Real Jewish Weddings Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Galia Lahav Bride for a Tropical Jewish Wedding at Casali Del Pino, Rome, Italy

19/07/2021 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

The fabulous Italian Jewish wedding of Hannah and Oscar, who both work in the clothing business and are launching their own jewellery line, combined two of our very favorite styles: Roman luxe and tropical boho.

While the couple’s gorgeous venue, Casali Del Pino, is pure classic Roman splendor, with all the elegance, muted tones, and gently verdant outdoor spaces that entails, their décor was all exotic flowers and enormous topical leaves. Don’t miss the couple’s chuppah in the photos by Roberta Perrone – Hannah and Oscar wanted it to make them feel as if they were standing in the midst of a tropical jungle, and we think they hit the mark exactly right!

We’re also obsessed with Hannah’s stunner of a gown from Galia Lahav, the Georgia dress. As you’d expect from the beloved Israeli designer, it’s uber-glam, and we can’t get enough of the floral detailing, not to mention ALL the sparkles.

We’ll let Hannah fill you in on the rest…

How we Met

Hannah, the bride: We met years ago, when we were little kids during a summer camp in Italy! I arrived from Rome and he arrived from Milan.. it was love at first sight, but it took us a few years to get closer.Continue Reading

A Tali Shurin Bride for a Jewish Wedding with a View at Olmaya, Jerusalem, Israel

12/07/2021 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We’ve heard of so many couples who’ve had to scale back their Jewish weddings last-minute due to changing COVID restrictions. Not so much couples who’ve been able to upsize their weddings at short notice because restrictions were relaxed – but that’s exactly what happened to Israeli couple Adina, a social worker in a hospital in Jerusalem, and Aaron, who works in high tech as a solutions architect.

They’d initially planned a small wedding in the groom’s parents’ garden, because that’s what was permitted when they firmed up their plans. But then, ten days before the wedding, some of Israel’s restrictions were lifted, and the couple’s wedding planner, Debbie Nussbaum, managed to move the proceedings to Jerusalem’s stunning Olmaya, which is not only a gorgeous venue with stellar views but also allowed the Adina and Aaron to double their guest list!

Still, not all the important people in the couple’s lives could be there in person – most of all, their beloved grandparents in London and Sydney. However, thanks to the wonders of Zoom, the far-flung grandparents on both sides were able to livestream a bracha to the couple during their ceremony!

As always, we’re absolutely blown away by all the energy, emotion, and love shining through in every single image from the couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman – Adina was so impressed after seeing pictures he’d taken at friends’ weddings, she knew she wanted him to photograph her wedding even before she met Aaron!

Now over to the bride, who looked so elegant in Tali Shurin…

How we Met

Adina, the bride: We met at a mutual friend’s wedding a month and a half before the first corona lockdown. The next wedding we went to together was our own!Continue Reading

An Antonio Grimaldi Bride for a Magnificent Countryside Jewish Wedding at Antonello Colonna, Rome, Italy

05/07/2021 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Get ready to be blown away by the positively swoonworthy Italian Jewish wedding of Roman couple Daria, a physiotherapist, and Daniel, a real estate developer – and get ready to be even more blown away when you find out they pulled it together in just 40 days between lockdowns.

These two had their glorious countryside luxe wedding at the most incredible venue just outside Rome all planned and ready to go when COVID hit. Like so many other 2020 couples, they had to postpone. Then, in the summer, when things were opening back up during a lull in the pandemic, Daria and Daniel saw their chance and they went for it – pulling everything together for their new date in just a little over a month!

That’s an impressive timeline for any wedding, let alone one as opulent as Daria and Daniel’s! How did they do it? With the help of an incredible wedding planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Deborah di Castro, who made sure everything – from the big-picture stuff to the tiniest details, like personalizing everything from masks and bottles of hand sanitizer to flip flops with the couple’s logo – was taken care of.

And were there ever some impressive details! For starters, feast your eyes on Antonio Carneroli’s dreamy images of the couple’s glorious chuppah, their exquisite table scapes, and, above all, the epic love and joy shining through in each and every shot – and don’t miss the trailer from Sesame Films, which makes us feel as if we’d been right there with Daria and Daniel on their day.

Now over to the bride…

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How we met

Daria, the bride: We met in elementary school and we were in the same class, but during high school I changed schools. After a few years we met again and we fell in love.Continue Reading

A Mordehai Avraham Bride for a Last-Minute Jewish Wedding at Ohel Moed, Tel Aviv, Israel

28/06/2021 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

In the COVID era, lots of weddings come together at the last minute. But Israeli couple Tal, a textile designer at Terminal X, and Eldar, a marketing manager at Ikea, didn’t set their date until just a week before their Jewish wedding! It was a must for the couple to plan their celebration around Tal’s sister’s visit from abroad – so when she finally made it to Israel, they made it happen, FAST.

