Shalom and Welcome

We were faced with a difficult decision: how to pair down our guest list. As both a queer and interfaith couple, we are uniquely blessed with an abundance of loved ones who support us; all of your love and support makes keeping the wedding small a daunting task. The people who have received invitations are those who have stood with us as individuals and as a couple during trying times through each of our life stages. You have seen us fall and get back up all while offering a hand, a word, and an ear. Sharing this moment with you means the world to us, and we are excited to join each other's families. Planning during a pandemic is no easy feat, and we have done our best to extend the timeline and allow for suitable space, safety, and comfort during the rainy season in Oregon. We recognize that many of you will be (hopefully) traveling to join us, and we sincerely thank you. It wouldn't feel right to have only half of our family present for such an important day. As travel may be difficult for some we encourage you to travel together and make the best of a long journey! We are working hard to choose a location and venue that is accessible to everyone's needs, whether that be physical or financial.

As a couple, we strive to represent both of our backgrounds, faiths, and ideals in our shared lives together. We want to represent these same ideals in our wedding by including traditions from both cultures not only to show each of us as individuals but the family that we are creating. There may be some things that look unfamiliar to you, that's okay! This is a time to learn, love, and be open-minded (but let's face it, both of us are already super confusing people). Our ceremony will follow the seven-step structure of Jewish weddings [Welcome, Birkat Erusin (Blessings of Commitment), Kiddushin (Blessings of Holiness), Ketubah (Marriage Contract), Sheva Brachot (Blessings of Joy), Birkat Kehilla (Blessing of Community), and Breaking the Glass] in a way that honors our interfaith household. Anyone who is not familiar with these traditions is welcome to look them up and study ahead of time if interest peaks you! If you are not sure where to start, contact us, we've got you!

COVID hasn't been kind to any of us these past two years, and it is important that we are all able to spend time together in a safe environment. Because of COVID, we have come to an important decision: vaccines are mandatory (with the exception of medical exemptions). Masks are strongly encouraged when unable to social distance, and we will be providing some at the door. We apologize if this is an inconvenience to you and we realize that some people have made the choice to not get the vaccine. However, we cannot overlook the chances of one of our unvaccinated guests getting sick because we didn't set this requirement. Both of us feel that in order to really enjoy this special day together we want to see your beautiful faces and have photos that we can look back on with happiness instead of sorrow with the reminder of a pandemic. Each and every one of you has the choice to attend or not, depending on your opinions of mask and/or vaccine mandates. Hopefully, those who are joining us in person feel that they can attend comfortably around other vaccinated guests. We love you and hope to see you with us on our special day! For those who cannot attend in person - there is a link on the "Schedule" page that will allow you to join us live on a private YouTube stream!