Weddings - The Canadian Jewish News

Weddings
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t
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
SPONSOR CONTENT
Fontana Primavera a premier choice for any function
I
t’s a gem of an event centre sitting in
the heart of Vaughan.
Fontana Primavera specializes in kosher weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, corporate conventions, seminars, fundraisers
and other gatherings.
With four luxury banquet halls that can
be separated or put together for a larger
function, there are options for any sized
event at Fontana Primavera.
Fontana Primavera can host anywhere
from 20 to 1,100 guests, with dividable
luxury ballrooms and large lavish bridal
suites.
Bringing 45 years of experience, Fontana
Primavera staff has mastered the art of
banquet hospitality.
Phil Aiello says, “We have a fresh and
modern architectural look. There is no facility that looks like this.”
Elegantly landscaped lush gardens with
gazebos and water features are perfect
for wedding photos. The facility includes
a large tent perfectly equipped for ceremonies and receptions.
What sets Fontana Primavera apart is
its extravagant, lavish facilities including
underground parking and exceptional
white-glove service from its uniformed staff.
Elite, unique with a reputation for fine
international cuisine, Fontana Primavera
Event Centre prides itself on being a five
star experience.
“We offer savoury tables, stations for
sushi and lamb, and you can quench your
thirst with your own signature martini
from our flowing Prosecco display.
“We offer a variety of delicious desserts
ranging from chocolate fountains to fresh
fruit displays and sweet tables,” Aiello
said.
Fontana Primavera specializes in international cuisines including Italian, Portuguese, Greek and Russian.
Come for a complimentary consultation
with our knowledgeable creative staff, led
by Frank Fuoco and Phil Aiello. n
Visit our website at fontanaprimavera.
com for more details. You can also email
us at [email protected] or call
us at 905 -265-8100.
Fontana Primavera is the new standard for exquisite food and
service fused with opulence. Our magnificent new facility includes:
• Kosher Kitchen
• Five luxurious banquet rooms
• Capacity to hold up to 1,000 guests
• Hotel-style bridal suites
• Lush outdoor gardens to host wedding ceremonies
• Cocktail events or pre-function receptions
77 Woodstream Boulevard,
Vaughan, Ontario, L4L 7Y6
905.265.8100 | 905.669.6141
F. 905.265.8101
[email protected]
www.fontanaprimavera.com
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
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SPONSOR CONTENT
Applause has set the bar in kosher catering
ELLA BURAKOWSKI
CJN STAFF
T
he collective gasp could be heard
through the room as all our heads
turned to see a row of professionally dressed, white-gloved servers entering
the dining room carrying trays filled with
white teapots, a cloud of thick steam escaping from each spout to create a magical mist floating above as they entered the
room. The band played, as one by one,
the teapots were placed in front of each
guest. What an entrance for mango sorbet, which perfectly cleansed our palates
in preparation for the next course. And all
this after we had already been treated to
one tantalizing course after the next.
From mouth-watering hors d’oeuvres,
to the salad, which was presented like an
exotic floral arrangement, to the succulent
main course whose heavenly aroma could
be sensed before it was placed artistically
in front of each guest, this meal from start
to finish was nothing short of a culinary
experience.
Applause Catering has set the bar in
kosher catering to a level that’s unreach-
able for others. Every course engages all
the senses as each plated masterpiece
is set down in front of each guest. Every
mouthful is a celebration and a burst of
unexpected flavours that would please
the most discerning palate. There were as
many photos taken of the food as there
were of the bride and groom.
What’s the secret of this innovative, upscale kosher caterer?
Roshan Wanasingha, award-winning
chef/partner of Applause Catering has
never felt limited by what’s available in
the local market, and he doesn’t let the
restriction of being kosher limit his imagination when it comes to creating the
perfect meal. His innovation and creativity have put Applause at the forefront of
kosher catering.
Cary Silber, a partner in Applause Catering has many years of experience and
understands the needs and desires of
his clients. “We’ll source products from
around the world to make things different,” he said. “We don’t put ourselves into
a box, we work outside of the box,” he explained. “We’ll use almond milk, soy milk,
or other pareve ingredients that make it
kosher. We can make a cream-based sauce
pareve. We can do a pasta bar at a meat
function where we give you good-tasting
cheese and a creamy sauce.”
