Our Wedding! — ariel loves

In honor of our anniversary, I wanted to share memories from our wedding day three years ago. In some ways, it feels like just yesterday! It’s crazy how much can change in three years - new city, new jobs, new baby and more! Michael and I wanted our wedding to be full of joy and spirit and reflect our love of family, friends, food, and celebrating in style! Our friends and families are very important to us and they played an integral part in helping make our wedding special, from participating in the ceremony to adding personal touches throughout the day.

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My cousin designed our gorgeous, gilded invitations and wedding programs that set the tone for the whole day. The vision for the wedding began with the venue, which is a NJ mansion filled with sparkling crystal chandeliers, golden details, and Juliet Balcony that felt like it was right out of the Gilded Age. On a Sunday that started somewhat cloudy, it turned into a magnificent day just in time for our twilight wedding.

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We wanted to have a beautiful outdoor ceremony in the lush Crystal Plaza garden, with the flowers and trees in full bloom. The weather could not have been more perfect! Our chuppah, the Jewish wedding canopy, was set up as part of the garden’s existing gazebo structure. My grandma Lila made the chuppah, which has been used at all of my cousins’ weddings and is embroidered with all the names of those who were married beneath it. With our tuxedo-clad groomsmen and blush-toned, mismatched bridesmaids by our sides, we became husband and wife. The soft, whimsical flowers and beautifully-draped white organza flowing around our chuppah provided a gorgeous backdrop to our ceremony. I was really into the little touches that made our day different, from the escort cards with the guests’ names handwritten on vintage skeleton keys to the “Let Love Grow” succulent party favors that were put together by hand by my mom, aunt, and grandma. We wanted to incorporate a lot of our families’ cultural and religious traditions into our wedding. Since Michael’s family is Russian, at the cocktail hour, we had a Russian-style food station complete with a caviar bar and a vodka luge made out of an ice sculpture. During dinner, we offered guests Russian appetizers and made sure there were enough shot glasses for everyone – that really got the party started! Michael and I chose to practice the Jewish custom of not seeing each other for the week leading up to the wedding, so our first look on the wedding day was very emotional.

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Our friends outdid themselves during the traditional Jewish circle dance of the hora. They dressed up in t-shirts from high school and college dancing with signs and items to remind us of inside jokes we shared over the years. The most memorable “shtick” of the night was Michael’s groomsmen who came out wearing oversized “fat heads” with pictures of Michael from childhood to today. My brother Jacob surprised us during the reception with an incredible original rap and Michael’s sister Rachel had made a hilarious video montage complete with embarrassing photos and accompanying music to match our personalities. The biggest surprise of the night was a 50+ person Bollywood-inspired flash mob choreographed and organized by my sister and maid-of-honor Jessica!

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The highlight for both of us was celebrating and starting this new chapter surrounded by friends and family who we love. I married my best friend and had the time of my life. Our parents’ heartfelt speeches, the dress, the weather, the groom… to me, it was all perfect. Right out of a fairy tale. Marrying Michael is the best decision I’ve ever made and I’d do it over a million times!

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Thanks so much to these awesome vendors for sharing their creativity with us!

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