Now we know none of you out there are Bridezillas, but if you happen to know any (*Hint*Hint*) WeTV’s top-rated Bridezillas wedding show is now casting for their new season.

Here are the deets:
* Are you planning a wedding between January 2010 and May 2010?
*Are your wedding preparations getting out of control?
*Are you struggling with the cooperation of your wedding party, fiancé or in-laws?
*Are you doing everything in your power to make sure your wedding day is perfect?
*Are you ready to share your story with other women who’ve been or will be in your shoes?
If so, then you are just what they are looking for!
————————————–
If your wedding falls within the dates above and you’d like to be considered for an episode, email the below to castingbridezillas@gmail.com.  According to producers, brides will be compensated for their appearance.
BRIDE’S FULL NAME:
AGE:
ADDRESS:
CONTACT #:
EMAIL:
WEDDING DATE:
WEDDING BUDGET:
GROOM’S FULL NAME:
AGE:
1. TELL US WHY YOU’D BE A GREAT BRIDEZILLA. GIVE EXAMPLES.
2. WHO IS GIVING YOU THE MOST STRESS AND WHY?
3. GIVE US YOUR TOP 3 CONCERNS FOR YOUR WEDDING.
Lastly, email them a couple photos of you and your fiancé.
Don’t think you are Zilla enough? This season they are actually taking the show in a slightly different direction.  Give them a call at 213-417-4446 and they’ll fill you in on the details!

• Birthright Israel does a mizvah and throws a couple a wedding (Project We Do)
• How to plan a traditional Jewish Wedding meal (ehow)
• Our bridal blogger Bevin got hitched! (My Personal Cantor)
• Some Israeli Men Look to Latinas as the perfect partner (Jewish Journal)
• The ketubah, before, during, and after the wedding (Bridal Association of America)
• It’s a small world – A Chuppah Tale (The Jewish Press)
• US Couple are first couple to marry in 20 years to marry in a Dunedin, New Zealand synagogue  (Otago Daily Times)
• Everything you need to know about the horah (BZ Events)
• The challenges of celebrating the holidays in an interfaith marriage (Amy Koehler)

Planning on having a wedding this Winter or Spring? Tying the knot Jewish-style?

If you’ve ever wanted to be the star of a wedding TV show, here’s your opportunity!

A new television series from Matar Productions, a company that has produced prime time Israeli television shows for more than 30 years is looking for couples getting married this January through May to participate in a unique documentary.

If you’re having a Jewish or mixed marriage or you’re an American-Israeli then they’re looking to feature you on ISRAELI TV.  Have your marriage in the States screened in the Holy Land!

Chosen couples will have their marital preparations and weddings documented and are being offered FREE FULLY PAID HONEYMOONS!

For additional details email: israelweddingshow@gmail.com or call 00972526141332 or 00972525223334 and tell them you were referred by Jewish Wedding Network.

You can view the show’s website at MatarProductions.com

Our latest Hava Nagila of the month took the top spot on the UK music pop charts and became a bestseller on Christmas Day in 2007! This catchy modern rendition of the song is sung by then 17 year-old Lauren Rose.

Jewish wedding related news and stories from around the web:

-A couple takes to the theater to make their vows (Journal Star)
-A mother celebrates two Jewish weddings, but only one marriage ME (Portland Press Herald)
-Comedian Jessi Klein’s hilarious sketch about her sister’s wedding at Disney World (The Moth)
-A bride tells of getting ready the morning of  her wedding (A Practical Wedding)
-Bklyn Bride features a wedding at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Arts (BklynBride)

Jewish wedding related news and stories from around the web:

-A Jewish girl and a Palestinian guy celebrate their wedding in this video short (Channel 13)
-Madonna can see herself marrying Jesus – most likely in a Kabbalah ceremony (MSNBC)
-A Jewish-Catholic-Shinto-Greek wedding (LA Times)
-Processionals, recessionals, and seating for a Jewish wedding ceremony. (The Knot)
-Instructions for making a DIY Chuppah (Project Wedding)
-Earth friendly Chuppah ideas (TheGreenBrideGuide)
-A joke about a couple preparing for a religious wedding who meet with their rabbi for counseling (RedvKathy)

Jewish Wedding Network is not just an informational website, it is an interactive website too! We recognize that planning a wedding can be both exciting and stressful, and that there are numerous decisions to be made during the planning process. We also believe that there is strength in numbers, and that those going through the same experience can really help one another out!  Introducing the Jewish Wedding Network Message Boards, a community forum where couples who are engaged can post questions, as well as provide helpful information to others.

Here are some recent posts in the Jewish Wedding Network Message Boards. Think you can help? Please post your replies in the forum!

• Daci S. is looking for an example of a Jewish wedding program. Read more…
• Sbmorrison is looking for a knitting pattern for a kippah so that she can knit them for her wedding. Read more…
• 2nd Bride shares instructions for how she built her DIY chuppah. Read more…
• Bevin M. is seeking suggestions for how to incorporate Hanukkah in to her wedding which falls on the 1st night. Read more…

This episode of the TV show The Gilmore Girls brings up a good point – is it okay to use a chuppah in your wedding ceremony if you are not Jewish? In Judaism, the chuppah (Jewish wedding canopy) is highly symbolic and essential to a Jewish wedding ceremony. A chuppah is representative of the home that the couple will build together, and its tent-like structure with open sides is also meant to encourage the couple to follow in the hospitable ways of Abraham and Sarah, whose tent was always open to guests.  Nowadays the chuppah is growing in popularity among many non-Jewish couples who love the look, or appreciate its significance. What are your thoughts about the growing trend of non-Jewish couples using a chuppah in their wedding ceremony?

Jewish wedding related news and stories from around the web:

• Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner set a wedding date (Page Six)
• A Jewish take on the infamous JK wedding dance (JDub)
• A bride’s father doubles as her wedding rabbi (Tablet)
• Fact or Fiction? Cross dressing at Jewish weddings in the Middle Ages (CuriousJew)
• A Jewish bride tries to keep her second wedding simple (Aish)

Kate Harrison and Barry Muchnik met on Kate’s first day at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. All of the incoming Master’s students go on a three week camping trip before school starts, and Barry happened to be the leader of Kate’s trip. Exactly two years later Barry proposed to Kate in a tower at Yale, overlooking the parking lot where they first met.

Since Kate’s background was in Environmental Law and Policy and Barry was a Ph.D. student in Environmental History, it was important for the couple to pick eco-friendly wedding options whenever possible. To decrease the carbon footprint of the event, the couple chose a location near the majority of their guests–Cat Rock (a historic castle) in Garrison, New York.  Their wedding planning experience inspired Kate to write The Green Bride Guide and to launch TheGreenBrideGuide.com.

The couple worked hard to use family heirlooms and items from their parents’ homes as part of the ceremony. Instead of a disposable aisle runner, they used a hall rug from Kate’s parents’ house.  “Disposable aisle runners are terrible. In addition to producing unnecessary waste, heels go through them when they are placed outside. This was a sturdy, beautiful and meaningful alternative,” Kate says.
[Read more →]