The latest such event occurred in Phnom Penh, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
From Chabad.org: 

As the sun set over Phnom Penh, locals, tourists and guests from all over the world gathered for the first Jewish wedding known to be celebrated in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

The bride, Shlomit (Irina), had met Rabbi Bentzion and Mashie Butman, co-directors of Chabad Jewish Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, several years ago and begun her journey to Torah observance.

The groom, Vadim Mitropolitansky, is an Israeli who now lives in Bangkok, Thailand. When the two decided to tie the knot, they chose to do so at the Chabad center in Phnom Penh.
The groom, Vadim Mitropolitansky, is an Israeli who now lives in Bangkok, Thailand. When the two decided to tie the knot, they chose to do so at the Chabad center in Phnom Penh.

The rooftop ceremony was followed by a festive dinner in the newly finished event hall on the Chabad center’s second floor.
Local Cambodians, friends, relatives and Chabad families from both countries swirled in dizzying circles, following the lively music supplied by the keyboardist who had flown in from Israel for the occasion.

“In times of joy, as well as sadness, community takes the place of family in this part of the world, where most Jews are here without family,” says Rabbi Butman.

Read more at Chabad.org

We just received word that the wedding hall at the Manhattan Beach Jewish Center, which was just acquired by a new owner, is undergoing complete renovations, inside and out, and will reopen for simchas  on June 1st, 2016.

We can even share the architect’s renditions of the exterior:

Not so long ago, this wedding hall, which was under New Star Caterers, was a wedding venue that appealed to a variety of families from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of tastes. From barely traditional to modern orthodox to yeshivish, sefardi, ashkenazi, Russian, Syrian, Israeli – somehow they all appreciated this wedding hall. The large space is extremely versatile. The separate hall for the shmorg / cocktail hour is stylish and grand, 5,000 sq. ft. in size with high 20 ft. ceilings. The 8,000 sq.ft. ballroom accommodates up to 650 sitdown guests. And the large synagogue, which is also being renovated, provides a perfect setting for the chuppah.

The new caterers at the Manhattan Beach Jewish Center Hall are also the caterers at the Shaare Zion Synagogue, so you can be sure that the food and the service will be superb. The new hall, according to Benny, the principal of the catering firm at Congregation Shaare Zion, Beth Torah, and now Manhattan Beach Jewish Center, will not only cater to a variety of couples but to a broader spectrum of budgets as well.

If you’d like more information about the new hall, feel free to contact Shaare Zion Caterers: (718) 975 – 4880

The new store, located on avenue J off Nostrand Avenue, is beautifully designed with a fashionable boutique store feel. With a recent relocation of Bencraft Hatters to “Flatbush”, in addition to The Hat Box and Hats Plus which have been around for years, there are more options than ever for your hat shopping convenience.

Contact Info: Borsalino Brand Store

This event will be held at the Milano Brooklyn Showroom on Coney Island between 7:00 an 8:00 PM.

Quite often, weddings, which are planned months in advance, get caught up in some unpredictable nature event (like this Blizzard wedding in Chicago last year or the Blizzard of 2010 in NY). For Jewish families a wedding is more than a celebration with friends and family, more than a lifecycle milestone; a wedding is a beginning of fresh branch within the House of Israel. It takes more than gusty winds to put the brakes on this occasion. Mazel Tov to the new couple!

You can see a preview of some of the dresses in the store here.

Lotus Bridal’s seamstress, with many years of experience at Kleinfeld’s, specializes in professional dress build-ups.

Date:
Thursday, August 9 – Monday, August 13

Location
Lotus Bridal
1822 Avenue U
Brooklyn, NY 11229

Tel: 718.332.4385

Brooklyn’s Monica’s Bridal will hold its annual sample sale on February 14th and 15th. Up to 80% off on many dresses, shoes, veils, headpieces, and accessories. Only sale items will be shown on the sale dates.

