Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Home > Real blogging brides > Page 36

Real Jewish Brides – Charlotte: The Advantages of a Two Year Engagement

by

Charlotte will be marrying James on 26th August 2018 at The Brewery, in London, UK.

THREE FACTS: (1) James proposed to Charlotte in Florence…. on her parent’s 36th wedding anniversary (aaaah – we love that!)  (2) They are planning a Jewish urban-rustic wedding in East London (3) They have already decided on their wedding hashtags — it’s #dropitlikeitshart !


Planning a wedding with over two years to go, most people have questioned are we mad? Why not get married within the next year? I could not recommend more having a longer engagement, the date we have picked and the ease of not having to stress was important to us. We wanted to enjoy all of the planning. James is luckily relaxed and we have agreed on a lot of the same details and he is quite accepting of the ideas I have brought to the table.

Next was to speak to my parents about the initial plans. We had dreamt of getting married in Tuscany, it is where we got engaged and therefore is sentimental to us. We had sat down with my parents in June of 2016 ready to play a video of this incredible venue we had found, a castle in the Tuscan countryside overlooking Florence. We initially thought that having our idea accepted would be a sure thing, we had done our research and we were passionate about it. Unfortunately our pitch did not go to plan and we had it shut down. We were obviously thinking of the smaller picture, and not about how do we get our family there! Back to the drawing board…

Two-Year-Engagement
Image: John Lewis
Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Brides – Leah: My Top Tips for Wedding Dress Shopping

by

Leah will be marrying Zak in a Jewish wedding on 1st June 2018 at Masia Notari in Spain.

THREE FACTS: (1) Leah knew she wanted to convert to Judaism long before she met Zak. She feels that having a Jewish wedding is another milestone in her Jewish identity and is an opportunity for some of her family to experience new traditions. (2) Leah & Zak met on JDate (3) Leah and Zak are planning a beautiful black tie destination wedding in Barcelona, Spain


I’m the first of my (close) friends to get married. Yes, at nearly 30, most of my friends aren’t married. A decade or two ago, we would be considered oddities…like a unicorn that just crossed your path, but here we are in our unwedded-ness. Understandably, there has not been a lot of wedding dress shopping amongst us…

Most of my friends and family live over 1000 miles away, so I scheduled my first dress shopping appointment alone (to my mother’s dismay).

After, my mom flew to Dallas and I scheduled an entire weekend of appointments with her, here is what I learned:

Wedding-Dress-Shopping
Image: Kate Nielen Photography

1. Have a dress shopping experience by yourself

I went to LeAnn’s Bridal by myself and it was wonderful. I was able to express what I was looking for, and what I envisioned myself in, without anyone else there to interject. It was liberating and fulfilling and I couldn’t have been more excited.  

2. Wear what makes you feel good to your appointment

When you feel good, your entire attitude changes. I made it a point to actually wear a little makeup, plus clothes that I felt comfortable and beautiful in. It made me feel more confident and self-assured going into my appointment which then translated into every dress I tried on. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Blogging Brides: Clare – All About My Wedding Inspiration Session with Karen, Founder of Smashing The Glass

by

Karen-Cinnamon-Jewish-Wedding-Blog
Karen Cinnamon, founder of Smashing The Glass. Image: Blake Ezra Photography

Clare is one of  seven brides-to-be currently blogging her wedding planning process on Smashing The Glass. She is marrying Chris on 5th May 2018 at Laura Ashley The Manor in Elstree, UK.

THREE FACTS: (1) Clare is not Jewish but discovered Smashing The Glass via her Jewish sister-in-law and during her wedding planning journey it has (in her own words! became her favorite and most useful wedding blog (2) She finds STG refreshing in a sea of wedding blogs as she loves reading stories of couples for whom the ceremony itself is as pivotal as all the other details. (3) Due to falling in love with so many amazing Jewish weddings through the blog, and then booking a wedding consultancy session with STG founder, Karen, it confirmed to her that there were a number of Jewish elements she was going to bring into her wedding that symbolise a lot of things that are very important to her and her fiancà© in their future marriage – she will be having a ‘Jewish-inspired’ wedding!


Being Engaged: The First Couple of Months 

Due to getting engaged back in June 2016 and setting a date of May 2018 I  figured that the planning process would be a breeze with this long engagement….. 

