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From Sketch to Dress: A Q&A with Master Bridal Designer Caroline Castigliano

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So you’re a newly engaged bride — yaaaaay! What’s the first thing on your mind (after sharing the big news with your family and friends, of course)?

If you’re like us, it just might be the dress. It may even have been on your mind way before you got engaged — how many of us can truly say we’re not guilty of sneaking the occasional peak at a favorite designer’s website, or in their shop window?

Your dress is such a huge component of your wedding style, and we know finding one that’s the right fit for you is of the utmost importance. So what could be better than having a bespoke gown made? And by master wedding dress designer Caroline Castigliano, no less?

One of our absolute favorite designers here at STG, Caroline Castigliano has been working at the forefront of British bridal design for 27 years. She’s known for her ultra-unique bespoke gowns, featuring all kinds of fantastic details from the finest fabrics to the signature hidden corset (designed to define and balance your figure to perfection).

Every Caroline Castigliano gown is a one-of-a-kind piece, and each is handcrafted in the UK, and the dreamy Knightsbridge store is one of the world’s ultimate bridal destinations.

That’s why we’re so thrilled to bring you a Q&A with the Caroline Castigliano team on what you can expect from Caroline Castigliano’s bespoke design process. Read on for some serious bridal fashion inspo.

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London Jewish Wedding Venue Inspo: The Brewery

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Blake Ezra Photography | IG: @blakeezraphoto

You know we love a city chic wedding here at Smashing the Glass. Industrial vibes? Love it. Exposed brickwork? Can’t get enough. Throw in a touch of history, and we’re sold.

That’s why we’re so delighted to be sharing one of our favorite London venues with you today: the Brewery. This awesome space (which was an actual brewery dating back to the 18thcentury!) is the perfect mix of sophisticated and quirky. And its location smack dab in the middle of the City of London is hard to beat. We featured this gorgeous interfaith Jewish Christian wedding a few years back, and we can’t wait to share our Real Blogging Bride Charlotte’s wedding at the venue just last month.

This onetime industrial space recast as an events venue offers a range of different rooms that can accommodate large parties (of up to 1,000 guests!). There are spaces to suit Jewish weddings of all stripes, and to accommodate each part of the day. We’re thrilled to share with you some of the Brewery’s most popular rooms for Jewish weddings, with a look into how each can best be incorporated into your day.

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Bringing Spirituality into Your Jewish Wedding and Your Home with Micaela Ezra of AHYIN

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Photography; Sasha Israel | @sashaisrael

As brides, we spend so much time thinking about the aesthetics and logistics of our big days, sometimes it’s easy to overlook the spiritual element of your Jewish (or Jew-ish) wedding – and of the home you’re building together. 

That’s why I’m so thrilled to be talking today to Micaela Ezra, the powerhouse designer behind AHYIN, a jawdroppingly gorgeous line of contemporary Judaica that we on Team STG are absolutely in love with. Micaela’s designs – she’s best known for her stunning challah covers, which bring together traditional Jewish symbolism and the embroidery traditions of the craftswomen of Hilando Mexico, a collective whose members hand-embroider each and every AHYIN piece.

Meant to start conversation around the Friday night dinner table, Micaela’s designs reflect her belief in the relevance of Jewish ritual to our contemporary lives, and equally in the fusion of spirituality and beauty.

Micaela’s wedding — Photography: Joe Buissink | @joebuissink

AHYIN’s pieces are intended to be handed down through the generations as heirlooms, and what a beautiful symbol of the beginning of your life together as a family. Even for those of us who are not exactly at the beginning of our lives together – I know I’m adding a few of these beauties to my own wishlist!

What makes Micaela so inspiring is that she really embodies her commitment to tradition and modernity, ritual and aesthetic, not only in her work but also in her life – as she detailed when talking to us about everything from her journey from fashion design to Judaica to how she incorporated spirituality into her own wedding. There’s so much more I could say about this fantastic lady and her art, but I’ll let you read it in her own words.

