The day after “I do,” the couple put back on their party looks and did a photo shoot around the city—including on a river boat—with thier photographer. “It was a fun and romantic way to squeeze in some Chicago memories,” Tovah says.
“THE STARS ALIGNED October 14, 2019, under an Aries full moon,” says Tovah Avigail Weingarten, an energy reader and artist. That’s the night she met Jordan Gillman at a dinner party, and the two quickly fell in love.
So when it came to wedding planning, Tovah considered the astrological infl uences. “I avoided times when our personal planets [were in] retrograde; I also desired a moon that was growing into fullness,” she says. “We were guided to the perfect date: the weekend just before Labor Day, a Sunday, and a new moon in Virgo.”
The theme, too, was celestial. “I began seeing our wedding as having two parts: a traditional ceremony and a starry night reception,” Tovah says. “It really felt like our wedding was a turning point out of the pandemic. After two years of solitude we were ready to celebrate life!”
The palette was metallic with muted pink inspired by crystals and sunsets—down the to the rose quartz gem pinned under Tovah’s ballgown for love and luck—and, come evening, everything shimmered, even the bride and groom: Tovah changed into a starry Pronovias gown and Jordan rocked a shiny gold tuxedo jacket.
Guests were seated according to gold foil tarot cards selected by the bride, and found clusters of pyrite—a stone known to sustain health, intellect and emotional well-being—at their seats. After dinner, “we passed around pink pop rocks for an extra sugar rush, and face and body gem stickers to get people into party mode,” Tovah says. Post-nuptials, the duo preserved their chuppah fl orals in resin art pieces, so the memories of their new moon wedding will span the ages.
The cake was personalized with a fondant crescent moon and clusters of sugar quartz crystals.
Tovah accessorized each look with a headpiece, including her mesh-corset party dress.
baby’s breath was used to make centerpieces appear cloud-like, and pops of anenomes “represented how beautiful the darkness can be when surrounded by light,” Tovah says.
the bride on the dance floor in her second dress, a tulle ballgown by Pronovias.
Tovah’s big-day accessories
The List
Venue& Catering The Langham, Chicago, langhamhotels.com
Wedding Planner Bambi Rogers, BCR Events, bcrevents.com
Bride’s Gowns Ceremony: Stephen Yearick & Mikheil Bachukashvili, Bridal Reflections, bridalreflections.com, formylove.online; Reception: Pronovias, pronovias.com; Late Night: Miss Circle, misscircle.com
Bride’s Veil custom, Tailored in White, tailoredinwhite.com
Bride’s Headpieces Jennifer Behr, jenniferbehr.com; SWEETV, sweetv.com; Tanea Victor, etsy.com/shop/taneavictorjewellery
Bridal Stylist Brady Drose, bradydrose.com
Groom’s Tux Tom Ford, tomford.com
Rings London Gold, londongold.com
Florals Fleur, fleurchicago.com
Invitations Amore Creative, amore-creative.com
Ketubah Stephanie Caplan, theketubah.com
Cake Flourish Cake Design, flourishcakedesign.com
Entertainment Ceremony: Heather Boehm, Chicago Choice Music, instagram.com/ heather_boehm; Reception: DJ Bryen Hall, djbryenhall.com
Lighting Remarkable Events, remarkableeventsco.com
FashionIllustrator Kristine Steiner, instagram.com/kyjsteiner
Floral Preservation Rejoice and Blossom, rejoiceandblossomart.com
Photo Booth Pixster, pixsterphotobooth.com
Videographer Mirar Weddings, mirarweddings.com
Photography by: Amanda Megan Miller
