Real Jewish Weddings Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Martina Liana Bride for a Jewish Wedding with a Fabulous Paper Flower Chuppah at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, MI

18/09/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We are totally and completely OBSESSED with the incredible paper flower chuppah featuring in today’s beautiful Jewish wedding. Taylor, a manager of implementation at a software company, and Ross, a manager for sales operations and business development at a finance technology company, wanted to make their big day fun, classy, and a little bit out of the ordinary – and did they ever succeed!

After spotting some chuppahs incorporating giant paper flowers on social media, Taylor knew it was just the thing for her own wedding, and she found the perfect creative partner to pull it off in The Crafty Sagittarius, who brought her vision to life. With giant pink, gold, and taupe paper flowers covering a lucite structure, this chuppah couldn’t possibly be any more delightful. Photographer and videographer Visi Productions captured the chuppah – not to mention the entire day – in all its glory.

We’re also in love with Taylor and Ross’s gorgeous laser cut ketubah, adorned with gold foil and some subtle rhinestones designed by artist Enya Keshet. Like so many STG couples, these two found the ketubah of their dreams via beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com.

There’s much more to say, but we’ll leave it to Taylor – who looked so elegant in Martina Liana– to share all the details…

How we Met

Taylor, the bride: Ross and I met at a Jewish event here in Atlanta, Havinagala. Both of us are originally from up north (Ross from Akron and I’m from Detroit). Ross had moved to Atlanta for work right after college and ended up moving back to Ohio for a few years to work for a new company. They let him move back to Atlanta and we met the same month he moved back!

A Sveta Swan Bride for a Summer Jewish Wedding Full of Flowers, Smoothies, and Balloons at Kedma Garden, Neve Ilan, Israel

14/09/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We’re obsessed with the epic summer vibes of the Jewish wedding of Shira and Ofek, both students. Opting to make the most of the season, these two chose a stunning outdoor venue, opted for fun touches like a flower booth and a smoothie bar!), and a simple white chuppah studded with color-coordinated blooms. Photographer Lior Moshe did SUCH an incredible job capturing all the love and joy between Shira and Ofek on their big day.

We’re also incredibly touched by all the ways the couple included Ofek’s late brother, who tragically passed away from cancer, into their day. First, at the chuppah they gave each guest a white balloon in his memory, which the guests all released into the sky at once. The pair also used a kiddush cup inscribed with Ofek’s brother’s name, which Ofek’s mother had made so that he could be a part of all the family simchas. And Shira and Ofek also made a donation to a cancer charity in honor of each of their guests – all such beautiful ways to remember a loved one.

Now over to the bride, who looked so boho chic in her summery gown from Sveta Swan Bridal…

How we met

Shira, the bride: We met at school at the age of 16, and have been together ever since.

An ASTR Bride for a Jewish Micro Wedding Pulled Together in Just Two Weeks at Endicott Estate, Dedham, Massachusetts, USA

11/09/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

As if we weren’t already in awe of all the many couples who are pulling together beautiful Jewish weddings during the pandemic, today’s couple brings it to the next level: both bride Yvonne and groom Gabriel are physicians in Boston – working exactly the kind of crazy hours you’d expect – AND they managed to pull together the bulk of the wedding in just TWO WEEKS prior to their date of July 25, 2020. Yep, you read that right… two weeks!

How’d they do it? With the help of a fantastic planner, the mega-talented Luba of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Primavera Dreams. Because of their time constraints, the couple opted to take a hands-off approach to planning, putting their full trust in Luba to execute their dreams for a simple, elegant, intimate (the two invited just immediate family and one friend on each side) outdoor wedding. After just a few Zoom meetings with Yvonne and Gabriel, Luba was off and running – and she pulled everything together perfectly, as evidenced in Alex Gordias’s stunning photography.

Yvonne and Gabriel didn’t begin planning until February 2020, so they knew from the start that COVID would have an impact on their day – and they were able to build this intimate day from the beginning rather than having to back out of plans for a bigger wedding. They were able to pick their venue, Endicott Estate, based in part on the fact that they could have not only an outdoor ceremony but an outdoor dinner, too, and Yvonne knew from the getgo she wanted to forgot the traditional bridal salon and alterations experience for safety reasons and so instead opted to order lots of white ready-to-wear dresses online, finding the perfect fit in a simple, lightweight number by ASTR the Label.

Read on for the rest of Yvonne’s account of this very special day – we truly could not be any more impressed!

How we met

Yvonne, the bride: We met in 2014 through a mutual friend (his medical school friend and my residency friend). When the mutual friend found out Gabriel was coming to Boston to train as a fellow in trauma surgery, he immediately said that we should meet and the rest is history!

