Rachel + Alexander: Mazel Tov! A Traditional Jewish Wedding

Her Big Day Team
Dec 30, 2016
3 min read

Bride: Rachel Lynn Toffel

Groom: Alexander Deal Stimson

Location: Thousand Oaks, California

Wedding Date: October 17, 2015

Venue: Sherwood Country Club

Number of Guests: 120

Cultures Represented: Jewish traditions and western wedding traditions

Description or Theme of wedding: Elegant and gold with hints of purple

The most memorable part of your wedding: Our ceremony- our officiant was incredible (We used Rabbi Barry Tuchman who specialized in interfaith marriages. He was very good at explaining all the different Jewish traditions because many of the attendees were not Jewish. He also added in a lot of humor to our ceremony which was great and very memorable.)

Did you do anything unique, crazy or fun: We had a very fun after party where we rented out part of a lounge called Bogies at our hotel (Westlake Village Inn). All the guests had so much fun here and it was a continuation of our wedding because nobody was ready to stop partying when the wedding ended!

What was the most difficult part about planning your wedding: The most difficult part of planning the wedding was all of the DIY projects that we did (such as making gift bags for our guests and the menus).

What was the easiest part about planning your wedding: We were very organized throughout the process and stayed on top of everything so we could enjoy the final weeks leading up to the wedding. Rachel’s job requires her to schedule appointments and stay on track with projects so it was easy to do the same for the wedding.

Any words of wisdom to the couple planning their wedding: Do not save anything for the last week! Try to take the week off work before the wedding to spend time with family and unwind before the big day. This will help eliminate stress leading up to the wedding. Also, we took a week honeymoon right after the wedding (leaving the following night) and we highly recommend doing this! After our wedding, we were so high on life that we couldn’t have imagined going right back to work.

"The Ketubah is a special type of Jewish prenuptial agreement. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. We had ours written in both Hebrew and English since I am Jewish and my husband is not. The second picture you will notice the canopy which covers our head during the Jewish ceremony. This is known as the Chuppah which symbolizes the home that the couple will build together."

"Here the Rabbi is holding the Kiddush cup which we drank two glasses wine throughout the ceremony. Two cups of wine are used in the wedding ceremony. The first cup accompanies the betrothal blessings, recited by the rabbi. After these are recited, the couple drinks from the cup.Wine, a symbol of joy in Jewish tradition, is associated with Kiddush, the sanctification prayer recited on Shabbat and festivals. Marriage, called Kiddushin, is the sanctification of a man and woman to each other."

"According to Jewish law, this is the central moment of the wedding ceremony, and at this point the couple is fully married."

In this picture, Deal is stepping on a glass to break at the end of our ceremony. This symbolizes the breaking down of barriers between people of different cultures and faiths. After the glass is broken everyone yells "Mazel Tov," which means good luck.

"Picture of us signing the Ketubah before the ceremony. This is considered the marriage contract and this is when the marriage becomes official (even before the ceremony begins). Another important part of our wedding was when our families wrapped us with my Tallit. A tallit is a four cornered garment, with special knots at each of the four corners, called tzitzit. Going back to the Torah, those tzitzit serve as a reminder of the sacred relationship that the Jewish people have with God and Torah."

"Toward the end, we were lifted up in the chairs during the ceremony during a dance called the Hora which is a traditional Jewish dance that is done at celebrations."