the corners.

The problem was that they all opened up during baking. Moral (and this should apply in all areas of life): Do not pinch! Follow the folding method shown above.

Recipe and photos by Cupcake Project.

What Does A Maid of Honor Do?

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Alison in Inside Scoop, Jewish Traditions, Planning

It’s Purim so naturally it’s the appropriate time to talk about your wedding.

[[record scratch. Whaaaat?]]

Go with me. I promise this makes sense.

Okay, so long story short, Purim is the holiday where we celebrate and read the Book of Esther and remember that she stood up to Haman (Boooo! Hisssss!) who hated the Jews and wanted them to go bye bye (Dear Jewish Enemies, We’ve heard this story before. Though small, we’re strong and powerful, so please go away. Kthanxbye. Love, The Wedding Yentas). Esther foiled Haman’s (Boooo! Hissss!) plot to exterminate the Jews by telling the king that he was, well, a jerk. The king was unimpressed with Haman’s (Boooo! Hissss!) plan and, well, the dude got what he deserved: a little trip to the gallows. Now who went bye bye? Good job, Esther! From that pretty punim, we now have Purim!

So, Esther saved the day! And a few thousand years, too. And she’s known as the Jewish people’s ultimate heroine. I mean, who doesn’t want to be Esther in the Hebrew school Purim play? You get to wear a pretty dress and save the Jews.

Hmmm… pretty dress and save the day. Who does this describe in your wedding party?

Your maid of honor!

Photo by Jen Huang Photography

A maid of honor should resemble the same qualities as Esther: strong, determined, creative, and thoughtful. Most of all, your MOH should have your back, just like Esther had, well, an entire group of peoples’ backs!

Not sure who your own personal Esther should be? Unclear about the duties of an MOH? Read on and give great thought to choosing your heroine for the day.

Your MOH will…

Lead the bridesmaid brigade! It’s the MOH’s job to communicate with the rest of the bridesmaids any issues regarding shower planning, bachelorette partying, dress shopping and selection, and dress fittings. Your MOH should also communicate the wedding weekend’s events to the gang to make sure everyone is looped in on rehearsal dinner, rehearsal, getting ready, and photo festivities.
Pay for their own bridesmaid ensemble. MOHs can expect to dish out some cash for a dress and shoes.
Assist the bride in some prewedding tasks that require help. Whether it’s assembling invitations, helping choose wedding colors, or smiling and nodding about the details of each flavored tier of the wedding cake, the MOH is the first sounding board (other than the groom maybe) that the bride may consult.
Make sure that everyone knows where the nearlyweds are registered! Registry information should never be on the formal invitation, but it’s up to the MOH to let people know where the couple has desired gifts registered. Methods of doing this: wedding shower invitations, web sites, rehearsal dinner invites, and answering when people inquire.
Handle the gown when the wedding is over. Chances are, the bride is not going to need to take her wedding gown with her on her honeymoon (although, it’s tempting. It’s so hard to leave THAT DRESS). So, the MOH should arrange with the bride where the dress will go when the night is over and handle it for her.
Play secretary! At showers, the MOH should record the gifts from each guest as the bride opens them. That way, she has a cohesive list for thank you notes. If the MOH can’t accomplish this task for whatever reason, she should make sure that someone is appointed to this task.
Hold onto the groom’s ring during the ceremony. Big job! No pressure! One place to hold it safely is actually on the MOHs thumb. Most likely, it’ll fit and stay in place and then it’s handy (haha, no pun intended) for the ring exchange.
Pretty up the bride! The MOH makes sure the bride’s dress lays nicely and that the train is arranged properly when she reaches the chuppah at the beginning of the ceremony. Also, the MOH should know how to bustle the bride’s dress so that she can dance during the reception.
Hold the bouquet during the ceremony. The bride will need her hands free at certain points of the ceremony so the MOH, who stands next to the bride, should hold her own bouquet and the bride’s until the final “mazel tov!” At that point, the MOH should make sure to hand the bouquet back! No bride should walk back down that aisle with naked hands!
Take care of the bride — she’ll be a little scatter brained. So, the MOH should make sure that the bride has something to eat throughout the day like light snacks that won’t stain any clothes or mess up makeup. It’s also a good idea for the MOH to have the bride’s lipstick or lip gloss on hand so she can help with touch ups throughout the reception.
Be the belle of the ball… besides the bride. If there’s a dance that calls for the bridal party to dance together, the MOH will usually dance with the Best Man. So, um, make sure they like each other enough… or know each other.
Toast the couple! Usually, the Best Man and the MOH make a toast to the couple. Stay tuned for an upcoming post about toasting etiquette. But, bottomline, it should not be terribly long and the toast should include the bride and the groom and not be a roast of the bride. Save that for the bachelorette party!
Play therapist. There are a lot of emotions that run through a woman on her wedding day. So, the MOH must have a listening ear and be a positive crutch for the bride. Laughter, comfort, and a calming presence are perfect qualities for an MOH to embody.

So, as you can see, the MOH really is the bride’s hero, her Queen Esther, on her wedding day. Choose wisely! And enjoy this ride with your very best friend. It’s an honor and an adventure and the whole megillah.

A famous MOH doing her job.

Real Jewish Weddings | Jacksonville, FL

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Alison in Real Jewish Weddings

“It was another day in paradise” read Gili’s Facebook status. That was the morning the love of her life, Josh, asked her to be his. That was the morning before he slid her beautiful diamond onto her finger as he knelt on the wooden bridge over the water. Three months later, as the willow branches swayed in the wind and the sunlight lit up her vibrant curls like fire, she said “I do, forever.” Tears fell from her eyes as the man of her dreams stood before her, pledging his life to guide her, protect her and cherish her. As the two shared in Gili’s Jewish traditions, beams of sunlight danced across the lake. There, under a chuppah in her parents backyard, the two became one in front of their beloved friends and family.

Mazel tov, Gili and Josh!

real-jewish-weddings-|-jacksonville,-fl