27Aug

Real Wedding: Rachel & Drew

It brings us pure joy to create a work of art that will play an integral role in a couple’s wedding and marriage, and every so often Team Ketubah comes across a couple that we truly bond with. We are beyond excited to share with you the fun details of their wedding and the story behind their happily-every-after — it touched our hearts deeply and we are positive it will do the same for you as well!

Jersey couple Rachel and Drew met in somewhat of an unromantic scenario — a training class as bankers back in 2009. Rachel told us all about keeping their romance a secret, but of course, “everyone around us could tell we were falling in love“. Goes to show that you truly can find love in the most unlikely places!

Drew proposed at one of the most stunning places — the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas. As if it couldn’t get more romantic than that, Drew secretly arranged for her brother and sister-in-law to be there and celebrate!

The spot is very special for us – we’ve taken a photo in that same spot every time we’ve vacationed there. It’s absolutely beautiful and I was really surprised!

So sweet!!!

We love getting to know all of the couples we work with, and we could tell that Rachel and Drew had more of an adventurous side to them. She spilled some of their more “crazy experiences” as a couple….

On the trip to Vegas when we got engaged, we rode ATVs far out in the desert and it was totally exhilarating. On our honeymoon, we jumped into a 130 foot deep cenote (natural sinkhole) which exists 85 feet below ground level. It was scary, exciting, and a huge adrenaline rush!

Amazing!

Fast-forward and we have the pleasure of getting to work with both of them on their perfect Ketubah. They chose one of our livelier and colorful designs — The Life in Technicolor Ketubah. And we have to say, hearing all about their adventures, we can’t think of a better design to capture their relationship!

So how’d everything go on the big day?

Our wedding day was magical. We had hoped to get married outside under a gazebo overlooking the bay, but since it was rainy we had our ceremony inside. It worked out wonderfully and the room was absolutely stunning. We wrote our own vows, had a sand ceremony, and played songs that have special meaning for us. We played a song called “Always and Forever” by “The Green” for our recessional, and Drew has some of those lyrics engraved on the inside of his wedding band (“always and forever, I will be loving you“).

From Team Ketubah to Rachel & Drew — Mazel Tov on your big day! We were so honored that we could create something so special and meaningful for your wedding. We wish you both a lifetime of crazy adventure, laughter and love!


23Jul

Real Weddings: Naomi & Darren

It brings us pure joy to create a work of art that will play an integral role in a couple’s wedding and marriage, and every so often Team Ketubah comes across a couple that we truly bond with. We are beyond excited to share with you the fun details of their wedding and the story behind their happily-every-after — it touched our hearts deeply and we are positive it will do the same for you as well!

Through our time of making Ketubahs for awesome couples, we’ve met quite a few couples that met online! We love hearing their stories because, well… we just love hearing how two people meet, fall in love and spend forever together. Naomi and Darren were no different. eHarmony must have made a great match because next thing you know — we have the pleasure of creating their awesome Ketubah!

Naomi told us all about some of the fun and crazy things they like to do together, like doing the Color Run or going to Monkeyland. She also told us about her beautifully romantic proposal — set at a fancy restaurant that of friend of theirs manages.

Residing in New York, it seemed only fitting that Naomi and Darren wanted the Subway Print No. 1 Ketubah. A Haring Inspired print, this Ketubah definitely contains the urban feel of a big city. And knowing more of Naomi and Darren, we think it’s the perfect fit!

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 The Subway Print No. 1 Ketubah

 So we had to know — what was their favorite part of the big day?

 We didn’t have a traditional sit-down dinner. Instead we did a buffet and people could sit where ever they liked and with whomever they liked throughout the venue. We also had a photobooth, perhaps not unique but definitely a big hit.

Well their wedding looked absolutely stunning. And we love the idea of having a photobooth! To finish off, Naomi filled us in a little bit about their Honeymoon destination, that didn’t include just one place, but TWO!

Part 1 Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (it was February) Part 2 is coming up in about a month, Ireland.

How AWESOME!

From Team Ketubah to Naomi and Darren — Mazel Tov again on your big day! You were both such a pleasure to work with and we feel so honored that we were able to create something so important and meaningful for your wedding. We wish you both a lifetime of adventure, laughter, and love!


