Jewish Synagogue Weddings Archives - Page 4 of 7 - Smashing the Glass

A Literary London-themed Jewish Wedding at Bevis Marks Synagogue and The Anthologist, London, UK

30/08/2017 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s real wedding is a very special one, because Carla and Alex won their incredible wedding photography through a competition on Smashing The Glass with none other than our fabulous Recommended Vendor, Claudine Hartzel.

Alex and Carla faced mishap after mishap when planning their wedding, including their original venue cancelling just 100 days before the big day. But, in a perfect example of how to cope with anything life throws at you, they soldiered on, creating the stunning London literary-themed Jewish wedding you see below.

We love beautiful bride Carla’s attitude, from her que sera approach to things going wrong, to her gorgeous Sottero and Midgley gown with hidden pockets (!) and her bride’s speech.

We’d also quite like to tuck into the divine-looking not-a-cheesecake cheese cake. Yes please!

The couple paid homage to their hometown, London, with lots of adorable little touches, such as riding between the venues on a classic London bus, and creating a London-themed postcard guest book, complete with a red postbox, created by the bride’s dad.

We’ll hand you over to Carla for the full story on her and Alex’s literary love fest! We’re sure you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.

How we met

Carla, the bride: We met at University. I was the only fresher to join the Jewish Society that year after signing up at the bunfight stall Alex was managing.
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A Super Luxe Gold Jewish Wedding With a Hermione de Paula Bride at Bevis Marks and Devonshire Terrace, London, UK

26/07/2017 by Karen Cinnamon

All that glitters actually is gold when it comes to today’s luxurious and delightfully decadent London Jewish wedding.

As an event organizer, Natalie knew exactly what she wanted for her wedding to now-hubby Paul: a wedding venue with an outdoor feel that could survive the perils of the unpredictable British weather, and a LOT of gorgeous gold accents.

Fortunately, both were well within Natalie’s capabilities, and the entire aesthetic of the wedding turned out to be simply divine.

We ADORE (with a capital EVERYTHING) the idea of a musical street procession between two venues (the divine Bevis Marks Synagogue and Devonshire Terrace) what a way to travel in style! We’re sure we’ll be seeing many more STG street parties, now that the trend has well and truly been set.

Natalie looked radiant in her totally bespoke, and one-of-a-kind Hermione de Paula gown, paired with beautiful blue skyscraper heels, and her big day was truly a Smashing the Glass-fest, with no fewer than four Recommended Vendors on the case: award-winning photographer, Claudine Hartzel; sensational stationer, Dimitria Jordan, brilliant band, The White Keys; and finally the beautiful video you see below is by HD Moments.

How we met

Natalie, the bride: We went to King Solomon together. I was four school years below Paul, and fancied him back then. But we got together years later through Facebook, and after our first date, I told my mum I was going to marry Paul and yes, I was right!

A Jewish Wedding with a Palm Leaf Theme at Beth Emeth Synagogue, Toronto Ontario, Canada

23/06/2017 by Karen

It’s been a bit of a scorching few weeks in our London Smashing the Glass HQ – what we need is someone to fan us with palm leaves… fortunately there were plenty of those to be found at Tamara and Ilan’s wonderful Canada wedding!

Psychiatrist Tamara and family physician, Ilan, met when they were introduced by friends and they hit it off immediately. Their synagogue wedding celebrated the very best of their respective ashkenazi and sephardic backgrounds, creating a gorgeous fusion of cultures, set against the backdrop of their palm leaf theme.

All of the raw emotion of the highly personal day was captured by our fantastic STG Recommended Vendor, Niv Shimshon Photography, who (proud Jewish momma moment) proved to be the couple’s favorite vendor, of course.

We are big fans of the personalized table names, especially with the provided stories about the meanings behind the name choices – we’re sure we’ll see our STG couples creating their own versions!

That’s quite enough from us. Over to Tamara for the full story on all of her and Ilan’s big-day choices!

How we met

Tamara, the bride: Ashkenazi girl from Dundas, Hamilton, meets Sephardic Iraqi from Montreal!

We met three years ago, when we were introduced through two of our close friends, and we continue to feel so grateful they helped us find each other. Our friends (the matchmakers) happened to get engaged the week of our first date, so we actually met for the first time at their l’chaim! We love travelling the world, exploring our neighbourhood, or just ordering dinner, relaxing at home and watching various crime documentaries.

We got married at Beth Emeth Synagogue, Toronto ON.

