When I put out a call for winter wedding submissions Maribeth from Red Ribbon Studios was quick to answer, and with good reason. Debra and Alex’s big day is an incredible one, and they also had a record amount of snow fall on their big day. When I talked to Debra about her wedding, she said that even though her and Alex decided to get married in December, it was important to them not to have a typical “winter white” wedding. It may have been cold outside, but they wanted everything inside to feel warm and inviting. They definitely succeeded, with some amazing bright and beautiful decor choices. Their winter event is one not to be missed, so take a look! A big thank you to Debra and Alex for sharing all the details of their day, and to Maribeth of Red Ribbon Studios for her beautiful images!
Who, What, Where ~ Ceremony: Adath Jeshurun Synagogue. Reception/Caterer: The Depot. Photographer: Red Ribbon Studio. Flowers: Bastian+Skoog. Videographer: Capture Studios. Gown: from L’atellier Couture design by Oscar de la Renta. Photobooth: The Traveling Photo Booth. Coordination/Planning: Amy Zaroff Events + Design.
From the bride…
Alex and I met on a blind date on St. Patrick’s Day in 2009. You could SAY we met online but it wasn’t exactly the case. I had kind of had it with online dating but my friend was convinced she could find me someone. So…she did! She took over my account (with permission) found Alex, wrote him (as me) a few times and set up our first meeting. Our first date we walked Lake Calhoun, followed by dinner, and St. Patty’s day beers. We dated for 11 months before getting engaged. We had a 9 month engagement and I can tell you truthfully that I loved every minute of it. I just loved planning our wedding and everything that went with it. I could go on and on but I won’t!
Our wedding day was obviously memorable in that 22 inches of snow fell in the largest blizzard MN had seen since 1991. But overall, the wedding was a dream come true.
For the ceremony, the inspiration was fire. So our ceremony was done with very little light other than candlelight. All the flowers were ranging from dark orange to light yellow. It really felt cozy. As for the party, we wanted to go from warm, to HOT and FUN! So we chose all hot colors. Mostly oranges and yellows with a few accents of hot pink.
We decided to add a charitable element to our wedding and in lieu of wedding cake, we stacked canned goods in the shape of a wedding cake and made a donation to the local food shelf. We didn’t actually build the cake but we did shop (and carry!) all of those cans…hilarious day.
In the ceremony, I used my grandmothers handkerchief to make the marriage contract binding (a jewish tradition where the bride and groom pull on a handkerchief to bind the marriage). Also, you have to get married with a solid band (no diamonds, etc.) in a Jewish wedding. Since my actual band has stones in it, we used my grandfathers ring. We also were wrapped in my grandfathers talis (prayer shawl) during the ceremony as we were blessed. Lastly, we drank from a kiddush cup from Alex’s family.
We also carried on the family tradition of getting married during a blizzard! My parents AND grandparents were both married in the midst of historic MN blizzards.
What was your favorite part of your wedding day?
There were a few different ones. Walking down the aisle and seeing through my veil. It was like wearing a special lens and I love that fuzzy memory. Also after the ceremony, Alex and I were wisked away to the hotel and we had dinner just the two of us in our hotel suite. They set up a table for us that looked just like the tables at the party and we got to try every single thing we were serving while the guests were arriving. It was the only time that day it was just the two of us. IT was absolutely fantastic. My last favorite moment was being lifted in the chair during the hora and seeing everyone looking up at us and realizing how lucky we were to have so many people make it to the wedding despite the trying conditions!
