Jewish-Colombian PPG Wintergarden Wedding

September 5, 2022

One of the greatest compliments a photographer can receive is a referral from another respected photographer! When Lauren Renee Photography sent Lillian and Evan my way, I was so honored and EXCITED to work with them. This couple is so kind and thoughtful, making their wedding a complete breeze. They value photography and it shows! They left ample time in their schedule to take meaningful and fun photos. Their family and friends are all just as awesome as they are! And just wait until you see Lillian’s dress and Evan’s custom suit — *chef’s kiss*! They share more about their Jewish-Colombian PPG Wintergarden wedding planning process below:

What was your inspiration behind your Jewish-Colombian PPG Wintergarden Wedding?

It was really important to us to celebrate our traditions and heritages, which is why we had a traditional Jewish ceremony, inspired our florals, and the dancing celebration. From the beginning stages of planning, we loved the idea of “El Amor Es Dulce” because we wanted to incorporate Spanish into our stationary and other details surrounding the wedding. Lillian found the phrase particularly cute because E and L are our initials and the phrase symbolized our love and relationship with each other.

What was the wedding shopping experience like for you?

I had my tuxedo custom made at Joseph Orlando Clothiers in Downtown PGH. They did an incredible job with the tailoring and a dope custom lining showing Andy Warhol style maps of Pittsburgh tiled throughout.
Lillian’s dress was purchased at the Pronovias flagship store in NYC. She always loved the Spanish style dresses and loved the idea of having a dress entirely in mantilla lace.

How did you and your spouse meet?

Lillian and I are a year apart in age, grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same synagogue, and even the same college but only ever really knew of each other and never seemed to cross paths. Around summer of 2017, Lillian and I had a few chance encounters over the course of a month or two due to a mutual friend and we could definitely sense some chemistry. We finally connected when I was during a party I was hosting in my backyard one night; Lillian heard about it and was insistent she had to attend. We spent the entire summer together doing what continues to be some of our favorite things like cooking, going to the pool, and exploring Pittsburgh!

Proposal Details! How did it happen? 🙂

Considering that my former apartment’s courtyard was the jumping off point to our relationship, it seemed only appropriate that this was the place that I would propose to her. I enticed her by suggesting we go to a happy hour at a nearby bar with some coworkers, and got “sidetracked” along the way to take a look at how the courtyard was holding up. I had stopped by earlier to coordinate with the current tenant to take slyly take a few pictures! The best part of the story is that after I popped the question, Lillian asked through ample tears, “Are we still going to happy hour???”

What was your favorite memory from your big day?

Apart from doing our first look, we loved how much we were able to dance with each other throughout the entire reception. We love to boogie with one another and it was definitely a party for the books!

Advice to share with brides planning now?

It’s never too early to start planning anything related to your wedding and give yourself more time than you think you need. It will pay dividends when it gets to crunch time!

Throughout the weekend we had various homages to our Jewish and Lillian’s Colombian culture. On Friday night, Lillian and I received a traditional pre-nuptial blessing at our synagogue with our extended families present. Before the ceremony on Sunday, Lillian and I signed our Jewish marriage license called a “ketubah” which we had custom made by an artist in Israel. The wedding itself was a traditional Jewish ceremony, where Lillian and I stood under a “chuppah” with our parents to symbolize the Jewish home that we’ll create together as a couple. At the end of the ceremony, I crushed a glass which is a very traditional Jewish custom to symbolize the fragility of life. This broken glass will be incorporated into a fixture in our home as a reminder of this day! Also, our floral was very much so inspired by the natural landscape of Colombia, with bright colors and tropical flowers. During the reception we continued with a customary Jewish and Colombian festivities. From a Jewish perspective, we did the Hora, where we were hoisted into the air in chairs while people danced around us, and then later in the evening we livened up the party with “Hora Loca” (the “crazy hour”), our favorite Latin music was played and fun props were given out to the guest! Finally, not a cultural tradition, but Lillian’s family have had the same cake served at weddings and family events for the last three generations. It was designed by Lillian’s grandparents at a friend’s bakery, Heidelberg Bakery, and the cake is sold under the name “Edelsack Cake.” It was definitely the sweetest tradition of the day 😉