Jodi Rebecca Finer, the creative director of fabric and wall-covering distributor S.Harris, and Mathew Benjamin Zalk were unsuccessfully set up by mutual friends, but somehow he ended up sitting in front of her at an Esther Perel talk at Summit.Co. After a little less than a year of dating, he moved from Dubai to Tulsa, Oklahoma and proposed at her parents’ favorite restaurant with a customized menu—each course represented a phase of their life, and it ended with “Will you marry me?” written at the bottom.
Because the two love being in nature, they chose Park City as the destination for their wedding weekend. The couple loved the idea of all of their family and friends gathering in one place and held their ceremony and reception at the Montage Deer Valley. They chose Silver Summit Event Design to step in and help with planning their late summer gathering in Utah.
To walk down the aisle, Jodi wore her grandmother’s jacket and headpiece along with a beautiful Reem Acra dress that she found at B. Hughes in Nashville. To go with her gown, she put on a watch from her great aunt, who helped raise her, and borrowed a pearl and diamond piece from her aunt, that once belonged to the bride’s great grandmother.
On September 2nd, 2018, with a subtle breeze and perfect 75-degree weather, Jodi walked down the aisle with her parents to Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.” Their longtime rabbi led the service, and a few moments in, one of Jodi’s bridesmaids fainted, but fortunately, found her footing after a while. Aside from that brief scare, the bride felt totally at peace during the ceremony. Once the two were announced as husband and wife, the reception began on the grand terrace and ended with dinner and dancing in the ballroom of the Montage.
Eight months before the wedding, the happy couple started practicing their first dance, which incorporated waltz, bachata, rumba, and meringue. And when the moment came, they executed the choreography perfectly to “Moon River” by 2Cellos, “Shine” by Years & Years, “The Way You Make Me Feel” by Janelle Monae, and “Duele el Corazon” by Enrique Iglesias, while their crowd went wild.
After everyone danced the night away, those close few friends, who were still awake, made their way back with the newlyweds for late night cookies and pizza.