When:
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
11 AM – 7 PM

Wednesday, February 15, 2012
11 AM – 7 PM

Where
Monica’s Bridal
1655 Sheepshead Bay Road
Brooklyn, NY 11235
(718) 646-5400

Designers Include:

Allure, Allure Couture, Enzoani, Blue By Enzoani, YSA Makino, Pronovias, Elie Saab Bridal, Badgley Mischka Bridal, San
Patrick, Justin Alexander, Justin Alexander Couture, Casablanca, Casablanca Couture, Maggie Sotero, Avine Perucci, Stuart Weitzman, Mandalay, Marchessa Notte, Jovani and many more!!

Even though the idea of royalty has long been an outdated one and the monarchs that still remain, like the British monarchy, are mostly symbolic, from the incredible attention that this wedding of William and Catherine has been gaining, it seems that the idea of royalty still retains some of its glamor and glory.

The kind of a wedding that this couple is about to have is certainly only possible with royalty – the elaborate details and the almost unbridled expenditure that has gone into every element of the wedding procession is indeed so rare that it is not surprising that it has grabbed the attention of so many people around the world, especially those of us ordinary people trying to plan a wedding on a tight budget.

Here are some of the elements that went into the royal wedding planning process:

Getting the Cavalry ready:

Special Commemorative china:

The Royal Pastries:
Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton have chosen Leicestershire-based cake designer Fiona Cairns to create their wedding cake.

In addition, the couple have also asked McVitie’s Cake Company to create a chocolate biscuit cake for the reception at Buckingham Palace. The chocolate biscuit cake will be made from a Royal Family recipe and was specially requested by Prince William.

The Royal Choir:

The reception will be hosted by the queen at Buckingham palace:

A bridal gown purchase or a gemach find is not an easy task for the frum bride. With the current wedding styles dominated by strapless gowns, it’s not always easy to find the dream dress. Not to mention that not every strapless can be ‘built up’. Often times the materials and the cut of the dress make it impossible to build the gown up in a way that looks stylish and natural. The ability to check out six bridal stores in one visit, simplifies the hunt for the perfect dress.

In addition to Tznius Princess, the other stores in the vicinity are:

Augenbraun’s (between K & L)
Bridal Direct (between P & Quentin)
Miri (between M & N)
Raquel (corner of N)
Esti’s (between P & Quentin)

And only a few blocks off Coney on Avenue M, you’ll find the seventh bridal boutique in the area – Lavan Bridal.

Happy Shopping!

Today Google posted on their blog about their new release: Google For Weddings. Anyone who’s been following Google in recent years knows that they have been getting involved in all sorts of projects from eBooks to Art to 3D Models. And now, it seems, they are going to help you plan your wedding. How? – you may ask. Well, with wedding tools and wedding templates.

Say you want to make a website, you can use Google Sites, but now you’ll have a bunch of new templates specifically designed for weddings. Say you want to create an invitation list with all the addresses, you can use a ready made form, which you can then email to be filled in by anyone you wish to invite. Other tools include: seating chart, music list, and a budget planner. You can also use Piknik to help design professional looking announcements, thank you cards, etc. It’s all there for you, together with wedding tips by Michelle Rago, who has recently collaborated on wedding projects with a number of big names like Style Me Pretty and the Wedding Salon.

In essence, most of it isn’t anything new. What’s new here is the central location, wedding focused features and a more user friendly interface.

Happy Planning!

See more photos by Scott Strazzante of the Chicago Tribune on his blog.

You can also see the ChossonKallah mobile at m.ChossonKallah.com.

You can help us test out the new, still fragile mobile version. If you get any errors, send us a note via our Contact Us page or comment here.

For more information about this event please contact:

Chavy Grunhut: (845) 238-4030
Leah Kraus: (347) 351-6271

When:
Motzei Shabbos January 15th: 10 PM – 12 AM
Sunday January 16th: 11 AM – 10 PM

Where:
Pointe Plaza Hotel
2 Franklin Avenue
Brooklyn New York

Possibly the first Chasidic wedding in China since World War II took place today at the Marriot in Shanghai as a New York businessman married a Belgian employee of a high tech company.

