Real Jewish Weddings Archives - Smashing the Glass

An Essense of Australia Bride for a Jew-ish Wedding at Poundon House, near Bicester, Buckinghamshire, UK

14/12/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

One of the things we most love here at Smashing the Glass is hearing how we’ve helped couples plan the Jew-ish wedding of their dreams. So when lovely bride Philippa (who just happens to be a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club) told us she found STG while looking for interfaith wedding inspo, it melted Team STG’s collective heart – and even more so when she told us reading other brides’ writeups of their Jew-ish weddings “made me realise we weren’t the only ones out there!”

So you can only imagine out delight in finding out that she and groom Jerome booked their officiant, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rabbi Paul Glantz, via STG! Rabbi Paul helped the couple – Philippa is Christian, Jerome’s Jewish – craft an ultra-personal ceremony that reflected both of their backgrounds and traditions, complete with plentiful description of the Jewish parts of the ceremony so everyone could follow along, plus an explanatory order of service crafted by the bride. This is such a smart idea if you know you’ll be having guests who are unfamiliar with Jewish wedding traditions!

We also love that toward the end of the ceremony, after the rabbi recited the traditional Jewish seven blessings in Hebrew, the couple invited some friends and close family to give seven humanist blessings in English!

And with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor the Function Band performing, this wedding was no slouch from an entertainment standpoint either. The Function Band are renowned far and wide for their ability to get the party started, and we’re not surprised that guest after guest came up to the couple to tell them how awesome the band was!

We haven’t even gotten to the fab rustic elegance aesthetic, the gorgeous floral chuppah, or Philippa’s stunner of a dress from Essense of Australia, but we’ll leave it to the bride – with some support from the fab photography by Pascal from Reportage, and videography by Cedar House Productions – to fill you in on all of that…

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How we met

Philippa, the bride: Jerome and I both work in the media industry – I’m a producer at a creative agency making commercials and promotional content, and Jerome is head of strategic development at a creative studio, working in VR and CGI.

We met through a mutual friend whom Jerome lived with at the time and we finally got together on a big group trip to Ibiza where we started kissing in the middle of a Hardwell gig at Ushuaia! We didn’t stop kissing after that. It didn’t take long for us to realise that it was meant to be and we moved into together after 3 months.

A Crystal Design Bride for a Romantic Destination Jewish Wedding with Moody Florals and Fireworks at Villa Montefiano, Fiesole, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

12/12/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Today’s Jewish wedding is 100% pure dreamy-misty-eyed romance. The fact that it took place at a totally stunning venue in Florence doesn’t hurt, obviously. But the couple’s excellent (and elegant!) taste, along with the amazing team assembled by their stellar wedding planner, Rossana from The Knot in Italy, is what really made the day.

We’re totally in love with the moody glam look Andrea, an executive assistant/office manager, and Seymone, an attorney, cultivated. Between the lush florals (peonies and eucalyptus!), twinkly lights, and liberal use of candles – not to mention that subtly dramatic chuppah – every single detail is totally on point. Silvia Galora Photography and videographer Waterfall Visuals both captured the romance and visual splendor of the day absolutely exquisitely.

Oh, and did we mention that there were fireworks? And not just the metaphorical kind.

We’ll let Andrea, who looked stunning in her dreamy princess gown from Crystal Design, fill you in on the details…

How we met

Andrea, the bride: I met Seymone 5 years ago in the basement cafe of our then-office building. This is our story as told on our wedding website:

Andrea captured Seymone’s attention in the basement cafe at their old (now demolished) office building in Century City, CA. Seymone’s first words, “How’s the soup?” led him to finding out Andrea worked at the real estate firm on the 2nd floor.

The next day, Andrea would receive an edible arrangement and a card that read, “It was lovely meeting you in the cafe yesterday, hope the next time I see you is over dinner and drinks – SJ.”

After many adventures and years of getting to know each other Seymone popped the question on February 16, 2017.

A Mira Zwillinger Bride for a Garden Oasis Jewish Wedding at the 1 Hotel, South Beach, Miami, Florida, USA

10/12/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We’re experiencing some hardcore dress envy today. Seriously, HOW exquisite is bride Alyssa’s soft, whimsical Mira Zwillinger gown? It’s so dreamy, and just the right level of princess-y without being over-the-top. The story of how she ended up choosing it from beloved SoFla bridal boutique Chic Parisien is pretty epic too!

And how about Alyssa and Leon’s AMAZING chuppah?! Constructed from manzanita branches and strewn with a bed of orchids (!), it’s incredibly special – and absolutely perfect for the couple’s natural aesthetic, with a focus on greens and woods accented by bright whites.

This gorgeous wedding featured a seriously star-studded array of vendors, from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ruth Mergi, who provided the couple’s beautiful modern chuppah, to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ana Paz Cakes, who crafted an oh-so-elegant orchid-studded white tiered cake, to photographer Emily Harris, who captured some incredibly emotion (not to mention a whole lot of pretty).

We love that Alyssa made the bold decision to dress her bridesmaids in white – it’s not for everyone, but the shots of the bridal party all together are pretty stunning!

Take it away, Alyssa!

Garden Oasis

Alyssa, the bride: We got married at The 1 Hotel. I chose this location because it is absolutely breathtaking. The decor in the hotel is exactly my style and the theme I wanted to portray—everything is green, wooden decor, earthy and organic feeling.

The live green plant wall in the reception room was also a major selling point for me. It really added to the room and made for a great photo back drop for all of my guests!

Also, every time I walked into the hotel I felt like I was in some sort of garden oasis. I wanted my guests to feel like they were at a destination wedding on vacation and I really felt like the 1 Hotel provided that feel.

A Vineyard Festival Wedding Featuring Two Brides in Limor Rosen and Tamara, South of Tel Aviv, Israel

07/12/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

This wedding! Today’s Jewish wedding is what summer festival wedding dreams are made of. Mor, the CEO of a rock climbing gym, and Rotem, a software engineer, had the dreamiest ever Israeli vineyard wedding, expertly captured by photographer Roman Balashov and videographer Guy Lahav.

We’re obsessed with their minimalist magical chuppah – which the brides credit to their amazing planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bebke. With just a few artfully placed bottle vases full of flowers and greenery artfully draped from the poles, it shows you don’t have to go for something crazy ornate to make a big impact.

We also love that the couple crafted an ultra-personal ceremony incorporating Jewish tradition with their own personalities and values. The brides’ sisters officiated, and rather than saving speeches for the meal, Mor and Rotem decided to include them during the chuppah – including an incredibly emotional one by Mor’s mother. We love the idea of making speeches a part of your ceremony – such a special way to involve important people, and to inject some individuality into the proceedings!

Both brides were perfectly decked out in boho chic splendor, with Mor in Limor Rosen and Rotem wearing Tamara. Oh, and did we mention that they chose “I Kissed a Girl” as their recessional?! LOVE!!!!

Now over to Rotem…

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How we met

Rotem: We met at Ben Gurion University when we both started biotechnology engineering studies.

A Rita Vinieris Bride for a Multicultural Jew-ish Wedding at Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

05/12/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

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We’re not sure what we’re more excited about in today’s Jew-ish wedding: the ultra-personal ceremony the couple crafted that blended their collective Italian, Israeli, and American backgrounds to perfection, or the jaw-dropping Tuscan scenery—and photographer Edoardo Agresti’s exquisite captures of the day, which somehow manage to be natural and artistic all at once.

Oh… and we’re going nuts for the couples Fiat 500 wedding car too!

Lital and Andrea, who run Padano Productions —providing sound, lighting, and AV for events (yes, that includes weddings!) in the LA area—knew their top priority was crafting a wedding that was totally them. That meant combining Andrea’s Italian heritage and Lital’s Israeli-American background, and making sure the Jewish traditions they incorporated into the day were meaningful and fit with their personal beliefs.

Our favorite example? They reworked the traditional seven blessings to put a unique, personal spin on the ancient text, and then had their closest friends and family read them aloud – 3 in Italian, 3 in Hebrew, and 1 in English.

And then there’s the ketubah. Lital and Andrea found the perfect combination – text that reflects who they are as a couple plus fabulous design – in mega-talented Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Stephanie Caplan from The Ketubah whom we ADORE!

On a less spiritual note, we also love the fun favor these two opted to hand out to their guests: hats! But not just any old junky hat to shade them from that midsummer heat during the outdoor ceremony. These were super nice, sylish straw hats that, Lital reports, many of the guests are still wearing to this day!

Now over to the bride, who looked totally gorgeous in her boho chic gown by Rita Vinieris – not to mention her epic flower crown!