Archives for 2016

An Ossie Clark Bride for a Super Cool Afternoon Tea Interfaith Jew-ish wedding at Home House, London, UK

07/06/2016 by Karen

I am whole-heartedly in love with this super sassy, achingly chic wedding set in the magnificent Home House, one of my favourite places in London (and the place I chose to get ready for my wedding and spend the first night of married life!).

Think sophisticated fashion and an abundance of green and white blooms mixed in with some brilliant creative details, a vintage Rolls Royce, so much love and warmth, and a wonderfully intimate Jew-ish wedding ceremony, complete with a beautiful chuppah and of course the smashing of the glass!

I first heard from the bride two years ago when she emailed me looking for ideas for her interfaith ceremony, and I was so flattered to hear how the blog had helped her in the planning of her Jewish-Catholic wedding.

I just wanted to say thank you for Smashing The Glass — I’ve found it massively helpful! I am Catholic and my fiancà© is Jewish, so we really want to combine the best of both religions, and as the planning has fallen to me I’ve found it a really helpful resource to refer to.”

These kind of emails are the sort of thing that I thrive on so thank you so much Jess!

And isn’t she just the most stunning Bride? She has that natural, thrown together look we all long for, but somehow never achieve (or maybe that’s just me). She wears the most astonishing vintage Ossie Clark dress paired with Bionda Castana courts. Simply divine.

And the groom rocks the fashion stakes too with a very sharp suit, and you won’t want to miss the brilliant message sewn on the inside of his collar which is revealed right at the bottom of the post. It’s a MUST SEE — it will definitely make you chuckle!

I want to also single out the couple’s exquisite stationery designed by the super lovely and talented Ruth Kaye Design and calligraphed by the ludicrously talented Paul Antonio Scribe. I know these suppliers very well and it’s so good to see their work at the epicentre of this wedding.

Of course it’s not just the decor and creative details that make a wedding awesome, it’s how much of a good time everyone is having and this lot are having A REALLY GOOD time, all captured by the wonderfully talented Rebecca Goddard whose work I’m thrilled to be featuring on the blog today. Enjoy this one folks…

“My best Jewish wedding photo” by Rob Clayton

05/06/2016 by Karen

A weekly series where I ask some of the world’s best wedding photographers to pick out their favourite shot from their Jewish wedding portfolio. This week it’s the turn of Rob Clayton.

‘The Scene’ by Rob Clayton

Deborah and Eden embrace the quirkier side of life. So when I received an email post-wedding, asking if we could go out again for a ‘trash-the-dress’ style shoot (without actually trashing her exquisite dress), my imagination went into over-drive. I made grand plans, even purchased some props at my own expense, and waited for the perfect evening.

When that evening came, we drove for almost an hour to the location (which shall remain a secret for now I’m afraid!), only to be turned away at the door by security. We had known this was a possibility, and had chanced it anyway, but were disappointed nonetheless. However, the evening still had about 10-minutes of sunlight left, so we decided to at least take advantage of that, rather than have completely wasted the journey. I was lucky to find this scene (I had to move my car, and found this on my way back from the car park), and was immediately taken by its beauty. Five minutes later, we were done. As for the secret location, I have not given up hope of a shoot there with Deborah and Eden (it’d really be worth it!)”

10 Stylish Judaica Pieces For Your Home

03/06/2016 by Smashing The Glass

This is a guest post by Andrea Cohen

In 1984, the same year Miami Vice premiered on American TV and Frankie Goes to Hollywood was getting us all to ‘RELAX’, I was a 13 year old Bat Mitzvah. I spent almost every other weekend that year attending another friends’s Bat Mitzvah, and sneaking out of her service to peruse the temple’s Judaica collection. I was a budding artist and designer on a search for objects that were new, clever, modern and inspiring. Would there be anything in those vitrines that I’d like to see on my holiday or Shabbat table?

Uh, no, not really…

Suffice to say I was an unimpressed tween, disappointed by the short range of Judaic styles on display. As far as I could tell back then, modern Judaica fell into three general categories:

1. Chagall inspired colourful designs
2. Brightly colored geometries reminiscent of Agam’s work
3. Cold and severe steel or silver minimalist works

Where were the warm, modern, tasteful menorahs, seder plates, and kiddush cups for design-savvy Jewish girls like me?

32 years later I’m still asking the same question.

Stylish Modern Judaica. Does it really exist?

There are many talented Judaic artists working today, but there is still limited contemporary Judaica available that reflects the tastes of young, modern, urban, assimilated Jews. However, there are a handful of Judaic pieces that would bring me joy to have in my home–works that reflect my personal style and aren’t a throwback to the 1980s (or 1880s). Any of them would also make an excellent wedding gift. So here are my top 10 picks for my favourite modern Judaica, with links to where you can find them.

