Jstyle Weddings spotlight | Alyssa Rothstein & Alex Giterman

Photos by Lauren Gabrielle Photography

How did you meet?

We both signed up for the same Birthright trip to Israel through Hillel at Ohio State. We were talking at a party and realized we both were interested in going, but I (Alyssa) was nervous about traveling. We eventually exchanged numbers and went to the trip orientation together.

Do you have any interesting stories to share about getting to know one another?

We didn’t meet until college, but we actually both went to The Temple-Tifereth Israel growing up. Neither of us remember each other from temple though. Our families also lived eight minutes away from each other, near the Orange/Solon border.

How long did you know each other before you got married?

We met when we were 20 and dated for seven years.

When did you know you wanted to marry your partner?

Alyssa: I knew Alex was special when we met at a difficult time in my life and he brought me comfort. I had a feeling he was more than just a college boyfriend because I was always imagining our lives together post-college. Now, I can’t even remember a time before him.

Alex: When we graduated college and moved back to Cleveland together we were able to spend more quality time together. I realized it wasn’t just a college relationship with Alyssa, it was something much more.

What was your original wedding plan?

We had a wedding planned for 225 people at The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland. Instead, we had a backyard wedding for 20 people. We hope to one day celebrate with our closest friends and family, but we know we made the right decision by getting married during the pandemic and starting our lives together!

How did the pandemic affect your wedding plan and wedding day?

The pandemic caused us to cancel our original wedding plans. Everything actually shut down the day after my bridal shower in March, and we never imagined we would have to cancel our wedding. We went through many different possibilities of moving the wedding or canceling altogether, but we ultimately wanted the same thing – to just be married. We decided our date meant so much to us and we didn’t want to wait months or even years to get married.

What did the pandemic affect most?

We had to cancel our honeymoon to Italy. Alex had spent many months planning our trip and we were so disappointed to cancel. We still hope to go one day.

Was there any spot-on advice you received prior to the big day, either in terms of the wedding or lasting relationship?

When deciding what to do about the wedding at the beginning of the pandemic, our closest family told us life is too short and unpredictable to wait, and a wedding is just one day in your lives. The marriage is what you both want, and they were right.

Were there any conflicts between the two of you or your families in the planning process? Did either of you have to make any sacrifices?

We both were the first of our siblings to get married, and we are both from Cleveland, so there were a lot of people we wanted to invite. I (Alyssa) think our moms had more trouble cutting down their lists than we did.

What was the most fun or interesting Jewish aspect of your wedding/partnership?

We were very excited to sign our ketubah. It really is such a beautiful, meaningful aspect of our religion, and I told Alex from the beginning that I was really looking forward to signing it together.

“The ketubah signing was the best moment of our wedding day. It was the moment when everything became surreal as we were surrounded by our closest friends and family. Our parents each said a few words to us, sharing their blessing of our marriage, and it all began to feel very real.”
Alyssa