Category Archives: Featured

Hamsa Haven

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Alison in Featured, Jewish Traditions

A current trend that’s not only popping up in Jewish communities, but also in the secular world, has a great deal of symbolism and beauty: The Hamsa. Have you seen it? Looks like a hand. So what’s the big deal? One way a Hamsa has been described:

In using the Hamsa, an energy of peace prevails in all beings simply because the power of the hand radiates the cosmic connection between the hand of action and the heart of peace, which is a muchly needed positive force in the world right now. Many people place the Hamsa above their doorways, wear the symbol on chains, or draw it on their possessions. The sacred nature of this symbol is that is sends a message of love and protection to all beings.

Love and protection, huh? Can’t go wrong there, especially when it comes to marriage. And in a wedding, since all things are beautiful, artistic Hamsas could be an appropriate addition to round out the theme of your day.

Cue Lea Joelle Handmade, the artist behind beautifully decorated Hamsas that can take on the role of wall hanging, key chain, and even cell phone tag! Yes, Hamsas can be everywhere, and Jenni Goodman, Hamsa decorator extraordinaire, creates whimsical pieces that are hand crafted and made with love.

Lea Joelle Handmade was started in 2010 by Jenni, a crafty bride-to-be with too many ideas and a love for Judaica! She specializes in personalized and customized Judaica for weddings, bar and mitzvahs and other special occasions. Her goal is to make your event unique by creating favors, gifts and decor you can’t find anywhere else! The artsy Brooklynite ensures that her clients are satisfied with her Hamsas that can be custom-made, using the finest materials and colors.

Hamsas by Lea Joelle Handmade would be fabulous wedding favors! One of the hardest decisions to make is settling on a wedding favor that is unique (because, well, you are!), inexpensive (because everyone gets one!), and nicer than a tzchochke (because no one wants their favors to end up in the kitchen clutter drawer). These Hamsas fit the bill for a desirable favor, and because there is so much flexibility, you, the bride, are in charge of how it looks in the end!

Plus, who doesn’t like a double whammy? Wedding favors like Hamsa key chains can also be used as “escort cards” for reception tables. Carry out the theme and save money? Yes, please and l’chaim to that!

There are many styles and designs to choose from, but the most important thing is to create the design you want for your special occasion! She incorporates your wedding colors and themes to make your favors just the way you want them. Each Hamsa can be personalized on the back with the couple’s name and wedding date. Her Hamsa favors are her true love because it is a way for the host of each party to give their guests a gift that is a meaningful symbol of good luck, protection, and love.

Make sure to visit Jenni’s magical world of Hamsas on her etsy page and “like” Lea Joelle Handmade on Facebook! And definitely check back tomorrow because Thursday Thrills is going to thrill you with an awesome giveaway opportunity from Lea Joelle Handmade!

Behind The Scenes of a Ketubah Artist

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Alison in Featured, Inside Scoop, Jewish Traditions

An artistic ketubah has a whole life of development and creation prior to its use on your wedding day. You’ve picked out the right one that’s easy on the eyes and meaningful to your marriage, but there was a whole lot of planning by the artist who made it prior to your purchase.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Rachel Deitsch of New World Wedding and touring her studio where all the magic happens. It was especially interesting for me on a personal level because Deitsch designed my wedding ketubah, which now hangs beautifully on my bedroom wall.

Deitsch, a Los Angeles based artist, has a background in illustration. While living in Israel for two years, she painted for pleasure and from there emerged a new style. She used opaque watercolor and print-making paper and liked the end result. Deitsch began designing ketubahs for friends and family. She gained popularity and now has a ketubah business that has taken off in many exciting directions.

“What I love about the ketubah business,” she says, “is that everything I make will have a home.”

Deitsch invited other local artists to New World Wedding to provide couples with a variety of ketubah prints. Guest artists like Tamara Jones and Jill Sykes provide their distinct art pieces and Deitsch reworks them for ketubah purposes. For example, with Sykes’s work, Deitsch receives the oil painting, converts it to a digital format, and adds the ketubah text.

Deitsch has also just recently debuted a line of ketubahs she calls 2nd Generation. She created this line for the couple that cannot pay the regular price of her full scale ketubahs, but would still like to purchase a piece from her line.

