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A Rita Vinieris Bride for a Multicultural Jew-ish Wedding at Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

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We’re not sure what we’re more excited about in today’s Jew-ish wedding: the ultra-personal ceremony the couple crafted that blended their collective Italian, Israeli, and American backgrounds to perfection, or the jaw-dropping Tuscan scenery–and photographer Edoardo Agresti’s exquisite captures of the day, which somehow manage to be natural and artistic all at once.
 
Oh… and we’re going nuts for the couples Fiat 500 wedding car too!

Lital and Andrea, who run Padano Productions –providing sound, lighting, and AV for events (yes, that includes weddings!) in the LA area–knew their top priority was crafting a wedding that was totally them. That meant combining Andrea’s Italian heritage and Lital’s Israeli-American background, and making sure the Jewish traditions they incorporated into the day were meaningful and fit with their personal beliefs.

Our favorite example? They reworked the traditional seven blessings to put a unique, personal spin on the ancient text, and then had their closest friends and family read them aloud — 3 in Italian, 3 in Hebrew, and 1 in English.

And then there’s the ketubah. Lital and Andrea found the perfect combination — text that reflects who they are as a couple plus fabulous design — in mega-talented Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Stephanie Caplan from The Ketubah whom we ADORE!

On a less spiritual note, we also love the fun favor these two opted to hand out to their guests: hats! But not just any old junky hat to shade them from that midsummer heat during the outdoor ceremony. These were super nice, sylish straw hats that, Lital reports, many of the guests are still wearing to this day!

Now over to the bride, who looked totally gorgeous in her boho chic gown by Rita Vinieris — not to mention her epic flower crown!

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How We Met

Lital, the bride: we met on J-Swipe (even though Andrea is not Jewish)!

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2019 Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Mimi + Andrew: How They Met To The Present Day…

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Today on the blog we’re introducing our 2nd gorgeous bride from our crop of 2019 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Mimi, who will be marrying Andrew on 7th July 2019 at Hazel Gap Barn in Welbeck, Nottinghamshire, UK.

THREE FACTS: THREE FACTS: (1) Mimi and Andrew met online in 2013. (2) Mimi is a flight attendant and writes her own travel and beauty blog on the side (3) Andrew proposed to Mimi, who at the time was nearing the completion of her conversion to Judaism, at the top of Masada – wow!


How We Met

Andrew and I met online. I used to succumb to a full-body cringe if I had to tell anybody that – but five years on and it seems a pretty common way of meeting, if not the most common. It wasn’t on J-swipe, nor was it on J Date, and that is because whilst Andrew was Jewish – I was not.

We met on the good, old fashioned Plenty Of Fish, otherwise known as ‘POF’. Ok… perhaps there’s room for a mini-cringe still. Andrew is a lawyer and I work as a long haul flight attendant and so between us we were both pretty busy – but we always prioritised our dates with each other, and Andrew took me on some pretty amazing ones.

We spent our first year of dating practically living on the Northern Line, which isn’t fun by anyone’s standards. Andrew lived in North London whilst I was in Clapham, but eventually we realised it would make life much more enjoyable if we at least both lived on the same side of the Thames.

And so after a year, I moved in with Andrew, we adopted two house bunnies who hop around our apartment (people think we are a little bit bonkers, and they’re probably right!) and the rest – as they say – is history!

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A Samantha Sleeper Bride for a Magical, Musical Jewish Wedding at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue and Old Billingsgate, London, UK

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How as your first night of Hannukah last night? I love this time of year with latkes, donuts, candles, and presents! And before we dive into today’s stunning Jewish wedding do check out my TWO Hannukah gifts to you if you’re a bride-to-be!

So today’s wedding is jaw-on-the floor… That chuppah. That veil. That London summer sunshine. That gorgeous couple! This Jewish wedding is 100% pure magic, from start to finish.

Being that Adam is a filmmaker and Chloe is a photographer, it’s not surprising that ALL the visual details are totally on point. Take that chuppah. You might think such a wild natural design would look out of place in the uber-traditional synagogue setting.

But you’d be wrong. You could’ve fooled us into thinking a lovely little thicket of trees just happened to sprout up in the middle of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue and we’d have believed you, that’s how perfect a fit it is.

Or Chloe’s dress (and veil!) from Samantha Sleeper — it’s the absolute perfect combination of elegance and whimsy, and those hand-sewn blush silk flowers on the veil?! OBSESSED.

Being pros themselves, the couple demanded nothing less than the best when it came to photography, and did they ever find it in Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Crawleys! From the emotion to the gorgeous details to the wild dancing, they captured every single moment so incredibly beautifully. By the time we finished looking through their exceptional photos, we honestly felt like we’d been there.

With Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson on hand to deliver one of his trademark soulful performances at the chuppah, we’re hard pressed to think of anything that could have made this wedding better.

But here’s one: This multitalented couple also gave a pretty epic musical performance themselves, with Adam on guitar and Chloe on vocals — no big deal in the middle of your big day, right?! You don’t want to miss Juno Wedding Films’ recording of the big moment — or any other details of this exceptional day, for that matter.

Alright, take it away, gorgeous Chloe!


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How we met

Chloe, the bride: We met through a set up of mutual friends! Chloe was living in Israel and Adam in London and we emailed one another for months before meeting! Top tip – never say never, anything can happen!

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Happy Hanukkah + TWO gifts for every bride-to-be!

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It’s a very happy Sunday! Hannukah is here, I have gifts for you, AND I’m in today’s New York Times talking all things chuppahs (naturally!) and how they’ve become a style statement of their own.

So Hanukkah is here! That means eight nights of lighting the menorah, eating fried foods, and everybody’s favorite thing… presents!!!

And what would Hanukkah be without a present or two from me as well?!

So I have TWO gifts for brides-to-be joining Smashing The Glass’s members-only Club for Jewish and Jew-ish Brides during Hannukah (starting now!)

First up, if you join with the annual subscription you’ll receive a 1 hour 1:1 Skype wedding consultancy session (value $500) with me (or if you prefer, 2 x 30 min sessions, spread throughout your wedding planning)

“Recommendations I might never have found”

Here’s what bride-to-be, Clare Robinson, had to say about her 1:1 wedding session with me:

“Karen and I discussed everything from my wedding dress fears to stationery vendors to adding really personal touches to the day. She has such a wealth of experience and so many recommendations I might never have found.
 
I finished our session feeling so excited and positive and like I knew now what was most important for the day. Most of all I felt a new found sense of confidence that this was our day and that actually I could pretty much do it however I wanted (thank goodness for my wonderfully laid back fiancà©!).”

You have the whole of Hannukah to claim your 1:1 gift , but there are limited spaces for the 1:1 sessions, so join Brides Club ASAP if you’re interested, as I expect them to go like hot cakes latkes.

“Karen’s recommendations and ideas were excellent”

Here’s what newlywed, Caroline Porter had to say about her 1:1 session with me:

“My session with Karen assisted me in finding my perfect venue (before the session I had searched high and low and never found this one on my own!) and our perfect Rabbi (not straightforward as my now-husband is not Jewish but we wanted to have a fully Jewish ceremony) and inspired us with creative ideas.
 
Karen helped me look at the bigger picture to form ideas of what I wanted my wedding to look and feel like, from the wedding ceremony to the vibe of the party to the details, encouraging us to personalise it as much as possible.
 
This is what led me to later make decisions on vendors and other details, many of which were Karen’s contacts who were all fabulous. Karen’s taste is cool, modern and elegant so needless to say her recommendations and ideas were excellent.”

From Jewish wedding checklists to music playlists, to amazing vendor discounts, to action-plans, personal advice, and SO much more, you’ll also get every benefit of being a member of Brides Club – my secret community for planning your perfect Jewish or Jew-ish wedding — as well as your 1:1 session.

Plus a free smash glass pouch for under the chuppah too!

And there’s more: My 2nd Hannukah bonus gift to you is a ‘SMASHED IT” smash glass pouch for under the chuppah!

Yes, if you choose to join Brides Club for $25 per month during the 8 days of Hannukah (starting now) you’ll receive the ultimate designer pouch (below) for the glass for FREE (retails at $28).

We’ll even pay for postage + packing to wherever you are in the world — it’s all on us!

And of course annual subscribers will get the pouch — as well as your 1:1 session.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Smashing The Glass Featured in Today’s New York Times!

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Karen Cinnamon
What an exciting day! I have been published in the New York Times — a publication with global influence and readership that I hold in very high regard.

The New York Times journalist, Hilary Sheinbaum, first got in touch with me about the story a few months ago and to see it finally in print today is a dream come true!

If you’re reading this in the USA you can read all about it in today’s New York Times ‘Sunday Styles’ section. If you’re not, click here to see the online version, and find out what I have to say about chuppahs, getting creative with yours, and how budget has absolutely nothing to do with it.

The chuppah symbolises the home you and your partner will build together during your marriage, but as well as using the chuppah to symbolize your home, I’m a big advocate of letting your personality shine through too!

Today The New York Times; tomorrow, the world!

Love,