The first couple of months were filled with the excitement that this was actually happening! My living room was a sea of engagement cards (which were only begrudgingly brought down three months later because we were moving!) and I whiled away many hours of perusing blog posts and every form of social media containing wedding inspiration.

Our choice of venue was easy- in the February before our engagement Chris had taken me for valentines dinner at the Laura Ashley The Manor and I fell in love with its beautiful simplicity and the stunning mix of modern and traditional. I couldn’t bear the thought of swirly patterned red carpets or dark wood panelling which seem to have featured in many of the wedding venues I’ve attended, and a castle or big stately home didn’t really feel like me so this seemed the perfect balance for us. 

Excitingly Booking our First Wedding Vendors

Following the booking of the venue I also was quick to book our photographer and videographer. Catherine Carter did one of my very good friends weddings and came highly recommended. She produces some beautiful images and I felt I could trust her to capture our day. 

The video was perhaps most important to get right to both Chris and I. Jeff Woods had come on my radar years before I was even engaged after an acquaintance of mine shared her wedding trailer on Facebook. I fell in love with the cinematic style and his films are truly a work of art and feel like you’re watching an actual movie, which I cannot wait to star in next year! Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Brides: Amanda – Planning a Jewish Wedding That’s Not Dictated by ‘Shoulds’

by

Amanda will be marrying Adam on 25th March 2018 in a Jewish wedding at Braxted Park, UK.

THREE FACTS: (1) Amanda & Adam met outside in a bar in Tel Aviv (2) Adam has a ridiculous sense of humor (as described by Amanda!) and we love him all the more for it (3) Amanda & Adam’s wedding is 100% focused on all the people and things that mean the most to them.


“Wait… but why?”

Adam: “Are there any other roles we can give out on the day of the wedding?”

Amanda: “Well, there’s always the toast to the Queen…you know…where you sing the national anthem….*trails off*”

Adam: “Wait, you do what?! But why?!”

Amanda: “Sing the national anthem?

                                   …actually, I have no idea why we do that…it does feel weird when you say it like that. My mum will know…”

*Calls mum*

Amanda: “Mum, why on earth do we toast the queen and sing the national anthem at weddings?”

Mum: “Good question…I always remember it being a signal to the smokers that the speeches were over so they could go outside.”

Amanda: “But that can’t be the actual reason…

Mum: “Hmm no, it can’t be. I’m actually not sure… ?”

(As it happens, after a bit of further research, I discovered that the toast to the Queen is deemed a mark of respect for the country we live in, immediately following the toast to the State of Israel. I’m still not sure if anybody outside the UK has these traditions? I don’t ever remember hearing of a Jewish wedding in the USA where they sang the Star Spangled Banner…. 

Jewish wedding chuppahContinue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Brides – Mel: Family Really is the Most Important Thing

by

Today on the blog it’s the 2nd post from Mel who will be marrying Mitch on Sunday 18 March 2018, in a Jewish wedding at Warren Weir at Luton Hoo, UK.

THREE FACTS: (1) Mel and Mitch met online on JDate (2) Their Jewish wedding will be classy and traditional with plenty of modern touches  (3) Mel is a member of Smashing The Glass’s private Jewish & Jew-ish Brides Facebook Group. Not yet a member? Come join us here!

Jewish-brides
Involving our families

As I write this post, we are just 9 months away from our wedding. Planning is picking up again with our focus now on our invitations.

Throughout our planning so far, our family has been very involved; visiting venues, meeting vendors, giving their input, etc. Mitch and I are both really close to our parents so it’s important for us that they are involved. We are so lucky that our parents are happy for us to have the final say over everything.

I come from a fairly large family on my dad’s side. Mitch’s family is much smaller. Despite the size, we are both very close with our family and always have been. Family is one of the most important thing, and at our wedding, we obviously want all of our loved ones round us to celebrate the happiest day of our lives.

Family-at-weddings
Fear becoming reality

It would be the worst thing in the world if someone close to us wasn’t able to be there with us. Unfortunately, that fear almost became a reality. Twice.

In October 2016, 4 days before Mitch and I got engaged, my uncle went missing. No one had seen or heard from him for 10 hours, which was very unlike him. With a lot of rallying around and the use of a private investigator, my uncle was found the next day; 15 hours after last contact. He felt ill at the wheel, pulled over and had suffered a major stroke.

It hit us all really hard. Particularly the fact that he was one of the healthiest people I know and life and soul of the family. Thank G-d he survived but his recovery is still ongoing.Continue ReadingContinue Reading