aaron has deep ties to chicago. melissa has deep ties to louisville but now calls chicago home. when it came time to plan their wedding in melissa’s hometown, they did the only reasonable thing: bring chicago to the south–and travel to the south, they did.
melissa was the fourth generation of her family to get married at keneseth so it was very important to her to continue that tradition. i don’t think any of aaron’s family and friends minded the trip–who doesn’t love louisville? melissa and aaron said i do surrounded (literally, surrounded. i really love jewish wedding traditions.) by their closest friends and family who truly love them to pieces. aaron has been friends with his groomsmen since, literally, childhood and that bond is evident to everyone in the room. it’s always so memorable and meaningful for me to be part of a wedding in which the couple has those, close, forever, ride or die friends. do you know what i’m talking about? they’re not just there for the party, they’re there to witness this forever moment.
this was my first jewish wedding and i can’t think of a better couple and family to have kicked it off with. i wish you two nothing but the best!!! xo
ceremony: keneseth israel
reception: muhammad ali center
bride’s dress: mori lee from house of brides couture chicago
bride’s jewelry: all from etsy, bracelet, simply chic93; earrings, lavender by jurgita; hair clip, glamorous bijoux
bridesmaid’s dresses: david’s bridal
hair: laura conard from simplicity salon
makeup: sloane winters from beauty bar
transportation: xtreme transportation
groomsmen’s tuxes: ike behar from formally modern tuxedos
groom’s suit: custom navy tux from formally modern tuxedos
groomsmen’s chicago flag cufflinks: etsy, loudcufflinks
flowers: in bloom again by wayne esterle
cake: mert’s cakes
invitations: designed by laura rafson
wedding coordination: alicia with weekend wedding warriors
band: endless summer
this jewelry box was melissa’s bubbie’s. i love that she uses it every day and that she thought to bring it to display her wedding jewelry.
i haven’t done a first look in a while, which made theirs even more fun! this was my assistant, david’s view.
and my view.
and the bridal party’s view.
can we take a minute to talk about how amazing aaron looked in his custom tux? i wish more grooms took the time and investment to do this! they look SO good!
signing of the ketubah!
like a total pro, aaron broke the glass on the first try! mozel tov!
this was my first hava nagila. from now on, no wedding will ever be as fun. or scary. i found myself tucked into the (much taller than me) videographer as protection.
this was such a special moment. aaron and his grandmothers have a very special bond and i’m so happy david happened to be in the right place at the right time.
relive melissa+aaron’s chicago engagement session
