WeddingYentas.com: Miriam and Jakes wedding, including my love birds ketubah!

Photo by: Hazelnut Photography

Many of the couples I have worked with this summer, are being featured on blogs this month. Have a look at this stunning wedding featured on WeddingYentas.com – and my love birds ketubah.

Mazel Tov Miriam and Jake!

Michael and Meredith's Miami Beach Wedding: with my tree of life ketubah!

Photo by: Emily Harris Photography

While away in Europe I got a message from Style me Pretty alerting me to a wedding post including one of my ketubot. You can see the whole post here. The most beautiful couple in an awesome venue!

Mazel Tov Michael and Meredith!

100 miracles

When I opened my etsy shop in August, after more than a year of preparation (learning how and building my freshketubah website, learning about and creating this blog, reading everything I could find about opening a shop and how to promote it, creating the initial designs I would try to sell ...), I thought I was ready for whatever would happen next. But I also tried to be realistic about the experiment I was embarking upon.

When the first miracle happened the next day, and I had my first ketubah order, I had to pinch myself to be sure I wasn’t dreaming! When I finished pinching, the real panic set in, as I was completely unprepared to fill orders. I am embarrassed to say I still did not have my ketubah text options completed, shipping materials in hand or any branded forms/mailing labels or letterhead. No proofing forms or even a process in place to keep track of any of it.

In Hebrew there is a saying: “the shoemaker walks barefoot”. You would think after 20 years of creating branding and marketing material for my clients, I might have been a bit more prepared.

But you see, I had not in my wildest dreams thought I would have sales right away— or ever for that matter. And to this day, after reaching my 100th miracle sale, I am still pinching myself to be sure I am not dreaming.

It is a moment in time, when people with a dream can make miracles come true. It is a time when you can, with a bit of initiative, learn like I did, to set yourself up with an online shop, and with hard work, make a go of it. It is an amazing opportunity, which I hope I never take for granted.

So a humungous thank you to etsy for existing, and to the hundreds of people at the other end of my internet searches, who answered my questions, gave me encouragement, taught me techniques, filled the blanks in my knowledge base, and kept me moving forward. And to my 100 miracles — let me just say, you are awesome, every single one of you :)

Mazel tov all around!

Family Simcha’s are the best! Family members fly in from all corners of the country/world to spend three days and nights, dressing up (some of us are more comfortable with this than others ... ), filling our tummies with delicious Jewish food, commenting on how great we all look, and kvelling about the latest accomplishments of our children or grand children. In the middle of all of this, is the actual reason for us being together — The Wedding, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Brit Mila or Baby Naming. No matter what the Occasion is, there are always tears of joy, mazel tov’s all around, and a few extra pounds on the scale by the time all is said and done. Those of us that couldn’t make it to the event wait impatiently for the facebook updates and online slideshows. In our family — news travels so quickly — that any noteworthy tidbit makes it from Vancouver to Jerusalem and back almost simultaneously! By the time the pictures arrive we are all convinced we were actually there, even if we weren’t!

In May this year, our family was lucky enough to have two beautiful Simchas in very close succession. One in Vancouver and one in Toronto — and Marc and I were lucky enough to be able to enjoy them both first hand. In anticipation of both events, I started planning what I would make for each of the girls experiencing their rites of passage this past May. 

India Raine (Is that not the most beautiful name you have ever heard?) came into this world on December 13th 2010. I think that it is safe to say, that there is a competition going on between the parents, grandparents and super baba (India’s great grandmother), as to who can love this beautiful baby girl the most! And the rest of the extended family is not far behind. 

I set to work creating a baby naming certificate for India several months ago. I was so excited about it, that I came up with a number of ideas. The final design is pink pink pink! India’s favourite colour. Lots of pretty flowers and two happy peacocks. The final artwork was ready for her naming ceremony mid May, here in Vancouver. India, dressed in pink (of course), was a perfect lady during the proceedings, letting mommy and daddy, all of the grandparents and super baba do all of the crying! It was amazingly beautiful and meaningful. I still get teary just thinking about it. 

Less than two weeks later we were on a plane to Toronto for the next amazing family extravaganza. 

Sarah is many years past her baby naming ceremony. This year was the year for her to prepare for becoming a Bat Mitzvah. Anyone that has gone through this process, knows it is a lot of hard work. There is a whole year of study. A Torah portion and Haftorah to understand and learn how to read, and how to chant. And then a speech to write about the whole experience. And on top of everything, this all has to be performed in front of a packed Synagogue of family and friends. It seems impossible to expect this of a 12 year old ...

But I forgot to tell you that Sarah plays hockey. She is a goalie, and a really good one — She doesn't shy away from difficult tasks.