David Silber, also a partner in Applause
Catering and representing the next generation, brings his expert knowledge of the
event industry to Applause Catering. He
imparts his passion and attention to detail to ensure excellence. When it comes to
evaluating what’s popular in terms of food
choices, you can trust David.
His brother Ryan Silber displays a zest
for perfection and innovation with his
research and knowledge of the most upto-date trends, coupled with his fresh approach to what’s new and possible.
“The experience that I have, I bring with
me,” Cary said, “and these guys are young
and are foodies. We put those factors
together and end up with a company of
experienced foodies.”
He enjoys being able to share this ride
with his sons and has been able to fuse his
30 years of his experience with his sons’
avant-guard contemporary visions.
“I’m able to impart a lot of my experience to them, so that when they’re talk-
ing about catering or doing events, my
experience comes into play,” Silber said.
“So even though they’re young, their experience is rich. They started to work for
me as dishwashers and worked their way
up. They understand the business.”
The beautiful wedding we attended is
one I will not soon forget.
Applause Kosher Catering was the perfect complement to an enchanting evening at Beth Tzedec Synagogue in Toronto.
Its culinary vision and expert execution
of each and every detail captured the
essence of the evening and added to the
perfection of the simchah, creating a special memory that stayed with every guest
in attendance. The bride and groom had
their dream wedding and Applause Catering played a big part in that magical evening. ■
To book a consultation with Applause
Catering for any function, you can email
Cary ([email protected]) or
David ([email protected]),
or give them a call at 416-628-9198
or check out their website at
http://www.applausecatering.ca
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
Can bridal fashionista turn Israel into the dress-up nation?
Karen McDonough
JNS.org
I
t’s already known as the “start-up nation.”
But can bridal fashionista Berta Balilti
turn Israel into the dress-up nation?
Balilti, owner of Berta Bridal, presides
over an internationally successful business, creating luxurious and glamorous
wedding gowns sold worldwide. From her
fashion house in the southern Israeli port
city of Ashdod, she exports gorgeously
detailed gowns to boutiques and stores in
more than 20 countries.
This isn’t your mother’s wedding dress.
Balilti is known for her shapely modern designs with signature daring bare backs, dramatic trains, and intricate lace and tulle.
She has certainly found her place in the
multi-billion dollar wedding industry – $60
billion a year in the United States alone.
And with the worldwide appeal of her designs, Balilti’s spot as a high-end wedding
gown designer has helped place Israel at
the top of bridal haute couture fashion.
“There’s nothing like Berta’s dresses,”
said Renata Kukielka, the buyer for L’Fay
Bridal in New York City. “She has brought
something unique to this market, classic
and sexy designs. Brides try her dresses on
and most are in disbelief, they feel so gorgeous they don’t want to take them off.”
Balilti’s success may have seemed unimaginable just a generation ago. Born in
Cairo, Egypt, she emigrated at age three
with her parents to Israel just prior to
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1967’s Six Day War, which had devastating consequences for Egyptian Jews. Years
earlier, some of her family migrated to
Paris with the help of the Jewish organization HIAS before coming to America.
Growing up in Israel, Balilti found her
flair for fashion and dreamed of designing
the ultimate dress for a woman’s most important day. After graduating from Ramat
Gan’s Shenkar College of Engineering and
Design, she worked during the day as a
seamstress, and later, as a junior designer
at a ready-to-wear company in Tel Aviv. At
night, she sketched and sewed wedding
gowns at home, determined to make her
dream come true.
In 1995, she opened her first bridal salon, La Belle, a small shop where she was
the sole designer and had a staff of about
25 people working for her. From the beginning, her business has been closely
held, with family members helping out.
Her daughter is one of her models.
Less than a decade later, in 2004, Balilti
expanded – moving her operation into a
larger space, turning her boutique into a
full-fledged fashion house, and taking on
the name Berta Bridal.
“We had reached a point in which I felt
like the place became too small for my
needs, in terms of production and the
level of service I expect my team to grant
my brides,” Balilti told JNS.org. “Then we
decided to move to our new place.”
By 2005, the company had 15 retailers,
and a year later more than 30 stores were
carrying the Israeli-made gowns. A few
years later in 2012, when her son-in-law
Nir Moscovich joined the team, he took
the company international, overseeing its
global operations.
“Everything happened really fast in the
international scene,” she said. “We were
constantly getting inquiries from brides
and many retailers all over the world who
wanted to carry my line.”
Today, her gowns are sold at more than
60 retailers in close to two dozen countries, including in the U.S. department
store giants Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom. Though she has made her dream
come true, Balilti isn’t complacent.