She takes elements from existing designs in order to meet the needs of people who want a beautiful ketubah, but don’t have the budget. Many of her whimsical, signature elements are included in 2nd Generation ketubahs, like swirly green trees, jeweled flower buds, and silhouettes of lovebirds, all paying homage to their original cheery and colorful palettes, but are reworked for a smaller print and minimal elaboration.

Deitsch has everything she needs in her extensive studio. Stocked counters, cutting-edge technology, all the watercolors she needs, and her pride and joy: the professional printer. “It allows me to indulge the perfectionist monster in me,” she says. The printing used to be outsourced, but it slowed down the process and caused more stress in the long run. Purchasing the printer and utilizing it in-house allows Deitsch to nit-pick and check each piece that goes out to clients.

“This guy right here gives me an endless sense of possibility.”

And endless possibility, indeed! Deitsch is constantly dreaming up new ideas like wedding invitations that can match a couple’s ketubah. And, first comes love, then comes marriage, and you definitely know what comes next. So does Deitsch. For the “baby carriage” stage of life, Deitsch is also in the midst of designing and expanding a children’s art line.

Deitsch has also partnered with yours truly, The Wedding Yentas! She designs free wedding website templates that are available for customization on mywedding.com. Wedding websites are great for keeping your guests up-to-date on all your wedding plans and festivities. You can include photos, a guestbook, registry information, and of course the details for the big day. They’re free, too! And if you really want a seamless design around your wedding-planning, you can also purchase invitations to match your free wedding website so that your guests can enjoy a theme. High 5 to mywedding.com and Rachel Deitsch for marrying a great concept and beautiful art.

Visit Deitsch’s site and Facebook page for more information about her different lines and to place orders. She provides fabulous customer service, answering questions you may have about ketubah texts and individual art pieces.

Fab Creations by Bliss Extraordinary Floral

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Alison in Featured

Bliss Extraordinary Floral, located in the painted deserts of Sedona, Arizona, doesn’t just build flowery accessories for weddings. No, no. They seriously create masterpieces that are dreamlike and rich in detail. Amy Mills, owner and talented designer, knows a thing or two about flowers, but also has the eye for going the extra mile to work with a bride on executing her vision. Take note, Arizona ladies: working with Bliss is truly, well, bliss!

Let’s take a tour of her work that proves my point because I promise I’m not a liar!

Remember last week’s post about the hottest trend of including peacock elements? Bliss Extraordinary Floral does an extraordinary job with this scheme. The photos are by Leeann Marie Photography who beautifully captured the bridesmaids’ small rose bouquet with a touch of peacock feathers; and tables that held extra large milk jar vases, filled with white hydrangea, purple stock, purple alstromeria, Bells of Ireland, Akita roses and of course lots of feathers.

Something else Bliss does well is perfectly-stated simplicity. Amy knows not to mess with natural beauty. When it comes to sunflowers, they’re about as naturally beautiful as flowers come. So when a bride wants a sunflower-heavy wedding, a good floral designer knows to let the big yellow blooms speak for themselves. And boy do they! Summer and fall brides, take note! Photos by Melissa Dunstan Photography.

For ultimate bridal softness, take a snoop at this wedding! I’m not sure how she does it, but Amy can use the most powdery colored florals and still create a palette that pops with chic colors. This design screams “bridal!!!!!” but with a tenderness and plushness that makes me want to trade in my mattress for a bed of these flowers. The pomanders were whimsical and the centerpieces consisted of David Austin roses, Equidorian roses, carnations, sweet peas and hypericum in moss covered urns that graced the tables. And her wrought iron tree chuppah marries natural beauty with modern flair. It’s sturdy and traditional, but emits a new and fresh style. Photos are by Heather Kadar Photography.

Shower, Party, & Honeymoon with mark.!

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Alison in Featured, Inside Scoop, Planning

Get showered with mark.

Party with mark.

Go on a honeymoon with mark.

