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Top Honeymoon Destinations for 2020/2021 {with Abby Taubman}

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Photo courtesy of Gili Lankanfushi
This is a guest post by Abby Taubman of Colletts Travel.

The Honeymoon

A once in a lifetime holiday or a short break to unwind after the big day. Wherever you choose to go you want it to be romantic, memorable and special. When the world really is your oyster it is hard to pinpoint where you both want to go that will fit with your budget, time frame and that perfect mixture of two people’s ideal holiday.

Photo courtesy of St Regis Mauritius Resort

I have compiled a small, yet perfectly formed list of some my top destinations that may help you narrow down those ever-growing honeymoon destination lists appearing in your google searches. My list will cover long haul to short haul, beaches to cities and everything in between. So sit back, relax and let the honeymoon bucket list dreaming commence…

Photo courtesy of Niyama Private Island, Maldives

India & Maldives

India – a classic honeymoon destination. From the vibrant and buzzing cities of the Golden Triangle in the North to the calm and relaxing countryside of the South where a journey on the backwaters is an absolute must; India is a country that really offers it all and a country I instantly fell in love with the first time I visited.

Northern itineraries include cities such as Delhi, Agra where the famed Taj Mahal is, Jaipur and Udaipur. Before ending in Mumbai. Those itineraries exploring the South include Munnar, Alleppey, Pune Kumarakom and of course Cochin.

Photo courtesy of Vakkaru, Maldives

Because of the wonderful location of India, you can combine your amazing adventure with a beautiful beach where you can sit back, relax and reflect on everything that has just happened. My recommendation would be the pristine beaches and crystal-clear waters of the Maldives – a location that is at the heart of the saying ‘sit back, relax and unwind.’ A choice of islands, board options and budget allows all travellers that little slice of heaven.

Photo courtesy of Auberge du Soleil

California & Hawaii

The best way to describe any honeymoon here is romance, sunsets and wine. Your choice of cities and locations allows you to mix and match all three.

Picture this: you and your partner cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible car, the wind blowing in your hair with only the Sat Nav directions to argue about. Together you can explore the beautiful scenery down the Highway 1 and stop in places such as San Francisco, The Big Sur, Carmel, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. And for those of you who fancy a little detour why not add in Napa Valley and Yosemite National Park.

Photo courtesy of Montage Laguna Beach

Combine your California road trip with the tropical state of Hawaii. Hawaii is a true bucket list location. Your days could be spent zip lining, snorkelling or hiking in the morning followed by relaxing afternoons on the beach and romantic dinners watching the sunset. A winning honeymoon combination all round.

Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Kyoto

Japan

Japan allows you to tick off your honeymoon bucketlist whilst also visiting THE hot travel destination right now. With the 2020 Olympics coming up this country is full steam ahead in giving tourists an amazing holiday.

There are only a few beaches but that doesn’t mean it can’t make for a perfect honeymoon. Take the speedy bullet train between cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakone and Osaka to really explore the whole country. Famous for its cherry blossom, the crazy lights of Tokyo and of course its food, Japan will give you a non-stop action packed honeymoon that will leave you wanting to return!

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A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Modern Classic Jewish Wedding at Cipriani 25 Broadway, NYC, New York, USA

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Every so often, we come across a wedding trailer that truly moves us – one that captures all the emotion and beauty of the day so well, we feel as if we’d been there ourselves.

That’s certainly true of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kiss the Bride Films’ beautiful coverage of the Jewish wedding of Jess and Brett. The couple emphasize how important it was for them to pick vendors they enjoyed spending time with, and we’re not at all surprised that working with Kiss the Bride was “a dream come true” for the pair, or that their comfort with and confidence in their video team helped them enjoy their big day stress-free.

Photographer Roey Yohai was equally fabulous – Jess and Brett say he’s known for bringing out the realest smiles in his couples, and judging from theirs that certainly seems like an accurate statement!

One thing’s for sure: there was plenty for the photo and video teams to capture, from the majestic venue – an Italian neo-Renaissance masterpiece with 65-foot ceilings – to the breathtaking white orchid chuppah. We love how the couple picked transparent lucite poles to represent “the openness and transparency of our future home, our relationship and our hearts.” Awwwww! (And if that didn’t already put you into cuteness overload, did we mention that Jess and Brett even got their sweet puppy Jojo in on the action?)

There’s so much more to say about this exquisite wedding, but we’ll let Jess – who looked radiant in Monique Lhuillier – fill you in on the rest…

Jewish Wedding Cipriani 25 NYC USA_0178 Jewish Wedding Cipriani 25 NYC USA_0178
How we met

Jess, the bride: We first crossed paths in October 2010 at an AEPhi and APES mixer during our sophomore and senior years at Emory University. We made an instant connection and soon started dating. When we met up over winter break that year, our families suspected we were a perfect match – as our date involved shopping at Bloomingdale’s!

