Category Archives: Real Jewish Weddings

Biana & Gary live in Boston but chose to have their wedding in Florida (where Biana is from). The interfaith ceremony blended their backgrounds beautifully, allowing for each individual’s background to get a chance to shine, while creating a unique and personal ceremony that was truly their own as a couple. Their colors were white, platinum, and amethyst. Biana wanted all white flowers with pops of color.
In order to personalize their reception, Biana and Gary designed all of the tables to be named after places that are special to them in Boston. The table name reflected this with a location that was visible to their guests. This is a simple way to take the table number concept and one-up it with a personal detail. Also, Biana and Gary made sure their guests didn’t leave hungry! Toward the end of this amazing party, late night snacks of sliders and fries were served. Too bad we can’t taste them through our computer — they look amazing!

Mazel tov, Biana and Gary!

Photographer:  Gwendolyn Tundermann Photography
Venue: One Ocean Resort & Spa in Atlantic Beach, FL
Rabbi: Rabbi Barry Altman
Hair Stylist: Coretello Salon
Band: KTG Entertainment
Cinema and Video: Siberian Pictures
Musicians: Wehner Weddings, LLC

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

I had the honor of gushing over one of my best friend’s weddings and am so excited to feature it on The Wedding Yentas! Harmony and Conor and their wonderful families were the stars of a luxurious evening that showcased jaw-dropping details. And they definitely made sure our tummies went home full! After a family-style served meal with some of the most amazing food I’ve ever had, we were then treated to tray-passed desserts like handmade ice cream cones and popsicles, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich bar, and a donut buffet where they were freshly made before our eyes. Our menus were on clear specialty paper that were placed under opaque chargers so that all guests could read about the wonderful food ahead before dinner service began and was a unique touch. The ceremony was extremely personal since Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, a family friend of Harmony’s, customized her words and sentiments, allowing for the large guestlist to still feel like they were part of something intimate. Before and after the ceremony, the strings players dazzled the room with their contemporary music that filled the air atop diamond-white, fabric-draped pedestals. The dramatic and glamorous music was stunning, but only second in line to the real stunner of them all: the bride in her Vera Wang treasure that fit her like a glove. On a personal note, it was pure joy to see my Harmony walk down the aisle and check out the picture of her catching my eye as we both sparkled in glee (you can’t see my face, but I swear, even my tushie was smiling!)

Words about the wedding from the bride herself:

Conor and I wanted the black tie wedding to be elegant, classy, and beautiful, but wanted it to be fun, above all else. That was why we had the dichotome of violinists during the ceremony, and a DJ at the reception, and small desserts and a wedding cake shot instead of an actual wedding cake. Our white dance floor had our logo on it, but then lounge/club seating around the dance floor so guests could be comfortable and still enjoy the party. The Four Seasons is known for the amazing food, but we wanted the food to be different and unique so we had them create a new type of menu for us. I got the idea because we have enjoyed so many family dinners. I wanted all of the proteins (fish, steak, and tofu) to be served by the wonderful staff, but then wanted all of the sides to be family style. Of course we had to include mac and cheese, because Conor and I love it! The overall vision for the whole wedding was for everything to have a fun little twist.

While it wasn’t a traditional Jewish wedding, we had several elements that represent Jewish traditions and culture: the chuppah where my parents, Conor’s parents, and all of our brothers stood with us, of course Conor stepped on the glass, and both my mom and dad walked me down the aisle. Former Congresswoman Shelley Berkley married us and talked about different elements of Jewish tradition and kind of explained things for those who were not Jewish. It felt so warm and personal and I loved everything she did!

Photographers: John Michael Cooper and Dalisa Cooper at Altf Photography
Venue: Four Seasons Las Vegas
Wedding Planner/Floral Studio: Destinations by Design
Bride’s Dress and Veil: Vera Wang Beverly Hills with David Friedman
Bride’s Shoes: Chanel
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Amsale from Bella Bridesmaid
Tuxedos: Tuxedo Junction
Mother of the Bride and Grandmother of the Bride Dresses: Neiman Marcus Las Vegas, Lindsey Bernay, Personal Shopper
Mother of the Groom and Grandmother of the Bride Dresses: Saks Fifth Avenue
Electric Violinists: Bella Electric Strings
Donut Machine: The Four Seasons
Hair Color: Amy Ho at Square Salon Las Vegas
Wedding Party Hair: Katie Lantz, Lauren Anderson from Square Salon Las Vegas
Wedding Party Make-up: Kim Katunis from Square Salon Las Vegas
Photobooth: Shutterbooth
Officiant: Congresswoman Shelley Berkley

Woodfield Country Club Wedding {Jessica and Jason} 1.26.13 from Bridges Cinema on Vimeo.

Jessica and Jason traveled to South Florida from New York to celebrate their wedding day with family and friends. They chose the Woodfield Country Club as their venue for their high energy wedding celebration. Jessica and Jason are both so much fun and you can see from their pictures how much fun they had at their party. The Will Bridges Dance Band performed during their celebration.

The toast given my the MOH is beautifully delivered and reflects the number sense comparison since the lovely couple are two accountants marrying each other.

Mazel tov, Jessica and Jason!

Photographer:  Bridges Cinema and Photography
Venue: The Captain’s Club at Woodfield
Cinema and Video: Bridges Cinema
Musicians: Will Bridges Entertainment

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Jessica and Dima had a nice family oriented Russian-Jewish wedding. La Mirage Banquets on the outskirts of Chicago is known for hosting European style weddings where the dinner hour is not an hour at all, but the entire evening of dinner, dancing, singing, and toasts.

Prior to the wedding, the Jessica and Dima spent time with their photographer for a two-hour indoor portrait session, and it helped loosen the couple up as there were some pre-ceremony nervous butterflies flying around. Jessica’s biggest fear? That she would trip or stumble while walking down the aisle.

European style weddings differ a bit from what we often see in an American wedding because there’s no set dinner hour. Typically guests will enter and be seated at a table that’s already pre-set with appetizers and salads. The couple is introduced and after a toast or two, the dancing begins. After 20 minutes of dancing guests will have a seat, fill their glasses and their plates once again, and listen to a couple more toasts. This continues through the evening until it gets closer to midnight when it’s time to cut the cake. That’s right! The cake cutting is toward the end of the evening rather than during the dinner hour.

The best way to describe their wedding would be a family and friend celebration full of laughs, guest singing appearances from distant cousins, and a lot of happiness and love.

Mazel tov, Jessica and Dima!

Photographer:  Michael Novo Photography
Venue: LaMirage Restaurant
Submitted via Two Bright Lights