A Dorit Izbizki Bride for an Intimate Israeli Jewish Wedding at The Garden, Ma’ale Hachamisha, Israel

07/09/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

If not for the customized face masks, you’d barely know today’s picture-perfect Jewish wedding was impacted by COVID-19. But while childhood sweethearts Yosepha and Sam were lucky enough to wed before the tightest pandemic restrictions kicked in, the spread of the coronavirus still meant that many overseas friends and family were unable to attend, leaving them with a small (by Israeli standards) guest count of 150.

Though it was obviously disappointing to have so many loved ones missing, Yosepha and Sam focused on the positives – both of having a more intimate gathering, and of being able to go through with their big day at all, under the circumstances! And we love that the couple’s siblings surprised them by collecting videos of their relatives who couldn’t be there wishing them mazel tov and letting the pair know how much they wished they could celebrate together – it was a total surprise to Yosepha and Sam, and they were so touched by the gesture.

As always, we’re in love with the emotional photography Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman Photography. His images are so full of joy and love, and they really capture the pure elation Yosepha and Sam clearly felt to be able marry in the setting of their dreams, in the presence of so many of their loved ones. We’re totally not surprised to hear these two have been receiving endless compliments on their photos!

There’s lots more to say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked so beautiful in her wedding dress by Israeli designer Dorit Izbizki…

How we met

Yosepha, the bride: Sam and I met about 12 years ago when his family made aliyah. They moved in to the house right next door and lived there for about 2 years. We were all really young, I think I was 9 and Sam was 11. We would hang out with our siblings and neighbors together.

Our sibling wrote us a “story book” about how we met and our relationship. It was really cute and funny. Everyone would joke about how I always had a crush on the boy next door, though I think it was the other way around 🙂

A few years after Sam and his family moved, we met again at scouts camp. We spent a lot of time together talking and hanging out. We started going out when I was in 9th grade, Sam in 10th. We’ve been together for over 6 years now, together throughout high school, Sam’s army service and my national service. It wasn’t always easy, not seeing each other for weeks at a time when Sam was on base, and dealing with stuff that you never imagined happening.

We were so young when we got together, we both grew up a lot and changed together. It’s interesting to think about how we used to be and where we got to today. We’re both so different from how we used to be but with every change we always grew closer. We both feel extremely lucky to have had each other all these years.

A Pronovias Bride for a Reimagined Backyard Jewish Wedding in Armonk, New York, USA

04/09/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Here at Team STG, we have been absolutely loving all of the reimagined pandemic weddings we’ve been seeing, Though it’s no easy feat – emotionally or logistically – to change tack when you’re deep in the midst of planning the day of your dreams, so many amazing couples are rocking it each and every day.

Like Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Danielle, a designer at Facebook, and Eric, an attorney. They had originally planned a big Jewish wedding in Washington, DC – but then COVID intervened. Once it became clear their initial plans were a no-go, the pair decided they still wanted to move things forward, and chose to embrace the opportunity to plan a different kind of wedding. Different, but no less beautiful or joyous – photographer Eli Turner’s incredible imagery is proof of that.

Choosing the groom’s parents’ backyard as their venue, Danielle and Eric leaned into the intimacy that comes hand in hand with marrying in front of just 14 of your nearest and dearest. They opted not to stream their celebration on Zoom (though they did have videographer Tom Bowen of Bowen Films on hand to record a video they could share with friends and family unable to attend), instead letting the tight-knit group set the stage for what became the couple’s favorite part of the wedding: their ultra-personal vows, which Danielle says they never would’ve shared in front of their original 230-person guest list. We’re also in love with the couple’s wonderful nature-inspired ketubah by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Ketubah.

Danielle and Eric also made an effort to replace other elements that they felt they were “losing” from their big wedding with new features that excited them. The two are both big fans of the band Phish, and while they’d originally deemed the band’s music too quirky to impose on their guest list, with the attendees pared down to just family they opted to go full on by booking a Phish tribute band to perform!

We’ll let the bride – who looked ravishing in Pronovias (yes, the same gown she’d picked out for the big bash) – fill you in on the rest…

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Danielle-and-Eric-private-residence How We Met

Danielle, the bride: We met at a Great Gatsby themed party during college, when I was a sophomore and Eric was a senior. I had a feather in her hair and Eric was wearing a full suit, which is not your regular college attire. We spent the whole night talking and by the end of the party had exchanged numbers. Eric liked that I was in the art school and very creative. I was drawn to Eric’s humor and wit.