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Blue and yellow DIY Jewish beach wedding in Crete, Greece

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Crete-Jewish-wedding
How about we all jet off this morning to Crete to revel in the big blue and yellow day of Meline and Damon? These two are just the cutest pair and their couple portraits are so full of warmth and affection that I’ve snuck a fair few into this post.

It’s the first time I’ve blogged a Jewish wedding from the beautiful Greek island of Crete, and the first where the bride is wearing yellow! There’s so much to love about this delicious destination wedding — the ceremony took place on the beach right by the shore, under a stunning talit chuppah overlooking the breathtaking sea views, and there are lots of creative DIY touches throughout the festivities that you’re going to love.

The couple decided to do away with many wedding traditions in favour of creating a day that reflected them as a couple as well as making it an amazing experience for all their friends and, family and I have to say that looking at the wonderful photos by Newman Photography (one of our much-loved Smashing Suppliers) it definitely made for a very special destination W-Day.

I’m totally in awe of Meline’s yellow wedding dress. The girl totally rocked that sunshine shade! She actually wanted to get married dressed up as an Elf princess or Princess Leia from Star Wars but Damon thought that was a bit too cheesy… In the end she went for this absolutely magnificent yellow gown, and in my mind it’s the perfect accompaniment to that scenic backdrop of blue skies and sandy beaches.

Get ready for an intimate, laid back wedding with sublime weather and an even more sublime couple.

Jewish Wedding Crete
how we met

Meline, the Bride: We met on the lawn on the University of Pretoria campus in South Africa over 10 years ago. I was embarking on a veterinary degree and Damon a mathematics degree (such nerds!). Damon had an apartment right next to the campus so people would hang out there a lot. We were friends for a few months before we got together. A few months later we moved in together and the rest, as they say, is history…

Jewish Wedding CreteJewish Wedding Crete
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Carmel & Aviv | ‘love carnival in a green house’ DIY Jewish wedding at the groom’s rose farm, Northern Israel

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DIY-wedding
Carmel and Aviv knew that they wanted to make their wedding as personal to the two of them as they  possibly could, so  what could  be better then doing everything (and I mean everything!) themselves? Oh yes —  once these two had decided on a DIY W-day, it was full steam ahead, and then some. Get ready to admire what is probably one of the most DIY’d weddings I  have ever featured on Smashing The Glass. It truly gives new  meaning to the phrase,  ‘labour of love’.

For 6 months, this gorgeous pair made the drive every weekend from Tel Aviv, to the groom’s  family farm in Northern Israel to renovate an old greenhouse from the bone. They straightened the ground, laid  a concrete dance floor, and planted literally thousands of flowers and trees. (To give you an idea, they planted about 400 sunflowers in one field alone!).

And it didn’t stop there. Once the space was ready,  Carmel and Aviv made  everything themselves from  the decorations to the flags to the  signage, not to mention hand-crafting their  invitations, table numbers and place names. There was also  a flower booth on the day, with live flower weaving to decorate the guests. Genius.

The most personal thing they incorporated  though, was a wonderful heirloom — their chuppah canopy.  It has been used  in the groom’s family for two generations for every wedding in the family, and Aviv’s grandmother weaves the names of every  new couple into it. How magical is that?

A immense amount of time and effort has clearly gone into this incredible  wedding, so enjoy all the wonderful  details and get ready for some serious pinterest-induced mania! Both the bride and  the groom have written the report today, and why wouldn’t they when there was so much joint involvement with the wedding planning ? One of my favourite quotes from the groom  is:

Our wedding was full of happiness and love. We guess that when people see  how much love you’re putting into it, they return it with extra.”

I love that.

Their day is exquisitely photographed  by the super  talented  Shai Franco  and don’t miss the highlights film at the end by the equally accomplished  Shahar Lev.

DIY wedding
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Keren & Asaf | ‘swimming pool & popsicles’ Israeli wedding at the Ghetto Fighters’ Kibbutz, Western Galilee, Northern Israel

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Kibbutz-Wedding
You can tell from the way that Keren and Asaf approached the planning of their big day that they’re a fun-loving laid back couple. For a start, they followed the STG mantra of making their  day personal to them by getting ready together and welcoming friends and family into their home, enjoying coffee and cigarettes, before walking down the aisle to their chuppah hand in hand. Untraditional but pretty damn cool I’m sure you’ll agree.

I really love their big day for so many reasons: the tribute to the bride’s grandmother in the chuppah design, Keren’s amazing oversize floral crown, popsicles instead of wedding cake, outdoor frolics in the swimming pool, and of course the dreamy, luminous portrait shots of the pair of them in the kibbutz where they held their wedding.