Ari Lauber of Brooklyn’s Ner Mitzvah has been living in Shanghai for approximately seven years and is known for his tremendous hachnasas orchim, feeding guests, making cholent and helping travelers to the area as he manages Ner Mitzvah’s interests in China. Reizy Weingarten of Antwerp moved to Shanghai for business five years ago but it was a traveler from Boro Park who suggested what should have been the obvious shidduch to Lauber, saying “If the two of you are the only heimishe yidden who live here, maybe it is a basherte shidduch?”

And indeed it was. Approximately 150 guests from various locations including New York, Skver, Antwerp, Israel and England flew to China joining 200 members of the Shanghai community for this landmark event. The wedding was catered by R’ Shulem Greenberg of Chabad, with R’ Akiva Asher Padwa head of the London Beis Din and a frequent guest of Lauber’s serving as Mesader Kiddushin.

Entertainer Lipa Schmeltzer was flown to Shanghai for the wedding as a gesture of hakaras hatov by a group of businessman who have enjoyed Lauber’s hospitality over the years. Schmeltzer was one of only six people who managed to get onto a Continental flight out of Newark when his flight was cancelled due to the blizzard.

“A heimishe wedding in Shanghai. It is just gevaldik,” said Schmeltzer in an exclusive interview with VIN News. “They are the only heimishe people here besides the shluchim. They both had to move to China to find a shidduch.”

Guests sleeping on the floor at Ateres Chaya Sunday night. (Photo: YiddishNews)

In Ateres Chaya in Boropark almost thirty people had to spend the night. A similar story in Ateres Avrohom in Williamsburg. After another wedding – of Moshe Shapiro and Jenny Cooper – held at the Rockwood Park Jewish Center in queens, the chosson’s parents, who flew in from Israel for the wedding, ended up staying the night after their rental car got stuck in the snow as they were leaving. Fortunately for them the hall had some mattresses left over from a student shabbatton held in the same building.

For those guests that did drive back home, the ride was an adventure, albeit a dangerous one. Visibility on the road was next to nil, the windshield wipers would get clogged with clumps of snow every few minutes, and cars and buses would get stuck numerous times on the way. Thankfully, eventually everyone got home safe with a fun story to share.

Here’s another snow storm snapshot that will make you smile. This one courtesy of MahNishmah.com. (Unfortunately, this couple’s relationship is sure to be a short one.)

If you went to the show, feel free to leave us a comment about your impressions.

Last year, ChossonKallah.com was a sponsor Simcha Expo 2009. Once again, year, we are glad to be a part of Simcha Expo 2010. This year’s expo will take place at separate venues one week apart. The first show is this Motzei Shabbos, November 13th, in Lake Terrace, Lakewood, NJ. The second show will be held next Sunday, November 21, at the Inwood Country Club in Inwood, Long Island.

Locations:

Lake Terrace Hall
1690 Oak Street
Lakewood, New Jersey 08701

Inwood Country Club
50 Peppe Road
Inwood, New York 11096

If you are in the Parsha of planning a wedding or a Bar Mitzvah, we encourage you to attend the expo. ChossonKallah.com may be a great way for you to connect with all the various businesses in the wedding community; a chance to meet with many of these vendors face to face in the same room on the same day, however, is as informative as it is exciting. Exciting, because the Simcha Expo is a very well organized and decorated affair with beautiful displays and creative designs. (If you do attend the expo, feel free to drop us a line about your experiences there.)

For more information, visit www.SimchaExpo.com

The Wedding Salon is a bridal tradeshow that connects brides, planners and the press with the best vendors in the industry. This one-day event which is structured to look and feel like a luxurious wedding offers brides to be an unique opportunity to find out about the latest trends wedding dress designs, floral decoration, and other elements of wedding planning.

The Wedding Salon features companies in a variety of categories, including photographers, florists, venues, gowns and formalwear, wedding planning, catering, beauty services, videographers, wedding travel and honeymoons, and many more.

The Wedding Salon will be held at Manhattan Center Studios with an incredible lineup with everyone from Sylvia Weinstock to Shawn Rabideau to Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings. Bridal Reflections will treat our brides to an incredible couture fashion show featuring Ines Di Santo and David Tutera by Faviana. Brides-to-Be will enjoy beauty services by Yves Saint Laurent at Bergdorf Goodman, cocktails, cakes tastings and gelato tastings. The show will have some other amazing acts including aerial violinists performing from the ceiling of the Hammerstein Ballroom and much more. Amazing gift bags for each attendant.

