Wedding at United Hebrew Congregation | Allie + Nathan
THE WEDDING EDIT ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
Family in the front row. Everyone on the dance floor.
Allie and Nathan’s wedding at United Hebrew Congregation began with family gathered for the ketubah signing. Later came the ceremony beneath their floral chuppah, a reception with a live painter, and a hora that brought everyone onto the floor.
Their morning started at The Ritz-Carlton in Clayton with getting-ready photos and a visit from Bear. That part of their day has its own story here. At United Hebrew, the focus turned to the people who had come to celebrate with them.
Before the aisle, the ketubah.
Allie and Nathan gathered with their officiant and family before the ceremony for the ketubah signing. The ketubah is a Jewish marriage document, and the signing gave them time with some of the people closest to them before they joined the rest of their guests.
It was a quieter part of the day. Allie watched as the document was signed, Nathan stepped up to the table, and their families had a moment to take it in together.
The room they chose for their vows.
United Hebrew’s wood-paneled sanctuary made a striking setting for their Jewish wedding in St. Louis. Musicians played as guests found their seats. Allie came down the aisle toward a chuppah dressed in flowers and greenery, with Nathan and their families waiting at the front.
A chuppah is the canopy beneath which a Jewish couple marries. Their ceremony included the Sheva Brachot, or seven blessings, and ended with Nathan breaking the glass. Those traditions were part of the structure of the ceremony; the people gathered around them gave it its energy.
Afterward, they stayed in the sanctuary for photographs with family. The chuppah remained behind them, placing everyone in the same room where they had just watched Allie and Nathan marry.
The room changed. So did the pace.
Greenery and white flowers carried through to the reception, where long tables filled the room. Guests welcomed Allie and Nathan in, and the two of them finally had a chance to look around at everyone who had come to be there.
One of the details they brought into the reception was a live painter. As dinner and speeches unfolded, the artist worked on a scene from the wedding. It gave guests something to return to throughout the evening and left Allie and Nathan with a piece of it to keep.
And then came the hora.
Friends and family circled around Allie and Nathan as the hora began. Soon they were both lifted in chairs above the crowd. There’s Allie reaching up, Nathan holding on, and everyone below them making sure neither missed a second of it.
A birthday surprise and a sparkler send-off.
The celebration made room for one more person. Allie and Nathan surprised a close friend with a birthday cake, and the crowd joined in for her moment, too.
Later, their guests gathered with sparklers for the exit. After a day spent bringing everyone together, Allie and Nathan walked through the crowd side by side.
Planning a wedding at United Hebrew Congregation?
Allie and Nathan’s day is a good reminder to plan for the moments around the ceremony as carefully as the ceremony itself. If you’re getting married here, a few conversations early on can make the timeline work better:
- Before the ceremony: Confirm the ketubah signing time with your officiant and decide who you want in the room.
- After the ceremony: Decide whether you want family photographs beneath the chuppah before everyone moves to the reception.
- Before guests enter: Find out when the reception room will be ready if photographs of the finished space matter to you.
- Between locations: If you’re getting ready elsewhere, include travel and arrival time in the schedule.
Your traditions and priorities will shape the plan. For current information about the space, visit United Hebrew Congregation.
Ready when you are.
Tell me what you’re planning and which people and traditions you want photographed. I’ll help build a photo timeline around them.
CHECK AVAILABILITYBehind the day
- Photography
- Fanara Photography
- Venue
- United Hebrew Congregation
- Planning
- aRay of Events
- Florals
- Wild Ginger Weddings
- Video
- Memories Media
- Music
- CJ’s Disc Jockey Services
- Officiant
- Ronald Eichaker
- Cake and desserts
- Celebrating Life Cake Boutique
- Transportation
- JED Transportation
- Hair
- Abbey Huchzermeier
- Dress
- Ines Di Santo from Bergdorf Goodman