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Real Jewish Brides: Roxanne’s DIY Ideas for her Wedding

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Roxanne will be marrying Nathan on March 31st 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Click here to read all Roxanne’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: Roxanne and Nathan met in summer 2010 at a Jewish summer camp in Missouri. (2) They are having a DIY wedding and Roxanne is toying with the idea of designing and sewing her own wedding dress as she has a background in sewing and historical fashion design (3) Roxanne is converting to Judaism and the couple are planning a traditional Jewish wedding with an Edwardian garden party feel!


A Lot of DIY-ing

Our wedding feel has evolved into an Edwardian garden party feel. Our venue is a foursquare style house in a city park, built in the 1910s. This is very important as it comes into play with our DIY’ing. An easier list is what we are not DIY’ing!

We are getting the food catered by professionals, photography, the grooms clothes, and our rings will all be done by pro’s too. Everything else we are doing DIY or DIY lite.

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Image by Une Vie en Provence from Gladys and Jonathan‘s wedding

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A Calla Blanche Bride for a Colorful Outdoor Destination Jewish Wedding at Casa Felix in Barcelona, Spain

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Jewish Wedding Casa Felix Barcelona Spain
Shana Tova lovely readers! Can you believe it’s Rosh Hashanah already? Where did summer go?! What are you all doing to celebrate? Are you getting away to somewhere gorgeous?

Today’s fantastic couple did for their stunning destination Jewish wedding…in Spain! Julia, a cake decorator (though sadly, she couldn’t make her own wedding cake, given the distance!), and Brian, a restaurant manager, are obsessed with Spanish culture and cuisine, and knew they wanted an intimate destination day, so it was really a no-brainer for them to choose to wed at historic, picturesque Casa Felix.

Full of rich colors, Spanish vibes (including a traditional flamenco show.. I mean WOW!), and gorgeous views, we love how Julia and Brian let their stunning venue set the tone for their wedding aesthetic. Everything just fits together so exquisitely, from the unusual color combo on their fabulous floral chuppah (yes, purple and orange CAN go together!) to  photographer Andrea Ferrara’s elegant style.

The pair credit their amazing planner, Smashing The Glass recommended vendor Reviva Weddings’ Laura, with making it all happen. They knew that between the distance and the language barrier, they’d have a tough time pulling the day together on their own. But they wanted to make sure they found someone experienced in Jewish weddings, which isn’t a given in Spain. So where did they look? Right here on Smashing The Glass! Day. Made. We ADORE hearing from couples who we’ve helped connect with awesome vendors.

Julia, who looked radiant in her gown by Spanish (so on point!) designer Calla Blanche, will fill you in on the rest…

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How We Met

Julia, the bride: We met in Israel on a Birthright trip from our local Jewish organization, Ezra. We were supposed to go with two different groups on different dates. I ended up changing my date and group, and so did Brian – to the same date. It’s very hard not to believe in fate after this.

Brian is five years younger than me and I was not really ecstatic to begin a relationship with such a young guy (19). But, he was very mature for his age and I was open to give it a try. Six years later we are married. 🙂

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A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Contemporary Cool Jew-ish Wedding at Le Meridien Chicago, Illinois, USA

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Jewish Wedding Le Meridien Chicago USA
Today is a special day for all of us at Smashing The Glass: it’s our first time blogging the Jew-ish wedding of one of our very own Brides Club members! Jeanette had the SWEETEST things to say about the inspiration she found in the Club and on Smashing The Glass:

I absolutely adored Smashing The Glass. The personal outreach, appeal to a specific group of brides, detailed blog posts, and overall eye for uniqueness and quality made it a much more visited website and Facebook page than other wedding blog. I used Facebook Lives and articles from STG to aid in my planning process, such as in writing my speech, deciding on a veil, buying a smash glass (and knowing how to use the pieces after), designing a cake, picking songs, and many other elements I’m forgetting! I can’t think of anything missing from the blog!”

Aw… we’re blushing now… Jeanette, a speech-language pathologist, and Chris, an architect, are all about contemporary minimalist design, and they channeled their passion for all things modern into an ultra-unique wedding aesthetic.

From the geometric hanging centerpieces (!) to the striking cake with metallic geometric dividers between the layers to the stylish stationery (100% designed by the groom!), this wedding has some serious flair. Jennifer Hyde of JHyde Photography did such a fantastic job capturing all the cool touches.

We’re so thrilled that the couple credits STG with helping them do everything from picking songs to writing speeches, but one thing we can’t take credit for? Jeanette and Chris’s brilliant idea to “table hop” during dinner: instead of staying in one place for the whole meal (or, alternately, running around frantically with no time to eat), they chose four tables to sit at, one for each course. That way, they were able to spend time with more of their guests, in a relaxed way. Such a smart setup!

Now over to Jeanette, who looked stunning in her tulle-tastic blush pink Maggie Sottero gown (and matching rose gold hair!)…

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How We Met

Jeanette, the bride: We met in college at Southern Illinois University, at a party one of my now-bridesmaids convinced me to go to!

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How to Turn Your Pinterest Wedding Finds into a Reality Without Blowing Your Budget

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Image: Jasmin and Eliot’s Jewish Wedding

Ahh Pinterest – where would we (as wedding obsessives!) be without its pages upon pages of pretty inspiration? Here at STG we LOVE Pinterest and have many fabulous Jewish wedding boards that we know you’ll love right here.

But if your other half, or your budget, disagrees with your pinspiration, then never fear. You can still go for all the ideas you love on Pinterest without totally breaking the bank balance. Read on!


Rachel and Michael‘s DIY day

Use Pinterest as a self-discovery tool

Pinterest doesn’t have to be taken literally. What we mean by that, is that it can simply be a handy way to work out your wedding likes and dislikes, and a great way to give guidance to suppliers.

If you pin things to a board, on instinct alone, you will soon see a theme or color scheme start to naturally emerge, which is much easier than sitting down and thinking “what’s my wedding theme?” Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Stella York Bride for a Romantic Outdoor Summer Jewish Wedding at The Waterview in Monroe, Connecticut, USA

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This gorgeous Jewish wedding is just the absolute essence of summer. Between the idyllic lakefront setting, the soft pastel color scheme ranging through everything from the lovely bridesmaid dresses to the romantic papercut ketubah from Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com to the gorgeous in-season blooms — we’re pretty smitten with this one.

We love that Emelia, a 4th-grade teacher, and Jon, an engineer, took full advantage of their July wedding date. This wedding is positively bursting with roses, peonies, and hydrangeas — some of our summertime faves — and Shaina Lee Photography and videographer Mark Holst from Your Event Matters captured that summer sunlight exquisitely.

This duo also had a fantastic hora — no mean feat considering that Emelia converted and few members of her family had never so much as attended a Jewish wedding before! After a bit of initial confusion, Jon’s family and the couple’s friends showed them the ropes, and pretty soon everyone was joining in and having a blast.

So if you’re planning a wedding where, for whatever reason, the bulk of your guests may not be familiar with Jewish wedding customs — don’t worry! The moral of this very happy story is that Israeli dancing is easy to pick up and pretty much universally enjoyed.

Now over to Emelia, who struck the perfect balance between refined elegance and laid-back summer style in her strapless lace Stella York gown…

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How We Met

Emelia, the bride: We went to the same college, had many mutual friends (including Jon’s sister, who was in my sorority!) but didn’t meet until a few years after we graduated – on JDate!

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