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An Adrianna Papell Bride for a Colorful, Intimate Jewish Wedding with a View at Greens Restaurant and Fairmont Heritage Place, San Francisco, USA

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Jewish wedding Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square San Francisco USA_0057
Happy Fri-yay! Emily here, and as a former Bay Area kid, today’s glorious Jewish wedding tugged at every last one of my heartstrings. From the ceremony at Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square, held on a balcony gazebo overlooking the bay, to the reception at iconic Greens Restaurant, which features yet more beautiful views of the bay — and also happens to be my absolute favorite special occasion restaurant from my California days — Judy and David’s wedding is so quintessentially San Francisco it hurts.

So I might be just a little biased. But even if you’re not a nostalgic ex-San Franciscan, there’s so much to love about this wedding, from the orange and yellow floral color scheme to the whimsical tree-themed ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink With Intent to the ultra-intimate ceremony, where the couple had their guests stand around them rather than facing them.

Keeping things intimate was key for Judy, an  elementary school principal, and David, a software engineer. The pair always knew they wanted a small wedding, with lots of participation from their closest family and friends: Judy’s friends assembled and decorated the chuppah (which the couple found on Craigslist!), family members recited the seven blessings during the ceremony, and they were married by David’s sister, who is rabbi.

Now over to Judy, who looked absolutely radiant in her Adrianna Pappell dress…

Jewish wedding Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square San Francisco USA_0011

Jewish wedding Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square San Francisco USA_0011

Jewish wedding Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square San Francisco USA_0011 Jewish wedding Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square San Francisco USA_0011

How we met

Judy, the bride: We met on Coffee Meets Bagel.

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Behind-The-Scenes at the Galia Lahav 2019 Fashion Show at Browns Bride, London

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OMG last night was sooooo fabulous! I debuted my fabulous new pink STG-branded mic for a special ‘behind the scenes’ Facebook Live show at London’s world-famous Browns Bride, to showcase the breathtaking new Galia Lahav 2019 collection of dreams.

There were press, bloggers, and brides aplenty, all waiting in anticipation for the fashion show which revealed Galia Lahav’s latest jaw-dropping bridal collection, ‘Queen of Hearts’ (very aptly named with Royal Wedding fever in the air!).

Galia Lahav 2019
Chief Designer of Galia Lahav, Sharon Sever (center), Caroline Burstein, Creative Director of Browns Bride (to his right) and three beautiful Galia Lahav models

Known for creating some of the most covetable and fashion forward styles in bridal, there was a real buzz in the air and STG wanted to capture ALL the Galia Lahav thrills with our ‘behind the scenes’ Facebook Live show.

View the behind-the-scenes film by clicking here or clicking the film at the top of this post, and  watch me interviewing Sharon Sever, Chief Designer at Galia Lahav, and the force behind the incredible gowns, Caroline Burstein, Creative Director at Browns Bride (and very close friend of Smashing The Glass!), hair stylist to the stars, Joseph Koniak, and many more wedding industry A-listers!

Smashing The Glass Live

We also talked to an array of gorgeous bride-to-be-Smashing The Glass readers about their wedding plans (ADORE meeting the readers!) and fabulous bloggers like lovely Claire from One Fab Day, and Felicia from Stylechine (who’s also a bride-to-be too — we loved hearing about her wedding plans!).

It’s an absolute must-watch! 

Look out for the blog post and film from the actual fashion show once the images from the wonderful Anna Bianco are released.

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An Outdoor Garden Jewish Wedding at Kamesburgh Gardens, Brighton, and Peninsula Docklands, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Jewish wedding Gardens, Brighton and Peninsula, Docklands, Victoria Australia_0034
Today’s real Jewish wedding is pure Aussie garden fantasy. The sunlight, the palm trees, the Jurassic Park-style giant ferns–we’re definitely down under! Bride Issie and groom Adam held their outdoor ceremony amidst the ultra-lush greenery of  Kamesburgh Gardens and their reception at Peninsula, chosen as much for its ability to accommodate all 400 (yes, you read that right!) of their guests as for its gorgeous views of Victoria Harbour.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jeremy Blode Photography captured the energy and emotion of the day so well, zeroing in on everything from the breathtaking setting to the spirited Jewish dancing.

Speaking of that Jewish dancing — Issie’s dress, a bespoke gown by Vincenzo Pintaudi Couture, was designed with a super-smart feature: a detachable train. Issie wanted the ultra-dramatic look for her walk down the aisle that only a lovely long train delivers, but she was concerned about managing with it during the reception — especially the dancing. Vincenzo came to the rescue with a train attached to a belt, so that Issie could take it off post-ceremony and transform her glam gown into the perfect party dress.

There are just so many cool things about this wedding, but I think my favorite is the way these two did their badeken. They had a deeply intimate setup, involving their families in a really beautiful way and making for a dramatic reunion between the pair, who followed the traditional Jewish custom of staying apart for a full week (!) leading up to the wedding. Read on for all the juicy details….

