Just Married: Gabrielle and Richard | Elana and Marc

Some sisters do everything together — even marriage.

During the same week that Tropical Storm Hermine struck Florida, these two sisters had family and friends fly in from around the world — seven countries, to be exact — to celebrate their weddings, which were just five days apart.

The Proposals

Richard Bloom met Gabrielle through mutual friends in New York City, where they lived before moving to London together. They visited New York in July 2015, and Richard proposed on the Hotel Hugo rooftop overlooking Manhattan with her favorite song, flowers, champagne and an engraved box with photos of their travels.

Elana’s husband, Marc, is the brother of her longtime friend Paul Rosenbaum. She’s known Paul since she was 14 but didn’t meet Marc until Paul connected them during a visit to Los Angeles in January. Marc knew after the first date that he wanted to propose. On on a last-minute trip from Los Angeles to Florida in May, he proposed, sans ring, on Turtle Beach. Afterward, they met her family at the resort. Within minutes,they decided the sisters would marry the same week.

The Weddings

On Aug. 30, Elana and Marc were married on Turtle Beach. Storm clouds were in the distance, and a misty rain accented the brief Jewish ceremony. But Elana wasn’t phased.

“The ocean was behind us; birds were all around. It was so dramatic and pretty,” she says.

The reception followed at Turtle Beach Resort, which her parents built in the 1990s and still own.

Gabrielle and Richard were married at the Bay Preserve in Osprey Sept. 4. Due to the preserve’s wet ground, the reception was moved to Michael’s On East. Gabrielle says you never would have guessed that there had been a tropical storm the day before.

Favorite Moments 

“Being allowed to share our wedding week was the most special part,” Gabrielle says. 

Elana agrees.

“The whole week was happiness,” she says. “People who hadn’t spoken in years came together. Now they’re in touch again.”