Yes, there are still the details of the welcome bags, take home gifts, endless timelines, tastings and other things to complete, but for the most part, I would say I’m ready to be married!  The day after the wedding is looking pretty enticing right now.

The invitations and ketubah were the most exciting part of the process (other than the dress!)  I found an artist that I absolute love, Rachel Deitsch, who kindly helped my dreams become a reality.  She worked with me and my groom to ensure that the invite (which was the first that she had designed) was absolutely perfect.  It combines vibrant colors, Jewish texts, and an overall sense of who we are.  The inside also has the pomegranate theme, which is absolutely stunning. Rachel also converted one of her prints into a ketubah, which it has a similar feel.  Her work is incredible!

So with the invitations out, I’d say there’s no turning back!  The wedding tasting happened a few weeks ago when we went out to Boca. We decided to forgo the traditional wedding menu for something that is more of a representation of who we are and how we feel in love.   We’re doing stations during the reception with sliders, brisket sandwiches,  multiple varieties of french fries, tacos, dim sum, etc, etc etc.  It will be quite a kosher feast!  We wanted the focus to be on fun foods that will energize people to dance!

The dessert options are very similar. There will be a small cake for cutting, but the main desserts include donuts, little ice cream cones, popcorn, cookie sandwiches, etc etc etc!  I think we put more thought into the menu than anything else!

We’ll be back in Florida in a few weeks for the rehearsal dinner tasting, which I’m so excited for!  I just ordered personalized chocolate for the welcome bags, which I think are a cute touch (although probably one of my most unnecessary purchases.)  The Wedding Channel Store is having a huge sale right now, so I recommend picking these chocolates up soon if you like them.  They were on $50, now down to $20, with an extra discount on top of that!

Next up: How sample sales saved my wedding budget!

The first ceremonial order of business was the bedecken. The pre-ceremony traditions seemed very casual to me, but festive at the same time; a lot like a bris that takes place in someone’s kitchen (except  that everyone left with all their body parts in tact!)

Somehow, I look dazed and confused in almost every bedecken photograph, so these are the best I could post without embarrassing myself!

This moment is such a blur to me. I don’t even remember what Yoni had to read here, but I do know that he had no idea he was going to have to read anything! Although he’s half Israeli, and his conversational Hebrew skills are pretty good, Yoni isn’t comfortable reading Hebrew on command, and I think the Rabbi eventually took over.

The next embarrassing moment for us: the Rabbi had reminded us the morning of the wedding that an item of value was to be exchanged before the ketubah was signed.  Somehow it had totally slipped my mind.  I grabbed a sharpie from the table and declared it our item of value.  Whoops!

Although The Mrs. showed me a gorgeous ketubah that matched our wedding colors perfectly, in the spirit of DIY  Yoni’s dad made our ketubah.  He scanned Yoni’s great great grandparents’ original ketubah from 1884, and changed the necessary details. I thought it turned out great, and has so much meaning to us.

The first witness to sign our ketubah was a friend of Yoni’s family, Mark.  Yoni’s dad was Mark’s counselor at Habonim (a zionist youth movement) in London, and then they coincidentally re-met after Yoni and his parents moved to Boston in the 80’s.  Mark and his wife were a huge help to Yoni’s family during that time, and it meant a lot to the family for him to sign our ketubah.

Our second witness was an old friend of mine from Jewish summer camp, who is the now fiancé of my best friend and bridesmaid!

Stay tuned for my next post, where I’ll be showing you the wedding ceremony (which went much more smoothly than the bedecken and ketubah signing!)

I just came across an online exhibit put on by Yale University’s Library called Art of the Ketubah A Study in Jewish Diversity. The exhibit features Jewish wedding contracts from many different countries, and spans the 17th-21st centuries. It’s a fascinating exhibit–I highly recommend checking it out!

Throughout the week, we’ve been highlighting camp weddings and sharing some tips from the experts. I thought it would also be fun to pull together some ideas for unique touches to add to these camp wedding celebrations.

1. Recite the blessing over the wine with a pewter Branch Kiddush Cup, $76 at ModernTribe

2. This Nature’s Beauty Ketubah captures the essence of camp so perfectly, $199
at MP Artworks

3. The groomsmen should get a kick out of this tongue and cheek Yo Semite
T-Shirt, $28 at Pop Judaica

4. Help guests make their way around camp in the dark with these credit card sized Let There by Light Flashlight, $9.95 at Pop Judaica

5. What is camp without Color War? These custom made Color War T-Shirts are
sure to delight your guests!, contact Miss Wit for info and pricing.

6. Use these Wood Journals as guest books to capture the memories of your big
day, $16-$24 at 3RLiving

7. Imagine exchanging vows under the sky and trees depicted in this glorious Nature’s
Radiance Chuppah!, $545 at MP Artworks

When my wife and I got married, we were living in San Francisco, but our wedding was closer to our family in New Jersey. Let me tell you, planning a long distance wedding has its challenges! One of which is how to safely bring your ketubah on the plane with you. As a ketubah designer, I get asked about this a lot, so I thought I’d share some advice with you. First, have your ketubah shipped directly to you, not to the site of your wedding. It is really important that you see your ketubah in person, well before the ceremony. This will allow you look it over carefully, and make sure that it is exactly what you ordered. G-d forbid it gets accidentally damaged in shipment, it will give you time to replace it.

Packing Your Ketubah

Most ketubah companies will ship your ketubah rolled between sheets of acid-free tissue paper, and placed in an extra-strong shipping tube. Experience has shown that this is the safest way to ship unframed fine art. (If this was not the way your ketubah was shipped to you, be sure to pick up these supplies to re-package the ketubah.) So the best way to travel with a ketubah is to reuse this shipping tube. Place your ketubah between the tissue paper provided, and carefully reroll it and place it in the tube. You now have a safe and portable package to carry with you to your wedding location. If you are traveling by plane, be sure to bring it with you as a carry-on, or stash it safely deep in the middle of your suitcase, surrounded on all sides by clothing.

When You Arrive

When you get to the location of your wedding, take your ketubah out of the tube, and let it unroll. The paper will keep its curl for a while, but don’t worry. The paper of your ketubah should easily “forget” the curl over time. When you remove it, you could gently use the tube to roll it in the opposite direction to remove the curl more quickly. If you feel uncomfortable doing this, just lay it flat like I suggested for a day or so to get rid of the worst of the curl. For my own wedding, I used an inexpensive poster frame to flatten the ketubah, and then protect it throughout the wedding and reception. When you are ready to have it framed, your framer can make sure that any remaining curl is removed.