One of the things we love most here at Smashing the Glass is seeing the ways couples combine their cultures and traditions into their big days. It’s not always easy, whether you’re planning a Jewish wedding or a Jew-ish one, but we see couple after couple pulling it off in their own imitable style.
And today’s pair is no exception. Bronwyn, an occupational therapist and Tal, who is in sales, had two very different sets of traditions to combine: the bride is Ashkenazi and South African, while the groom is Sephardi and Israeli, with roots in India.
It was important to the bride and groom that both the ceremony and the party reflect their respective backgrounds, and we love the clever ways they made sure to give each other’s traditions equal billing on the big day.
During the ceremony, Bronwyn and Tal mixed and matched their favorite elements, holding a Sephardi chuppah with some key Ashkenazi elements: Bronwyn circled Tal seven times, and the duo took some time for themselves in a yichud room after the ceremony. At the reception, the DJ mixed South African beats with Indian tunes — plus some Israeli pop for good measure!
The other thing we adore about this wedding is Bronwyn’s dress: her long-sleeved lace gown by Milla Nova proves you don’t have to show a lot of skin to look dreamy as you walk down the aisle. We can’t get enough of this soft, romantic bridal style, and we love the way Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman captured it — and everything else about this gorgeous day, from the emotion under the chuppah to the wild dancing at the reception (and he’s an amazing guy to boot!)
Bronwyn will fill you in on the rest…
How we met
Bronwyn, the bride: We met via Jswipe. Love at first swipe!
An Indoor/Outdoor Venue
We got married at Hatzer Netzer in Netser Sereni. There was a beautiful outdoor chuppah area, enclosed with a tent for the winter months, and the hall was big enough to provide enough space for all of our guests.
A Blending of Cultures
Tal and I are from very different backgrounds, so we wanted to bring in different aspects of our traditions to both the ceremony and the party. The chuppah was traditionally a Sephardi Cochini chuppah with a few Ashkenazi aspects: I walked around Tal seven times, and we had a yichud room afterwards.
Paperless Post
My friend Shiri Berzack helped us design the invites, and we used Paperless Post to send them out as we had many overseas guests to invite.
Hair + Makeup
My hair was done by Karmit Reznik and my makeup by JM Makeup.
A Milla Nova Dress
My dress was by an Italian designer Milla Nova. I bought it from a supplier in Johannesburg called Vonve Bridal Couture. I changed the dress by cutting the train, and covering up a bit more.
Sentimental Accessories
It was wonderful for me to wear my sister’s veil and a bracelet that Tal gifted to me on my birthday.
The handsome groom
Tal wore a beautiful tailored blue suit, brown shoes, and a bow tie.
Bridesmaids in Black
My bridesmaids wore black dresses whichever styles made them feel gorgeous and happy.
Our fabulous photographer
Herschel Gutman was a calm and reassuring person to have with us on the day. He chose a lovely venue for photos and captured the wonderful emotion of the day. He spoke English, which was a factor for me, and based on his previous clients I was confident he would be able to give me what I wanted for my day.
A Fab DJ
We loved our DJ, DJ Yaniv. He got the crowd going and created SUCH a vibe.
A Multicultural Wedding
As I said, Tal and I are from very different backgrounds, and we wanted to bring that into the wedding day. The amazing DJ understood our vision for the music by playing some South African beats as well as a few quirky Indian songs. Tal and his family and friends also love Israeli pop and Sephardi music.
There were no speeches, but to honor my dad I asked the DJ to play a special song for us that we had after the first set of dancing. The song was Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Prayer.
Bronwyn & Tal’s little white book
Photography – Herschel Gutman
Venue – Hatzer Netzer
Bride’s dress – Milla Nova purchased at Vonve Bridal Couture
Hair + Makeup – Karmit Reznik and JM Makeup
Invitation – Paperless Post
