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Facebook Live Catch Up: Savannah Miller’s Bridal Collection 2018 {with The Wedding Club}

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Last week I was lucky enough to meet and interview Savannah Miller, live from the heart of central London, at South Kensington’s, The Wedding Club. 

Savannah is truly one of the most modest and down-to-earth bridal designers I have ever met, not to mention INSANELY talented. She previously worked with Alexander McQueen, Matthew Williamson and Anya Hindmarch, before creating the label Twenty8Twelve with her sister, actress and fashion designer, Sienna Miller.

Savannah’s designs are often associated with  a Boho Luxe style, but I personally love a glamorous structured look, and absolutely adored her collection. Check out our Facebook Live above to see which glam gown I was totally and utterly OBSESSED with!

Savannah Miller bridal

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How to Decide Whether or Not To Invite Children to Your Wedding

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children-at-weddings
Every engaged couple must, at some point in their wedding planning journey, address the eternal question: to invite kids or not to invite kids? For some, it’s an absolute no brainer – but for others, the issue can be agonizing and even divisive.

So we thought we’d write up a little pros and cons piece for those of you grappling with whether or not to involve children in your big-day plans! Here is our entirely objective take on the issue:

children-at-weddings
The case for inviting kids

1. There are many advantages to having children present at your special day. Kids are full of joy – there’s nothing more heartwarming than looking over at your wedding and seeing kids playing, perhaps symbolizing the family in your own future, if you want to have one. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Brides – Gillian: DIY-ing Our Own Ketubah

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Gillian will be marrying Pete on 8th September 2017 (just 3 days from now!) in a Jew-ish wedding at the Ballroom at Ellis Preserve in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, so today is her final blog before her Big Day! You can click here to read all Gillian’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Gillian is Jewish and Pete is Catholic (2) A Rabbi and a Priest will officiate at their wedding (3) Gillian is a Health & Wellness Coach and Pete is a Travel Occupational Therapist.

REAL-JEWISH-BRIDES_Gillian_new
What’s The Right Ketubah For You?

Anyone who has started planning a Jewish or Interfaith Wedding has thought of what they want their Ketubah to look like. It’s an important part of the Jewish wedding ceremony and it’s something that you will hopefully hang on the walls of your home forever. So where does any modern bride start when planning this element of her wedding? Obviously Smashing The Glass, Pinterest, Etsy, and the World Wide Web. Only to realize that Ketubot (plural form of Ketubah) also come with their own gammat of choices to be made.

What text should you choose, should you have English and Hebrew, who should you ask to sign your Ketubah, what size paper do you want, and how much do you want to spend? The choices are endless, and then you have to pick an aesthetic you like to match – that you and your future spouse both like!

DIY-ketubah

Gillian’s DIY Ketubah!

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Have You Considered an Equality-Minded Jewish Wedding?

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Equality Jewish Wedding
This is a guest post by Jessica Haselton (above) whose wedding we featured on Smashing The Glass last month

Modern weddings are largely concentrated on the bride. From before the wedding begins to the end of the reception, the bride is principally the focus of our attention. What is her dress like? How will she do her hair? Her makeup?

We’ve so come to accept the bride as the focal point of the wedding, it’s likely never occurred to us – those in attendance, and many of us planning weddings ourselves – that the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony is by and large centered around the groom. 

Now, this isn’t to say brides don’t play an integral role. It is that, historically and traditionally, the responsibilities in the wedding ceremony lay with the groom. The traditional Jewish wedding ceremony doesn’t provide the bride with a speaking role. Only the groom takes a vow under the chuppah and places a ring on his betrothed.

But the good news is that there are ways to incorporate more balance and equality into the Jewish wedding ceremony without foregoing any of its timeless and oft-beautiful traditions. If you’re interested in a more equality-driven wedding, I’ve put together a list of five ways to incorporate egalitarianism into your ceremony and elevate your big day!

Equality Ketubah
A cattle-free ketubah

Let’s start with the Jewish marriage contract, the ketubah. Even before you get to the chuppah, you begin laying the foundation of your marriage through your marriage contract. Not all ketubahs are the same – the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Interfaith, Humanistic, Same-Sex texts, and many others, differ widely from one another. For this reason, it is important to take the time to select a text that is representative of you and your partner’s values (and if you need help with ketubah texts, you could contact one of these STG-recommended ketubah designers).

Traditionally, ketubahs are written in Aramaic, and many today still are. I’d like to think mine served as a detailed account of how much cattle my father was willing to fork over in exchange for my hand. Okay, obviously that’s not what my ketubah said. While the ketubah is mostly ‘legalese’, it does codify the commitment the couple is making, and details the rights of the bride and responsibilities of the groom. Unless you were an expert in your Hebrew School’s 6th grade Aramaic class, you should ask to see an English translation of your ketubah so that you know exactly what you’re signing up for.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Brides – Hayley: Finally Jewish… and the Final Countdown!

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Hayley will be marrying Ashley on 17th September 2017 at El Cortijo De Los Caballos in Spain.

THREE FACTS: (1) Hayley & Ashley met on Tinder (2) Ashley proposed with a Haribo ring (after which he pulled out the actual engagement gem!) (3) Hayley is converting to Judaism to marry Ashley.

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Officially Jewish!

Yay! I’m officially Jewish!!  I had my Mikveh on the Monday which I can honestly say I left feeling refreshed and just different, I can’t explain but a good feeling of different! 
 
The Thursday came around very quickly and off I went to the Liberal Beit Din. I loved everything about it! I felt Ashley was more nervous then I was but  I had three fantastic Rabbi’s talk to me and ask me all different questions about Judaism and my essays. What was meant to be fifteen minutes long, ran fifteen minutes late! I literally did not stop talking!
 
I then left the room for the rabbis to make a decision, I came back into the room with Ashley. I was then explained that I was officially accepted into Judaism. Happy was an understatement! I have worked so hard to become Jewish and I can say that I genuinely feel Jewish. I have a lot of Ashley’s (now mine) friends to thank for my constant texting and having to answer all my Jewish questions especially Amy!
 
Rustic chuppah
Chuppah from Jade & Adam’s Jewish Wedding on Smashing The Glass

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