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Carys & Baz | Super glam, super stylish destination Jewish wedding ‘in the desert’ at The Parker Palm Springs, California, USA

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How about we all jet off to Palm Springs to revel in the à¼ber glam destination wedding of Londoners, Carys and Baz?

Carys is half Welsh, half American (with Jewish heritage) and Baz is half English, half Persian, and they had the most exquisite wedding full of stylish, creative details and more than a hint of Palm Springs glitz and glamour.

It’s swoon-inducingly pretty… I just love every element — from Carys’s entire outfit — a divine gown by Israeli wedding dress designer, Berta, a sweeping, full length veil, and glittery Louboutins — to the pink ombre wedding cake, the glittery details, the dreamy flowers, and the Mexican mariachi band that played during the cocktail hour. It’s all just so much fun and beautifully stylised.

One thing that might not have gone so much to plan was the breaking of the glass… A member of the cleaning staff had mistaken the bulb and napkin for rubbish, but fortunately the groomsmen spotted the slip-up at the last minute before Carys and Baz had even noticed, and the equipment was saved!

This wedding proves that you don’t necessarily need to hire a destination wedding planner for a big day abroad. Anything is possible if you have a clear vision, great suppliers, and some helpful friends.

Let’s hand over to Carys for the inside story, but before I do, I must just mention Mi Belle who took all the gorgeous imagery on the page today.

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Amanda & Charley | Super fun and intimate laidback Jew-ish wedding at the Santa Barbara Courthouse, and The Lark, Santa Barbara, California

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santa-barbara-courthouse-wedding I love it when my readers email me with their wedding planning queries and stories. I first heard from Amanda, a Smashing The Glass reader (and today’s beautiful bride!)  back in July 2014 with the following email:

Hi Karen! I am reaching out in regards to Kathleen and Liz’s beautiful wedding in Palm Springs that you featured on Smashing the Glass earlier this year. I am getting married this September and I have been looking for a chuppah far and wide. I haven’t had much luck, but I absolutely love Kathleen and Liz’s chuppah and was hoping you would be able to either provide their contact information or pass this email along with my details. I would love to ask if I could potentially rent their chuppah and incorporate their beautiful handmade piece in another celebration of love. If not, I completely understand but I figured it never hurt to ask!

I was so delighted that Amanda had reached out to me about this idea, and immediately put her in touch with Kathleen and Liz. For logistical reasons, the ‘passing of the chuppah’ didn’t work out, but there is a happy ending to the story! Amanda and Charley found a local craftsman who constructed their ideal chuppah out of reclaimed wood, and what’s really lovely, is that after their wedding, Amanda and Charley wanted to spread the love of their chuppah and pass it on, and they did just that (full story below!)

Amanda contacted me after her big day with her wedding story, and I am so delighted to share it with you today. It’s a true ‘Smashing The Glass’ W Day, bursting with creativity, authenticity and bucket loads of L.O.V.E.

These two pulled off their big day on a modest budget, and what an incredible job they did. So although the top image looks truly opulent, this is in fact an incredibly casual, laid back wedding with some amazing budget ideas. In fact Amanda says “keeping our wedding small and manageable left enough money for a honeymoon to Cambodia which was the best way to kick off spending the rest of our lives together!”

The biggest budget tip these two adhered to was keeping it small. They shared their celebration with a select group of close family and friends (just 40 people) and were confident enough not to invite the people who weren’t closely involved in their lives.

Can you believe that Amanda’s TWO divine wedding dresses, her shoes and her accessories were all purchased for under $1000 ( £650)?! All the florals were bought by Amanda from a local flower shop the day before the wedding, and instead of spending their budget on live music or a DJ, these two had their nearest and dearest contribute to a wonderfully personal Spotify playlist.

Amanda and Charley… I take my hat off to you. You definitely achieved your aim of creating the greatest party on the smallest budget.

Enjoy Amanda’s story below, and all the wonderful images taken by the rather talented Casey from CLB Creative

laidback Jewish wedding at the Santa Barbara Courthouse, and The Lark, Santa Barbara, California
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Julie & Zak | Gold and blush Parisian magnificence for a Jew-ish destination wedding at Maison des X, Paris, France

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Julie and Zak’s destination wedding comes to you from one of the most romantic cities in the world, the magnificent Paris, France. This is timeless glamour at its very finest. Soft feminine gold and blush decor, scenic Parisian backdrops, and did somebody say Wang?

Yes folks. Julie wore the fluffiest, dreamiest Vera Wang dress I’ve ever clapped eyes on.

Truly Wangtastic. But wait, there’s more … there is the deep love of friends and family who celebrated with Julie and Zak for close to a week in Paris, with trips on the Seine and to the Moulin Rouge. And watch out for Julie’s peacock blue suede Louboutins. I’m just a little bit in love with those.

Oh la la.

Today I’m also delighted to be debuting one of my favourite photographers, the supremely talented Polly Alexandre, who lovingly captured all of the shimmer, the sophistication and the sexy.

Take it away Julie.

Gold and blush Parisian magnificence for a Jew-ish destination wedding at Maison des X, Paris, France
a destination wedding in central Paris at Maison des X

Julie, the Bride: Once we decided that we wanted to plan a destination wedding in Paris, we worked with Nancy from Fete in France to find a space that captured what the beauty and magic of Paris meant to us.

We booked Maison des X unseen with the understanding that it was originally a private home in the middle of the city that retained a great deal of its Parisian charm and needed only some flowers and candlelight to transform into the venue we had imagined. We loved Nancy’s description of the space as many spaces in one — formal indoor, gardens outdoors, and a club-like atmosphere in the wine caves for dancing until dawn with our closest friends and family — and ultimately decided on the venue for the complete package that it was. I told Nancy I wanted the venue to look golden and glowing, and she ran with the color scheme and theme from there. We ended up with the most beautiful candles, glowing mercury glass accents, and exquisite pale pink and white floral arrangements that didn’t look too precious. It was perfect.

Gold and blush Parisian magnificence for a Jew-ish destination wedding at Maison des X, Paris, France

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Meredith & Shoshana | True love + oodles of creativity: Lesbian Jew-ish Wedding at Notley Abbey, Oxfordshire, UK

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One of the  reasons I’m in love with my job as editor and curator of Smashing The Glass is that weddings are the ultimate fusion of creativity, traditions and of course true love – three things that I adore  – and this divine wedding has all three in buckets.

When  an email  from Danny and Julie  of Minty Slippers  popped in with a link to Meredith and Shoshana’s incredible wedding film, below, I had a massive ‘this is why I cherish  my job’ moment. It’s so very moving, and their devoted love for each other is so apparent — I literally  whooped, hollered and clapped my hands with glee in anticipation of  blogging Danny and Julie’s fabulous work, and Meredith and Shoshana’s love story.

It’s a tale of long-distance desire  with the pair  first meeting  in 2011 when Shoshana, from London, was studying at the New York Film Academy and Meredith was working at a Manhattan advertising agency.

Shoshana eventually returned to London after her studies, and being thrown suddenly into a long distance relationship, they  decided to make videos to remind them  of the fun they  shared  together.  Their videos are super creative and fun and will fill you in a little more on  their love story.

But on to the wedding itself.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen brides who smiles as much as Meredith and Shoshana  did on their big day; honestly their infectious grins are enough to make even the most miserable, rainy Mondays seem like Happy Hour in  the Caribbean.

They  were married at Notley Abbey in Oxfordshire, a beautiful venue that was once the home of Sir Laurence Olivier. There is a Stephanie Allin  AND a J.Crew  gown, both as beautiful as each other. There is a singing harpist, an  immense  naked cake, outdoor games and stunning florals  . There are  hand-painted favours by Shoshana (who is an illustrator by trade) of each guest’s name painted and presented on miniature easels. There  are some fantastic ideas for a really meaningful wedding ceremony.

But most of all? Most of all there is L.O.V.E

The beautiful moments on  film below were captured by Minty Slippers, whilst  the immense photography is courtesy of  Mark Cachia.


The venue

Meredith and Shoshana, the Brides: We chose  Notley Abbey in Oxfordshire, for its tree-lined entrance, the castle like turrets, the beautiful gardens and the stunning contemporary mix with 13th century architecture — need we say more, it was perfect!

Lesbian Jew-ish Wedding at Notley Abbey, Oxfordshire, UK
‘Global travel meets art’

Our wedding theme would be best described as  ‘global travel meets art’   – that’s what we arrived at in the end! We didn’t have a colour scheme but we definitely thought about colour throughout the process. We didn’t use a wedding planner, we had too much fun planning it ourselves!

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Susie & Andrew | Gold themed city-chic Jewish Wedding at South Branch, Chicago, with the bride in a sequin-covered wedding dress!

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I adore this morning’s wedding. The colour palette of blush pink and golden hues is beautiful, and bride Susie’s blush tulle BHLDN gown (a super flattering hue for fair-skinned blondes by the way) glimmers from head to toe in full-on floor length gold and silver sequins. I LOVE it.

Susie found her dress a year in advance and it became the inspiration for the rest of her wedding decor and her chosen theme of gold and blush (one of my favourite colour combos).

This is city chic done delicately and beautifully – it’s so elegant, pretty, and relaxed. Just wait until you see the simple but oh so dreamy chuppah, the divine florals and the vivid and contemporary ketubah design.

The images are courtesy of Thomas Slack from Slack Photography, who has captured Susie and Andrew’s day exquisitely. With every image, the tone is just right. Anticipation, fun, laughter, love and joy all come through.

Personally, I think this is a fabulous way to start the week…and I really hope you’ll agree.

Gold and blush Jewish Wedding at South Branch restaurant, Chicago, Illinois, USA
A restaurant venue

Susie, the Bride: We are not “ballroom” people, and we wanted something different and less formal, so we decided to go with a restaurant. South Branch is located right on the river in downtown Chicago and the outdoor ceremony space and bar seemed perfect for our ceremony and party. We were also very busy while planning the wedding (I was finishing up my MBA) and South Branch made it so easy for us.  The restaurant is beautiful and needed very little in terms of decor, which was perfect for us!

Gold and blush Jewish Wedding at South Branch restaurant, Chicago, Illinois, USA Gold and blush Jewish Wedding at South Branch restaurant, Chicago, Illinois, USA

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