I knew I wanted to create a keepsake for Sarah that included her Torah portion and symbols of her coming of age this year. Her Torah portion is called Bamidbar, which means “in the desert”. As we all know — lots of crazy stuff went down in the 40 years our ancestors wandered in the desert. G-d didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about the experimentation, and some of that tantrum ended up in Sarah’s portion. I didn't dwell on that though — I had my own interpretation. The way I see it, everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them and to always remember who you are. So for Sarah, I incorporated the symbols of the sabbath, the Torah, and scenes of Israel with the words she studied and learned to chant so beautifully, into a keepsake that I hope will remind her of her incredible achievement becoming a Bat Mitzvah and her connection to the Jewish people. 

Like the 40 years in the desert, preparing for a Bat Mitzvah, was no picnic. But with hard work comes big rewards. The Bat Mitzvah weekend was amazing. Sarah outdid herself. If she was nervous, it didn't show for a moment. We all got to dress up and eat non-stop for three days — and — really enjoy each others company. Seeing her beaming parents and grandparents as the Bat Mitzvah girl recited her haftorah and delivered her speech at the Synagogue and later at the evening dinner party, was priceless. 

Sarah’s younger sister Chloe was the master of ceremonies for the Saturday evening party. We have a few years to wait for her turn on the Bimah — but if the previews are any indication, it will be a Simcha not to be missed! 

Mazel tov to India and Sarah and to families everywhere celebrating — and eating — and crying tears of joy!

Kibbutz celebrating 100 years

Adamit General Meeting by Barbi Bamberger

This quilt was made by my good friend Barbi Bamberger. We spent 11 years together on Kibbutz Adamit. Our son’s were born just months apart and were part of the same group from their time in the baby house through to grade school on kibbutz Eilon.

This quilt was made for a major quilt exhibit called “A Century of Kibbutz”, at Beit Gavriel located on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and won an honourable mention! Yay Barbi! Her quilt depicts the weekly kibbutz meeting where we discussed and voted on all major decisions about our daily lives on the kibbutz. As you can see from her depiction, we all had different things on our minds while these big decisions were being made! The meeting took hours and was often very lively, but it also was a time for finishing knitting and quilting projects, or catching a cat nap.

As the kibbutz movement celebrates 100 years, Kibbutz Adamit celebrates it’s 40th birthday. To commemorate this, many of us will be returning to Adamit for a reunion in November. I am looking forward to seeing this quilt in person and reminiscing with old friends about the discussions that kept us up until the wee hours, the community we created together, one committee meeting at a time, the cakes we baked for aruchat arba, the nes cafe we drank in the moadon, the Shabbat meals in the communal dining room, the baby quilts made together, the apples, that were picked ... and so much more.

If you watch this video, you will see and hear about the other 55 quilts in this exhibit. It brought back great memories for me. I hope you enjoy it.

 

New offering at my shop: Wedding Guest Posters!

I have been watching the amazing growth of fingerprint trees and wedding guest book alternatives on etsy over the last year and decided it was time for a fresh approach. So I am happy to announce a new section at my shop called Wedding Guest Posters. Instead of fingerprints, I have leaves already in place for guests to sign. As I write this post, I am dreaming up other designs for wedding showers, baby showers, birthday parties ... it is endless.

Each poster is (at the moment) 13 x 19 and accommodates from 100-200 signatures depending on the design. Each poster comes with a small poster with instructions that can be framed.This message can be customized to suit each event.

The posters are printed on the same beautiful paper my ketubot are printed on - and some of them coordinate with ketubah designs which may be of interest for some of my wedding buyers.

Check it out and let me know what you think! If you want one of these for your next wedding/shower/bat/bar mitzvah, head over to my shop and send me a convo or email at naomibroudo[at]gmail[dot]com. Have fresh ideas for me? I would love to hear from you :)

Note to self: Do not seal camping equipment in a box

To say there is a lot going on in the Broudo household at the moment would be an understatement. I never thought I would be thanking Canada Post for being on strike, but the excuse to put my etsy shop on holiday couldn’t have come at a better time.

Let’s see ... besides planning our September/October car trip in the US South West, planning our November trip in Israel, organizing gear for our trek in Nepal in December, and gear for our 82 day overland trip in India, we are also moving out of our apartment, putting all of our worldly possessions in storage until we return from the 2011/2012 Broudo adventure. So — a few things going on.

Every day has it’s accomplishments as well as its surprises. Yesterday in preparation for our now weekly trip to MEC (Mountain Equipment Co op, for those of you reading that are not from BC), we bravely opened the storage locker and pulled out the box labelled “camping equipment”.

Nothing like the aroma of camping equipment that has been sealed in a box for a year! I guess it could have been worse, but we both almost fainted from the stench. Then figuring out how we would take it up the elevator, into the apartment without offending our neighbours — oh well, we are moving out so what the hell.