Not that you’d be able to tell – the venue, Ohel Moed TLV Synagogue, was so spectacular it didn’t need much added in the way of décor, and the photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si Photography are pure magic, full of emotion and love.

This being a pandemic wedding, Tal and Eldar were only allowed 40 in-person guests. But they worked with videographer Itay Bar Weddings to broadcast the proceedings live on YouTube for their friends and family around the world, so they could experience it all in real time.

We’ll let Tal, who looked perfectly boho chic in Mordehai Avraham, fill you in on the rest…

How we Met

Tal, the bride: We met two years ago when working together at IKEA.Continue Reading

A Suzanne Neville Bride for an Elegant Orthodox Jewish Wedding at the Kimpton Fitzroy London, UK

21/06/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Get ready to be blown away by one of the most stunning Jewish micro weddings we’ve seen yet. When Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Ivi and Ben got engaged in February 2021 after Ivi completed her three-year journey toward conversion to Judaism, they knew they wanted to become husband and wife ASAP, pandemic or no. So in just six weeks of planning, they whipped up an absolute dream wedding, split into several events over two days to follow lockdown restrictions.

First, Ivi and Ben held the most magical chuppah for an intimate crowd of 15 at beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kimpton Fitzroy London, which Ivi found right here on STG! From the beginning, the couple fell head over heels for everything about this venue, from the way it combines opulence with warmth to the gorgeous high-ceilinged ballroom where the chuppah took place to the ultra-attentive personalized service the staff provided every step of the way. Ivi describes the Kimpton Fitzroy as an “absolute gem,” and we couldn’t agree with her more!

Afterward, Ivi and Ben threw an all-day party in a marquee at their garden, with two shifts of thirty guests each attending, so friends and family who couldn’t attend the ceremony were still able to celebrate with them.

Both events were captured by photography and videography team Fire & Ice, and we’re not sure what we’re more in love with, the luminous photos or the ultra-moving trailer. The Fire & Ice team came up with the brilliant idea to record Ivi, a pianist, playing a song to layer over the video – and, in honor of her Chinese heritage and as a tribute to her parents, who live in Malaysia and couldn’t travel to the wedding due to COVID, Ivi chose a classic Chinese love song. How amazing is that?!

Ivi also wore her absolute knockout of a modest wedding gown – customized just for her by the one and only Suzanne Neville – for both celebrations. Who wouldn’t want the opportunity to wear such an exquisite dress twice?!

There’s so much to say about this incredible Jewish wedding, but we’ll let Ivi tell you the rest of the story… And if you love the look of the Kimpton Fitzroy (Ivi and Ben’s wedding venue), you’ll want to tune in to our Jewish wedding music Facebook Live tomorrow, Tuesday June 22, live from the hotel, as one lucky couple is going to win an overnight stay (plus you’ll get to see how truly gorgeous it is for a wedding venue). I’ll see you there!

How we Met

Ivi, the bride: Previously at British Vogue, now at Publicis Media and a classical pianist, I took a sabbatical from my career in the City in 2016 and worked for a stint as a fitness instructor, teaching high-intensity TRX classes at Heartcore Studios in St. John’s Wood in London. Ben, an owner of a number of jewellery and consumer brands, came to workout at Heartcore and took my classes for nine months before we started dating. I used to shout “Burpees! Burpees!” at Ben on a weekly basis. Ben jokes that he was the fittest he’s ever been when he used to come to my classes!

On our first date, we went for a post-workout brunch that lasted over four hours. We both knew there was something extraordinary between us straightaway. Ben says that he knew I was “The One” after that date. We fell madly in love after a few months of dating, and we discussed how important being Jewish and having a Jewish family was to Ben. Following a thorough period of soul searching and spending time with Orthodox Jewish rabbis’ and their families, I heeded what I now realise was a lifelong calling, to which Ben was the catalyst, to convert to Orthodox Judaism. Hand-in-hand, we spent the next three years undertaking one of life’s most demanding yet spiritually enriching journeys. Ben wholeheartedly embraced and deepened his connection and observance of the faith he was born into.

I completed my conversion to Orthodox Judaism and emerged from the holy waters of the mikveh, reborn a Jewess on 18th February 2021. On a day already bursting with joy and jubilation, after making me my favourite Nutella crepes, Ben got down on one knee and proposed. Less than three months later, we were married in the presence of just 15 of our nearest and dearest.Continue Reading