If you think The Wedding Yentas is encouraging you to cheat on your significant other with someone named Mark, you would be wrong. However, if you think The Wedding Yentas is encouraging you to beautify yourself with affordable and designer-quality makeup, then you would be right. Who is mark. anyway? Not so much a who, but a what, mark. is the name of the beauty line that allows you to look your best without emptying your wallet, and on Monday, Jennifer, a mark. mentor and stylist, was in the house to educate you about some of the best products for your bridal shower, bachelorette party, and honeymoon.

You learned about products, got some tutorials about makeup tricks, and saw “before” photos of our awesome models as they received the royal makeup treatment.

But what about those promised “after” photos? Good things come to those who wait, and you have waited patiently for today!

So, how do you pretty up your face for a bridal shower? Soft, neutral colors are best and as you can see on Kaelia, she looks so fresh and happy with a mark. eye shadow duo called Making Eyes in the shade Cocoa. Kaelia’s blue eyes soak up coppers beautifully! She also used a blush called Good Glowing in Cameo Glo. Lips are shellacked in Gloss Gorgeous which is a stay-on lip stain in the color Pop.

bridal-shower-makeup

When it’s time to party as a bachelorette on the town, you can have lots of fun with dramatic colors on your lids and lips! Don’t be afraid of pewters on your eyes and pinky reds on your lips! This is your chance to show the lonely bachelors out there that you are off the market, and some other guy liked you so he put a ring on it! Brandy is our little ball of fire with a big flair for fun in her Betsy Johnson party dress and mardi gras beads! A Champagne bottle always matches any party outfit, but it’s the mark. products on Brandy that show she’s having a fun bachelorette bash! Shades from the mark. Super Flip Color Kit features 9 eye shadows and 9 lip colors and it’s currently on sale!

bachelorette-party-makeup

Danielle is the honeymoon bride and she’s off to Ibiza, Spain because that’s the location inspiration for the mark. summer series! Wish we could be stowaways in her bag as she navigates this gorgeous island off the Mediterranean. And we know her suitcase is light because she has just the basics of mark. products to look her best while letting her natural beauty soak up the Spanish sun. It doesn’t take much to look pretty with mark., and Danielle is sporting Glowdacious, an illuminating bronzer and Ibiza Sol Marbleized Eye Shadow Stick in Aqua Deep. This was applied from the lash line to the crease of Danielle’s eyes. And mark. is about more than just makeup! Did you know mark. offers top-of-the-line fashion? Danielle is up to date on this summer’s latest trend, the maxi dress, and she wears one here called A Long Story Dress from the mark. Ibiza line.

honeymoon-makeup

Jennifer styled all three models and supported the shoot with extensive product knowledge. She has been a self–proclaimed beauty junkie her whole life with exposure to beauty products from her experience in theatre and television. She got involved with mark. because of its quality makeup with prices that make it accessible for all women to enjoy. As a mark. mentor, she helps build rapport with customers as well as other skilled mark. girls in the field. She received training with Jamie Greenberg, a celebrity makeup artist who works on red carpet events and has mastered the minimalistic glow that all women seek to achieve. mark. is the fastest-growing, trend beauty brand and the #1 online beauty and fashion brand in the U.S. mark. is eco-friendly, offering many products that are refillable and reduces waste with minimal excess packaging on products.

Special thanks to Kim Bayer of Kimberly Bayer Photography, a Southern California wedding, engagement, and boudoir photographer. Her artistic eye and comfort behind the camera made these looks come to digital life.

Big beautiful hugs to the beautiful models, Kaelia, Brandy, and Danielle! You worked it.

Thanks to Yentas everywhere for your loyalty to The Wedding Yentas! On behalf of everyone involved in this special photo shoot, we hope you go out and find your style and stick with it for all your bridal events!

As our gift to you, check back tomorrow for your chance to win mark. products from all of these collections!

Pingback: FEATURED ~ PART II {THE WEDDING YENTAS & MARK.}

Make Your mark. & Beautify!

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Alison in Featured, From the Expert, Inside Scoop

What do you get when you combine The Wedding Yentas, one of the most successful mark. mentors in the country, and a Southern California wedding photographer?

