Category Archives: Real Jewish Weddings

Kellie and Zach met on a Birthright trip to Israel and after coming home and meeting again at a reunion, they knew they were more than friends. Zach went to visit Kellie one weekend in Chapel Hill where she was working toward her Ph.D. and just never left.

Zach and Kellie had lots of people coming to the wedding from all over the country, so they had a dinner for everyone the night before the wedding. This really helped people to get to know each other so that everyone was already comfortable, friendly, and ready to party on the wedding night! Since they met on a Birthright trip, Kellie and Zach wanted to be sure to honor their beginnings, so Jewish wedding traditions such as the signing and reading of the ketubah and becoming husband and wife under the chuppah were obvious customs to include. They love the idea that people have been doing these rituals for centuries, which makes them special and important traditions to keep alive. Kellie and Zach’s wedding had an elegant black and white theme with pops of red, and their cake was inspired by the handmade paper used in their invitations.

Zach and Kellie now live in Boston where Zach is attending grad school and Dr. Kellie obtained a post-doctorate position at Harvard.

Mazel tov, Kellie and Zach!

Ceremony Location- Temple El Beth, Norfolk
Reception Venue- Lesner Inn
Photographer- Valerie Demo Photography
DJ- Chris Phillips with DJ on the Side
Wedding Day of Planner- Events by Nicolle
Bakery- E&E Special Events
Hair and Makeup- Brooke Primas
Floral Designer- Palette of Petals
Invitation Designer- La Belle Vie Design, LLC

Proud Editorial Partner of Two Bright Lights!

Love was just a shutter click away and didn’t take long to develop. It was the first day of the couple’s second semester at The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. Joe and Alli both decided to go back to school after obtaining their undergraduate degrees to pursue a career in graphic design. By chance, Alli and Joe were in the same photography class. The first assignment was to partner up and explore Chicago through the lens of their digital cameras. Joe quickly asked Alli to be his partner and the relationship quickly developed from there.

During a family vacation in Arizona, Joe asked Alli to climb Camelback Mountain. They woke up at the crack of dawn and started climbing the mountain together. They spent several hours climbing (Alli is not much of a hiker, so they took a lot of breaks), but they finally reached the top of Camelback. After admiring the view and catching their breath, Joe got down on one knee and asked Alli to spend the rest of their lives together. Alli immediately said “yes” and the couple rushed back down the mountain to meet up with their families to announce the great news.

Although Alli and Joe had a rather large wedding, they knew that they wanted the party to feel as intimate as possible. They made it “so Alli and Joe” by designing their own invitations and deciding on having their ceremony in the round. Also, the they have a deep love for art and architecture, so deciding to have the ceremony and reception at Cafe Brauer (A historical landmark located in the Lincoln Park Zoo in Downtown Chicago) was the perfect fit for them. They wanted to make sure they mirrored the beautiful Prairie Style design of the building into their wedding as much as possible. The day was exactly what the couple envisioned it to be. It was the perfect start of the rest of their beautiful life together.

Mazel tov, Alli and Joe!

Venue- Cafe Brauer
Photography– Jeremy Lawson Photography
Catering– Entertaining Company
Flowers– Kehoe Design
Wedding Gown– Enzoani
Bridal Salon– The Dresser
Reception Entertainment– Front of House
Ceremony and Cocktail Entertainment– Front of House
Bridesmaids Gowns– Bill Levkoff
Groom’s Tuxedo– Nordstrom
Kiddish Cup- Michael Aram
Ketubah- Ketubah Kraft
Invitations, Table Cards, and Dinner Menus- Designed by the Bride and Groom

From fighting comes… love? Yes. Diego first spoke to Becky with the soundtrack of a bar fight playing behind them. Irony makes for the best stories! It just goes to show, you can meet your love anywhere.

Even though the location of their meeting was rambunctious, their wedding day felt intimate and calm, thanks to the presence of family and friends. Their families helped take part in the planning process and they included special family members wherever they could.

Becky’s ring that was used during the ceremony belonged to her grandmother and the Kiddush cup was borrowed from her parents. Her mom made the chuppah and the piece with her hebrew name was the original that Becky’s mother had created for her confirmation. Becky’s crafty mom created a matching piece for Diego and they also added a Celtic and a Spanish piece to represent both of their heritages. The couple was inspired to use tree branches as their chuppah posts after reading about it in Anita Diamante’s book The New Jewish Wedding which was recommended to them by their rabbi. The tallit was her dad’s from his bar mitzvah, accomplishing the goal of utilizing Jewish ceremony symbols that had rich history. They also purchased a beautiful parents’ ketubah to give to Becky’s parents at their rehearsal dinner as a thank you for all they had done.