(Please note: the food at this event is not Kosher.)

• New York Jewish Wedding Musicians
• New Jersey Jewish Wedding Musicians
• California Jewish Wedding Musicians
• Florida Jewish Wedding Musicians
• Maryland / D.C. Jewish Wedding Musicians

Some of you iPhone users out there are thinking: ‘oh, cool! When I am shopping on 47th, I’ll have nice pictures to which I can compare the rings there.’ But what does this say about Tiffany and its marketing strategy? What does this say about the Jewelry industry in general? Or is it simply a way for a gal to have something to drool over when she’s bored?

Good Luck!

The Palace (in its final days of construction) is a new hall by Gedaliah Jacobowitz, the caterer of Ateres Chaya, and is located on McDonald Avenue near Ditmas Avenue.

Sasson V’Simcha Hall is a reincarnation of the recently closed Ateres Shlomo hall. The new Sasson V’Simcha hall, whch is scheduled to host its first wedding this month, is located on Coney Island Avenue near Avenue I.

www.chossonandkallah.com/maryland

Next on our agenda:

We are currently looking into Chicago, as well as Canada: Toronto and Montreal.

It’s been more than three years since the ChossonKallah.com wedding directory has been providing thousands of families with resources to plan their wedding. Three years ago, the directory covered the New York area only. Since then we have expanded to include New Jersey, California, and Florida regions. As of December, we plan to cover the Maryland / Washington D.C. region as well. If you have had a really good experience with a wedding vendor in that locale let us know about them; leave a comment or send us a line via the ‘Contact Us‘ page. …And Thanks.

Clockwise: Minicakes on crystal display from Tiffany Party Planners; Flowers from By Perfect Settings; Diplay Design by Silver Spoon Planning; Balloon Chosson and Kallah by Inflated Creations.


‘Let’s Get Cookin’ Recipe Management Software; Make Up by Panim Yaffot; Headpieces by Kaituz; Browsing through artworks; Decorative Element by Tiffany Party Planning



Clockwise: Headpices by ‘The Royal Head’; Design Element by Silver Spoon Party Planners; Mendel Meyers at his booth; Jewelry by Goldmark Jewelers; Various Silver by The Sterling Touch; Presentation by Jamie Geller Author of ‘Quick and Kosher’

Besides the opportunity to talk to vendors, you’re likely to enjoy the presentations that will be held at the expo, performed by renowned authors and chefs. Expert party planners will be on hand to answer all of your important planning questions. Perhaps most useful, a simcha consultant will be available to help families organize, prioritize, and plan for their simcha while staying within budgetary constraints.

In addition, the Simcha Expo will feature useful and informative presentations and demonstrations, including: a cooking demo by Jamie Geller, renowned author of Quick and Kosher from The Bride Who Knew Nothing; a presentation about wines by Jay Buchsbaum, noted oenophile of Royal Wines Corp.; and a table-setting demonstration by florist and party-planner Tammy Polatsek, author of Aristocratic Fruits. Perhaps most useful, a simcha consultant will be available to help families organize, prioritize, and plan for their simcha while staying within budgetary constraints.

Participants will gain a lot more than knowledge. Many valuable coupons will be offered exclusively for Expo attendees, as well as a number of raffles such as: A Claire sheitel, a set of linen by Ben Barber, $750 towards a photo package by Mendel Meyers, and many other hourly raffles. Among the many attractions at the Expo are free photo sessions by Friedman Photography, a food court, wine-tasting by Liquors Galore, and numerous other giveaways.

The Simcha Expo is the brainchild of Mrs. Deutsch, who sensed the anxiety that many get when planning a Simcha. I would hear people talking about making a bar mitzvah or a chasunah, and there was nothing in their voice that reflected simcha, says Mrs. Deutsch. I would just hear the stress in their voice, and I’m thinking, this is NOT how it’s supposed to be!

The Simcha Expo is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 10 at Ateres Chynka in Brooklyn, New York (follow the link to see map). For registration and information, go to SimchaExpo.com.