Hi bridal community friends! My NJB and I got married December 2018 and I'm finally over the stress and able to look back and reflect. I've watched our wedding video about 1000 times and cried every time!
I did SO much research for my wedding - especially how to include my Jewish culture (and a few spiritual / religious components) into the wedding. I love tradition, but didn't love the idea of not making them my own. I thought i'd share a few ideas and hopefully help some future brides!
- Rabbi: My husband and I wanted to find a Rabbi who matched our vibe, even though that meant not using the Rabbi at the Synagogue I've attended by whole life. The Rabbi we used was open to merging tradition with more progressive twists (ex: traditionally the woman circles the man 7 times to signify that he is the center of her world. Our Rabbi and I decided we would change this to where I circled him 3 times, he circled me 3 times, and then we held hands and circled together for the 7th.)
- Chuppah: I wanted my chuppah to be simple, elegant, but also have meaning. I designed a beautiful chuppah with my decor company that had a gold metal frame, simple flowers, but with my grandparent's (who are no longer with us) tallitot sewn together at the top. This way, they were with me during the whole ceremony and it was really special.
- Hora: This was my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE part of the reception! My parents wedding apparently had an epic hora that they still talk about to this day, so I asked my band for the longest hora they could possibly manage. I sent them examples of vibes I liked, and told them I wanted the chair lifting towards the beginning because I had a special surprise planned! I posted a video of the hora on YouTube so I could share with my family and it went micro-viral, which is just insane. If you're interested or think it might help with inspo, Here's the link to my Hora .
If you think this is helpful, i'm thinking about starting a video series on the channel where I posted my hora with more ideas for planning a Jewish wedding (& beyond!) - it's called Bubbe's Girl . Would you mind letting me know in the comments if this is something you'd be interested in and what topics you'd like to hear about? I figured this community would be a great place to start and gauge interest!