I immediately filled the tub with warm sudsy water, added two knapsacks, and was delighted to find that if you repeat this several times, the smell and the dirt does actually disappear! Even more remarkable is that by this morning, the bags are almost dry. kudos to quick dry technology!

Our (now clean) tent is draped over a drying rack in the living room. One knapsack is hanging from the shower and the second is drying on a rack in the tub. There is a sleeping bag drying over a chair in the kitchen. thermarests are blown up for testing.

The apartment looks like a campsite after a wild night of partying. The good news is, it doesn't smell like one anymore!

Summer in Vancouver: Friday May 20th to be exact!

Last Friday the temperature in Vancouver hit 17 degrees. The sun was shining for the first time in an eternity and we all got excited that Summer had actually arrived. Historically, this phenomenon is fleeting, so Vancouverites have to move quickly. There were sandals to dust off, summer wardrobes to review – and of course the first summer pedicure to book.

I wasted no time, and took my chances as a walk in, at my local mani/pedi establishment at 10:00 am as they opened their doors and placed their sandwich board signage on the sidewalk. I had chosen my polish colour, and had magazines in hand before the rest of the staff entered through the back door.

Nothing like bubbling sudsy water, piles of gossip magazines, and a comfy black leatherette massage chair to transport you to another world. Who ever came up with this combination of blessed therapy was brilliant. “The Price is Right” was on the television as I sat down, and before long I was shouting out prices and ohing and ahing with the audience as if I was actually there.

For an hour as my feet were being pampered and my toes were being painted, and my back was being massaged, I did all the things I never do – watch daytime TV – read fashion magazines – and catch up on all the advice Oprah has to offer. It was more delightful than I am really willing to admit!

The woman doing my pedicure did an excellent job, and since no one needed my chair, she let me stay until the end of the soap opera I was watching, even though my nails were already dry. She just winked and motioned to press the start button again on the massage chair – ahh ...  heaven on earth!

I walked out a new woman, in capris and sandals enjoying the sun on my face, even though I was actually freezing for the entire five minute walk back to my apartment. It was only 17 degrees after all ... and I was in capris and sandals ...

By Saturday morning it was pouring with rain and freezing cold. Ah, Vancouver at least you are consistent!

The journey continues ...

Do you believe in fate? I think I do. Life places forks in our way at every turn and we consider the options and make our choices. The fact that those choices magically create our future is the mystery.

I wonder how I knew to apply to Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1986, or how they knew to accept me into 3rd year ... ? If I hadn’t – and they hadn’t – I would never have met Violet there – and she would never have gotten me a job at Signals Design Group after we graduated – and would never have taken the leap with me a year later to start our own design business ...

Huh ... I guess then we would never have experienced 21 years of the best business partnership that has ever existed in the history of the world! 

I remember as if it was yesterday, us sitting with our husbands trying to come up with a name for our business. “Tandem Design Associates” made so much sense then and it still resonates today. We were a team from day one, and we still finish each others sentences 21 years later.

And if we had not been in the best business partnership (and friendship) in the history of the world, we would not have come to the realization together, that at the next fork in the road, we would each take a slightly different path. So I have to believe that it was fate that brought us together, and our synergy that made Tandem a success and our friendship that makes this next bit possible.

So this is when I get a bit teary, cuz this is huge ...  The fork in the road is just in front of me and I have chosen my path. The tricky part, is that I know this path has a few forks in it, but I can’t see them yet, so I have many decisions yet to make. But the tears are not because of what lies ahead — but for the amazing experience that has now come to an end. I have been letting go in baby steps, but this week it feels like it is really happening.

And so the journey continues. As the corporate designer persona takes a back seat to the illustrator/designer/vagabond in me, a new chapter begins. I have big and many plans. Some of them are already in motion, others, well we will see what fate brings my way.

And if I had a glass of wine in my hand, I would toast to friendship and partnership and not sweating the small stuff. Violet and I never did and it served us well.

Building their own traditions under the apple trees at Little Dog Orchard: Tahneer and Jon’s Wedding

Tahneer and Jon  photo:  MCV Photography

Tahneer and Jon are good friends with my son Aaron and daughter-in-law Melissa. It was exactly a year ago this week, that I first sat down with them to talk about their ketubah. To get the ball rolling, I asked them about their wedding plans. I can’t remember who spoke first but it was clear to me from the first words, that this was going to be a very special wedding. They started by telling me about the venue – An apple orchard, near New Paltz, New York.

Don't you love it when things just fall into place? Tahneer began to describe how they found their venue. “I met up with my friend for dinner when I was at a conference in Philadelphia, and I mentioned that we were thinking of getting married in an outdoor space – like an orchard or a vineyard.” Tahneer explains, “Then my friend said, — I don't know if this will help, but I have a friend from grad school who now lives and works on an apple orchard!” This story/person so appealed to Tahneer, that she knew she had to look into this further.

