“We’re actually a fairly traditional couple, but it just so happens that we’re queer,” groom Jude says. “It was important for our wedding that we were authentic to ourselves and provided a space where guests could be as well.”
Rachel + Jude’s wedding at Story in Louisville, Kentucky created that authentic space by embracing a “sophisticated rainbow” theme that filled their celebration with color! The goal was to include every color of the rainbow into all sorts of elements across the day.
And, when in doubt while planning, they always came back to one guiding principle: FUN. “There were honestly things we didn’t know would be as important to us individually as we went through the process,” says Rachel. “But we were able to compromise and always came back to the fact that we wanted it to be fun.”
With help from Veronica from Big Day Events they brought their elegant, colorful, queer Jewish wedding to life. It was a day full of authenticity, personal touches, and, of course, fun!! And photographer Leslie Rodriguez was there to capture it all!
We love the way the pastels pop on these classic navy blue invites!
How spectacular is Rachel’s one-of-a-kind peach and pale blue pastel wedding gown from The House of Bretón?! After pivoting from the original design vision she’d brought to designer Lei Bretón, Rachel went back to the drawing board in search of her would-be-wedding-silhouette. That meant picking new fabric. “I think I ordered like 20 different swatches from Mood and the lace was just the one,” Rachel says. “I had the same moment people have at bridal salons with dresses but mine was with a 3×4 piece of fabric. From there it just came together.” The fitted bodice and twirly skirt are nonstop elegance and whimsy! And best part? IT HAS POCKETS.
Designer Lei Bretón is tackling the inaccessibility of standard wedding day fashion. Bretón prioritizes inclusivity in their approach: “While so many wedding brands turn away queer, curvy, trans, non-binary, BIPOC, neurodivergent, and other people, we say, ‘welcome home.'”
Take a look at these amazing rainbow wedding dresses if you need even more inspo to welcome some color into your wedding day look. Also, those EARRINGS! (Here’s a similar pair!)
Rachel’s elegant curly pony is by Poppy and Rod. And sweet is this peachy bow!! Check out this one from Anthro (in a bunch of colors!) if you’re digging the look.
We love the classy-but-vibrant vibe of this wedding party in all sorts of pastel and muted tones!
Ready for one of the coolest wedding DIY moments we’ve ever seen?! “The flower arrangements were a mix of fresh florals and paper flowers that I started making almost as soon as we got engaged,” bride Rachel says. After handcrafting a ton of these intricate paper flowers, Rachel teamed up with Botanica Design Studio to incorporate them into the day’s fresh florals! “It was really gratifying to have people see what I had been working on for years. I’m still making them, and I’m really glad that we worked with a florist who was willing and excited to incorporate them into our day.”
The Ceremony
Rachel’s paper flowers (featured in this beautiful chuppah as well!) are so realistic that guests couldn’t tell which flowers were real and which were paper!
Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding The Rabbi officiating our wedding told Jude, “don’t drink the wine,” but Jude heard, “drink the wine.” Jude’s first Jewish wedding was his own, so he just didn’t know much about the process. Jude raised his hand to drink the wine and noticed Rachel’s family raising their hands to tell Jude to stop. The Rabbi then waved his finger and told Jude, “No.” Jude then exclaims to everyone, “Well, I’m not Jewish!” This made everyone including the Rabbi laugh.
Our Musical Choices Processional: "Your Song" by Elton John & "Butterflies" by Kacey Musgraves (played on cello and guitar)
Recessional: "Happy Together" by The Turtles (played on cello and guitar)
First Dance: "This Will Be Our Year" by The Zombies (cover by Lowland Hum"
Rachel + Jude’s bright blue and orange geometric ketubah embraced the colorful energy of the day.
Jude’s bespoke nave blue suit is ALSO a masterpiece from The House of Bretón! We can’t get enough of his two-tone cognac dress shoes! Take a peek at these from Nordstrom Rack!
The Reception
We love that these floral and navy table numbers incorporate the design of the invitations! Recreate the look with these gold and acrylic sign holders.
Multicolored votives and pink napkins from All Occasions Event Rentals brought the “sophisticated rainbow” vibes to the reception tables.
Our Advice To Those Planning Now Don’t be afraid to course correct based off a gut check. We picked our venue in February 2020 and were supposed to get married in October 2021. For a lot of reasons, both personal and pandemic related, we ended up postponing to 2022. It had been time to order invitations based on the original date and we just couldn’t do it. We're so glad we waited.
Also don’t be afraid to tell vendors that both members of the couple should be included in communication. A lot of vendors would not add Jude on email chains, which was frustrating. He had just as much say in our choices as I did. With the help of our friends, family, and amazing vendors we brought our vision to life.
We're sure it’s nothing new but knowing something will inevitably go wrong was helpful for when it actually did. We could just laugh and be like ‘of course it was this’ and move on.
Congratulations, Rachel + Jude, on your chic + colorful celebration!! Best wishes from GWS!!
photography: Leslie Rodriguez Photography // venue name: Story Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, United States // planning: Big Day Events // florals: Botanica Design Studio // wedding dress: The House of Breton // wedding dress boutique: The House of Breton // bride's ring: Melanie Casey // hair stylist: Poppy and Rod // groom attire: The House of Breton // handmade details: Rachel Schwartz (bride) handmade paper flowers // catering: Mayan Cafe // tabletop rentals: All Occasions Event Rentals // music: DJ Syimone
