By Kobi Cohen recalls seeing Jenna Rosenstein, now BAZAAR.com's Beauty Director, on the first day of ninth grade. He had just moved to Weston, Florida from Netanya, Israel, and spotted her in the cafeteria. "I was apparently waiting in the lunch line, and he thought I was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen," Rosenstein says. "When he told me this years later, I thought he was full of shit—but then he recalled exactly who I was standing with." Even more unbelievable? The two didn't speak until four years later.
Jenna and Kobi didn't actually meet until senior year, when they were in class together. "I thought he was the most handsome guy I'd ever seen—and also that he was way too cool for me," Jenna remembers. Kobi, now an AVP at a leading wealth management firm, tells Jenna: "I liked that you were different. I thought you were classy, funny, and wicked smart. You were into politics more than you were into Justin Bieber—and I was intimidated by that. What came out of your mouth was unexpected from someone who looks like a porcelain doll."
The two started dating three months into the school year, and Jenna accidentally let an "I love you" slip out a few weeks later. "I ran inside my house in full tears afterward. I was mortified..." she remembers. Kobi called the next day to say he felt the same way, and the two haven't been apart since.
Kobi proposed to Jenna eight years, a New York City move, and a cat (Maddie Cat, as she's lovingly called by her parents) later. The two went on a four-day cruise to the Caribbean with the bride's parents. "It was a brand-new beautiful ship and was quiet and relaxing," Jenna says. "Kobi was acting so weird the whole time and kept checking the safe every single time we left the cabin." He remembers the trip similarly, "I talked to your father [beforehand] and asked if he thought it would a good idea to take a video of it. He said no, it should just be about us."
"Kobi said he wanted to show me a surprise. We walked for ten minutes around the ship and finally ended up on the top deck. There wasn’t another human to be seen. Kobi turned around, looked at me, and said something that I literally don’t remember. All I remember was saying yes and bursting into tears. We then went to find my parents—and my mom screamed so loud it scared everyone else on the ship," Jenna recalls. Ask Kobi how he proposed, and he'll share the exact same story: "Don’t ask me what I said," he says. "I can’t remember." Kobi had the ring made by his uncle Moti in Israel, a classic round diamond center stone, set in gold.
The couple chose to prolong their engagement for two years to wed on their 10th anniversary on Thanksgiving weekend at The Miami Beach EDITION. "The hotel had always been my dream location [for the wedding]," Jenna says. "It's is the epitome of modern glamour in Miami Beach. I wasn’t sure we could make it work in our budget, but they were a joy to work with from the very first email. I still can’t believe my dream came true of hosting my wedding there."
Choosing to plan her wedding together with her mother, Jenna opted to host all of the wedding's events—from the rehearsal dinner, to the ceremony, reception, and the after party at the hotel. She partnered with Yasmin Gomez of Always & Always Events for month-of planning services and day-of coordination to help bring all the details—including an appearance by Star Wars' Stormtroopers, a black and white dessert bar, face mask favors, an ice skating and bowling rehearsal dinner, and a Kardashian-inspired photo booth—to seamless fruition. Ellen of The Light + Color and Hannah of Echo in Dreams Films handled the couple's photography and videography.
Jenna and Kobi hosted their welcome-party-meets-rehearsal-dinner at BASEMENT, the nightclub inside the EDITION. With their families, friends, and out-of-town guests, the two dined on pub fare while ice skating and dancing under neon lights. "It was super casual," explains the bride. "Guests rented ice skates and bowled for a few hours while snacking on burger sliders, pizzas, and french fries. There was a photo booth and a full bar; I wanted it to be fun and intimate."
The couple's wardrobe followed suit with the vibe of the event. Kobi wore a floral printed suit from ASOS; Jenna donned a short beaded and feathered cape dress from Parker Black, silver glitter platform sandals from TopShop (when she wasn't in ice skates), celestial drop earrings by Kristen Farrell, and crystal hair accessories from Justine Marjan x Kitsch.
While most real wedding tales gloss over the morning-of glam, it was—aside from the ceremony itself—the most important aspect of the day for Jenna. The bride, who stars in our The Beauty Show video series, is known in-house and industry-wide for her caution-to-the-wind, hands-on approach to trying any and everything beauty and glamour. In her role as BAZAAR.com's Beauty Director, she's sampling all things new in hair, makeup, skin, body, and fitness; she'll try anything once—be it a new product, treatment, or outside-the-box procedure. Jenna even recapped her bridal beauty prep for the Beauty + Body Edition of BAZAAR Bride. With so many friends in the beauty industry, she tapped Danny Jelaca and Giorgio Armani Beauty artist Tim Quinn for her look.
