Jewish Budget Weddings Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Spiritual, Magical Florida Backyard Jewish Wedding Reimagined Due to COVID-19

24/04/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s Jewish wedding is so unbelievably, jaw-droppingly, breathtakingly gorgeous, it’s hard to believe it wasn’t the couple’s Plan A all along. But believe it or not, bride Ganga, whose work combines counseling, astrology, ritual, and ecological design to support clients through change and loss, and Seth, a strength and conditioning coach who draws on a similarly interdisciplinary background, pulled together this intimate, impromptu wedding in the bride’s mother’s back garden after their original plans were waylaid by coronavirus.

These two had a bigger wedding at an eco-retreat all lined up – and they still plan to hold that bash, with their original lineup of vendors, next year – but when the pandemic hit, they changed their plans to this pared-down backyard celebration with a focus on spirituality.

The couple, who are both training to be inter-spiritual ministers, poured themselves into developing a ceremony that felt deeply authentic to them both, from their circling around each other to the Adon Olam, to adapting the seven blessings to reflect poems and blessings from many traditions to reciting their own vows.

We also love the thought they put into selecting their gorgeous Gingko Spiral ketubah by Temma Gentles from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com: the ginkgo has been around for over 300 million years, meaning it’s a true adaptor and survivor – just what we all need to be in these uncertain times.

And would you believe these exquisite photos were shot by a first-time wedding photographer? Ganga’s bridesmaid – the only one who was able to make it in the end – just happens to be mega-talented photographer Thais Aquino, who’s clearly a natural at weddings!

Now over to Ganga, the bride…

How we met

Ganga, the bride: We met through my best friend who had been one of Seth’s students, on New Year’s Eve 2016. The first thing I remember asking Seth was what his intention for 2017 was, to which he replied, “just to be love.” That immediately told me we were on the same page in our approach to life, and within a few weeks we were learning how to be love, together.

A Lis Simon Bride for a Homecoming-Themed Jewish Wedding at the University of Missouri, Colombia, Missouri, USA

27/03/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

In uncertain times, there’s nothing like a return to the familiar. Which is why the homecoming-themed Jewish wedding of Savannah, who works as the development director at a Jewish nonprofit, and Josh, who’s starting law school this fall, who opted to wed at the University of Missouri (also known as Mizzou), where they met as college freshmen.

These two truly followed STG’s motto of “your Jewish wedding, your way.” They worked together to craft an ultra-personal ceremony that paired the traditional structure with the couple’s egalitarian values. Since lots of the guests had never before attended a Jewish wedding, Savannah and Josh also put together a program explaining the ceremony – which doubled as a fan, perfect for keeping cool in the Missouri heat! They even FaceTimed the bride’s grandma in, since she couldn’t travel to attend in person – this is such a great way to include long-distance loved ones, and in light of COVID-19 its’s something we’ll probably start seeing a lot more of.

And how special is it that Josh’s dad built the couple’s chuppah, and his mom decorated it? They even made it so it can be taken apart and moved easily, and Savannah and Josh have since repurposed it as a sukkah! Don’t miss it in the beautiful photos from Chase Castor and Cam Wiley of Kindling.

We’re also in love with the couple’s cool contemporary ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent. It’s a true piece of art, which now hands proudly outside Savannah and Josh’s bedroom. These two even wrote their own ketubah text, based on the egalitarian structure with some personal touches thrown in.

There’s so much more we could say about this joyous Jewish wedding, but we’ll let the bride – who looked beautiful in Lis Simon Bridal – tell you the rest…

How we met

Savannah, the bride: Josh and I met as 18-year-old college freshmen at the University of Missouri. We were set up accidentally by a mutual friend, Clayton, and I didn’t even think Josh liked me that much! I complained to Clayton that I was bored — he was out of town — and he told me to see what Josh was up to. So, that was the first time I talked to Josh one-on-one, and we then proceeded to get locked out of our dorms in the rain.

We spent all night talking outside our dorm and because it was 3 a.m., our friends weren’t answering their phones and the dorm assistant on call was asleep. We were truly locked out until the early risers woke up! The next day, Josh asked me out on our first date, where our friend (and my bridesmaid), Katie, picked out both of our first date outfits without telling either of us. So, thanks to Clayton and Katie, we’re now happily married!Continue Reading

A David’s Bride for a Rustic DIY Backyard Jewish Wedding on a Budget in Door County, Wisconsin, USA

13/12/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We were sold on this DIY Jewish wedding on a budget from the moment we read in the brides writeup, “We wanted the wedding to be about the community coming together.” Because isn’t that really what it’s all about?

