Monthly Archives: November 2012

Custom Color Your Ketubah

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Alison in Featured, Jewish Traditions, Planning

Has this happened to you? You find a ketubah that you both agree on, the wording meets your marriage ideals, the price is right, you know exactly where you want to hang it and… oh wait. The colors don’t match the room.

Womp womp womp.

Buzzkill ketubahs are everywhere. And it’s no surprise. With ketubah art being such a personal thing, it’s not a shocker that your choices are narrow when you look at all the specs. So many ketubah shops and independent artists offer a wide variety of ketubah pieces, but once you consider the style of art, your choices get smaller. Then your price range. Slimmer options. Then your ability to customize your text or not. Narrow. And what you’re left with is a handful of “well, we don’t hate ’em” ketubah possibilities. And of those, what if the colors are not your cup of tea?

More and more ketubah art is becoming customizable and I think that’s great. Here’s something so personal and so unique to a couple’s marriage, they should have the ability to be tailored for the newlyweds.

I’m currently loving New World Ketubah by Rachel Deitsch‘s custom concept that stays true to her own artistic style, while accommodating her couples’ wall paint or furniture. Or, even, just taste.

The piece itself is called “Branches” and it’s the perfect blend of modern and traditional. With clean and simple detail, and without blatant Jewish symbols or landscapes, this ketubah could fit the style range of an interfaith couple to a super traditional couple.

Consequently, the simplicity lends itself to all kinds of color combinations so the couple can really direct the mood of the artwork. When it comes to choosing a color, deciding what sort of “mood” you’d like to express should come first. Do you want to reflect the season the wedding takes place, for instance, or a time of year that is special to you as a couple?

The best bet for color-matching would be getting the PMS Process Color (CMYK) formula from your invitation printer if you are trying to match the invitations. Be aware that color can shift from printer to printer and even from paper to paper, but Pantone colors are the best way to get your closest match. You can also send a paint chip, matte finish. Once the two color formulas are in place, Rachel will email you an image before printing.

There are a lot of ways to play with this, so be open minded! For example, Rachel personally likes a seasonal reference, so her initial collection of four color themes are nods to winter (gray and a pop of red), summer (sky blue) spring (lavender) and fall (orangey yellow). The best part is that there’s no wrong answer and the fun is seeing what couples can come up with!

Unlike other custom ketubah collaborations, Rachel’s is currently no extra cost. It’s just the price of the ketubah. Save your gelt for Chanukah, friends!

Oh, and P.S., Rachel also creates invitations! The fun just never ends!

Follow New World Ketubah on Facebook to keep up with the news and updates!

Pingback: New ketubah design with custom color option | New World Ketubah | Custom Ketubahs | Ketubah Designs | Modern Ketubah

{Real Jewish Weddings} Madison, WI

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Alison in Real Jewish Weddings

Rachel and Max met during their first year of college where she was swing dancing in a mutual friend’s tiny dorm room when he arrived and joined in. For Max, it was love at first sight, but Rachel remained oblivious for the better part of a year. Eventually, after acting in two plays, taking two classes, and becoming good friends, he got up the gumption to kiss her. The rest, as they say, is history.

When happy couple first got engaged, a planning guide only reinforced their “special” connection. The book encouraged them to choose three words to represent their future relationship. And, while they may have written their words separately, they both hoped for a “playful,” “quirky,” and unapologetically “geeky” marriage.

In addition to their love of all things geeky, Rachel and Max share an abiding respect for one another’s faiths, so they grounded their wedding plans in Jewish and Lutheran touchstones they had always known and loved. Rachel’s mother spent months making a chuppah out of her great-grandmother’s tablecloth and constructing a freestanding, yet light, frame that their friends could carry down the aisle. Every part of the ceremony, from the officiating team to the interfaith ketubah reflected their dedication to one another.

Mazel tov, Rachel and Max!

madison,-wisconsin-jewish-weddings

Venue: Olbrich Gardens
Photographer: JBe Photography
Coordinator: Marilee Karamanski of Planned Spontaneity
Florist: Sunborn Gardens
Cake: Bloom Bake Shop
Jeweler: TQ Diamonds
Caterer: Bunky’s Café
Dress: Vera’s House of Bridals
Hair Stylist: Ariel at Baci Hair Salon
Officiant: Rabbi Lester Frazin and Pastor Sarah Harrold
Tuxedos: Nedrebo’s Formal Wear
Ketubah: MP Artworks

Editorial Partner: Two Bright Lights

Pingback: Featured in the Wedding Yentas! - jenniferbrindleyphotography.com

{Real Jewish Weddings} Marina del Rey, CA

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

Eric and Jennifer were supposed to be on a plane for a Birthright trip together, but Jen had to start a new job and they wouldn’t allow her to take time off! But the plane was leaving for Israel from NYC and they already had the tickets, so the couple made a little weekend in NYC out of it. Little did Jen know that Eric was planning on proposing before their Birthright trip! So there they were in Central Park after a big snow storm on New Year’s Day… and she said yes!

