Jewish City Chic Weddings Archives - Smashing the Glass

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 Samantha Sleeper Bride for a Magical, Musical Jewish Wedding at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue and Old Billingsgate, London, UK

03/12/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

How as your first night of Hannukah last night? I love this time of year with latkes, donuts, candles, and presents! And before we dive into today’s stunning Jewish wedding do check out my TWO Hannukah gifts to you if you’re a bride-to-be!

So today’s wedding is jaw-on-the floor… That chuppah. That veil. That London summer sunshine. That gorgeous couple! This Jewish wedding is 100% pure magic, from start to finish.

Being that Adam is a filmmaker and Chloe is a photographer, it’s not surprising that ALL the visual details are totally on point. Take that chuppah. You might think such a wild natural design would look out of place in the uber-traditional synagogue setting.

But you’d be wrong. You could’ve fooled us into thinking a lovely little thicket of trees just happened to sprout up in the middle of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue and we’d have believed you, that’s how perfect a fit it is.

Or Chloe’s dress (and veil!) from Samantha Sleeper – it’s the absolute perfect combination of elegance and whimsy, and those hand-sewn blush silk flowers on the veil?! OBSESSED.

Being pros themselves, the couple demanded nothing less than the best when it came to photography, and did they ever find it in Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Crawleys! From the emotion to the gorgeous details to the wild dancing, they captured every single moment so incredibly beautifully. By the time we finished looking through their exceptional photos, we honestly felt like we’d been there.

With Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson on hand to deliver one of his trademark soulful performances at the chuppah, we’re hard pressed to think of anything that could have made this wedding better.

But here’s one: This multitalented couple also gave a pretty epic musical performance themselves, with Adam on guitar and Chloe on vocals – no big deal in the middle of your big day, right?! You don’t want to miss Shoot Me Now Films’ recording of the big moment – or any other details of this exceptional day, for that matter.

Alright, take it away, gorgeous Chloe!

Jewish wedding Spanish and Portuguese synagogue and Old Billingsgate in London, UK_0021

How we met

Chloe, the bride: We met through a set up of mutual friends! Chloe was living in Israel and Adam in London and we emailed one another for months before meeting! Top tip – never say never, anything can happen!

A Lee Petra Grebenau Bride for a Destination Jewish Wedding with a Dreamy Floral Chuppah at Boca Raton Resort and Club, Florida, USA

30/11/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

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Why hello, floral chuppah of our dreams. It was absolutely roses for daaaaays at the Florida-perfect destination Jewish wedding of Sara, a real estate broker (and Smashing The Glass Brides Club member!), and Eric, an immigration attorney – is it just us, or are those blooms a perfect match for Boca Raton Resort and Club’s trademark pink building?

We’re pretty sure you’ll agree that STGd Vendor Carlos Marquez of Boca by Design really outdid himself on this one (not to mention the cascading florals from the chandelier in the reception space!).

Photographer Susan Shek captured the day SO perfectly, from all the gorgeous details (and there are lots) to the ultra-emotional chuppah – seriously, this is one sequence you don’t want to miss. Sara raves that Susan “knows how to get the right photos, the right angles, and more than that, she became a friend in the process” – pretty much all you could ever ask for, right?!

Props to Sara’s mom for a cool, totally unexpected favor idea: she brought challah covers back from Israel for all the guests! We’re not surprised to hear that people loved them – and it’s a great reminder that the sky’s the limit when it comes to favors; it’s fine (actually, awesome!) to go off the beaten path with something unique.

Now over to the bride herself, who looked simply smashing in her gorgeous beaded dress from super cool Israeli designer Lee Petra Grebenau…

A Wedding in Boca

Sara, the bride: We got married at Boca Raton Resort and Club. We wanted to get married somewhere that was relatively easy for everyone to get to (Texas, Paris, Israel, NYC, Costa Rica etc) and warm. I wasn’t, and still am not, too familiar with Boca, but when I went to visit the venue with my mom and sister, we all fell in love with the pink building, the outdoor space, and the cathedral ballroom.

A Gemy Maalouf Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding at Plaisterers’ Hall, One London Wall, London, UK

26/11/2018 by Karen Cinnamon 1 Comment

It’s no secret that it gets us pretty excited to hear how couples have used Smashing The Glass to help them plan their own Jewish (or Jew-ish weddings). So you can only imagine the warm and fuzzies it gave us to read these lovely words from today’s beautiful bride (and member of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club!) Aimee:

“We really wouldn’t have known where to start planning our wedding without Karen and Smashing The Glass. We used lots of STG Recommended Vendors and they were all incredible!”

Aww, we think you’re incredible too, Aimee! She and Ross planned the most fantastic day, and we’re so touched to have been a part of it. From the bride’s totally exquisite lace Gemy Maalouf gown from much beloved STG Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror London – it’s really unlike any other we’ve seen – to the lovely flowers (including succulents – how cool!) from STG Recommended Vendor The Country Flower Company to the elegant wedding stationery, complete with personalized wax seal, from STG Recommended Vendor Dimitria Jordan.

We’re always excited when a wedding with STG Recommended Vendor XS Showband crosses our path, and today’s is no exception. We’re delighted (but not surprised) to hear that they were incredibly helpful to Aimee and Ross throughout the planning, and we LOVE that the couple had one of the band members sing the prayers during their ceremony.

Even more STG-sourced vendors captured the day in all its glory: STG Recommended Vendor David Morgan took the coolest photos – we can’t get enough of his modern style – and STG Recommended Vendor Denee Motion’s wedding trailer is pure cinematic splendor, as always!

Okay, now we’ll hand you over to our new BFF Aimee…

How we met

Aimee, the bride: We first met on the same family holiday. We were both on the same cruise with our families and were introduced. However, I was quite shy and we didn’t talk too much!

Once back it turned out that I was joining Ross’ sixth form and we ended up in many of the same classes. In our second year we started dating and have been together ever since. 9 years later Ross proposed in our flat and here we are 11 months later… MARRIED!

A Martina Liana Bride for a Modern Romantic Jewish Wedding by the Ocean with a Willow Chuppah at Eau Palm Beach, Florida, USA

21/11/2018 by Karen Cinnamon 2 Comments

Close your eyes. You’re on a beach. You can hear the waves crashing, in and out…

For Leigh and Chad (#HappiLeighEverCassett), this wasn’t just a soothing meditation. It was their ACTUAL wedding. The sound of waves crashing was the soundtrack to their dreamy ceremony took place on a terrace overlooking the Atlantic (Palm Beach, no less), and the scenery… well, we’ll let Emily Harris’s photos and Senderey Video’s trailer speak for themselves.

As if that weren’t enough, the couple also had a totally gorgeous chuppah made of willow branches and dragonwood (see, it even SOUNDS magical), adorned with flowers – just the thing to complement the natural surroundings.

Oh, and can we talk about how AMAZING Leigh looked in her fitted trumpet gown from Martina Liana? It looks like it was absolutely designed with her in mind… pure perfection.

She’ll fill you in on the rest of the details – like the surprise confetti blast during we had a confetti blast during the hora!

Modern Elegance

Leigh, the bride: We got married at the Eau Palm Beach. We picked this venue as we wanted to get married overlooking the ocean and the Eau has an amazing terrace overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

We both grew up in South Florida, and Palm Beach was far enough away for even in-town guests to make a weekend of the event. In addition, the hotel is a 5-star resort, yet is quaint and inviting, and the lobby feels like your living room.

The hotel was formerly a Ritz Carlton, and the style is pure Ritz elegance. Our theme throughout the weekend was modern elegance and the Eau captured that perfectly. The service, food, and staff were top notch!