{Real Jewish Weddings} San Francisco, CA

From the bride, Simone:
My husband is my hero. I met Mark in high school on a Jewish retreat. He was friends with some of my friends, and they told me I would love him. At only 17, I wasn’t looking for love yet especially since I recently finished Leukemia treatment (now I am 7 years off treatment!). Well, we met, and I fell in love. I hear all the time how “brave” I was or what an “inspiration” I am; that is really sweet, but I had no choice but to battle this cancer. When I met Mark, I was worried he’d think that I was untouchable and weak, but he shook my hand firmly and gave me the strongest smile. We flirted; he had no idea what that meant for me. It meant that I was doing something “normal.” My husband helped me learn what “normal” is. That is the greatest gift a cancer survivor could ever hope for.

Our wedding is based off of this fairytale. In our relationship, there is no glitz, glam, and sparkle. Our fairytale is raw and real. I respect time and the life that is to be lived. I wanted to share this with our friends and family. Therefore, the theme for our wedding was Grimm’s Fairytales. I have read every Grimm Fairytale and there is rarely a happy ending. But, the Grimm brothers portrayed life’s important lessons through these tales. There were little objects (each table represented a tale) and old copies of the books themselves as part of the decor.

Mark and I are so happy with how the wedding turned out. The space was filled with love and happiness. We are so excited for the future.

Mazel tov, Simone and Mark!