30Jun

Real Weddings: Jessica & Tosh Marks

It brings us pure joy to create a work of art that will play an integral role in a couple’s wedding and marriage, and every so often Team Ketubah comes across a couple that we truly bond with. We are beyond excited to share with you the fun details of their wedding and the story behind their happily-every-after — it touched our hearts deeply and we are positive it will do the same for you as well!

Jessica and Tosh were definitely an awesome couple to work with — they ordered one of our favorite Ketubahs, as well… the Vibrant Hamsa Ketubah! We loved working with them so much, we just HAD to ask more — how they met, how they got engaged… the works!

Most couples we meet always tell us that is was more or less your classic “love at first sight” story. However, for Jessica and Tosh it was a little bit different:

The first time we officially met was in May of 2009 through a mutual friend (who ended up being our Best Man as a matter of fact). We chatted a bit that night, but that was about it until later that summer. Our friend had asked me to be on his touch football team which Tosh happened to be on as well. Tosh and I became friends and got pretty close over the next 6 months or so, but I wasn’t interested in dating (at all)! We didn’t get together until that January.

We love that they both got to know each other better through being on a touch football team — definitely a great representation of their adventurous and fun styles! So of course, we weren’t surprised when Jessica continued to tell us about the most ridiculous thing they ever did together — “Swam almost a mile around the coast of St. Martin to get to Happy Bay. When we finally got there, we realized it was a nude beach!

Hahahaha, AWESOME!

So onto our most FAVORITE part — how did Tosh propose?!

Tosh proposed to me on Randall’s Island in NYC – we always have football games there and it’s a big part of how our relationship started. He had our league write a fake email to the team switching the day and time of the game to get me to the field. Once we got there, he proposed… I was in complete shock! As we walked along the water after the proposal, my parents were sitting on a bench waiting for us. As we walked a little further, all of our friends and family were there to celebrate with us. Tosh had planned a huge surprise engagement party right there on Randall’s Island – champagne, catered lunch, the works. It was the most amazing day!

 

Jess signing Ketubah

Tosh Signing Ketubah

KetubahThe Vibrant Hamsa Ketubah 

Their wedding looked absolutely beautiful, and Jessica began to tell us about some of the more unique, personal touches that they included in their big day:

A friend of ours is an illustrator and was nice enough to create custom illustrations of our life together – one of  us walking the dog, one of us cooking dinner, playing football, laying on the beach, etc. Instead of table numbers, each table had a framed illustration on it and our guests’ placecards had a mini-version of the illustration that corresponded to each table. Our guests matched their placecard with the illustration on the table to find their seat. This was a nice little personal touch that we loved!

What an awesome idea! We love hearing about different, fun things our couples do on their wedding day, and how that represents them as a couple.

From Team Ketubah to Jessica and Tosh — Mazel Tov on your big day! We loved working with both of you and were completely honored that you chose us to create something so meaningful for your wedding day. We wish you both a lifetime of laughter, adventure, and love!



23Jun

Real Weddings: Alli & Brian William Peterson

It brings us pure joy to create a work of art that will play an integral role in a couple’s wedding and marriage, and every so often Team Ketubah comes across a couple that we truly bond with. We are beyond excited to share with you the fun details of their wedding and the story behind their happily-every-after — it touched our hearts deeply and we are positive it will do the same for you as well!

Alli and Brian were set up by a mutual friend, and after only a few dates — they became official! I guess their set up really worked because fast forward, and we not only have the pleasure of working with both of them to create their Ketubah, but we got to hear all about their love story!

To give us a good idea of what kind of couple they both are (and how strong their love really is), Alli told us all about how she drove all day just to be with Brian for a day:

Well, the most ridiculous thing I ever did (for him) after dating for 3 months was drive from D.C. to Orlando for one day, just so we could be together for the 4th of July. (I was doing an 8 week internship in D.C.)

Awww! Now that’s true commitment, and love!

One of the first questions we ask though, is the one we love best — how did your partner propose?

He was acting very suspicious and I noticed the color had drained from his face.  In my normal, girlfriend questioning attitude, I asked him repeatedly what was wrong.  He calmly responded saying that nothing was wrong and instead told me he had a present waiting for me in the kitchen.  My next words were, “Please tell me you didn’t spend too much.” “No, not at all,” he replied.  I hoped for something like chocolate or ice cream.  When I walked into the kitchen, there was a Keurig coffee maker sitting on the counter!  I was so excited and asked him “How could you spend so much? Thank you!”  Little did I know…Brian then told me to open the Keurig box because there was still a piece inside.  I said, “Brian, its 7:00pm, I really don’t need any coffee right now.”  He urged me to open the box and I said “OK, FINE. You’re being sketchy.” When I opened the box, I saw the ring, the proposal, and a bottle of champagne and glasses.

