Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Home > Advice + Planning > Page 48

Divine Designer Dresses and Dancing Brides at White Gallery 2017

by

Sassi-Holford-2018All images by Kate Nielen

It’s that time of year again – when the wedding industry gathers for its own version of Fashion Week — London’s world-renowned White Gallery. Having had such a blast last year, I decided, of course, to do it all over again. Armed with fabulous photographer and STG Recommended Vendor, Kate Nielen, I spent last Monday in the company of some of the most exquisite designer gowns out there.

Sassi Holford

The highlight of the event was, of course, the stand-out catwalk show by STG Recommended Vendor and leading designer, Sassi Holford, complete with dancing models – see video below! (and we swear they were dancing to “Israeli Men”…. who’s even heard of “It’s Raining Men“?!).

Needless to say, Sassi Holford’s 2018 Collection was truly a sight to behold, with its sweeping, regal silhouettes, and the show-stopping Ivana gown, truly fit for a queen.
 
 

A post shared by Sassi Holford (@sassiholford) on


All catwalk images above, from the 2018 collection by Sassi Holford (and that’s the designer herself in the image above!)

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

8 Ways to Entertain Your Wedding Guests With Personalized Touches

by

Your wedding, on account of being an exciting celebration of love, will definitely be entertaining, no matter what you do. But sometimes, a few little extra touches can really elevate the atmosphere, and help to create unforgettable moments and even take-home treats for you and your guests. 

If you’re stuck for special, above-and-beyond wedding ideas, look no further. Here are some of our favourite ways to absolutely spoil your loved ones. 


Image by Herschel Gutman, from Dorit and Eli’s Israeli wedding

1. Flower station

One trend that seems to be particularly prevalent in Israeli weddings (see Dorit and Eli’s florally fabulous big day) is the somewhat whimsical and magical idea of a flower station. Your florist could set up a stall with buckets of fresh flowers, where your guests can adorn themselves with custom-crafted flower crowns and bracelets. 

Not only is this a great way to keep your guests entertained, but also perfect for photographs, as everyone will be decked out with floral accessories. 


2. Photo booth

Whether you go all out on a professional booth, or decide to DIY it (here is one of our favourite Etsy customizable photo booth backdrops), you can’t go wrong with a photo booth. Guests absolutely love grabbing a silly prop and taking some fun, lighthearted snaps.

The best bit? They’re so beautifully shareable online after the big day – and show a whole other side to the atmosphere to the official pics, as everyone has their guard down.

Oh, and if you have a printable booth, or a polaroid camera, you can create a guest book for your nearest and dearest to stick in their best booth snaps and write you a message underneath. 

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Favorite wedding books… and other stories

by

Wedding-Books
Above image: Ilaria Petrucci Photography via B.Loved Hive

It goes without saying that blogs and magazines are great sources of wedding inspiration – but sometimes, there’s nothing quite like a good, sturdy book in which to bury yourself for a few sweet hours, or read in little digestible chunks before bed. 

We often hear how stressful planning a wedding can be, and that can certainly be true, but it’s also a joy. It’s the one time in your life that you get to be a bride or groom, caught up in all the excitement of planning one incredible day to celebrate your future together. 

So, by that logic, we believe everyone who is planning a wedding should have at least one beautiful, informative and helpful coffee table book, or a wonderful story or collection of poetry, that takes pride of place during the whole process. 

We, of course, have a few of our own well-thumbed wedding books:

Best-Wedding-Books

Rock My Wedding: Your Day Your Way by our dear friend and absolutely inspirational fellow wedding blogger, Charlotte O’Shea. 

We also adore A Practical Wedding by Meg Keene and Style Me Pretty’s gorgeous offering by Abby Larson.

But what else might you find inspiring? We asked our Recommended Vendors which books they would recommend to serve this very noble purpose – and here’s what they said:

Mandee from Mandee Johnson Photography said: “I would recommend Jamie Lee’s Weddiculous. It’s a fun and honest survival guide to wedding planning that acknowledges the bumps, breakdowns and insanity along the way to saying “I do”, while making you laugh.”

Isabel from Wickham House said: “For our couples, I would recommend either the Debrett’s Wedding Handbook – it’s classic, definitive and reliable — or the Wedding Bible by Sarah Haywood.

My favourite book, however, is The Wedding Planner & Organizer by Mindy Weiss. I am a sucker for hand-written notes and ideas, so this is the perfect combination of useful tips and space to plan and create your perfect wedding.”

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Facebook Live Catch Up: Best Songs for your Wedding with DJ Knight

by

On Wednesday evening DJ Knight and I had SO much fun when went live for the April episode of our monthly STG show live from my apartment in London!

This month is was a ‘Wedding Songs’ special and we were bowled over by DJ Knight’s (otherwise known as Kwamà©’s) fantastic recommendations for First Dance Songs, Smashing The Glass songs, Last Dance songs, and everything in between! There were so many good tunes mentioned (and played — DJ Knight brought along his decks!) that we’ve created a playlist below of every song brought up.

There’s a Spotify playlist for you to listen to and import directly, as well as YouTube links of every song. That’s how much we love you – and it’s all below!

The show was absolutely brilliant and if you missed it, you can still catch up by watching the replay above. Kwamà© was just fantastic and it’s an absolute must-watch if you’re still thinking of ideas for your wedding songs!

We had SUCH a great reaction to this that we are going to follow up in June’s STG Live show with a ‘Best Hebrew Songs for Jewish Weddings’ special with chazan Jonny Mosesson – keep your eyes peeled for that one!

Our monthly STG shows air  live on the last Wednesday of every month on the Smashing The Glass Facebook page at 8pm GMT (that’s 3pm EST, 12pm PST, and 9pm in Europe) to coincide with #WeddingWednesday.

Make sure you like the Smashing The Glass Facebook page to be notified of all future shows.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Get all your music questions answered in April’s STG Facebook Live Show!

by

Smashing-The-Glass-DJ-Knight
I am so excited for this month’s Facebook Live show! Wedding music questions are ALWAYS coming up in our private Facebook group for Jewish (and Jew-ish) brides and grooms (and if you’re not a member yet, you should be – just click here to request to join!).

I often get asked:

  • What’s the best song to walk down the aisle to?
  • What are the best songs to play during the Hora ?
  • How do you go about choosing a memorable Last Dance tune?
  • Should you go for a DJ or a Live Band? Or both?!
  • How do you ensure your party is a truly memorable one for you and your guests?

So I decided that all these questions (and more!) should be addressed in our April Facebook Live show tomorrow, Wednesday 26 April at 8pm GMT (that’s 3pm EST, 12pm PST, 9pm in Europe, and 10pm in Israel) at facebook.com/smashingtheglass.

And my special guest for the evening is none other than DJ Kwamà© Knight who provided all the music (and a rocking atmosphere!) at my own Jewish wedding. Woop woop!

Kwamà© and I will be chatting in real time, so you can ask us anything you want during our live broadcast, or you can submit a question in advance by emailing karen@smashingtheglass.com

In addition, as I do with all the monthly shows, I’ll be giving you the lowdown on what’s been going on behind the scenes at Smashing The Glass, and let you in on the latest news and gossip from the world of Jewish weddings!

This is the fourth episode of our exciting monthly Facebook Live show especially for the STG worldwide community. The show airs on the last Wednesday of each month on the Smashing The Glass Facebook page at 8pm GMT to coincide with #WeddingWednesday.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading