Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog - Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Kate McDonald Bride for a Book-Themed Jewish Wedding with His and Hers Rain Ponchos at the Julia Ideson Library in Houston, Texas, USA

19/10/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We’re totally in love with today’s literary-themed Jewish wedding. Rachel and Paul took full advantage of their library venue with some super cool touches, like library card save-the-dates (stamped with significant dates in their relationship – awwww!) and a library-style card catalog of place cards instead of a traditional seating chart. Is that the cutest, or what?!

Turns out Rachel, who is pursuing a PhD in art history, and Paul, who works for a marketing software company, are not only adorable, but also clever. They knew they didn’t want to miss out on their fantastic catering, and they also knew that couples often get so busy running around and greeting everyone they don’t get a chance to eat.

So they decided to eat their full dinner meal during their yichud during the cocktail reception, making the most of their special first moments alone as a just-married couple. The best part of all? To protect their wedding clothes from any spills, they opted to wear“His” and “Hers” rain ponchos while eating – you’ve got to check out Grant and Laine Daniels’ photos of this adorable moment.

Oh yeah, and Rachel wore a super cool gown from Kate McDonald, one of our favorite new-to-us finds at New York Bridal Fashion Week earlier this month! We are totally digging the cool damask fabric. Rachel picked out totally awesome (and unexpected) wedding shoes too – you won’t want to miss them! Now over to the bride…

How We Met

Rachel, the bride: We were set up by our close friends who thought we would hit it off, and I guess they were right! That was five years ago, and it was clear we were right for each other right away.

Wedding Photography with an Edge: An Engagement Shoot with LUZ

18/10/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Back in April, we ran an Instagram competition to win an engagement shoot with one of the very best cutting-edge wedding photographers in the business, LUZ Weddings. Joelle and Jason were the lucky winners of our competition, and we are totally OBSESSED with the results of their fantastic shoot (which ended up taking place post-wedding due to scheduling, hence the bridal attire!).

Shooting around Stratford, London, photographer Shay from LUZ found the absolute coolest backdrops to make these photos really pop – bride Joelle says these images look like artwork rather than just your standard engagement pics, and we could not agree more.

LUZ are based in Tel Aviv and regularly work all across Israel as well as in the UK. If you’re looking for something a little different for your wedding photography, we could not recommend them more strongly. Their architectural inspiration and artsy aesthetic make for truly one-of-a kind photos, unlike any we’ve seen before.

Now for a few words from the lovely Joelle about what it was like making this fab shoot happen…

A Festival-Themed Jewish Wedding with a Ball Pit and Mini Golf at Brook Farm Cuffley, Hertfordshire, UK

17/10/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

You know we’re all about “Your Jewish wedding, your way” here at Smashing The Glass. It’s really our mission, and while all the weddings we blog are chosen for their authenticity and individuality, sometimes one really blows us away with its inventiveness.

That’s definitely the case today. Rachel and Josh packed their festival-themed Jewish wedding so full of unexpected fun, from the ball pit (!!!) to the BBQ-style mezze menu to the mini golf course!

Since a festival is nothing without fantastic music (and plenty of it), the pair booked multiple musical acts, including Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, the incredible Totem.

Our hats are totally off to Rachel (who owns the photo booth company Megabooth!) and Josh for crafting such an utterly unique day, and one that is so obviously, unabashedly them. You won’t want to miss Tom Webb and Dan McCourt’s glorious photos of this one-of-a-kind wedding… or Rachel’s writeup of the “mad party,” as she says!

How we met

Rachel, the bride: My husband and I were set up by mutual friends. However, the proposal was an interesting one! We got engaged in the desert on a stargazing tour, went for a walk, saw a shooting star, and then he got down on one knee!

New York Bridal Market Fall 2019 Recap {and Top Bridal Trends for 2019}

16/10/2018 by Emily Sacharin Leave a Comment

Ines Di Santo’s afterparty at the Baccarat Flagship Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images

5 days, 18 appointments, approximately 57 million Insta stories (if you missed them, you can catch the best bits in our highlights), and countless fantastic dresses later, New York Bridal Fashion week is over for another season. Basically Fashion Week for wedding dresses, Bridal Fashion Week (aka Bridal Market) is easily one of the most fun times of a wedding blogger’s year.

Some of the collections are presented at full-on runway shows (and Ines Di Santo put on a particularly epic one this Bridal Market, plus the coolest afterparty at the Baccarat Flagship), while others are shown at more intimate appointments for small groups of buyers from bridal boutiques (plus press, of course), sometimes with the designers present.

Suzanne Neville

Limor Rosen

Ines Di Santo Photo by FIRSTVIEW

I had some fantastic conversations with designers and PR reps, learned a ton about everything from who actually buys those epic but unwearable-looking designs you see on the runway (answer: often no one, since some designs are purely intended for editorial impact and never even make it to production) to the differences between what American and British brides are looking for in a gown (according to Sassi Holford, it’s half an inch: Americans invariably want deeper sweetheart necklines, while the Brits prefer theirs with less of a dip). The more you know!

There’s so much fantastic bridal fashion in the pipeline for next year, and I’m so excited to share it with you, along with my take on some of the top trends we’ll be seeing (or, in some cases, continuing to see) over the next year. From classic elegance inspired by Meghan Markle’s gown to a burgeoning range of alt coverups from capes to ruffs (perfect for under the chuppah!) to unexpected bursts of color, 2019’s going to be an exciting year for bridal. Pin your favorite looks!

Caroline Castigliano

Suzanne Neville

Real Jewish Brides: What’s Most Important to Rebecca for her Wedding

16/10/2018 by Smashing The Glass Leave a Comment

Rebecca will be marrying Danny on 1st September 2019 in London, UK. Click here to read all Rebecca’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Rebecca and Danny met on JSwipe (2) Rebecca is a Senior Event Planner at Food Story (who just so happen to be our favorite kosher caterers!) and plans other people’s weddings for a living (3) Rebecca and Danny are planning a “Marbella meets Tuscany” themed wedding in the heart of London!

What Really Matters

Working for Food Story I get to see so many beautiful weddings; stunning centrepieces, bespoke stages, dancefloors, bars, the list can go on. But when working on an event I am very much into the logistics and don’t often step back to take it all in.

During the busy wedding season just gone, I tried to find moments to think about:

What is most important during a wedding?
What is important for guests to feel at a wedding?
What’s most important for the couple at a wedding?

I am not sure I have the answers for everyone, however for me I know that the answer to all three questions is… LOVE. Most people who know me will tell you I am not very sentimental, so this answer was a little surprising. But, when I think about our wedding day all I can think about is surrounding myself with the people I love most.