Their wedding day was a different story: a bright, sunny day in the coastal city of Marina del Rey, California. The event was designed, planned, produced, and styled by OT Events. The ceremony set up was also lovely with floral pomanders down the aisle, and the Ritz’s gazebo turned into a beautiful chuppah! OT Events also handled the oh-so chic candy bar which featured the couple’s wedding colors of lavender and buttercream yellow. OT Events also handled the lovely floral centerpieces of roses and dusty miller. Vanilla Bakeshop made the gorgeous cake, dripping with orchids!

Mazel tov, Jennifer and Eric!

real-jewish-weddings-marina-del-rey,-california-by-ashleigh-taylor-photography

Venue: The Ritz Carlton Marina del Rey
Photographer: Ashleigh Taylor Photography
Floral & Event Designer: OT Events
Cake Designer: Vanilla Bake Shop
Ketubah: Ketubah.com
Rabbi: Rabbi Jill Zimmerman

Editorial Partner: Two Bright Lights

Bow Tying The Knot

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Alison in Featured, Inside Scoop, Planning, Same Sex Love

We devote so much time to bridal fashions. From heels to lace to hair, so much of our girl squealing is about what the bride wears on her wedding day. But, what about the groom? Or, as in the case of last week’s adorable engagement shoot, the grooms?

The groom’s options are rarely as bountiful as the bride’s. Variations on tuxedos are slim compared to the many choices a bride has in dress styles, materials, cuts, adornments, and colors. Sure, there are different lapels or threads for suits and tuxedos, but to the naked eye, a tux is a tux. One way to really spice up the groom’s look is with the tie around his neck. Bow ties, especially, provide timeless and classy style, but why go with a plain black or ivory bow tie when there are stylish and colorful options available?

The Tie Bar has been endorsed by GQ Magazine and — here’s one more for the count — The Wedding Yentas! — as a style guide for men’s fashions. The Tie Bar has furnished accessories for some pretty dreamy celebs, too, including Ryan Gosling (hel-lo?! ‘Nuff said!), Paul Rudd (my personal favorite as he is #1 on The List. Yes, Husband Yenta knows), and John Hamm (going mad for that man?). While all these men are prominent in Hollywood, there’s one guy who knows how to pair fashion and activism and that is Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

I’ve actually met him a couple times and I’m a total fan girl. Not only am I a supreme wedding junkie, but I’m a total theatre nerd, and I’ve seen him on stage in a Broadway show and even in the audience at my local community theater where we have cheered on mutual friends. So, needless to say, I give Jesse Tyler Ferguson a big thumbs up on his work and his fashion. We’ve seen him rock the bow tie several times as himself and as the beloved “Mitchell” on TV’s Modern Family, but he rocks for another reason.

Ferguson and his fiance, attorney Justin Mikita, have partnered with The Tie Bar for a fundraiser that beats any corner lemonade stand or high school car wash. They’re goin’ big! They’ve created Tie The Knot, a cause that, in association with The Tie Bar, creates stylish bow ties with all proceeds from the sale going directly to various organizations across the country, currently in the trenches fighting for civil rights.

According to the Facebook page of Tie the Knot, the goal is clear: “to achieve marriage equality throughout the United States and to look damn good while doing it.”

Tie the Knot releases seasonal bow tie collections through The Tie Bar that are inspired by art, pop culture, and fashion. Unlike boring bow ties, each carefully created design will only be available for a limited amount of time to promote uniqueness and individuality.

Ferguson and Mikita even created an adorable video with information about the cause and the bow ties. You can check it out on the Tie the Knot web site or view it here! It’s short and sweet. Very sweet!

A groom who wants to look good while getting married or support the ability for everyone who’s in love to get married should consider Tie the Knot‘s creations while searching for the final touch on his formal ensemble. Bow ties don’t have to be just for weddings, though! Dapper fellas can bow tie it up for engagement photo shoots, rehearsal dinners, and even the bachelor party. Don’t forget the honeymoon and other fun events that come with newlywed bliss.

