Jessica & Ilan

Gaelle Le Berre
Mar 29, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Mar 12

Ilan first contacted me to see if I was available on their chosen date; they had my details from the celebrant, Rita, with whom I had worked previously. When I received his email, I recognized his last name and knew exactly where he was from— the same region as me in France. With a name like that, I could hardly be mistaken. We settled on a date and time to meet, and that’s when Ilan realized I was from the same region as him and not far from his hometown. It was nice to share commonalities, knowing our country and families are so far away from here, as it helped us understand each other better.

On the other hand, Jessica also hails from overseas; she has a shining personality and is always smiling. We connected straight away, and they booked me in, keeping in touch via email until the date. One thing that was very important for both of them was to have some photos with their little parakeet during their getting ready. In addition, we planned a milky way session since they wanted some stars in their engagement photos. They actually printed a few of the photos for the big day.

We finally spoke on the phone during the week of the wedding to finalize the details. It was quite exciting, as both families traveled for this special day. It was lovely to speak some French with his family. In fact, it was a very hot day for autumn. Everything went well; we had a beautiful day and had all the time we needed, as Jessica had planned it very well. She even included little Hello Kitty and Mr. Daniel figures for the cake, as they are both fans of them.

The most touching moment for me was when Ilan's family played the "Bagad" from their region while waving our regional flag; it was quite a memorable moment for me. We finished the celebration with a little first dance, for which they took special classes, and they nailed it!