FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the lead time for a custom chuppah?
To allow time to design and make the chuppah, a minimum lead time of 10-12 weeks is best. Depending on the season I may be able to accommodate a shorter lead time; please feel free to contact me to check.
What is the price range for a typical chuppah?
In general, you can expect custom chuppahs to start around $900, with most under $2000. The final price of a custom design will depend on its size, materials and complexity. I'm happy to tailor my proposals to a particular budget if requested.
Do you supply poles or a frame?
I don't. Usually the hanging method for your chuppah (poles, a frame, or an alternate method) is arranged with your florist or wedding planner.
Do you work with clients outside the Chicago area?
Yes! I've designed and made chuppahs for clients throughout the U.S. and Canada.
ABOUT DIANA
My interest in chuppahs began with the search for my own chuppah. We wanted something simple but not plain, modern but warm; we wanted a chuppah that used material from our families, and that we could keep after the wedding. When I didn't find what we were looking for, I decided to make the chuppah myself.
I loved making our chuppah. More than that, I loved how it felt to stand together beneath a chuppah that had so much personal meaning for us. From that experience, the idea for Gray Dove was born.
One thing I find most beautiful about chuppahs is that no two are ever the same. The perfect chuppah for one couple will be one that traces their family history in photographs; for another it will be a chuppah quilted to become a blanket for a future baby, or decorated with fruits and flowers to symbolize the beginning of their new life together. It's extremely rewarding to help my clients realize their vision for such an important moment in their lives.
ABOUT GRAY DOVE
The name Gray Dove comes from the poem "A Wedding" by Boris Pasternak:
From "A Wedding"
Into the enormous sky flew
a whirlwind of blue-gray patches—
a flock of doves spiraling up
suddenly from the dovecotes.
And to see them makes you wish,
just as the wedding-feast is ending,
years of happiness for this couple,
flung onto the wind like doves.
Life too is only an instant,
only a dissolving of ourselves
into everyone,
as if we gave ourselves as gifts.
Only a wedding, only the depths
of a window and the sound rushing in,
only a song, or a dream,
only a blue-gray dove.
--Boris Pasternak