Amazing! Combining two things we definitely LOVE — coffee and love stories! :)

Alli and Brian purchased one of our earliest designs — The Romantic Ketubah. However to make it a little more “theirs”, they asked for a color change. This is one of our favorite parts of doing what we do: being able to create gorgeous Ketubahs, but then also see how each individual couple wants to change something and truly make it their own!

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The Romantic Ketubah

 Their wedding day looked absolutely beautiful, but we wanted to hear about something more different and crazy that happened! Alli told us that, “the whole night was amazing”, but one part definitely did stick out for her:

…one of the more unique parts of our wedding is my dad and I pretended to start our father/daughter dance (slow song) and then the DJ turned it into the Austin Powers opening theme song and we did a crazy, fun dance.

From Team Ketubah to Alli and Brian — Mazel Tov! We were so honored that we could create something so meaningful and important for your wedding day. We hope your Ketubah will fill you with love and happiness each time you see it. We wish you both a lifetime of laughter, adventure, and love!


16Jun

Real Weddings: Michelle & Jordan Christensen

It brings us pure joy to create a work of art that will play an integral role in a couple’s wedding and marriage, and every so often Team Ketubah comes across a couple that we truly bond with. We are beyond excited to share with you the fun details of their wedding and the story behind their happily-every-after — it touched our hearts deeply and we are positive it will do the same for you as well!

We knew we would get along well with Michelle & Jordan from the start. Not only are they suuuuper down to earth and an absolute pleasure to work with, but they’re not afraid to express their, well, geekier side. A few months after the wedding Michelle sent us a blog post all about their big day. There were so many beautiful and meaningful details — from their emphasis on working hard to have everything vegan to even some of the smaller touches, like walking back down the aisle to a Star Wars’ song.

It was obvious that both Michelle and Jordan poured energy into their big day to be a beautiful representation of their love and commitment. Reading all about their special day truly brought tears to our eyes. Michelle really has a way with words, and paraphrasing what she wrote truly wouldn’t do it justice, so we we’re posting some of our favorite highlights here! :)

But PLEASE make sure to Click Here and read the full details of their wedding. We promise it’s an absolute Real Wedding must-read — filled with awesome ideas and great wedding advice!

Rather than writing about her memory of a “wonderful fairy tale wedding”, Michelle took a perhaps, more non-traditional route — expressing the idea that things don’t always go as planned, as well as the parts that truly felt perfect and like a dream come true:

Our wedding wasn’t perfect. Most things aren’t, but it was beautiful, and meaningful to us. We worked together to make an experience that was significant to us and our families. And I think we did the best we could with what we had control over – ourselves.

While we were standing under the chuppah, in front of our friends and family, I felt like I was watching us standing there holding hands. It was like a dream. Here was my favourite person on the planet, wearing a very handsome suit, absolutely glowing, with the most beautiful look in his eyes, pledging his love to me. And there I was all gussied up, doing the same. Holding back tears while I read my vows on a scrunched up piece of cardboard. Even in that moment, I found myself musing… is this real life? Is this really happening right now?

Ring-Exchange

Michelle describes the rainy morning of getting ready and the time she spent alone before the wedding. We loved hearing all the details of how each part of getting ready had a special meaning to her — a good friend that did her make up and an up-do braid in a “Polish-ish style” as a nod to her heritage. And perhaps the more difficult part — explaining the details that she didn’t enjoy and that were a bit of a disappointment. But she brings it all in to perspective in a truly beautiful and honest way:

Eventually, as I walked down the aisle, I locked eyes with JC who was beaming this beautiful ridiculous grin, and things were back to being right in the world. He looked so handsome in his fancy bespoke suit from Trend Custom Tailors, under a purple and white flower covered chuppah. I will never forget the look of love and adoration in his eyes. But mostly because I get to see it nearly everyday (lucky me).

The lighting of the unity candle was something I wasn’t sure we’d end up doing, but I loved loved loved this part so much. Our Moms were a part of this, and I’m so happy to have found a good way of really incorporating them, and symbolically joining our families together with this part of the ceremony.

