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Dressed to the Nines: The bride wore a high-neck Monique Lhuillier gown that she describes as “a piece of modern art” with Sophia Webster strappy heels. The groom wore a navy tuxedo with black lapels from Enzo Custom.
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Classic Taste: Tiger Lily created the custom wedding invitation suite, including an invitation to the bride’s parents’ home for a traditional Shabbat dinner the Friday prior to the wedding. The decorative items were sourced from the VMFA.
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Abstract Design: Reception table centerpieces included fresh and dried hydrangeas, dried amaranth, toffee roses, snowberry, lisianthus, and dried agapanthus.
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To Have and to Hold: The bride’s bouquet contained larkspur, scabiosa pods and flowers, dried agapanthus, gomphrena, hydrangeas and lunaria.
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Party On: Abi and Jake joined the band onstage during the last song of the night, “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, an ode to their time as New York City residents.
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Sealed With a Kiss: The couple shared their first kiss as husband and wife after completing the Jewish wedding tradition of “breaking of glass.” Their chuppah (canopy) was decorated with pampas grass and hydrangeas.
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Bound Together: The rabbi signed the couple’s ketubah, or marriage contract, which asserts their commitment to each other and to maintaining a Jewish home.
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Sweet Dreams: Abi and Jake had a lemon buttercream wedding cake from Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods. “I grew up right near Ukrop’s bakery, so it was a special part of my childhood,” Abi says.
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Squad Goals: The bridal party strolled the grounds of the VMFA after the ceremony. The bridesmaids were asked to wear a black gown of any design and groomsmen to wear a black tuxedo and bow tie.
Abi Roodman and Jake Strange connected through JSwipe — an online dating app for Jewish singles — and went on their first date in 2016. In 2020, while on a drive through upstate New York, they stopped at Storm King Art Center, where Jake popped the question as they strolled through the contemporary art museum’s outdoor sculpture collection.
Though the couple resides in New Jersey, Abi grew up in Richmond and wanted to get married in her hometown. “I wanted to show our guests how wonderful the city is,” she says. In keeping with their art-themed engagement, she and Jake chose the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to host their nuptials, featuring an outdoor ceremony on the Belvedere Terrace followed by an elegant reception in the Marble Hall. “The museum has this classic feel with lots of modern touches,” Abi says. “It felt like a dream come true.”
Guests enjoyed a grand cocktail hour with passed and stationed appetizers — including smoked salmon latkes and chicken tempura — before feasting on a plated dinner of jicama and cucumber salad, a filet mignon and grilled salmon duet, and tiramisu for dessert. There were also end-of-the-night snacks of hot dogs and french fries.
Abi says she will always cherish the memory of entering the reception with Jake as husband and wife. “We walked down the stairs together and got to see all of our favorite people in one room,” she says. “It was the best adrenaline I’ve ever experienced.”
Planner: Stephanie Murtaugh, LK Events & Design
Florist: Photosynthesis Floral Design
Caterer: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Cake: Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods
Hair and Makeup: Transformations Artistry and Stephanie Parker Makeup