Wedding Ceremony at Little Dog Orchard  photo:  MCV Photography

Little Dog Orchard had never been rented out for a wedding (or anything else for that matter), but the owners were keen to find new ways to utilize their property. “We contacted Julie and we drove up there and met her and her partner Jody” Jon explains, “They took us around the property and we knew immediately that this was where we wanted to have our wedding.”

Besides caring for their organic apple trees, Julie and Jody’s other talents lent themselves beautifully to wedding planning. “Julie is a DJ and Jody is a sound engineer” Jon began. First they hooked them up with The Big Shoe, a local cover band. “We loved their vibe and music and they became our Wedding Band”. Then the creative duo found them a caterer, a florist, a restaurant for the rehearsal dinner, and even helped with parking and technical arrangements the day of the wedding. “Julie and Jody were awesome and we love them for everything they did for us” Jon says with emotion.

The Big Shoe  photo:  MCV Photography

But the venue was just one aspect of the unique personality of this wedding. When we got down to discussing what elements they wanted to include in their Ketubah design, they related their experience at a friend’s Quaker wedding. They were intrigued with the wedding certificate. “In Quaker tradition, it is not one individual that marries a couple. The board of elders agrees to allow them to marry and the entire congregation certifies the marriage by signing the certificate” Jon explains. This suited Tahneer and Jon’s inclusive and egalitarian sensibilities, and they wanted to incorporate this tradition into their ketubah. “How many people will be at your wedding?” I asked sheepishly, trying to calculate how I would have space on their Ketubah for hundreds of signatures, Ketubah text in English and Hebrew and an apple orchard ...

Ketubah: Naomi Broudo  photo: MCV Photography

When there is a will, there is a way and working with Tahneer and Jon was amazing. A true collaboration.  “I remember (the ketubah design) as one of our earliest wedding projects” Tahneer reminisces, “looking at the early drafts you sent us of the Ketubah, and deciding together how we wanted it to look, what would make it most symbolize what we wanted it to symbolize!” The final result several months later, was a double apple tree design with 180 signature lines superimposed over the intricate root system. I think we were all pleased with the final result! And so were all of their friends when it came time to sign their Ketubah at the wedding.

photo: MCV Photography

I asked them recently, what they took away from this beautiful tradition they created. “We felt very loved and supported”, Jon began. “And I love the idea that instead of some ordinary sign-up guest book that we will never look at again, we have the signatures of everyone who attended on one beautiful sheet.” Tahneer added.

Personal touches  photo: MCV Photography

This wedding has a personality all it’s own because it is personal. “I think both Jon and I appreciate things when they relate to people we know and love, so we really tried to integrate friends and family into as many aspects of the wedding planning/execution as possible” Tahneer explains. For example, there was home brewed beer by Jody, hand drawn invitation artwork by Tahneer’s little brother Mo, Wedding dress alterations by a friend of the family, makeup and hair by Jon’s barber in Jersey City, assembly-line candy-jar-filling by the Oskman family, to name just a few of the personal touches. “It really felt like we were supported by a whole community of friends, family, and in some cases even strangers!” says Tahneer.

Hand picked flowers from Shoving Leopard Farms  photo:  MCV Photography

Even the flower arrangements were a group effort. Months before the wedding, the couple scoured flea markets to find 25 different glass vases for their center pieces. The Saturday of the wedding they drove to Shoving Leopard Farms to pick fresh flowers in the farm’s “flower maze” with an intimate group of friends and family, who then filled decorative baskets and created the center pieces for the wedding. I can’t imagine anything more meaningful!

I spent some time going through their wedding album recently and thought their photographer Mike Vasiliauskas, really captured the essence of their special day. It felt so real! I asked them to summarize their wedding concept in their own words. Here is what they had to say: “The main focus of the wedding was to make people feel relaxed, and at one with nature (in the most tree hugger way) ... The flower picking, Ketubah signing, and the apple orchard all contributed to our focus. People felt involved, and having the wedding at our “new” friends orchard, really made people feel welcome ... People picked apples, felt the warm hospitality of the orchard, and really felt comfortable enjoying themselves.”

I only experienced their wedding vicariously through their wedding photos and their descriptions, but I think you will agree that this is one wedding, where the dream and the reality are one in the same. Thanks Tahneer and Jon for sharing your incredible story.

photo:  MCV Photography

Oh – and in case you are living in the New Paltz, NY area, Julie and Jody have a lease-a-tree program which you can find out about here. You can help tend your own tree and reap the benefits of your labors! And if you want to have your wedding under their organic apple trees, I am sure they will be happy to hear from you!


Wedding Photography: MCV Photography | Venue: Little Dog Orchard | Music: The Big Shoe | Ketubah: Naomi Broudo | Flowers: Shoving Leopard Farms |