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The Stained Glass Orchards Ketubah 

We could keep going with all the details of their wedding (the food looked fantastic!), but we’ll finish off with probably our favorite detail from their wedding:

We also named tables according to nerdy things we were into, rather than just by numbers. So there were tables for Zelda, Mario, Magic the Gathering, World of Warcraft, Dr. Who, Sonic the Hedgehog, Android, and more.

SO AWESOME!

From Team Ketubah to Michelle & Jordan — Mazel Tov on your big day! You were both such a pleasure to work with and we were so honored that we could create something so meaningful and important for your wedding day. We wish you both a lifetime of laughter, love, and nerdy fun!


12Jun

Real Weddings: Anne Marie & Roger Horowitz

It brings us pure joy to create a work of art that will play an integral role in a couple’s wedding and marriage, and every so often Team Ketubah comes across a couple that we truly bond with. We are beyond excited to share with you the fun details of their wedding and the story behind their happily-every-after — it touched our hearts deeply and we are positive it will do the same for you as well!

Since the start of doing Real Wedding interviews with our couples, we’ve heard many of the classic “met through friends”, “went to school together” stories, but  Anne Marie and Roger were definitely not one of those…

We met on the Obama for America campaign back in 2008, during a staff training in Las Vegas. We only talked for ten minutes, but recognized each other a year and a half later at a bar in DC and immediately hit it off again.

Well… that sounds like fate! We could tell right away that Anne Marie and Roger were definitely not the typical couple you come across, and that their adorable love story was far from over. Of course we HAD to ask — how did he propose?! Anne Marie told us about what was supposed to be a normal night of exchanging belated Hannukah gifts turned into a night she would remember forever. Rather than there being one gift, there were three:

The present was three jars to collect change in – one labeled charity, the next labeled home, and the final one was for a honeymoon. Of course, the last label gave the secret away and he got down on one knee and proposed – just before 30 friends came over for a party.

Awwwww!!! That is probably the most romantic proposal story we’ve heard!

Fast-forward and next thing you know, our team has the awesome opportunity of meeting and working with Anne Marie and Roger on their Ketubah. They chose one of our more unique and simply stunning designs — The Emerald Notes Ketubah.

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The Emerald Notes Ketubah

The more we talked with Anne Marie and Roger, the more we loved working with them and definitely became one of our favorite couples! Hearing about their big day was no different — not only did their wedding look simply gorgeous, but they even gave to charity instead of doing party favors. Anne Marie continued to tell us, “we donated to First Book Philadelphia, which provides new books to low-income children”. In tune with their book theme, we LOVED hearing about their not-so-conventional table numbers too!

Instead of numbering the tables at dinner, we used our favorite children’s books as the centerpieces. Our guests definitely were reading to each other!  

As for the honeymoon?

We jetted off to the Cook Islands, which are in the South Pacific. Lots of fresh coconuts and sand for us… On our honeymoon, we did an impromptu rain dance in our beach hut so it would stop raining. It totally worked.

Hahaha… AWESOME! We LOVE hearing stories like this from our couples! :)

From Team Ketubah to Anne Marie and Roger — Mazel Tov on your big day! Your love story was definitely one of the most sweet and heart-warming stories we’ve heard. Not only were you both beyond a pleasure to work with, but we feel so grateful that we were able to create something so special for your wedding day. We wish you both a lifetime of adventure, laughter, and love.


02Jun

Real Weddings: Michael J. & Barbara Simon

It brings us pure joy to create a work of art that will play an integral role in a couple’s wedding and marriage, and every so often Team Ketubah comes across a couple that we truly bond with. We are beyond excited to share with you the fun details of their wedding and the story behind their happily-every-after — it touched our hearts deeply and we are positive it will do the same for you as well!

Michael and Barbara contacted us wanting one of our favorite Ketubahs — The Bold Mosaic Ketubah! We loved working with them so much, we wanted to hear more about their love story and all about the big day.

Like many modern day couples, Michael and Barbara met online. Of course we had to ask the classic question — how was the question popped?!

Not quite sure, but it seemed like a good idea at the time (and no regrets now!)

Awwww — that’s so sweet! Michael told us all about their crazy moments as a couple (biking in 100 degree weather at the Jersey Shore!) and their wedding day went overall. Their favorite moment from the whole event?

Laughing as it took the third try to break the glass.

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The Bold Mosaic Ketubah

To finish off a beautiful wedding, Michael told us their gorgeous honeymoon location — St. Barths!