“I still chase my dreams,” she said. “I’m
grateful for all I have achieved so far, but
there’s much more ahead, and I have no
plans of taking a break.” n
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS FEBRUARY 18, 2016
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
SPONSOR CONTENT
Hidden Thornhill treasure
T
hose looking to find items to enhance their upcoming weddings and
simchahs, will find quite the treasure hidden in an industrial part of Thornhill, looking most unassuming.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary later this
month, The Israeli Source shows no intention of resting on its laurels.
“Last year we reported a doubling in options available to customers looking to order kippot for their simchahs,” says Chuck
Elnekave, proprietor of The Israeli Source.
“Since then, we’ve almost doubled again.”
With an absolutely jaw-dropping
500-million-plus kippah options, The Israeli Source’s team of experts is well-versed
in the various options available.
“Different fabrics, linings, shapes and
sizes – so many options, there’s just no
reason why anybody can’t have something
unique,” Elnekave elaborates. “One couple
might be happy with the ubiquitous black
suede kippah for their wedding. It’s formal,
reserved, and something that guests will
likely use for years.”
He remembers, however, a couple who
came in wanting something different.
“They showed me their wedding colour
scheme, and they left with magnificent
chocolate brown linen kippot with a minty
green lining – it looked like someone had
taken a bite out of a peppermint Aero
bar! I absolutely love working with
someone with an abundance of
creative energy.”
Kippot are not the store’s only
focus. Ketubahs and benchers are
also a huge part of its repertoire.
“We work with most of the ketubah artists, big and small,” says Elnekave, “and our commitment is to
provide their works – the same pieces one
can get from a fancy gallery – at the price
for which The Israeli Source has become
famous. With a large array of artists, The
Israeli Source’s roster of ketubah designers features some of the most sought-after,
in-demand artists in the market today.
“And The Israeli Source is definitely the
go-to spot for benchers,” Elnekave says.
He proudly boasts of his work with the
Birkat Hamazon booklets given out at
many simchahs. “Not only are we competitive in pricing, and offer a great selection,
we can offer turnaround times that would
have been unheard of a few years ago.
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Israeli Source has 500-million plus kippah options.
“But ultimately,” says Elnekave, with a
grin on his face, “what I’m most proud of, is
what we can accomplish in terms of social
and community benefits.”
The vast majority of the kippot The Israeli
Source offers are made in Israel. “With the
situation the way it’s been the past few
months, we hear from studios in Israel how
stores there suffer from a lack of tourists
and that trickles down to a drop in production for them. So we’re thrilled to be taking
orders that give them work to do.”
What advice would Elnekave give to
those with upcoming simchahs? “As soon
as you’re ready, place your orders. We’ve
seen, unfortunately, a rise in prices because of the weak Canadian dollar. Most
articles from the foreign exchange experts
seem to agree that the situation will get a
bit worse before it gets better. Given that
just about every kippah, bencher, and
ketubah comes from suppliers who sell in
U.S. dollars, it’s best to place orders before
prices jump again.” ■
The Israeli Source is located at 60 Doncaster
Avenue in Thornhill, and can be reached at
905-482-2025.
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS FEBRUARY 18, 2016
t
Here
comes the
groom
Thank
guests
personally
for their
gifts
ELAINE COHEN
Supplements Co-ordinator
W
ith so many things to do between planning a wedding and
settling down after the honeymoon, couples may be tempted to put off
sending out thank-you cards. Opinions
vary on the content of the messages or
the means of communication, however,
everyone agrees it is courteous to express
gratitude without undue delay.
In the digital age, couples tend to set
up wedding websites soon after they announce their engagement. These sites
invariably include photo galleries, blogs,
videos, links to bridal registries and other
news. The celebrants may opt to email
invitations to prenuptials and organize
web posts to make announcements and
acknowledge good wishes.
Although some people use online communication for everything connected
to the occasion, many continue to order
personal wedding stationery and send out
stamped, addressed formal invitations
and RSVP cards. In addition, they complement the order with thank-you cards
to have on hand. Author Peggy Post, an institute spokesperson for The Emily Post Institute, renowned for setting standards for etiquette practices in North America, sets
three months as the maximum grace period before sending out thank you cards.
She lauds personalized thank-you notes.
She does not advocate shortcuts such as
phoning and emailing. Moreover, purists
lack enthusiasm for thank- you cards conveying the same message to everyone on
the list.
