A Chicago Love Tree Ketubah for Blake and Danielle (my baby sister!)

While I love sharing the love stories of all the wonderful couples I work with on this blog, it's not every day that I get to share a custom ketubah I painted for my very own baby sister! 

This one is emotional to write, so here we go team.

Danielle and I are eighteen years apart, so I'm not kidding when I say baby sister.  Here we are at my wedding in Jerusalem in 2007! Danielle was our flower girl:

Danielle tied the knot with her beshert Blake in a Chicago dream wedding worthy of a glamour magazine (or at least some very fancy instagram posts). 

These kids met when she was lifeguarding during the summer at Blake’s parents’ community pool. One day, a nice lady started chatting with her and after a few conversations she realized it was Blake’s mom. She knew who Blake was because her older cousin had babysat him as a kid. A few days later, Blake came to the pool to officially be introduced to the pretty lifeguard. Blake says that he knew Danielle was the one when the thought of living without her was unimaginable. The rest is history!

These two were just babies when they started dating. Danielle had just graduated high school! So our family has had the joy of watching them grow and flourish together. 

When it came time to design and paint their ketubah, I wanted to tell that story and pour all the love I have for these two into the art.

For their part, they wanted their ketubah to reflect the light and love at the heart of their relationship. They saw their ketubah as a symbol of how their values—like kindness, honesty, and growing together—are all connected and shape the way they love and support each other every day. What's more lovely than that? 

First, we got to sketching. They wanted their ketubah to include a Love Tree, a Chicago skyline, and even their portraits. Here are the ketubah sketches I came up with for them:

Sketch B was right up their alley! And so I got to work painting their ketubah. Every brush stroke felt like I was sending them a big hug. 

In what is maybe a first for my couples, Danielle wouldn't let Blake see the ketubah in advance. That's because it was a pretty accurate painting of her wedding dress, which was more guarded than the CIA's biggest secrets.

And who can blame her? You had to see Blake's face when he saw her:

I cried through the entire wedding, start to finish, but especially through the ketubah signing.

Their wedding, in typical Danielle fashion, was beautifully planned and coordinated down to the last detail. But for those of us walking down the aisle to the chuppah, it's all a big teary blur. Glad we have these gorgeous pictures by Janet D Photography as evidence. 

The party was a blast. If you want a good laugh, here is the big sister wedding toast to end all wedding toasts performed by Danielle's very glamorous and very drunk older sisters (yours truly on the right). Don't hold this against your humble ketubah artist.

And so, after the big day and all the celebrations, I got to ask these two the big questions. 

What is the most important value in your relationship? 

For us, the most important value is mutual respect. It’s what allows us to truly listen to each other, support each other through challenges, and celebrate each other’s growth. With respect at the core, love, trust, and everything else naturally follows.

 

What advice would you give to other couples just starting the wedding planning process?

Take it one step at a time! Enjoy every moment, even the stressful ones -- like when Danielle realized the night before the wedding that she had forgotten her wedding shoes at home. She and Blake left their pre-wedding festivities to drive back home to the suburbs and get them! Whoooops. 

As for their ketubah, they put the art to good use!

Check out all the wedding swag we used it for. A guest sign to match their ketubah:

Wedding menus featuring their ketubah art:

And I even made them a matching challah cover:

What else can I say but Mazel Tov to my baby sister and new baby brother! 

I love you both so much. Thanks for always being there for me, thanks for being such a loving auntie and uncle, and for giving us all so many wonderful moments to celebrate! L'chaim!