You get a 2-part series that showcases the ways mark. can help you look the part for all your wedding-related characters: the bridal shower girl, the bachelorette party girl, and the honeymoon girl. On your wedding day, you will look fabulous, no doubt! But unless you have your own personal entourage on retainer, you’ll need to have a convenient, affordable, and fabulous beauty arsenal to help you look your best during all of your bridal events! The Wedding Yentas partnered up with Jennifer Cariker, a leading Mentor from mark. who worked with three fabulous models to artistically apply makeup and educate Yentas readers about how to get the look you want for all your special days!

When it comes to your bridal shower, you want to make sure you are fresh-faced and clean. You don’t need a heavy hand to apply your bridal shower makeup so natural shades that complement your outfit and skin tones should be part of your bridal shower product palette.

On model Kaelia, Jennifer applied an eye shadow duo called Making Eyes in the shade Cocoa. Kaelia’s blue eyes soak up coppers beautifully, so Jennifer’s tip is to use opposite shades from the facial coloring. Eye makeup for a bridal shower does not need to be dramatic, so Jenny chose shades that were natural and soft, but still reflected color from Kaelia’s bright blue eyes. Hazel and brown-eyed girls look great in plum and navy shades! Yes, navy! Don’t be afraid to try it — it’s gorgeous, says Jennifer.

A blending brush worked darker color into Kaelia’s crease and lighter colors into the corners of her eyes and brow bone. She also used a blush called Good Glowing in Cameo Glo. Lips are shellacked in Gloss Gorgeous which is a stay-on lip stain in the color Pop.

Before a girl gets married, she is a bachelorette. And as most brides know, a party for the bachelorette is one of the most fun nights out a girl can have! This is the time to do it up big! Whether you’re going to dance at a club or sip grapes in Wine Country, a festive look makes sense as you celebrate your final days as a bride-to-be!

On Bachelorette Brandy, Jennifer used a variety of shades from the Super Flip Color Kit. Good news: the Super Flip Color Kit features 9 eye shadows and 9 lip colors and it’s currently on sale! Jennifer also applied Just Pinched Blush in Peachy to give Brandy’s cheeks a burst of color. This petite twist-up blush comes in five shades and glides on smoothly, blending easily to provide a sheer wash of natural-looking color. Just Pinched melts onto your skin for a luxurious application and right into your natural pigmentation for a whole day’s worth of cheeky freshness and spunk. Jennifer added some drama to Brandy’s eyes with No Place To Run eyeliner, a gel-based, long-lasting eyeliner in the shade Jet Set, a defined black.

After the hoopla of the wedding day, it’s time to relax or go on an adventure. No matter the type of honeymoon you choose, you’ll need to make sure you pack the essentials without weighing down your baggage. As a seasonal special, mark. is showcasing the look of Ibiza, Spain. Products are inspired by this Spanish island off the Mediterranean and now we are all itching to hop on an avion and have an adventura!

One of Jennifer’s favorite mark. products, Glowdacious, worked great with model Danielle’s skin tone! Glowdacious is an illuminating bronzer and here, Jennifer is applying the shade Shimmied Up. Do you know how to properly apply bronzer? Here’s a tip from our expert: Apply your bronzer on your face in the shape of a 3 starting at your forehead, going to your cheekbone, and ending at your jawbone. This trick contours your face while also blending the bronzer so it highlights your face smoothly. Jennifer also used Ibiza Sol Marbleized Eye Shadow Stick in Aqua Deep. This was applied from the lash line to the crease of Danielle’s eyes. Danielle puckered up for the Ibiza Sol Marbleized Lip Gloss in Chica Coral for a high-shine, nude look.

Applying the fabulous mark. products was Part I of our fun photoshoot, but there’s more to come!

How did their applications turn out? What kind of style do we suggest? How is the final product going to inspire your choices? Check back on Wednesday to see Kaelia the Bridal Shower Girl, Brandy the Bachelorette Party Girl, and Danielle the Honeymoon Girl, as they model the great picks supplied by mark.!

Special thanks to models Kaelia, Brandy, and Danielle for letting us pose and pamper them! Kudos to Kimberly Bayer Photography, Southern California wedding, engagement, and boudoir photographer for capturing the products and the application sessions so perfectly! High 5 to mark. Mentor Jennifer Cariker for providing education and expertise to the shoot and this 3-day feature.

This Thursday, don’t miss your chance to WIN your own prize pack of mark. products that were showcased in this look book!