Retired social worker Ann Gold, 68,
moved to Montreal from New York in the
‘60s. “Between my children, grandchildren, former colleagues and friends, I’m
invited to lots of simchahs. I send lots of
gifts and I don’t complain if recipients
thank me by email or phone. Of, course,
I prefer a handwritten personal card but
even if it’s an impersonal printed one, as
long as I’m alerted that they received the
gift, I’m satisfied.”
Graduate student, Avery Levy, 26, advo-
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cates scrapping printed invitations, thank
you cards and sending anything by regular
mail. “It’s the 21st century, online access is
simple, free and quick.”
Gold and Levy wish more celebrants
would express thanks within a month after they received gifts. “In one instance, I
couldn’t place the name of the bride and
groom on the thank you card because so
many months had elapsed since the wedding,” Gold said. “Fortunately, I made the
connection a few weeks later when I was
seated near them at a relative’s bar mitzvah.”
Levy and Gold have learned not to assume that gifts sent out automatically arrive in the right hands. “I was in a rush and
parking was tough, so I left the gift, which
was clearly addressed, with the doorman
in the condo lobby,” Gold said. “The next
day, I saw the couple at the supermarket
and asked if they received the gift. Evidently, the doorman had neglected to inform them it had arrived. Luckily, it had
been safely locked away and they were
able to retrieve it. Now, I make sure to
check right away.”
Experts offer the following tips on how
to effectively acknowledge wedding gifts. For starters, make a list of everyone
invited to prenuptials and the wedding. Leave plenty of space to add names
when unexpected gifts arrive from social
or business acquaintances who were not
on the invitation list. Note full personal
and, if relevant, business names and coordinates. Describe the item, the source
and date it arrived. Include a column to
check off when thank you cards have been
sent out.
Recipients of handwritten messages
appreciate the personal spin on each acknowledgement. “It makes me feel special,” Gold observes, “especially when
people write something complimentary
about the particular gift I sent them. If it’s
monetary, some even indicate what it is
going toward.” n
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2016-01-22 11:58 AM
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
Honeymoon in Québec City
ANITA SZABADI-GOTTESMAN
SPECIAL TO THE CJN
H
oneymoon choices can take newlyweds to far flung destinations from
Bali to Barcelona, but for couples
looking to stay a little closer to home while
experiencing history, charm and time for
relaxation, Québec City fits the bill.
Referred to as the crown jewel of French
Canada by the travel experts at Lonely
Planet, Québec City is a short car, train or
plane ride from many Canadian cities. The
drive from Montreal, at a distance of 255
kilometers, will get you there in just under
three hours on highways 40 or 20.
As the capital of the province of Québec,
Québec City’s roots trace back to the extensive travels of French explorer Jacques
Cartier in 1535 and the establishment of an
official colony in New France by Samuel de
Champlain in 1608. With its origins in the
fur trade along with the logging industry,
Québec City saw many battles between the
English and French within its walls particularly on the Plains of Abraham, now a
beautiful park enjoyed all year long by locals and tourists alike.
Québec City’s Vieux Québec, (Old Town)
is the only remaining fortified city in North
America outside of Mexico. In 1985, it was
named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Today’s Québec City successfully blends
old architecture from the 16th and 17th
centuries with modern office and government buildings, which straddle the majestic north shore of the St. Lawrence River
as it intersects with the St. Charles River
heading towards the Atlantic.
As a major centre for French culture, the
city is brimming with many museums including the Musée de la civilisation, and
the Centre d’Interpretation Place-Royale, a
historic museum featuring a dress-up costume room. The Fine Arts Museum showcases the largest collection of Québec art
in Canada.
The Québec Winter Carnival has taken
place every February since 1954 with a full
roster of activities for young and old. For
a ski honeymoon, Mont Sainte Anne and
Stoneham ski centres are a short drive
away. Romantic, fully appointed accommodations are plentiful, from the famed
Chateau Frontenac with a view over the
river basin, to familiar chain hotels and
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The uniqueness of Québec City with its walled fortifications has earned its name as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. ANITA SZABADI-GOTTESMAN PHOTO
unique bed-and-breakfast choices.
Dining is an art featuring exceptionally
well prepared French cuisine along with
more and more ethnic choices and locally
sourced wines and cheeses. Famed French
joie de vivre is evident everywhere along
the walkable cobblestone streets of Vieux
Québec through to the modern shopping
centres located not far from the city centre.
