Jewish Wedding at Hilton Netherland Plaza Hall of Mirrors

Jessi and Mike are one of the sweetest couples we've ever worked with! This was a Jewish wedding, so you will see the key elements of a Jewish wedding: The ketubah (the marriage contract); the chuppah (where the wedding ceremony takes place); bessing over the chala (hamotzi); and the hora (dancing on the chair). Instead of a cake, this bride and groom decided to have a "first bite" of their chocolate station instead, compliments of Chocolate Passion. It took place in September, 2008, at the Hall of Mirrors at the Hilton Netherland Plaza.

To view the couple's coffee table album, compliments of Ron Shuller's Creative Images, click here.

Martini Louge

Ketubah, the legal marriage document of the Jewish faith

The Chuppah, the place where a Jewish wedding ceremony takes place under. At the end of the ceremony they will break a glass wrapped in a napkin. Mazeltof!

Reception setup in the same room. We flipped the room in 45 minutes while guests had cocktails someplace else.

Chocolate Station. The couple opted to do this instead of a wedding cake.

Jessi also had her wedding bouquet preserved by Freeze Frame. We are an easy ship partner for Freeze Frame, so all you have to do is give it to me at the end of the night and we get it to Freeze Frame for you by Monday afternoon. It's important to get your bouquet to the preserver as soon as possible, the longer you wait the less real your preservation will look. It just arrived last week and here is what it now looks like.

Huge thanks to Ron Shuller's Creative Images for the photos and Debbie and her staff at the Hilton Netherland for organizing a great event ! Other vendors this evening included RMAX; Ford Ellington; Arctic Diamond; and Airwaves for their services that day.

Wedding at Corpus Christi, Dayton Art Institute

This wedding took place in Dayton, Ohio, at Corpus Christi Catholic Church and the Dayton Art Institute. This couple called us a few weeks prior to their wedding because they were feeling incredibly overwhelmed and we helped them tie down the details and follow through the entire day of the wedding. I even cantored the mass at this wedding because the bride didn't want a male singer and we didn't have enough notice to hire someone else. (I have been cantoring at the Catholic Church since I was 16, so needless to say I had some experience!) Ally and Bry are expecting a child during the next month, so congratulations on the new arrival!

Photography was provided by the amazing Carmen over at Blink of an Eye Photography. Flowers were done by the Flower Shoppe, cake by Ele Cake Company, Donna McFarland at Elegant Entertainment provided an amazing quartet for the ceremony and catering at the Dayton Art Institute was provided by Elegant Fare.

We had Bry and Ally's bouquet preserved by Freeze Frame. Check out the before and after.

Carmen has inspired me to blog!

Last night, Carmen from Blink of an Eye Photography and I carpooled down to the grand opening of the studio with Glass Eye Video, TM Photography, Timothy's and Details by Dawn. We had an amazing time networking with lots of great vendors, including some of my favorites from Poeme, Ford-Ellington, Tres Bell, Maribelle's, Courtenay Lambert, Forever Wedding Video, just to name a few of the 100+ people there!

Anyway, Carmen finally helped me to understand the direction my blog needs to take. I have been reading other people's blogs and thinking to myself, "what is so interesting about me that people would want to read about?" She told me that the stories from wedding days that I have from behind the scenes, inside scoops on the industry, and the vendors I network with, in addition to wedding photos, are enticing to readers. So I hope you enjoy the new direction of this blog.

Thanks so much Carmen!!!

Words of Wisdom: Are you marrying your best friend??

When people decide to take the plunge and get married, they should ask one very important question. Am I marrying my best friend? Can I not imagine my life without this person by my side? You should be marrying your best friend. How you argue with your fiance while planning your upcoming wedding is a clear indication of how you will handle your disagreements when you're married. In dealing with in-laws, remember that you are not just marrying the man, but you're marrying the family and any baggage he (or they) may have. Remember, before dropping five figures into a big party, what happens after the wedding day is nothing but a fond memory!