1. Futura Seder Plate by Jonathan Adler $150

A Hayley Paige bride for a ‘seashore & sequins’ Jewish wedding on the beach at Sandpearl Resort, Clearwater Beach, Florida, USA

31/05/2016 by Karen

Think coastal, think sparkly, think utterly gorgeous.

That’s Amanda and David’s day. These two wanted a casual beach look and a formal black-tie feel so they mixed the two together, and you know what? It just works! When you’re contemplating a theme for your wedding you should never feel restricted by the ‘should’s or what’s perceived to be the done thing. Anything goes as long as it’s 100% you…

Amanda grew up in a small beach town and had always dreamed of a wedding on the seafront, but once she’d set her sights upon a statement wedding gown (and when I say ‘statement’ I mean a vision of sophisticated sparkle with a generous dose of modern frou frou) she took that dream, added in sequins and a ball gown, and turned a casual beach wedding into a super chic formal beach affair.

It’s all just so fabulous and full of shimmery, sparkly fun — there are golden flamingoes, a chuppah at sunset, sparkly Kate Spade KEDS, glittery tablecloths and a gourmet popcorn bar!

And if you’re looking for sparkly bridesmaid’s dress inspiration then Amanda’s choice of gown for her girls will definitely give you a touch of the green eyed monster…

On a different note, I must also mention that Amanda carried the most beautiful memory locket in her bouquet to honour her father who tragically passed away in 2013. This is the most touching and creative idea for carrying the memory of a loved one down the aisle — you must take a look.

Finally, don’t miss Amanda’s ‘How We Met’ story below. Her and David met online on JDate and she describes it all so wonderfully. Amanda and David are one of several JDate couples I’ve had the pleasure of featuring on the blog (I love hearing the myriad of different ways of how couples meet so I always ask them!)

Stay tuned to view all the fabulous images by Donna Von Bruening and the oh so romantic video by Rad Red Creative. You’re going to go crazy for it all.

How we met

David’s dad had first created his JDate account in hope that he would meet a nice Jewish girl. After comical dates on other dating sites, he gave JDate a shot and sent me a brief message. My mum was very convincing of the fact that I should try online dating, and even bought me a few books about the subject that she had pre-read, highlighted and sticky tabbed. I created a profile on JDate (while living in Alabama) since I was in the process of moving back to Florida and knew quite a few sorority sisters that met their husbands on the site.

Little did I know that I would be living less than a mile away from my future husband, and we didn’t even know it. On October 3, 2014 we met in person and had our first real date. A date that started as a quick lunch while my car was in the shop, turned into an all day adventure on the lake and lasting until dinner. After our lunch at Panera discussing our education and work history, we went out on a nearby lake on David’s jet-ski. When David was pulling the ski back on the trailer, I caught a glance of him in the rear-view mirror, at that moment I knew that I could see myself marrying David. I also believe in signs and how the universe communicates its message to you. When we were in David’s car I glanced at the Jeep dashboard and it said “Since 1941,” this struck me as such a coincidence- my dad was born in 1941 and had an antique car with the license plate “It’s a 41.” My dad had passed away in 2013 from a quick diagnosis of cancer. I knew this was his way of telling me, he’s something special. We instantly clicked and knew that this was the real deal. I called my mum early the next morning and told her “he’s perfect, I know I’m going to marry him.” Little did I know, David had called his parents and told them the same thing.

Our connection grew quickly and easily turning into love. JDate connected two people that were meant to be together when they otherwise never would have crossed paths. On February 15, 2015 David planned a brunch to gather our families together. After brunch on a clear blue sky day, David proposed with a gorgeous ring inside a box of chocolates. He even made sure my nails were painted that day, an important detail that he took note of.

“My best Jewish wedding photo” by Stark Photography

29/05/2016 by Karen

A weekly series where I ask some of the world’s best wedding photographers to pick out their favourite shot from their Jewish wedding portfolio. This week it’s the turn of Daniel Stark of Stark Photography.

‘Breaking The Glass’ by Stark Photography

We love Jewish ceremonies because of all the Jewish traditions, and our favourite is the breaking of the glass. We had an idea to place our GoPro right by the glass. We crossed our fingers something would turn out and hopefully not at the expense of also breaking the GoPro. But either way it would have been worth it.“

Archives for 2016

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‘The Scene’ by Rob Clayton

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This is a guest post by Andrea Cohen

Stylish Modern Judaica. Does it really exist?

1. Futura Seder Plate by Jonathan Adler $150

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How we met

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‘Breaking The Glass’ by Stark Photography

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