A side trip to the famed Montmorency
Falls is a must in the warmer months where
the cable car takes you close up to the falls
allowing for jaw dropping views of the St.
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Lawrence River and surrounding mountains. Hop up on a restored cannon, or ride
the funicular from lower town to upper
town for special honeymoon photo memories. Take a romantic caleche ride to learn
more about this historical city.
Shabbat services are held at the city’s
Beth Israel Oheve Sholom Orthodox Synagogue. Chabad house is situated on the
city’s Université de Laval campus. Kosher
catering services are available through the
synagogue with delivery to many of the
city’s premium hotels. ■
Share your
happy
moments
upload your photo to
www.cjnews.com/mazeltov
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
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SPONSOR CONTENT
Choosing the perfect Ketubah
MICHAEL SHAPIRO
gold leaf, 3-D and Japanese washi paper.
F
inding the right Ketubah for your
wedding can feel overwhelming. If
you type “Ketubah” into Google, you
get about 391,000 results! With so many
artists, vendors, styles and texts, where do
you begin?
These days, most couples choose a fine
art Ketubah print with a design they love
and a text that suits their ceremony. By
following a few easy steps, you are well on
your way to finding the Ketubah of your
dreams.
What is your style?
Contemporary or traditional? Vibrantly
colourful or quietly subdued? With lots
of Jewish symbolism or none at all? If you
like the idea of owning a true classic, consider an authentic historical reproduction of a centuries-old Ketubah from New
York’s Jewish Museum – updated with your
names and preferred text. You can find
your style from a wide range of Ketubahs
on the market today, including papercut,
What size fits?
A Ketubah is most often displayed in the
living room, dining room or bedroom.
Ketubah prints are available in a variety of
sizes. Do you envision a Ketubah that’s big
and bold, classic-sized (about 18 in. x 24
in.) or small and understated?
Which text is right?
To ensure smooth sailing at your wedding,
you really do need to consult your rabbi or
officiant about any text requirements they
may have. Your Ketubah provider should
offer a variety of possible texts for every
wedding type – or you can write your own!
What’s your budget?
It’s common to spend one per cent to two
per cent of the cost of the wedding. In
most cases, an heirloom-quality, limited
edition print or lasercut Ketubah should
cost $300-$500 (Cdn) all in. If you have a
larger budget, enhanced options such as
stretched canvas or gold leaf are worth
considering. With
less to spend, a
budget ketubah
may be just the thing.
Planning tip:
If considering ordering from the
United States, beware of the hidden
costs. The prices tend to be similar – before you take into account the exchange
rate – and you may be surprised with a
big extra charge upon receipt for taxes
and customs clearance. (And happily, the
largest selection of Ketubahs is right here
in Canada).
What’s your timeline?
Ideally, your Ketubah should be ordered
two to three months before your wedding. If your timeline is a bit shorter, no
problem, although your options may be
more limited. In a pinch, a reputable artist or ketubah company should be able to
provide a Ketubah in as little as a week.
When shopping online, look for a “Time
to Door” calculator that specifies the
Authorized reproductions of historical
ketubahs from The Jewish Museum.
COURTESY OF KETUBAH.COM
timing for each Ketubah. If your wedding
is this weekend, phone a local company
that has in-house printing and discuss
your options with a live person.
Bio:
Michael Shapiro is the founder and CEO
of Ketubah.com, a Toronto-based company, celebrating 20 years online and outstanding “real person” customer service. ■
For more help finding your perfect
ketubah, visit ketubah.com online or call
416-963-9191.
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
Make the broken glass moment last a lifetime
Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman
JNS.org
“Im eshkachech Yerushalayim, tishkach
yemini.” If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my
right hand forget her cunning.
B
oom. Crush. Crackle. The final step
of a Jewish wedding’s chupah ceremony is the moment that the groom
steps on the glass to shouts of “mazal tov!”
There are countless interpretations for
the tradition of breaking a glass. Some see
it as a reminder of the destruction of the
First Temple of Jerusalem. Others say it is
meant to remind us that marriage is as fragile as glass. It also has been interpreted to
demonstrate how life is so fragile that the
couple should enjoy every day as if it were
their last together.
“Can you imagine – you can take a perfectly formed object and smash it.…We
are so perfectly formed as we stand under
the chupah. It is true that life is fragile
and sometimes fragmented, but HaShem
[God] responds to a broken heart,” says
Chana Perelman, director of Judaica.com.
