The latest such event occurred in Phnom Penh, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
From Chabad.org: 

As the sun set over Phnom Penh, locals, tourists and guests from all over the world gathered for the first Jewish wedding known to be celebrated in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

The bride, Shlomit (Irina), had met Rabbi Bentzion and Mashie Butman, co-directors of Chabad Jewish Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, several years ago and begun her journey to Torah observance.

The groom, Vadim Mitropolitansky, is an Israeli who now lives in Bangkok, Thailand. When the two decided to tie the knot, they chose to do so at the Chabad center in Phnom Penh.
The groom, Vadim Mitropolitansky, is an Israeli who now lives in Bangkok, Thailand. When the two decided to tie the knot, they chose to do so at the Chabad center in Phnom Penh.

The rooftop ceremony was followed by a festive dinner in the newly finished event hall on the Chabad center’s second floor.
Local Cambodians, friends, relatives and Chabad families from both countries swirled in dizzying circles, following the lively music supplied by the keyboardist who had flown in from Israel for the occasion.

“In times of joy, as well as sadness, community takes the place of family in this part of the world, where most Jews are here without family,” says Rabbi Butman.

Read more at Chabad.org

Real wedding gallery and words by: Misha Fine Art Wedding Photography

Galya and Steve: one may call them architects or bridge-builders. When you meet them, it’s such an inspiration to watch them connect people. Able to bridge crowds, seemingly from opposite spectrums of the world.. yet they do it with natural finesse.

Having met on SawYouAtSinai, Galya and Steve dated for a few months prior to getting married. But speaking with them, you’d think they’ve known each other for years. Steve, with his attentiveness to Galya’s every word. Galya, knowing exactly when and how to make Steve smile.

Consequently, the Venderbilt, overlooking the ocean and Verrazano bridge, was a perfect venue to host their first day as married couple. Stepping over into this new chapter of their life, Galya and Steve brought together people from various parts of their lives. From various walks of life. Various countries. As baalei teshuvah, this is a skill that not many are able to master, even with years of practice. Yet, on their wedding day, Galya and Steve beautifully united all of their worlds… inspiring all those present.

And there was nothing but joy.

WEDDING TEAM:

Gavriel & Miriam | Wedding Videography from Laibel & Chana Schwartz on Vimeo.

Gavriel & Miriam | Wedding Videography from Laibel & Chana Schwartz on Vimeo.

Video: CJ Studios
Venue: Congregation Keter Torah, Teaneck, NJ
Music: Eitan Katz

We enjoy providing some apt words to accompany our images when it comes to sharing the events we are privileged to photograph. However, in this instance it’s practically impossible to describe the feelings, the energy, and the immense spirit of this wedding in words. Indeed, we can only hope our images come close! Kinloss in north […]

01.11.2015
Images from Anna and James
© Blake Ezra Photography 2015
www.blakeezraphotography.com

See the rest of the beautiful gallery here:
http://blakeezrablog.com/2015/12/18/heart-and-soul-ashira-and-yosefs-breathtaking-wedding/

Yardena & Aaron / Montreal Jewish Wedding from Focus Video on Vimeo.

Yardena and Aaron’s wedding was a mixture of modern and traditional. The weeding took place in the Chevra Kadisha in Montreal Canada this September. Catering provided by Traiteur Renaissance. Video by Focus Video Productions.

Zevi & Batsheva Weisinger | Jewish Wedding Photography from Laibel & Chana Schwartz on Vimeo.

Esti + Eli from Expressions Cinema on Vimeo.

A historic European hotel and a popular event and concert space, Grafenegg offered everything the couple was looking for and more. Inside and outside, the castle and the grounds make for a romantic wedding setting as well as a dramatic backdrop for Claire’s remarkable imagery.

Once they decided on the venue, Miriam and Michael took a personal approach to wedding planning, and as you can see from the photos here, they did a wonderful job at it too. The weather, thankfully, cooperated as well, and the wedding ceremony was conducted outdoors in the castle gardens on a sunny and breezy, perfect spring day.

Miriam’s bouquet was composed of a variety of flowers, all circling a central Protea flower. For table centerpieces, Miriam used blossoming branches surrounded by a mix of spring flowers which added natural freshness and liveliness to the affair.

The wedding cake was part whimsy part symbolism. Since the couple’s last name is to be Mandelbaum, which is “chestnut tree” in Yiddish, a decorative chestnut tree full of happy little blossoms topped their simple, ecru wedding cake which was surrounded by their favorite animals on all sides.

Wedding Vendors:

Hair and Make-up: Julia Hrdina
Bride’s shoes: Roberto Festa
Bride’s earrings: Neuner Schmuck
Band: Frejlech Klezmer
Catering: Joshua’s Foodart
Cake: Demel (Anika Post)
Location: Grafenegg
Ketubah: Ketubah.com
Wedding Dress: Kerstin Lehmann, Berlin
Veil: Zussa

Miriam, who a year before her engagement to Anshel ran a marathon to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, is a daughter of Rabbi Daniel and Susan Lapin of Mercer Island, WA. Miriam trained through the winter – six months of continuous running routines, through rain and snow – to partake in the marathon. {You can see a small diary of her efforts here.}

Miriam’s slender bouquet of Calla Lilies and roses of lavender and white and with its open-stem design is modern yet timeless. The curve of the Calla Lilie’s petal makes it a truly feminine flower.

We also heart the orchid flower clip – a simple, unpretentious, full of summer and very feminine hair accessory that is a rare diversion from the traditional sparkle and shine kallah crown.

Malka and Gershon were married in January of 2012, with their chuppah held, as tradition would have it, in front of “770”, and the reception at the elegant Razag Ballroom some few blocks away in Crown Heights.

I particularly like the old-world-inspired setup of the chosson/kallah table with the frames and a grandfather clock. It appeals to me so much more than the traditional glitz and tulle backdrop; it’s got personality.

You can enjoy a longer slide show of the wedding beautifully set to music, here.

The Wedding Team

Photography: White Rose Kallah
Wedding hall: Razag Ballroom
Catering: Razag
Flowers: Mimulo
Bridal gown: Bridal Secrets
Band: Choni Mileki
Jewelry: Gift from aunt Arlene
Videography: Shaul Lilove

The November 6th wedding of Marina and Alex at the Jewish Center of Manhattan Beach may have seemed like an ordinary Orthodox wedding, but in truth was anything but that.

The two met in February of this year at a Shabbaton for Russian speaking Jews, an annual event jointly organized by Chamah Organization, Lubavitch Youth Organization, and Bris Avrohom. The 2011 Shabbaton, which attracted 700 people at various stages of observance, was an inspiring event permeated with warmth and emotion. Numerous guest lecturers from around the country shared their Divrei Torah and Chizuk; many of the attendants were moved to tears. A special performance by Avrohom Fried electrified the audience.

A few years prior, Marina, who lives in Staten Island, got involved with a local Jewish-Russian Learning Center, run by Rabbi Eli Kogan, while Alex, who resides in New Jersey, traveled to Israel to study in the Mayanot Yeshiva in Jerusalem and later attended Bris Avrohom. Judaism was continuously playing a more central role in their lives. It was at the Chamah Shabbaton that their indivdual paths crossed and since then became permanently intertwined.

Venue: Manhattan Beach Jewish Center
Catering: New York Kosher Caterers
Photography: Glatt & Art
Music: Rambam Orchestra

The wedding of Bluma Lazar, daughter of Rabbi Berel Lazar, Chief Rabbi of Russia, and Isaac Rosenfeld, son of Rabbi Yehoshua Rosenfeld – a shliach in Bogota, Colombia’s capital was an event that was significant beyond the family circles of the new couple. A wedding of such distinctly orthodox nature – a sea of black hats and kapotas, Jewish music and dance, and even government provided security, in Russia’s capital, which, being outside the Pale of Settlement, was a place basically off-limits to Jews until a little over one hundred years ago, would be unimaginable even twenty years ago.

The wedding celebrations were attended by almost two thousand guests from around the world – Russian dignitaries and oligarchs, such as Acting Chairman of the Federation Council Alexander Torshin, big-name philanthropists like George Rohr, Lev Leviev and Eduardo Elstein, hundreds of Chabad shluchim, and many others. Masterfully orchestrated by Fleischman Productions, a Kfar Chabad based event planning company, the wedding chuppah and reception was held in the Sokolniki Convention center. Music entertainment was provided by Israeli musician Yishai Lapidot and a French musician Yoni Shlomo.

Thanks to Israel Bardugo – a photographer whose camera has captured a wide variety of themes and numerous events around the world, we can share with you visual highlights from this unique simchah.

The dancing at Saadya and Mushky’s seems to have had a lot of flips and tabletop dancing – a leibebidig atmosphere.

Ordinarily, I would now tell you something about the chosson and the kallah and their wedding day, but instead I’ll share with you Shira’s words and her impressions from the wedding shoot:

On the day of  Mushky and Saadya’s wedding, I awoke with a smile on my face.  Three years ago, I shot Mimi’s (Saadya’s sister) wedding, so I was already familiar with a large part of the family and was very anxious to see everyone again.  I had also met Saadya three months before at Shloimy and Marcy’s wedding (again a referral thanks to Mimi).