From Team Ketubah to Michael and Barbara — Mazel Tov on your big day! We felt truly honored that we were able to create something so meaningful for your wedding day, and every day after. We wish you both a lifetime of happiness, adventure, and love!


29May

Real Weddings: Peter & Ari

It brings us pure joy to create a work of art that will play an integral role in a couple’s wedding and marriage, and every so often Team Ketubah comes across a couple that we truly bond with. We are beyond excited to share with you the fun details of their wedding and the story behind their happily-every-after — it touched our hearts deeply and we are positive it will do the same for you as well!

You truly never know where you’ll find love — for Peter and Ari it was at the gym. Fast-forward and next thing you know, Peter is telling us all about his completely romantic engagement (we LOVED it!):

Ari proposed to me with a fabulous platinum band (with diamond) at our favorite Italian restaurant on the upper west side of Manhattan on New Year’s Eve.  I said YES. and then we went to Central park to watch the fireworks and called our families.

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Peter and Ari came to us wanting something completely and totally unique — a commissioned Ketubah. Of all the Ketubahs we have the pleasure of making, Commissioned Ketubot are definitely our favorite. Not only do we get to work one-on-one with each couple to find out their interests and styles, but we get to create something that holds such an important meaning to them in so many ways. We ended up creating a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind design for Peter and Ari — we loved it so much that we made The Lucky 99 Ketubah and added it to our collection, a design inspired by their Ketubah!

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Their wedding looked and sounded absolutely stunning — especially the reception. Peter told us all about the amazing music they had — “a 15 piece orchestra all evening long…” As for their absolute favorite part of the wedding?

Our favorite part of the wedding was our ceremony – surrounded by family and friends, all candle lit, under Ari’s family chuppah – a family heirloom was so moving, special and intimate.

With such a romantic proposal and gorgeous wedding, we weren’t surprised to learn that they weren’t going on just one honeymoon, but THREE! A trip to Mexico, Island hopping in the British Virgin Island, and Israel!

And as for their Ketubah?

Right now it’s in our bedroom standing upright on the dresser – in sight everyday.  We love it so much!

From Team Ketubah to Peter & Ari — Mazel Tov on your big day! From the very beginning conversation to the final Ketubah, we loved working with both of you. We feel so honored that you let us create something so meaningful to play an integral role on your wedding day. We wish you both a lifetime of laughter, adventure, and love!


26Mar

Real Weddings: Abigail & Bryan

It brings us pure joy to create a work of art that will play an integral role in a couple’s wedding and marriage, and every so often Team Ketubah comes across a couple that we truly bond with. We are beyond excited to share with you the fun details of their wedding and the story behind their happily-every-after — it touched our hearts deeply and we are positive it will do the same for you as well!

Abigail and Bryan are another lovely couple that met in the most simplest of ways — JDate! Abigail told us about how Bryan found her profile and they ended up meeting, “We met in person on May 29, 2009 and have been inseparable ever since!

As for the propsal?

Bryan proposed on the top of Monte Solaro in Capri, Italy while we were on vacation. It was perfect.

Well — it doesn’t get much more romantic than that! We love hearing about how couples meet and fall in love. And even better, we love to hear about their crazy side as well!

We were once watching TV and saw a commercial for a new Sonic hotdog. We looked up where the closest one was to our home at the time (about a 30 minute drive from our Manhattan apartment), rented a car, and got ourselves some Sonic. Worth it! :)

From mountain top proposals in Italy to 30 minute drives and car rentals for fast food grub (– hey we get it, we’re total foodies too!!), we were so in love with Abigail and Bryan’s love story, that we were dying to hear a bit about their wedding and honeymoon:

We wrote our own vows and didn’t share them with each other before the ceremony. It turned out that Bryan and I had written VERY similar vows and referenced many of the same experiences and inside jokes we’ve had over the years. Many people remarked on how similar our vows were, and how it’s further proof we’re meant to be!

Abigail and Bryan live in New York, so it seemed only fitting that they chose The IRT Today Ketubah for their big day!

And as for the honeymoon? “We honeymooned in Thailand, Cambodia and, Laos. It was amazing and we were reluctant to come home…”

Well we probably wouldn’t want to come home either! :)

From Team Ketubah to Abigal & Bryan — you were both such a pleasure to work with and we were beyond honored that we could create something so important and meaningful for your big day. We wish you both years of excitement, love, and spontaneous, fun adventure!


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