Bowties will be hitting The Tie Bar starting November 15, so stay tuned for updates about designs and purchasing by following the Tie The Knot Facebook page. It’s going to be fun to watch what Tie the Knot rolls out because they’ll be created with such care, just like the cause. Just like bubbie makes kugel.

The Wedding Yentas believes in equality for all. And looking swell while supporting, well, that’s a perfect package tied up in a bow!

Send in photos of your dashing beau in a JTF bow tie once they’re available! It would be with great nachus to curate a fabulous gallery of style and support for equality!

It’s Like Raaa-a-aain On Your Wedding Day

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Alison in Inside Scoop, Planning

Hoping all of you East Coast Yentas are dry, warm, and safe as Sandy leaves her mark as life slowly gets back to normal. That biatch was like the worst kind of wedding crasher: violent, loud, and soggy. Watching coverage of the bad storm and its worse aftermath on the news has been mind blowing. Storms like Sandy are rare to hit in this part of the U.S., but regular, normal rainy day rain is not as uncommon. Sandy-like storms are not a likely occurrence, but it’s more than possible that couples may have to endure the kind of rain that comes down not horizontally and sans the flooding factor, but still makes steam come out of your ears because it’s your wedding day and you imported Chilean flamingoes for your tropical beach nuptials! Humpf!

So, The Wedding Yentas is here to be that annoying silver lining of positive thinking when all you want to do is mope and eat chocolate and play your miniature violin (which you totally deserve to do). The silver lining? Umbrellas!

Say what?

If rain is in the forecast, have a team meeting with your photographer and venue coordinator so you can plan for the best locations for photos. Then, once you’ve determined your dry photo spots, loop in your photographer for ideas about how to include umbrellas or rain slickers. Fun poses, bright colors, personalized props: modeling on a rainy day does not have to be gloomy. Most likely, people will see your photos and think they’re adorable and memorable instead of cookie cutter or generic. Take that, rain! You will not ruin Kodak moments!

Edyta Photography

KGoodPhoto

Pop Quiz: Beautiful, blooming flowers that have cost you some substantial green love oven-like temperatures with matzah-dry air. True or false? FALSE! So, a damp day with clouds overhead and cool, crisp temps are like hugs and kisses to flowers! Be grateful. Your flowers will last longer and thrive in rainy day weather. Droopy, wilting flowers are never what you want to see, and you probably won’t if there’s a sprinkly sky on the day you’ve chosen to furnish your event with arrangements, bouquets, centerpieces, and a chuppah!

Maybe this is TMI, but I’m a sweaty beast if the sun blasts me for more than five minutes. It’s really not pretty. I went to a wedding a few summers ago, got all dolled up, and looked horrible in photos that I viewed after because I had eyeliner smudged and creamy, white moisturizer dripping down my face. And that was only by cocktail hour! It was a hot, hot day and all my hard work to dress up and look good went to waste. I was just a measly guest, so my appearance didn’t really matter, but if I had been the one getting married, I would have looked like a zombie bride on a day that wasn’t Halloween! So, the point to embarrassing myself and telling you this story: cool weather and wet air means dewy, delicious, moisturized skin! Your makeup will go on beautifully and, even more importantly, it will stay on. Take comfort in knowing that the uglier the weather, the prettier you’ll look!

With shoe shots being a must have photo opp, how cute would rainboots be under your dress? We’ve seen everything from classic wedding shoes to Converse to cowboy boots, so why not a little rubber under your gown? With so many cute prints, you could keep your tootsies dry by splashing in wedding day puddles. Buy them just in case. And if it doesn’t rain on your wedding day then I guess, oh well, you’re stuck with really cute boots to wear when there is a drizzle in the air!

via Kate Miller Events

Take your rainy wedding day in stride. If you have a smile on your face and you feel relaxed, everyone will be so impressed with the way you’ve accepted the wedding weather with grace. Being called the opposite of Bridezilla has never been a bad thing for anyone’s ego, right?

Rainy days happen. There might be rain on your romantic, tropical honeymoon where you stay in a straw hut or on your 50th anniversary cruise you take with your mahjongg girls and their husbands. There will probably even be figurative rain in your marriage. But the better you weather the storm, the stronger you come out of it. Rain or shine, you’re marrying your love and that’s what matters most because after that “mazel tov!” you two will be glowing brighter than the sun!

Leslee Mitchell Photography