Super exciting day for us here at Smashing The Glass, as this is the first ever Jewish wedding we’ve blogged from Berlin, Germany, and we absolutely LOVE it! Anna and Assaf easily picked one of the coolest Jewish wedding venues we’ve seen yet: Teppich Fabrik (“Old Carpet Factory”), which, as its name suggests, is an old carpet factory loft building near the city center of Berlin (which automatically gives it some edginess cred right there).
The couple loved it for its industrial yet romantic vibes, and we are totally, totally with them — check out the effortlessly glam shots from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ben Kelmer (in the words of the bride: “Nobody has ever made us look this good!”) to see for yourself.
As a very secular couple, Anna, a lawyer, and Assaf, a carpenter and project manager working in real estate, knew a traditional ceremony wasn’t for them, and we love the way they crafted a laid-back, individual ceremony mixing Jewish customs with the duo’s own personal touch: there was a chuppah (built by the groom and his friends!), blessings by friends, children running around, and, of course, a smashing of the glass!
We also love that these two organized a kids’ corner with babysitters, movies, games, and even a few beds, so that parents could dance all night worry-free (and we really do mean all night — the dance floor didn’t close up until 5 a.m.!).
Now over to Anna, who looked super chic in her dress from local designer Chiton…
How we met
Anna, the bride: We met at a hummus restaurant in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg in 2011 and started dating a few days later.
Industrial Romance
We got married in an old factory loft building located on a peninsula very close to the city center of Berlin (Halbinsel Stralau). The venue was called “Old Carpet Factory,” Teppich Fabrik.
We knew that we wanted to get married there the moment we first entered the place. It was both industrial and romantic at the same time, and the staff assured us that we could dance as long and be as loud as we wanted. This was very important to us, and many other venues in the city had quite a strict curfew or noise policy.
The venue was also big enough for 140 people — in Germany this is considered a rather large wedding. They had delicious food as well!
Team Effort
We had no wedding planner and we actually did not need one, because our friends and family gave us such amazing surprises and helped us so much in all kinds of ways. This made the wedding very special and very personal. We are so happy to have so many great people in our lives.
Photo Invitation
Our invite was a picture of us on a tandem bike, with Anna wearing a veil. Our friend took it in the streets of Berlin, the photoshoot was hilarious and so much fun. Afterwards we had to ride the bike for almost another hour to return it to the shop where we borrowed it.
Hair + Makeup
A hair and makeup artist came to our apartment the morning of the wedding to style Anna and her sister. A few weeks before the wedding she came over and trialed different hairstyles with Anna.
We are huge fans of Game of Thrones, and Anna really wanted a hairdo that looked somewhat similar to things she saw on Sansa and Margaery in the show. The hair stylist told us that they were wearing a lot of wigs! But she did manage Anna’s hair without any hairpieces, just bringing on the curler!
A Chiton Dress
Anna’s dress was tailored by an amazing and very nice designer in Berlin Schà¶neberg. Her shop is called Chiton. She even lent Anna the shoes she wore during the wedding, because Anna was worried that new shoes would give her blisters.
Flowers in Her Hair
Anna had just one flower in the hair, matching the flower decoration we used in the venue.
Borrowed Shoes
The dress designer let Anna borrow a pair of her shoes — she is so nice!
The handsome groom
Assaf wore a blue suit from Cinque with burgundy colored suspenders and a handkerchief in his chest pocket made from the same cloth as Anna’s dress. Assaf’s dad had always been a big fan of suspenders and his son looked good in them, too!
Mix and Match Bridesmaids
Anna had 5 bridesmaids and they all looked stunning! No dress code for them.
Homemade Chuppah
Assaf and his friends built the chuppah themselves the day before the wedding. It consisted of 4 large pieces of wood, decorated with flowers and a piece of cloth on top.
A Personal ceremony
We are not religious so there was no ketubah, and our rabbi/priest was actually our friend Meital. She threw us a great chuppah in the garden of our venue. We had flower girls and boys running around and our family and friends gave us blessings during the ceremony. We broke a glass and played Mizrahi music in the end. The ceremony was very individual and fun, not formal at all. We loved every second of it.
Seasonal Flowers
We found an amazing florist who gave Anna and her friends a workshop in the venue on the day before the wedding. She came over with a small truck full of flowers which Anna and her friends then used to decorate the entire place. The wedding was in September, so we used mainly seasonal flowers like dahlias, hydrangea, gladiola and baby’s breath.
Photographer
Our photographer was Ben Kelmer and nobody has ever made us look this good! Our wedding was actually on his birthday, but he decided to fly from Tel Aviv to Berlin anyway.
Cheesecake!
A triple-story New York cheesecake with some red berries on top. Yummy! The bakery is called Franz Karl, located in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg.
Surprise Entertainment
Our friends threw us a lot of surprises, for example a flash mob, a self-made movie and an olive tree where everybody could hang little pieces of paper with wishes for our marriage. And then Assaf’s sister and Anna’s childhood friend played a song and sang together on the piano. It was so beautiful, we thought our hearts would burst…
We had a great DJ who had played in several clubs in Tel Aviv and Berlin before, he kept us going all night. The dance floor finally closed around 5 a.m., some people moved on to next door club Wilde Renate and ended up in Birgit und Bier in the end.
Flower favors
We didn’t really have favors, but many people took some of the flowers home, since there were just so many of them.
A kids’ corner
Assaf’s sister is a kindergarten teacher, she helped us find babysitters and we organized a kids’ corner with movies, games, and a few beds on the top floor of the venue. This way parents could dance all night!
Honeymoon in Portugal
We had gotten engaged in Lisbon a year before the wedding and it was so much fun, so we went to Portugal for our honeymoon, too.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Enjoy — it is so much fun! A small glass of champagne before the chuppah really helps with the nerves!
Anna & Assaf’s little white book
Photography – Ben Kelmer {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – Teppich Fabrik
Bride’s dress – Chiton
Groom’s attire – Cinque
Hair + Makeup – Schmink Tante
Cake – Franz Karl
After party – Wilde Renate and Birgit und Bier