Brett graduated in 2011 and moved to NYC and two years later was reunited with Jess when she graduated from Emory and started dental school at NYU. 24 hours prior to their joint commencement, as Brett graduated with a master’s from NYU on the same day as Jess, Brett popped the question atop Bow Bridge in Central Park much to the surprise and excitement of Jess.

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Real Jewish Brides: For Lindsay It’s All About The Ceremony

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Lindsay, a member of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club, will be marrying Dan on 25th August 2019 at Kochav Hayam in Caesarea, Israel. Click here to read all Lindsay’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Lindsay and Dan were set up by Lindsay’s cousin! (2) They are planning an English-style destination wedding with a few modern twists in Caesarea, Israel. (3) Even though they are both Jewish, Lindsay is more interested in the religious element of the day than Dan, so they are working to balance tradition with their personal style – our favorite!


Ceremony is the most important thing to me

Whilst the most important aspect of the wedding for Dan is music, for me it’s the ceremony. It’s safe to say I’m slightly more in touch with my religious side than Dan is (he’s only just agreed to go prawn-less post-wedding), so when it came to choosing a rabbi it was so important we found someone with a connection to us – if anything just to keep Dan awake during the ceremony!


Image by Andreas Markakis from Nitsan and Oren‘s wedding

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A Reem Acra Bride for a Romantic Jewish Wedding at the Conrad Hotel, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

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Jewish wedding Conrad Hotel Cartagena de Indias Colombia_0052

Would you just LOOK at that chuppah?! The all-white floral scheme, the mirrored columns, and above all, the height! Total masterpiece. And would you believe that every last detail of Melissa and Joey’s beautiful Jewish wedding is just as stunning?

Take Melissa’s jawdroppingly gorgeous Reem Acra gown. It’s truly the ultimate princess fantasy dress, with gorgeous detailing as far as the eye can see – don’t miss the closeups in  El Marco Rojo’s exquisite photos of the day. Pure romance.

We’d also like to mention that Melissa and Joey had 420 (!) guests at their wedding – and yet they managed to assemble sweet welcome bags (made of straw and pompoms, channeling those beachy local vibes) for each and every one. The bags highlighted the couple’s wedding hashtag, #joeytienesasson (the bride’s last name is Sasson), and were stuffed with hangover packs, water, and welcome snacks– including some traditional Colombian sweets.

Oh, and this also happens to be Smashing The Glass’s first ever Colombian wedding, which we’re pretty jazzed about – read on for all the rest of the details…

Jewish wedding Conrad Hotel Cartagena de Indias Colombia_0052 Jewish wedding Conrad Hotel Cartagena de Indias Colombia_0052
How we met

Melissa, the bride: We met through mutual friends –  our families had also known each other for many years. After a few years of getting to know each other, we met again at Joey’s cousin’s wedding and that is where our story really began.

I was living in Bogota, Colombia, and my husband Joey, lived in Miami, so we saw each other every 15 days or more if we could.

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A Naeem Khan Bride for a Cozy, Outdoorsy Jewish Wedding at The Hideout, Kirkwood, California, USA

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Jewish wedding The Hideout Kirkwood CA, USA_0017
We love it when a couple isn’t afraid to do their Jewish wedding their own way – after all, helping couples do just that is really at the core of our mission. So naturally we were psyched when Kathleen and Carter’s wedding popped up in our inboxes.

These two knew their priority was a warm celebration with their loved ones, minus the stress that can so easily dominate wedding planning. They also knew they wanted to honor the groom’s love of the outdoors.

So they went right for the stuff that mattered to them and scrapped what didn’t when crafting their super fun wedding weekend at rustic venue The Hideout, in the mountains just outside Tahoe, full of hot chocolate, giant lawn games, and – above all – plenty of quality time with the couple’s nearest and dearest.Photographer Lindsey Gomes captured the wedfest in all its cozy glory.

We love that the wedding party made breakfast together in the lodge on the morning of the wedding, and Kathleen took the DIY approach to her own and her bridesmaids’ hair and makeup, “because I wanted everyone to be relaxed and feel like they were just getting ready with friends.” The best!

Another thing we love? The couple’s gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tallulah Ketubahs, inspired by the breathtaking mountain setting.

There’s so much more we could say about this fab, laid-back wedding, but before we hand you over to the bride (who looked simply smashing in Naeem Khan), we’ll leave you with one last tidbit: she and Carter opted to exchange vows to each other in private on the morning of the wedding before saying them in front of their guests during the ceremony so they could have that special moment together, just the two of them. Awwwww!

Jewish wedding The Hideout Kirkwood C


A Wedding in the Mountains

Kathleen, the bride: Carter is a consummate outdoorsman, and he has slowly but surely brought me into his world (I own a backpacking pack, a pair of skis, and climbing shoes, to name just a few new acquisitions since we started dating!), so it was a goal of mine to find a venue and plan a wedding that he would be super excited about – and that’s exactly what happened!

I knew it needed to be outdoors, remote, preferably in the mountains because that’s his happy place. The Hideout was exactly that – secluded, breathtaking, unique, and just outside Tahoe. Carter loved it as soon as I brought him on the first visit.

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