Whether progressive or traditional, religious or secular, Jewish weddings almost
always include the breaking of a glass.
At some weddings, and certainly historically, people used light bulbs or wine
goblets wrapped in cloth napkins. Today,
however, there are many artists designing
vibrant, trendy, and often hand-blown
Jewish wedding-breaking glasses, and ultimately imaginative keepsakes in which
to keep their shards.
Perelman says it was artist Gary Rosenthal who popularized selling beautiful
breaking glasses. She highlights the breaking glasses of artist Sara Beames, who
produces two different lines of glasses to
smash – eight colours in hand-blown glass
and five that come in an embroidered “Ani
l’dodi v’dodi li” (Hebrew for “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine”) silk organza bag.
Yet Perelman says the real joy comes
not necessarily during the moment of the
breaking, but when the couple decides to
keep the glass.
“Assign a reliable person – family member or friend – to take care of getting the
glass from under the chupah. The last
thing you want is for it to get swept away
by the hall,” says Perelman.
What can you do with those shards? Here
are seven ideas:
ding ceremony. Today, it beautifies
her new home. It was a do-it-yourself project. She purchased an offwhite muslin bag with a drawstring
and fabric crayons. The children – two
boys, ages six and eight – were asked
to draw what they felt depicted the
special day on which their dad
would marry his new wife.
Continued on next page
Box it up
If you choose a dynamic breaking glass in
a vibrant colour, simply boxing the shards
in a Lucite or glass box can be a real attraction. The box can sit on a bookshelf or be
displayed on a countertop. The box can be
purchased at a craft or jewelry store. Keeping such a box around, says Perelman, reminds the couple of that happy “mazal tov
moment.”
Bag it
Shari Klein created a keepsake to help engage her to-be step-children in the wed-
Artist Gary Rosenthal’s “Ahava”
broken wedding glass keepsake
photo frame.
Gary Rosenthal photo
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS FEBRUARY 18, 2016
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[ WEDDINGS ]
t
luck,” writes Glassman though it will
also be a piece to cherish for a woman
who has already married her soulmate.
Creations of artist Sara Beames, who produces hand-blown glass, to break at Jewish weddings, and tzedakah boxes. Sara Beames Photos
“When we brought it to the chupah, the
rabbi was able to acknowledge it, and it
made the boys feel good and included,”
says Klein, explaining that now they are
planning to frame the drawing with the
glass and put it up in their house.
Use it for a mitzvah
Artist Faye Miller tells JNS.org that
among her most popular keepsakes are
mezuzahs and kiddush cups. Beames
says tzedakah boxes are among her hot-
test buys. Broken glass from a wedding
can be incorporated into any of these
items.
“My personal favourites are keepsakes
that help you perform a mitzvah,” notes
Perelman, who says these types of wedding keepsakes sell well on Judaica.com.
She says a couple can place the tzedakah
box by their candlesticks and give tzedakah as a family every Friday evening,
collecting from their children as the
family grows.
Design a piece of jewelry
The bride can take a piece of glass and
commission a keepsake piece of jewelry. A search on Etsy.com reveals a lampwork necklace from the broken glass of
a Jewish wedding, created by Sari Glassman, who explains on the product page
that she melted the pieces from the
broken glass in the flame and added to
them a 22-karat gold leaf.
“Do you know a woman who wants to
get married? This necklace will bring her
Create pottery
Perelman recommends embedding wedding glass shards in a piece of pottery.
One can visit a paint-and-glaze store and
ask to use the glass as part of a mosaic
pottery project, or commission an artist
to create their ideal piece.
Search for another craft idea, or come
up with your own!
Pinterest is an excellent platform for
finding creative ideas for what to do
with your broken wedding glass shards.
Put “broken glass art” in the search bar
and you’ll find everything from mirrors,
to mosaics, to glass bottle collectibles, to
garden stepping stones.
Faye Miller says it’s a joy to work on
breaking glass keepsakes.
“I think the glass shards themselves are
beautiful, and the fact that they harken back
to the earliest days of the Jewish people is
very meaningful,” says Miller. “How wonderful to have a piece in your home that
evokes memories of our people as well as
the special moment when you became husband and wife. I love my job and consider it
an honour when brides and grooms select
my art for their wedding glass.” n
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[ WEDDINGS ]
T
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
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