I have a feeling you’ll love it too…

All of the  gorgeousness was captured perfectly by the very lovely Gamba Photographers.

kibbutz wedding
how we met

Keren, the Bride: Asaf lives in Northern Israel, and at the time, I lived in Tel Aviv. I was up North on holiday  and a mutual friend introduced us. It  was the most fun  that either of us  had ever experienced, and nothing could  separate us for three days after that.

It took Asaf six months to convince me to move up North with him, and after a year of living here, I just regret not moving earlier.

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Amanda & Charley | Super fun and intimate laidback Jew-ish wedding at the Santa Barbara Courthouse, and The Lark, Santa Barbara, California

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santa-barbara-courthouse-weddingI love it when my readers email me with their wedding planning queries and stories. I first heard from Amanda, a Smashing The Glass reader (and today’s beautiful bride!)  back in July 2014 with the following email:

Hi Karen! I am reaching out in regards to Kathleen and Liz’s beautiful wedding in Palm Springs that you featured on Smashing the Glass earlier this year. I am getting married this September and I have been looking for a chuppah far and wide. I haven’t had much luck, but I absolutely love Kathleen and Liz’s chuppah and was hoping you would be able to either provide their contact information or pass this email along with my details. I would love to ask if I could potentially rent their chuppah and incorporate their beautiful handmade piece in another celebration of love. If not, I completely understand but I figured it never hurt to ask!

I was so delighted that Amanda had reached out to me about this idea, and immediately put her in touch with Kathleen and Liz. For logistical reasons, the ‘passing of the chuppah’ didn’t work out, but there is a happy ending to the story! Amanda and Charley found a local craftsman who constructed their ideal chuppah out of reclaimed wood, and what’s really lovely, is that after their wedding, Amanda and Charley wanted to spread the love of their chuppah and pass it on, and they did just that (full story below!)

Amanda contacted me after her big day with her wedding story, and I am so delighted to share it with you today. It’s a true ‘Smashing The Glass’ W Day, bursting with creativity, authenticity and bucket loads of L.O.V.E.

These two pulled off their big day on a modest budget, and what an incredible job they did. So although the top image looks truly opulent, this is in fact an incredibly casual, laid back wedding with some amazing budget ideas. In fact Amanda says “keeping our wedding small and manageable left enough money for a honeymoon to Cambodia which was the best way to kick off spending the rest of our lives together!”

The biggest budget tip these two adhered to was keeping it small. They shared their celebration with a select group of close family and friends (just 40 people) and were confident enough not to invite the people who weren’t closely involved in their lives.

Can you believe that Amanda’s TWO divine wedding dresses, her shoes and her accessories were all purchased for under $1000 ( £650)?! All the florals were bought by Amanda from a local flower shop the day before the wedding, and instead of spending their budget on live music or a DJ, these two had their nearest and dearest contribute to a wonderfully personal Spotify playlist.

Amanda and Charley… I take my hat off to you. You definitely achieved your aim of creating the greatest party on the smallest budget.

Enjoy Amanda’s story below, and all the wonderful images taken by the rather talented Casey from CLB Creative

laidback Jewish wedding at the Santa Barbara Courthouse, and The Lark, Santa Barbara, California
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An Enzoani bride for a laidback Outdoor Garden Jewish Wedding at the Bride & Groom’s Home, Los Angeles, USA

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Outdoor-Garden-Picnic-Jewish-Wedding
When the gorgeous Misti and Asaf tied the knot in Los Angeles they chose to host the celebration in their new home, and bear in mind that this brave couple had only moved into it a week before their big day!

But they couldn’t have been more thrilled with their venue choice, as “having the wedding in our home made it amazingly special”, says Misti. “Whenever we look into our garden, we can see where we took our vows and celebrated with friends and family. In a way, it makes our wedding part of our everyday lives.”

Misti is so beautiful with delicious bridal accessories to match — I mean you just can’t help but gawp at her super sparkly pink shoes in awe! There are also some lovely DIY details like flower seed favours which you must check out.

Jonas Seaman‘s photography is exquisite and I adore the light he’s captured – he has managed to paint a beautiful soft, timeless quality over the entire day. Enjoy!

Casual Outdoor Garden WeddingCasual Outdoor Garden Wedding
HAVING OUR WEDDING IN OUR OWN HOME
Misti, the Bride: Having gone to a number of weddings, our favourites have always been outdoor weddings with a casual and personal atmosphere. I think that having our wedding in our house made it extra special for us.

Our wedding was especially unique as we moved into our house the Saturday before the wedding. Our venue truly marked the beginning of our new life together.

My family and some awesome Midwesterners showed up early in the week to help us unpack and get ready for the wedding. When they showed up, we did not even have a kitchen sink. During our rehearsal dinner, our front yard fence was being built. On the Saturday of the wedding, a friend put on the house numbers a few hours before our guests began arriving. By the time the ceremony started, the house was completely transformed into a beautiful home and wedding.

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