"I wanted my hair and makeup to look timeless above all else—not retro or trendy or too bridal," Jenna says. "My hair was pulled into a low and wavy chignon that embraced my natural hair texture. My makeup had a little edge to it—there was a lot of mascara and black eyeliner involved—but the silvery tones and purple eyeshadow made my green eyes really pop in the pictures. Tim and I wanted to focus on one feature; we chose my eyes since they're my favorite feature. My lips are naturally thin and need some color to stand out, so we went with a pink berry lip. It was the perfect your-lips-but-better shade." The bride's something blue? "I had my nails done in a steel-blue color, Less is Norse by OPI."
The bride wore Naeem Khan. "I had a clear vision in my head for the entire vibe of the wedding, but I had no thoughts or opinions on the dress. None. The only thing I knew for sure was that strapless wasn’t my preferred look," Jenna explains of her shopping process. "I visited Mark Ingram Atelier [in New York City] for a trunk show. The gowns on display were all beautiful, but a little too romantic for my taste. My fabulous saleswoman, Sandra, suggested I try on Naeem Khan's 'Wilshire' dress; I was hesitant but trusted her. The second I slipped it on, I instantly knew it was my dress. I didn’t try on another thing after that."
The dress, along with Jenna and Kobi's love of Sci-Fi movies, informed the celestial and galaxy-inspired touches for the rest of Jenna's looks, as well as her jewelry. "I found Aquazzura shoes on Net-a-Porter that mimicked the starburst crystal embellishments on my dress. My jewelry was kindly loaned to me as my something borrowed by Kristen Farrell, who makes the most amazing celestial pieces. My hairpieces from Lelet NY were even larger Georgian stars." The bride capped off her look with a veil by Daphne Newman, which features a scatter of crystals that look (naturally) like a night sky.
The groom wore a Todd Snyder jacket, pants and a shirt from Suit Supply, a Lanvin bow tie, Gucci shoes, and custom black cat cufflinks from Etsy, as an ode to Maddie Cat.
The wedding, per Jenna's request, was void of color and florals. The strict color palette of black, white, gold, and greenery lent itself naturally to a deco feel—coupled with the subtle galactic motifs. The ceremony was held on the fourth floor of The Miami Beach EDITION, overlooking the ocean. The couple's 120 guests were ushered into the ceremony by "Oreo Butlers" dressed in white dinner jackets, offering guests flutes of Prosecco and Double Stuf Oreo cookies off silver trays, paired with custom cocktail napkins.
As guests sipped and nibbled while they found their seats, they were treated to a carefully curated playlist, created by the bride herself. The music included instrumental versions of Kanye West songs, soundtrack music from Interstellar, "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, "The Times They Are A-Changin" by Bob Dylan, "Buddy" by Willie Nelson, and "Edelweiss" from The Sound of Music. The groom and bridal party walked down the aisle to an instrumental rendition of Kanye West’s "Runaway" from composer Ramin Djawadi, while the bride and her father walked down the aisle to “Across the Stars, The Love Theme of Anakin and Padme” from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.
The ceremony, which took place at sunset, began as the sky was a cotton-candy hue and ended with stars in the sky, another nod to the event's celestial theme. In addition to their traditional Jewish ceremony, the couple wrote their own vows. Jenna, in yet another subtle Sci-Fi reference, turned to the stars when speaking to Kobi:
"When people ask me for relationship advice, I find myself struggling to dole out anything concrete. That’s because our love—what we share—cannot be rationalized or explained. This is how I look at it: our love isn’t the stuff of Earth. Our love is cosmic. Over the years we’ve built a foundation so trustworthy that I don’t know where my soul ends and yours begins. We’re one person split in two. When I think back to the time before you were in my life, I’m met with an overwhelming sense that you were always there—and you’ll always be there—in this life and the next. An eternity wouldn’t be enough time by your side. I loved you then, I love you now, and I will love you even when we return to stardust..."
