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Real Jewish Brides – Gillian: My Wedding Registry Experience

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Gillian will be marrying Pete on 8th September 2017 in a Jew-ish wedding at the Ballroom at Ellis Preserve in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

THREE FACTS: (1) Gillian is Jewish and Pete is Catholic (2) A Rabbi and a Priest will officiate at their wedding (3) Gillian is a Health & Wellness Coach and Pete is a Travel Occupational Therapist.

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To Do List: Wedding Registry

During the wedding planning process there are one million things on your to-do list (literally). This is especially true if you are a DIY bride or someone who wants to throw a big party. One item on the list I thought would be so much fun to tackle was registering for our wedding. How fun would it be to pick out items that we would have, hopefully for a long time and possibly even the rest of our lives?

Well, I was mistaken. Somehow something that I love so much (SHOPPING!) became stressful and something of a chore. I couldn’t figure it out, and it threw Pete for a loop when we went into Crate and Barrel and I pretty much had a mini meltdown. Picture brisk walking through the store, minimal eye contact, saying “I don’t care, you pick something you like, I don’t care about any of this, let’s leave.” Like woah, I was becoming a weird version of Bridezilla right before his eyes.

Luckily Pete handled it calmly, but it wasn’t the experience I had heard all about. I always pictured using the cool scanner gun and picking out items that we both loved. And, honestly, I thought it was going to be super easy.

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Image from Prezola (a gift list registry that we absolutely ADORE here at Smashing The Glass!)

Reflecting on it all, it seems so silly that anyone would get overwhelmed by picking out gifts for other people to buy them (seriously??) But that was a huge part of it. I didn’t mind that people were buying me presents, but I wanted them to get the best deal. I didn’t want them to buy overpriced items I knew I could find cheaper or on sale at our favorite stores like Marshalls and HomeGoods (I checked, you can’t register there.)

The other part I struggled with was “picking the right items” with endless options. So we needed cookware, but what set was best? Silverware; which ones will we actually like eating with? What dishes will go with a kitchen we don’t even have yet for years to come? It all seemed like so much to think about and so many opportunities to make the wrong decision. (Crazy talk I know, but this is what was going through my head, and I’m sure I’m not the only one to think about these things.)

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Real Jewish Brides – Hayley: My Conversion to Judaism

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Today on the blog it’s the 2nd post from Hayley who will be marrying Ashley on Sunday 17 September 2017, in a Jewish wedding at  at El Cortijo De Los Caballos in Spain

THREE FACTS: (1) Hayley & Ashley met on Tinder (2) Ashley proposed with a Haribo ring (after which he pulled out the actual engagement gem!) (3) Hayley is converting to Judaism to marry Ashley.

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Converting to Judaism

The next chapter for me was I would need to convert to Judaism before our wedding on 17th September 2017 to make sure we could have the chuppah and the dancing on the chairs*. The process started by trying to locate a synagogue, which proves to be difficult if you live the wrong side of Brentwood! Ashley was told by one of his friends that his sister-in-law converted and the name of the synagogue, what was then called South Woodford Liberal Synagogue but which is now known as ELELS (East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue).

Our first meeting with Rabbi Richard Jacobi was Early February 2016. We met at the South Woodford Synagogue where I was asked a lot of questions including “Why I wanted to convert”? After our long hour and a half meeting I left feeling more puzzled then when I went in, Maybe the conversion wasn’t right for me after all?

We decided to attend shul weekly for about 3 weeks and then once again we met with Rabbi Richard to see how I was getting on attending Shul. Feeling slightly more relieved than last time I was again asked the same question “Why I wanted to convert”? I feel like I had answered the question sufficiently but again I was not given a start date for the Conversion to Judaism class. I felt slightly disheartened at this and kept asking Ashley why? 

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Charlotte from Sex and The City converted for her Jewish wedding to Harry…

Why do I want to convert?

The third and final meeting I was handed a sheet of paper and asked to write down my answer to that very question… “Why I wanted to convert” I wrote down everything I could think of and why this was important to both ashley and I. I completed it and handed it to Rabbi Richard, whom looked over it and next thing I was booked onto the conversion classes which started the following week, by this time it was March 2016. (Later I found out that Rabbi’s have a rule and want you to be completely sure, that’s why they ask you three times!)Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Brides: Dawn’s final post… all about her Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party!

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Today on the blog it’s the final post from Dawn who will be marrying Harley THIS Sunday 9 July 2017, in a Jewish wedding at the Delray Beach Marriott in South Florida, USA!

THREE FACTS: (1) Dawn & Harley met on JDate (2) Dawn is having 11 bridesmaids. (3) This is Dawn’s last post *sniff*. She has been blogging her wedding plans on Smashing The Glass for the last 12 months and we are SO excited for her wedding this Sunday (that final paragraph from Dawn in her post below means so much to us… we love you Dawn!)

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We’re almost there…

This. Is. It. Only 19 days to go! My Wedding Wire app just reminded me. Our lives have been completely consumed with vendor meetings, dance lessons, Etsy orders, dress fittings, and the most meaningful task of all… filling out what I call “The Why We Love Each Other” packet for our Rabbi. I truly wouldn’t have it any other way and am not sure what I will do with all the extra hours in my day when the best day of our lives has come and gone. So why don’t I just ignore the fact that our beautiful engagement is coming to an end by sharing with you some of the fun pre-wedding festivities that I DIDN’T have to plan… my Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party!

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Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Charlotte + James… How They Met to the Present Day

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Today on the blog we’re introducing our 7th beautiful bride from our crop of 2017 and 2018 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Charlotte who 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 !

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How We Met

I met James through a mutual friend nearly four years ago, before going on a night out to none other than Ministry of Sound, we really hit it off and have been inseparable ever since.

Marrying my best friend

We can both admit that we aren’t the most conventional of couples, and didn’t really go on dates. We saw each other socially as we share a lot of mutual friends, we drew closer and the rest is history! I can really say that I am marrying my best friend.

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Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Leah + Zak… How They Met to the Present Day

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Today on the blog we’re introducing our 6th amazing bride from our crop of 2017 and 2018 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Leah who will be marrying Zak 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

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How We Met

Now that we’ve been together over 4 years (and are engaged!), we are so much more open to admit that we met on JDate. In the early days of our relationship, whenever anyone would ask how Zak and I met, we’d often look at each other, shrug, and mumble quickly “online… JDate…” and hope to move on to a different line of questioning. This was pre JSwipe, Tinder, Bumble, etc so admitting that we met online wasn’t as normal as it is now.

I had just moved to North Texas for work and after moving four times in less than three years (all for the same company) I told myself I was going to try to settle in and make somewhere feel more like home. I found a shul where I felt comfortable and finally committed to something I always knew I wanted to do: converting to Judaism.

Around this time, a friend of mine was telling me about all of her awful JDate experiences. I figured I’d give JDate a try and worst case scenario if the dates were bad, we could laugh about them! Believe it or not, Zak was the second date I ever went on! I had seen his profile come up a few times and was intrigued when he messaged me. We messaged back and forth on JDate and finally when I was certain I wanted to talk to him, we exchanged numbers. 

Our First Date

I still remember the day he called me and asked me out to dinner later that week. A proper date?! Yes, please! I knew it was a good sign when we didn’t want the conversation to end at dinner and kept talking for hours after.

The very next day, Zak called me and asked me out again! We went to a movie and out for coffee after and talked for so long, they shut the restaurant down around us!

At the time, we lived 25 miles away from each other and we both left on trips soon after our second date which forced us to spend more time talking on the phone. I was so childishly excited to see him when we got back! There was never a day after that I wanted to be with anyone else!

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