Jewish wedding Gardens, Brighton and Peninsula, Docklands, Victoria Australia_0048 Jewish wedding Gardens, Brighton and Peninsula, Docklands, Victoria Australia_0048 Jewish wedding Gardens, Brighton and Peninsula, Docklands, Victoria Australia_0034 Jewish wedding Gardens, Brighton and Peninsula, Docklands, Victoria Australia_0048
How we met

Issie, the bride: Adam is a doctor and I am a nurse, very clichà© we know! Much to everyone’s surprise, we didn’t meet in the hospital setting. We had a mutual friend who introduced us while we were still studying our respective degrees and the rest is history!

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2018/19 Real Blogging Brides: Introducing Alyssa + Colin: How They Met To The Present Day…

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Today on the blog we’re introducing our 1st gorgeous bride from our crop of 2018 and 2019 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Alyssa who will be marrying Colin on July 20th 2018 at Latitude 41 in Mystic, CT, under a chuppah right on the water…

THREE FACTS: (1) Alyssa first met Colin when she was just 13 years old! (2) They are planning a Jew-ish wedding where they hope to highlight the religious traditions most important to them as an interfaith couple (3) They envision their wedding to have a nautical theme with a relaxed summer atmosphere, great seafood, a fire pit complete with a s’mores station (oh yes!), and lots of drinking and dancing with their nearest and dearest.

REAL-JEWISH-BRIDES
How We Met

I met my fiancà© Colin at just 13 years old. He was a silly kid in the back of the school bus and to be honest one of the only Jewish people I knew. We spent countless rides to school laughing and teasing each other relentlessly. Senior year of high school we reconnected and rekindled our friendship. I was drawn to his humor, easy-going demeanor, kind nature, and his ability to be friends with everyone! Our friendship effortlessly evolved into an amazing relationship that I never expected.  

Our Dating Days

The sweet summer quickly faded and we were abruptly faced with the decision of either calling it quits or maintaining a relationship at different colleges. Colin had been offered a golf scholarship to the University of New Haven where as I had wanted to pursue teaching at Central Connecticut State University. We decided to follow our hearts and see where the future would take us as a couple. Yet, in the back of my mind I always knew the reality of high school sweethearts lasting was extremely slim. Dating somewhat long distance provided it’s slight hiccups, but being with Colin was almost suspiciously easy.

A majority of our dates both then and now have been simple nights at home involving a home cooked meal and a movie.  But no matter how basic the dates were we always found ourselves in a fit of belly laughter. After dating throughout all 4 years of college I realized this was much more than teenaged puppy love, this relationship was different. From the college daze, to the post college unemployment, and now full time adulting we have already been through so much together and I cannot wait to see what life has in store for us as a married couple!

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A Demetrios Bride for a Stylish Jewish Wedding at Super Cool Venue Aynhoe Park, Banbury, UK

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Jewish wedding Aynhoe Park UK_0041
You’re in for an EPIC start to the week with today’s Jewish wedding, set at one of my all-time favorite venues: Aynhoe Park and featuring one of STG’s all-time favorite bands (and Recommended Vendor) The Function Band!

Britain’s coolest listed estate, Aynhoe Park is a 17th-century country house bursting at the seams with taxidermy animals (including a polar bear — and a unicorn!), classical sculpture, disco balls, and an eclectic art collection.

Gorgeous couple Danielle and Alex looked at venues all over the world, but none compared to Aynhoe. Take a peek at photographer Alex Beckett’s delightfully quirky snaps of their day, and I think you’ll agree with them. I just love how Aynhoe Park combines old-fashioned English eccentricity with 21st-century edge. Saying this place has character doesn’t even begin to cover it.

I also want to mention here that groom Alex planned this whole wedding on his own, top to bottom — how awesome is that?! Danielle had her hands full taking care of the couple’s adorable baby boy, and she had enough faith in her husband-to-be’s good taste to hand the reins over — though she drew the line when he offered to choose her gown!

And it’s a good thing she did, because the racerback fishtail Demetrios dress she ended up with could not have been more perfect. Now over to Danielle…

Jewish wedding Aynhoe Park UK_0003

Jewish wedding Aynhoe Park UK_0053

Jewish wedding Aynhoe Park UK_0048 Jewish wedding Aynhoe Park UK_0003 Jewish wedding Aynhoe Park UK_0003
How we met

Danielle, the bride: I met Alex when he first came to Dubai on holiday and we had a mutual friend. We had some really good nights out as friends, but he lived in the UK and I lived in Dubai.

I came back to the UK for Xmas 2012 and we ended up having our first kiss and then we spoke every single day, every single minute of the day. We managed a long distance relationship for one year. I would fly back when I could, and he would come to Dubai when he could. I think we managed to see each other every 4-6 weeks.

Once the year was up Alex asked me to move back and move in with him, which eventually I said yes to. It was hard for me leaving all my family in Dubai, but I knew I wanted to be with Alex and knew I had to give this a go.

Two months after moving back we had a dog, one year and half after moving back I fell pregnant and we had a beautiful baby boy called Arthur, and then obviously the wedding 🙂

So we started dating from December 2012 / I moved back to UK in January 2014 / I had Arthur on May 13, 2016 / we got married July 20, 2017.

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