Eddie and I met online on the app Ok Cupid. Eddie pursued me, but I made the first move to ask for his number. On our first date we went out for Italian food, then we walked around and sat on a bench in Madison Square Park in NYC. The rest is history!
We got engaged in Israel. We went to go see family and friends and to visit cities in Israel we had never been to. In their own right, each city had many romantic elements, but he didn’t proposed in any of them. After a while, I had given up at that we were not going to get engaged on our vacation, and I was ok with that. I figured there would be another amazing place where it would happen. After our five-day trip alone, we arrived back in Netanya, Israel, where Eddie’s grandparents live. Eddie was very persistent that we walk along the beach, which we did every day when we were there. However, I happened to be extremely hungry after our three hour car ride back to their house from our last destination, so I did not want to. After a couple of back-and-forth fussy arguments, I finally caved. But this walk was different. He took me to a Mediterranean Sea cliffs overlook, and proposed, which I was not expecting at all! Eddie had told me he knew this was the spot he would propose to his future wife since he was a teenager which made it even more special.
Our colors were navy blue, purple and gold. I wanted to stick to dusty and muted color tones when it came to our flowers. I also added greenery and candles and floating candles when possible. We used The Jess Press for any signage, table numbers and for our seating chart. She also helped to address our wedding invitations. Our venue had a lot of amazing character that we did not need an overabundance of flowers and decorations to make the room come to life.
We chose our venue because it felt like an inviting, elegant space that had a lot of character. The food was also amazing, and did not disappoint for the big day. Our coordinator, Bonnie Schleimer, was also incredible. She made us feel so special and really listened to our needs, she is one to always be in your corner.
We had a cocktail hour along with a sit-down menu. Our menu consisted of grilled filet mignon, roasted chicken breast, pan seared salmon and a vegetarian choice. Our cake was from Rudy’s Pastry Shop. We did alternating layers: marble cake with chocolate fudge and chocolate cake with chocolate fudge.
The dress is by Ines Di Santo. I purchased it at Glamour Closet in NYC. This store has designer gowns at outlet prices. The experience was low pressure, and you could spend as much time in the store as you wanted. You also purchased the dress off the rack; which really drew to me as I did not love the idea of having something made to order. I initially went to the store for the first time with a friend, and saw the dress, but I did not try it on as I thought my body type may not work for it. However, I could not get it out of my head, and I saw it in a dream I had. It was unique, airy, and A-line; a style that has worked for me in the past. The second time I went back to the store, I brought my mom She loved the beading of the dress so much on the rack that we needed to see it on. Strangers kept telling me how much they loved it in the store, my mom cried, my friend cried, so I knew I made the right choice.
I have so many favorite moments, but one that sticks out to me was at the end of the night where it was my Dad, Eddie and myself talking about the wedding and all that had happened. It was nice to reflect on the night, and to be so proud of a night to remember for everyone.
I wanted to make sure the music for the ceremony was done by a live musician. We went with an acoustic guitar. He did not disappoint, and we received so many compliments. They extended him through our cocktail hour, and it was the prefect touch to the beginning of the night.
We thankfully didn’t have anything major go wrong. Our ceremony had to be moved inside as it happened to be freezing cold weather that particular weekend in November. I was not pleased as the vision I always had for the wedding was an outdoor ceremony, but not the worst thing to happen! It was better to be warm, than everyone be cold and miserable.
“Parallel Line” by Keith Urban
Make a checklist of everything you need to do/ bring with you on the day of your wedding. Also assign specific tasks to people. Your friends and family can’t read your mind, so make sure your needs are listed out there. It will make everything less stressful, and you will be able to enjoy yourself even more!
Our honeymoon destination is TBD, but we went to Disney World for our “Minnie-Moon” for a few days after the wedding.