Super crafty couple Federica and Nathan did nearly everything either themselves or with the help of family and friends – from building their own birch chuppah (from fallen trees on the groom’s family’s property!) to creating their own playlists to setting up on the day. Nathan’s mother grew and picked the flowers, and designed Federica’s bridal bouquet. Even the photographer, Mandelette, just happened to be the groom’s cousin!

And Federica did her own hair and makeup, baked her own wedding cake, AND designed and illustrated the invitations, on the day stationery, and ketubah – talk about a triple threat!

It’s really touching to hear how this wedding brought the couple’s friends and family together – with the bridal party, the families, and the couple themselves all pitching in to help with setup the morning of the wedding. But we’ll let the bride, who looked stunning in her Davidʼs Bridal dress, tell you about that…

How we met

Federica, the bride: We met in 2013 attending Ulpan in Israel. The first time I saw him he had just gotten off his Aliyah flight and still had his suitcase with him. We went from the small Kibbutz where we met to living in Tel Aviv, from Tel Aviv to northern Italy and now Rome.

A Free People Bride for a Colorful DIY Backyard Artists’ Jewish Wedding in Zichron Ya’akov, Israel

04/10/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

When a pair of artists plan a DIY Jewish wedding, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be something special. But even so, the boho backyard wedding of Britt and Adir exceeded our wildest expectations.

The bride, Britt, is the mega-talented ketubah artist and beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor BRITcolors – she makes incredibly unique ketubot, and as far as we know is the only one out there making embroidered and beaded designs – and as if that weren’t enough, she’s also a freelance interior designer.

Groom Adir is a poet-singer-songwriter who’s also working on his master’s degree in clinical social work, running sales for a friend’s construction company, AND moonlighting as a private kosher chef.

So clearly there’s a ton of talent going on there, and it doesn’t hurt that pretty much all of the bride’s family are artists too – plus plenty of the couple’s friends. And they all came together to throw one amazing, unique, ultra-personal wedding in Britt’s parents’ backyard in Zichron Ya’akov, Israel.

The couple focused on making the most of the lush greenery and bright colors of the garden, working lots of watercolors (the bride’s specialty) and florals into the day. We’re obsessed with photographer Tomer Ben Simhon’s luminous photos, which capture all the emotion AND the gorgeous artistic details so perfectly.

Naturally the bride designed her own ketubah, and we’re in love with the one-of-a-kind creation she came up with. In her work she regularly utilizes embroidery, layered watercolors, and gold flake paint – but until crafting her own ketubah, she’d never combined all these elements together into one. The finished product is a real stunner – you don’t want to miss this beauty.

We also love that in keeping with her DIY, low-key style, the bride opted for a non-traditional boho chic dress from Free People. There’s so much more to say about this awesome wedding, but we’ll let Britt tell you the rest herself…

How we met

Brit, the bride: In October of 2013 I was living in Florentine, Tel Aviv. I was starting my second year at the Holon Institute of Technology and went to my local print shop to print out an assignment. It was very early in the morning and I was the only one there, right when they opened.

Moments later, Adir walked in, dressed to impress (he was working in finance) and stood next to me waiting for his order. Excited to finally meet what I thought was a slightly older, more “serious” guy, I struck up a conversation only to learn that he was just another musician printing flyers for a show … and was a few months younger than me. He insisted on giving me a flyer even though I said I wouldn’t come. When I heard his music, I knew I had to send him a message. He responded by asking me out on a date. We met the following night, and have been together ever since.

A Phase Eight Bride for an Interfaith Jewish-Scottish Wedding Planned in Two Months at the Pergola on Hampstead Heath, London, UK

22/05/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Can you believe this gorgeous interfaith Jewish wedding was planned in under two months?! Yes, that’s right – a beautiful wedding in under sixty days!

Jude, a business analyst, and Del, who works in regulation, made it work by keeping the crowd small – they held an intimate celebration with just immediate family and their closest friends – and the day streamlined.

Their venue, the Pergola on Hampstead Heath, not only had a ton of meaning to the couple (it’s where Del proposed to Jude!), it’s also the kind of naturally stunning space that easily stands on its own without any need for additional décor.And given the timeline, the bride opted to shop the high street, endingup with a lovely ‘20s inspired beaded gown from Phase Eight.

We love how these two brought together the bride’s Jewish identity and the groom’s Scottish heritage, too. They made sure traditions from both sides were represented, smashing the glass together and choosing flowers that incorporated Del’s Scottish heritage.

We’re obsessed with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kate Nielen’s soft and dreamy photos of this big day… read on to hear all the rest of the details.