For the reception, the couple hosted a seated dinner and dancing in the EDITION's ballroom, preceded by a cocktail hour at the event space's entry, completely decked out with a balloon installation by Balloons by Luz Paz. Two Star Wars Stormtroopers and an Imperial Officer paid a visit to guests while they sipped cocktails and enjoyed small bites, passing out table assignments in the process.
As for the decor, Jenna had a specific point of view. "I wanted the entire room to carry the same vibe as the EDITION's famous marble and gold lobby with clusters of palm trees. We brought in over a dozen palm trees to line the perimeter of the room and draped the back wall in white fabric to add lightness and brightness." The bride made sure gold details were peppered throughout the event, from the marble and gold table numbers to the chairs and tabletop, which she rented from Event Source & Panache Events.
When it came to the floral design, the bride had one note: no flowers. "I strongly dislike flowers, which was challenging when trying to find a florist who understood my vision," Jenna explains. "I find greenery to be much more appealing, but it needed to be a specific kind of greenery: not too garden-inspired or too tropical, something in between that mirrored the foliage seen around the property of the EDITION. It needed to feel cohesive. Helen from Ever After and her team were absolute rockstars. They turned the event space into a lush green heaven with vinery hanging from the ceiling and a mix of tall and short tropical greens on the centerpieces."
Dinner was catered by The Matador Room, Jean Georges Vongerichten's restaurant in the hotel. "Our guests told us it was the best wedding food they have ever had, period. Highlights included sweet pea guacamole, truffle fritters, crunchy potato nuggets, and the sautéed snapper," said the bride.
For dessert, the couple turned to Jessica Rothschild of Rock Star Pastries, along with an 18-foot candy bar of black, white, and gold treats. "Jessica made three cakes for our guests: vanilla chiffon cake with passion fruit bavarian cream and fresh sliced strawberries, almond cake with milk chocolate mousse and dark chocolate shavings, chocolate cake with dark chocolate mousse filling. Kobi and I ate almond cake with 2 layers of peanut butter fudge and 1 layer of vanilla bavarian cream," said the bride.
An 18-foot long dessert table was the room's showstopper. Fresh baked goods from Rock Star Pastries joined the bride and groom’s favorite chocolate, candy, and treats, like chocolate chip cookies, Twix bars, Junior Mints, Reese’s peanut butter cups, animal crackers, Rolos, lollipops shaped like Maddie Cat, and more. Guests danced during and after dinner to a DJ set, with a song list curated by the couple, and took turns popping into the Kardashian-style photo booth, a must-have for the bride. "Photog Booth was one of the first vendors I hired. I loved that they had the “Kardashian Effect” black and white photo filter and didn’t cost Kardashian-level money," Jenna says.
Half-way through the reception, Jenna changed into a Naeem Khan after party look, which she styled with Miu Miu boots and Georgian star earrings from Stephen Russell. After dinner, dancing, and dessert, Jenna and Kobi headed back to BASEMENT—but this time, to the nightclub rather than the bowling alley—for a late night of dancing. Said the bride of her after party: "We were kicked out for bringing a key lime pie from Joe’s Stone Crab into the club—but it was worth it. We didn’t get into bed until past 2 or 3 a.m. Who can even remember?" Guests left with beauty editor essentials in the couple's color palette: black-and-white boxed water to hydrate, and Tatcha face masks cheekily wrapped in sleeves that read "I got #sheetfaced at #goincohen2018."
The couple honeymooned in Switzerland and Austria, opting for a cold-weather getaway rather than anything tropical, given that they got married on the beach. "I have known where I was going to honeymoon since I was a child. My parents went to Switzerland and Austria on their honeymoon in 1989 and I always thought it sounded heavenly and romantic," Jenna said. "We decided to go two weeks after the wedding so we would be traveling over Christmas. We started in Vienna then went to Salzburg, Innsbruck, St. Moritz, Zermatt, Bern, and Zurich. It was the trip of a lifetime and every single day since we came back we’ve asked each other, “Do you remember our honeymoon? It was the best.”
Carrie Goldberg is HarpersBAZAAR.com’s Weddings & Travel Director. She oversees the site’s BAZAAR Bride channel, travel & dining content, and styles fashion and bridal editorials for BAZAAR.com. When she’s not traveling, she spends her free time in her hometown–New York City–where there is no shortage of new places to shop, eat, drink, see and explore.