A gold New Year’s Eve-themed Jewish wedding at Hyatt Regency New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

05/05/2017 by Karen

HAPPY NEW YEAR! OK, maybe that’s a little premature, but we love the idea of sneaking in an extra New Year’s Eve,for one night only, and that’s exactly what Amanda and Harry did with their gold, NYE-themed big day.

Amanda and Harry first met as children, and they share so much in their upbringing and communities. But it wasn’t until adulthood that they were reunited, and this time, it was love! In fact, they celebrated their shared history by having their ceremony at the synagogue they both grew up in.

The larger-than-life couple poured their personalities into their big day, with everything from giant ‘Amanda & Harry heads’ to a table dedicated to past family weddings.

Everything was kept in the circle of family and friends, including Harry’s mother singing Amanda down the aisle and the hair and makeup.

The day was captured by dynamic photography duo, Nick and Kelly Photography, and the epic wedding video, just below, is the work of Delia Studios.

Over to the happy couple, now, to tell you all about their big day details! Take it away, Amanda and Harry.

How we met

Amanda, the bride and Harry, the groom: We knew each other as children. We went to Solomon Schechter Day School of Rarity Valley from age five Along the way, we were also members of the same synagogue, Congregation B’nai Tikvah.

During those years at SSDSRV and B’nai Tikvah, our paths didn’t really cross, but they did in the summer of 2009 at The Knight Club in New Brunswick, NJ. Harry was out celebrating his last law school final, and Amanda was out with a girlfriend.

Amanda recognised Harry from across the bar, and since he was staring back, she thought he recognised her, too. She approached him only to find out the staring was simply because he thought she was pretty (but don’t worry, she embarrassed herself by knowing his entire name, while he had barely any clue who she was!) It all worked out, though!

A music and art-filled Jewish wedding with Monique Lhullier and Jenny Packham gowns at the Great Synagogue and Four Seasons Hotel in Florence, Italy

03/04/2017 by Karen

Spring has sprung and we’re delighted to share our first real Jewish wedding of April – and what a way to kick off the month! Today’s cultured couple, Tara and Ben, decided to get married in one of the great art history capitals of the world, Florence, Italy.

Not only that, but their ceremony was held at the stunning and world-renowned Great Synagogue in the heart of the city and their reception at the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel. For Tara, who has a degree in History of Art, this was the definition of a dream destination wedding.

The couple’s music-filled Jewish ceremony included sensational Smashing Supplier, chazan Simon Cohen, who the couple flew in especially so that they could enjoy his beautiful voice.

Bride Tara looked every bit the classically beautiful bride in not one but TWO incredible dresses. First in her elegant Monique Lhullier gown, which she wore for the ceremony and then in her Jenny Packham party dress.

The laid-back, loving atmosphere of the day, including the epic fireworks display the couple arranged to surprise their guests, was captured by the brilliant David Bastianoni, whose wonderful work has been featured many times before on the pages of STG.

We’ll pass you on to beautiful bride Tara for the lowdown on her and Ben’s beautiful day!

An art history lover’s dream venue

Tara, the bride: It’s hard to describe the magic of walking down a little side street, turning a corner, to be suddenly faced with the Duomo faà§ade and one the grandest synagogues in the world. So much beauty in one city and, for us, it was the perfect place to get married.

The Four Seasons had it all — The hotel is made up of a 15th-century Palazzo della Gherardesca and an ex 16th-century convent called Il Conventino, set within acres of beautiful gardens in the heart of the city.

I have a degree in History of Art and we are both lovers of classical music. Having visited Florence a number of times, it was always on our wish list. So where else to marry but at a music-filled ceremony at the Great Synagogue in the heart of the City of Florence?

Afterwards, just five minutes away, we were strolling among our 170 guests in 12 acres of stunning gardens at the Four Seasons Hotel, the former Palazzo Scala Della Gherardesca dating from the time of Lorenzo il Magnifico.

The green avenues, lined with Renaissance sculptures with fabulous views of the Duomo and the Chianti hills, were the perfect backdrop for what we wanted – an elegant outdoor reception followed by a casual dinner under the stars and fun night of partying.

A relaxed, fun atmosphere

We wanted a traditional wedding done in a more casual and carefree way. Elegant but fun was the message of the weekend. All our guests were in holiday mode, so were relaxed. We didn’t use a wedding planner, but the staff at the Four Seasons were fantastic with helping us plan the day.

Music was a constant theme throughout the wedding, and we felt strongly about creating an informal and casual atmosphere during the dinner in the gardens. To do this, we created a Spotify playlist of our favourite songs to be played during the dinner.