Photography; Sasha Israel | @sashaisrael

Photography; Sasha Israel | @sashaisrael

Photography; Sasha Israel | @sashaisrael

Photography; Sasha Israel | @sashaisrael

STG: What inspired you to create AHYIN?

Micaela Ezra: Actually a childhood friend from Australia asked me to design her a challah cover in the traditional Mexican Otami embroidery style (I am a designer and artist). The request prompted a creative journey into an industry I had never even considered. I serendipitously came across a community of talented artisans in Mexico and suddenly I realised that this work was the meeting point of so many life passions for me – textile design, Jewish spirituality and social change philanthropy.

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Etsy Wedding Style: Our Favourite Finds for Jewish Weddings + Win a £ 500 Etsy Gift Card!

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Here at Smashing The Glass, we are massive Etsy fans. Whatever your wedding style and budget, the global online marketplace for unique handmade and creative goods has got something for you. With so many unique items, it’s the perfect place to snag some special touches to help make your day totally you.

From invitations to decorations to favours and so much more, Etsy’s got you covered.

Today, we’re thrilled to be featuring a selection of some of our favourite Etsy products for Jewish (and Jew-ish) weddings that we personally adore. From flip flops to hand out to your guests to the loveliest floral lolly favours to beautiful order of service programs, we can’t wait to share our latest finds with you.

Oh yeah, and did we mention that our very own super stylish Smash Glass Pouches for under the chuppah are now available as a standalone purchase on Etsy, too?! That’s right, the days when your only options for wrapping your smash glass in a napkin or stodgy old velvet pouch are  gone, thanks to this contemporary and oh-so-Instagrammable option!

We’re also delighted to announce that Etsy is running a competition on their Instagram channel, open to all UK STG readers, to win a £500 gift card! For full details, please visit @EtsyUK on Instagram (#EtsyWeddingStyle).

Competition Details

One winner will win a £500 gift card for Etsy.com. To enter, follow @EtsyUK’s Instagram account, like this post, and comment answering the question, “What’s your wedding style?” No purchase necessary. Open to UK residents 18+ only. 1 prize available. Ends June 5th. T&Cs apply.

Order of Service

Order-of-Service-Jewish-WeddingOrder-of-Service-Jewish-Wedding
Order of Service | BeijaFlorStudio

How beautiful is the art on this order of service?! A custom-illustrated order of service is such a special memento of your day. Plus it is so helpful for any non Jewish guests you have at your weddings as you can include explanations of the Jewish wedding traditions they might not be familiar with. 

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Our Top Ten Must-Have Ketubah Designs for 2018/2019

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Aside from photography and videography, your ketubah is one of the only parts of your wedding that you get to take home with you at the end of the day. And just like your favorite wedding photos, your ketubah is a beautiful way to display your love and commitment to each other in your home forever after.

Luckily, these days there are so many beautiful ketubot to choose from, whatever your personal style. One of my absolute favorite sources is ketubah.com, a really wonderful site featuring an astounding variety of both designs and texts (including the choice to write your own!). They truly have something for every couple, whether Orthodox, interfaith, LGBTQ, or for just about any other permutation of Jewish (or Jew-ish) ceremony you could imagine.

Ketubah.com is a longtime favorite with Smashing The Glass readers, and so many of our Real Weddings feature ketubot from the site. Couples rave about their top-notch customer service and spectacular selection of exclusive curated designs.

They’re also offering a 10% discount to members of our Brides Club, where my team and I offer round-the-clock support and advice, in addition to discounts and free gifts from handpicked vendors. Click here to join.

Today, I’m SO excited to be sharing our top ketubah styles from this fab site for 2018/2019. We’ve got jaw-dropping papercuts, dreamy watercolors, metallics galore, supercool 3D designs — and that’s just the 10 we could fit into this post. Honestly, I’m just drooling over these beauties and wishing I were getting married again (to Mr. STG, of course!) so I could have one for my very own. Keep reading for some serious eye candy!

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