Weddings and Families

Ontario Weddings —Scheduling 2021

Weddings in Ontario—Regulations on gatherings and ceremonies change Announced on June 24, 2021— New limits are in force in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada—for the latest in Ontario, please check out the official information site or contact us. The provincial government announced that effective Wednesday, June 30th, Ontario will enter Step 2 of the re-opening earlier […]

Planning Ceremonies in Ontario 2021—Weddings 101

OUTDOOR WEDDING CEREMONIES As the pace of reopening heats up across Ontario and Canada, couples with marriage on their minds are perking up. Check your local regulations for any specific restrictions in your area. You may prefer to wait until you can accommodate the large gathering and reception of your dreams. But if you’d like […]

Wedding Licenses Extended Due to Stay-at-Home Orders in Ontario

Due to the province-wide stay-at-home orders, validity periods have been extended for wedding licenses issued in Ontario. Licenses issued between December 1, 2019 and July 24, 2020 are still valid and can by used until July, 24, 2022. Licenses issued between October 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 are still valid and can by used […]

Apply Online for Wedding Licenses in Toronto

State of Emergency/Stay at Home Orders and Wedding Licenses—2021 The City of Toronto has announced that while the state of emergency and stay at home orders are in effect: “As part of Toronto’s COVID-19 response, Registry Services counters at the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall and the North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough Civic Centres […]

Our Backyard Wedding—

Celebrating with Love and Laughter— Fun and lots of laughs were what they hoped for, asked for, and how they celebrated at their fall wedding, says Karianne Marten-Spagnuolo, who married  her husband Adam on September 29,, 2020, in Etobicoke, a suburb of Toronto. The fact that the ceremony took place at home had not been […]

Wedding Planning During Covid-19

Even in normal times, it’s a good idea to be able to call on experts to handle the details and ensure your wedding ceremony goes smoothly and lives up to expectations. “Today, with Covid-19, it’s even more valuable,” says Melissa Baum of The Baum Event Company, a Toronto event-planning and design firm specializing in luxury […]

Wedding Licences Extended in Ontario

To assist the many couples who have had to postpone their plans and wedding ceremonies due to the Covid- 19 outbreak, the Ontario government has issued an extension for marriage licenses and made amendments to Ontario’s Marriage Act. If you obtained your licence any time after December 1, 2019, or while the State of Emergency […]

Flowers

Ontario allows larger gatherings at wedding ceremonies

Wedding Dates- Wedding couples in Ontario and the GTA who have been holding tight on wedding plans for the last few months are feeling a new sense of optimism as all areas in the province have moved from grade 2 to 3  and we begin to re-open, gently, in this stressful time of Covid-19. Many […]

The Perfect California Wedding

Brett and Arthur— Brett and Arthur enjoyed a wonderful wedding ceremony in October when they were married in the lovely surroundings of Healdsburg, in California’s Sonoma region, by Rabbi David Gellman. “It was an interfaith wedding—Arthur is from England and it was important to have a ceremony that paid homage to both Christian and Jewish […]

Wedding Venues-GTA

Weddings 101! CHOOSING THE PERFECT WEDDING VENUE—HOTELS Shangri-La Hotel, Toronto It’s no secret that picking the perfect date for your wedding is only the start of what may turn out to be a very long list of To Do’s. You may be planning a cozy gathering and simple ceremony or a more lavish wedding. But choosing […]

A Wonderful Wedding on the Shore of Lake Ontario

Hollie and Rodney— Remembering the day of his daughter’s wedding, the father of the bride said that, even though it was September 6th, it was baking out and sunny—and so hot you could have walked into the lake. Niagara’s only lakefront winery (Konzelmann Estate Winery) was the spectacular setting for the wedding of Hollie and […]

York University /Bnai Brith—Anti-Israel Mob

B’nai Brith Canada reports from Toronto that  “An attempt to shut down a pro-Israel event on a Toronto university campus has failed.” B’nai Brith Canada says that: “Members of Reservists on Duty, an organization that tours North American campuses “to speak with knowledge and confidence on behalf of Israel,” were hosted by Herut Canada at York University’s main […]

Never is Now—

ADL SUMMITS ON ANTI-SEMITISM— If you’re going to be in or near New York City on November 21st, please consider attending the annual summit of the Anti-Defamation League’s—Never is Now. ADL’s signature annual event, the Never is Now Summit is, at its core, a one day conference focused on understanding contemporary drivers and dynamics of […]

Recognizing the World’s Oldest Nun

“Life is wonderful… however, too short.” A number of media sites from The Vatican News to the European Jewish Congress added the details to an intriguing story in the UK’s Independent recently, which reported on the passing of the woman believed to have been world’s “oldest nun.” Sister Cecylia Roszak passed away in the Polish […]

Jewish Interfaith Weddings-Beyond the Numbers

A recent article in The Jerusalem Post reports that the Jewish population in America is actually increasing and a big contributor is interfaith Jewish marriages. This may seem, at first glance, surprising. But in a period of five years, the US population of Jewish adults and children rose from 7 to 7.5 million—this is from […]

Making Your Final Wishes Known—

From Alex Gellman— Pre-planning is a difficult thing to do. Few of us like to dwell on the inevitable, and we delay even thinking about it, let alone doing it, for as long as we possibly can. But it is important to reflect on how much pre-planning your final arrangements may bring ease and reduce […]

A Wonderful Wedding in the Vineyard

Christine, the mother of the bride, says that her daughter Sadie Marie’s wedding to Cody was everything they dreamed of. Sadie Marie and Cody had known each other for about nine years and had been engaged for three—but waited to tie the knot until they were about done with their post-secondary studies. “This was important […]

Choosing a Chuppah for Your Wedding

Chuppahs are an important element of the Jewish wedding ceremony and are often an integral feature of interfaith weddings. Chuppahs are almost always used in outdoor Jewish weddings and are also a focal point for indoor ceremonies of all faiths. The chuppah is significant for what it symbolizes—the unification of the bride and groom and the […]

Weddings and More Weddings—

“It was important to get married when and where we did and to have all our kids there, but it was also very important to be married by David,” says Luc Baril, who is one-half of one of the first couples married by Rabbi David Gellman. And, says Luc, it was such a special and […]