Saadya travels all over the world as a Chabad Rabbi to places far afield like  Cambodia and Nepal.  On the wedding day, he had just returned from Israel, where he was taking part in Taglit (Birthright),  a program that sponsors trips for young Jewish people from all over to visit Israel.   He was so enthusiastic about Israel and I felt great joy to see how much love he holds towards my people and country.   It was also so much fun to talk to him in Hebrew (I was so impressed by his fluent Hebrew.)  Saadya is one of the rabbis of the  Chabad-Lubavitch community, and as such, the wedding took place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the official headquarters of the Chabad movement worldwide.

I heard a Rabbi once half-jokingly declare that one should never marry for love.  Of course, we all marry for love, but what he meant was that we should not marry for the type of  love or infatuation that is at its height at the wedding day.  We should marry instead for the type of love that will build over the years, and so on the wedding day, it will be in fact at its starting point.   I was reminded of this because   Saadya met Mushy only three months before the wedding,  after Mushky’s roommate introduced them .  Of course, their love for each-other was clear and abiding, but at the same time I could see that it will be a love that will deepen with each passing day as they build their lives and families together. It is that innocence and purity that I found undeniably inspiring- that need to capture not only what lay before my lens, but also a hint of the depths that will be.

To see more of Shira Weinbereger’s photographs, do check out her blog.

Wedding Details:

Venue: Razag Ballroom
Flowers: Mimulo
Music: Nagila Orchestra with Eli Marcus.
Make Up: Susan Horowitz
Hair: Daniela Chayo
Dress: Custom made in Italy
Shoes: Stuart Weitzman
Groom’s Attire: AM Bespoke

Kimber & Mitch from Famedia / Daniel Jankovic on Vimeo.

Enjoy this wedding trailer by Daniel Jancovic of Famedia.
Event planning and design by Under The Chuppah.
Venue: Nessah Synagogue, Beverly Hills, CA.

Tony also took the newlyweds for a romantic outdoor photo-session about 2 weeks after they tied the knot, and we were privy to some of the images from that session. Here’s a small preview.

We dated in New York, and finally took the big plunge and got engaged in January. The next big thing was setting a wedding date. Here’s where another plus, in my opinion, comes in. Since I live out of town, there are only a few (try one or two) kosher wedding halls available, making my choices far easier. I simply called one up, found out that they would be available for X dates, and then spoke to all who were concerned. This included the rabbaim who would be coming in for the event, the parents on both sides, and of course, my then chassan. After about a week of deliberation, we set the date for Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the first day of the Jewish month of Nissan.

Getting married on Rosh Chodesh usually has many pluses to it. First of all, getting married on the first day of the month is a good omen–for a full and complete marriage, and a new beginning. Secondly, usually an Orthodox Jew who gets married on the first of the month does not have to fast prior to their wedding date. This applies for all months, except… you guessed it! Nissan. Why? Because that day was the day when the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was finally inaugurated, and on that day, the High Priest’s, Aharon, two sons Nadav and Avihu, brought a forbidden offering, and were killed. So, on that specific Rosh Chodesh, those who are getting married still fast.  Rosh Chodesh Nissan is also an auspicious day to get married, for there are those that say that that might have been the birthday of the world.

Out of town preparations for a wedding also constitute major pluses. There are a limited amount of choices, and this makes it rather easy. I got engaged at the end of a semester in college, making me available in my home town for ten days to get things organized. And so I did. I started ordering a shaitel, decided on a menu for the hall, booked a photographer, arranged the flowers and chupah, and set up a videographer. However, the minus to living out of town was that it was a lot harder to find a wedding dress there. So I elected to do that type of thing in New York.

I ended up renting my wedding dress from a rental place in Boro Park, due to the simple fact that I fell in love with it. My second shaitel came from a phenomenal shaitel macher there as well, and this became the shaitel that I would end up wearing to my own wedding.

For you see, there are those who say that since a Orthodox Jewish woman covers her hair after marriage, after the wedding ceremony takes place, one is considered to be married. And therefore, following that train of logic, the bride’s hair should be covered after the ceremony. Now, like any other bride, I was hesitant about that idea, since I loved my hair, and couldn’t picture wearing a wig on my most special of days, even if my chassan did ask me to. But the more I looked into it, and discussed it with my Rebbitzen, the more I came to the conclusion that I would wear a wig. I wore it throughout the pictures, and if I do say so myself, it looked stunning. Most people at the wedding did not know I was wearing one at all!

So, I got my happy ending, and a fabulous wedding, even if it was geographically undesirable!

Wishing you and all the rest of Klal Yisroel the same- happiness, joy, and all the blessings in the world!

NMF #7

NMF #7 is a newlywed, living in Israel, writing about her experiences there as an Orthodox Jewish girl. You can find her writings and perspectives about Israel, married life, and the world at large at her blog: Israel Chronicles.