Mazel tov, Becky and Diego!

Venue- The Winfield Inn
Photographer- Katherine O’Brien Photography
Invitations- Escamilla Designs
Wedding Cake- Michelle’s Patisserie
Florist- Design By Sage
Officiant- Rabbi Steven Folberg
Ceremony Music- Christoper Arispe
DJ- Barshop Ollervidez Entertainment
Dress- Belle Saison Bridal
Suit- Al’s Formal Wear
His/Hers Jewelry- Samuel’s Jewelers
Hair and Makeup- Twenty Coats
Ketubah- Ketubah.com

Featuring this wedding was made possible through an editorial partnership with Two Bright Lights!

Fireworks has a double meaning for Julie and Roy. They met on July 4th and had instant chemistry from the very beginning! They started dating and their romance turned into a 6 year courtship. One night, Roy took Julie to a nice dinner and then off to a romantic stroll on the beach. He then got down on one knee and out from his heart poured every woman’s favorite question: “Will you marry me?” Julie was ecstatic!

Soon after, they began planning the wedding of there dreams. They knew that they wanted to get married as soon as possible and so the planning began with only a month to plan the whole event.

Julie and Roy had a traditional Jewish Orthodox ceremony with men and woman separated. Dance music played while walking down to the Chuppah, which represented their fun and outgoing personalities that they bring to their relationship. From the ceremony to the reception, the wedding was filled with laughter, joy, and excitement. All the guests were on the dance floor until two in the morning!

Mazel tov, Julie and Roy!

Venue- Temple Beth Am
Coordinator- Dina Benmoshe
Florist/Chuppah Rental- I Love Chuppahs
Caterer & Cake- Simon Catering
Videographer/Photographer- YudaVision
Entertainment/Music- DJ Aviel
Dress- Lazaro
Makeup Artist- Yanna Skylar
Hair Stylist- L & R Salon

Nurit and Clayton met in math class in 2002. Who knew linear algebra could lead to love and marriage? They dated for about a year and then went their separate ways. Two years later, while talking with her sister, Nurit remembered how great of a boyfriend he was and realized that she was trying to replace him with every date she met, but no one measured up to Clayton. Nurit decided to give him a call and left it up to fate that if it was still the same number, maybe it would be a sign. Well, the number was the right one, but he guessed the wrong girl upon answering the phone! She called while he was at a party and it wasn’t the best circumstance for chatting with an old girlfriend from a couple years before. But because he’s a gentleman, Clayton called Nurit the next day and they met for dinner to catch up on their lives. After dinner, as Clayton was dropping off Nurit, he asked why she really wanted to see him. She came clean and told him she wanted to get back together. But, since timing is everything, he had to tell her that he was seeing someone else he liked and wanted to see where it would go with her. Nurit said she understood and that was it.

A week later Clayton called Nurit and told her that he couldn’t think of anyone else, broke up with the other girl, and wanted to give it another try. Shortly after, they moved in together and after Clayton finished his masters degree, he proposed.

Clayton proposed to Nurit on a random weekday evening after asking her to pause a TV show that they were watching. Nurit was sitting on the couch waiting for him to come back from what she thought was the restroom, and suddenly he was just standing there in front of her. He said, “I cant have this in my nightstand any longer,” and added more beautiful sentiments that Nurit can’t remember because in the moment, all she could make sense of was the ring! She couldn’t believe that after four years together this was finally happening and she said “yes!” right away!

Judaism was very important at Nurit and Clayton’s wedding. Nurit called the wedding “conservaform,” as it was both Conservative and Reform. Rabbi Ian made sure to explain each blessing and symbol so all the guests felt included. They drank the blessed wine, broke the glass, and later danced the Hora along with all their guests.

Mazel tov, Nurit and Clayton!

Venue- Hyatt Regency Mission Bay
Photographer- Sara France Photography
Coordinator & Stationery/Invitations- Something Blue
Florist- Tessilk Flowers
Cake- Auntie M’s Cup’ncake Bakery
Jeweler- Diamond Gallery
Entertainment/Music- Artistic Productions
Rabbi- Rabbi Ian Adler
Favors- Brown Pashmina Shawls from Wholesale Sarong
Bridesmaids’ Dresses- Alfred Angelo
Tuxedos- Friar Tux Shop
Yarmulkes- Skull Cap.com
Ketubah- Art Ketubah, Nishima Kaplan