Jewish City Chic Weddings Archives - Smashing the Glass

An Eve of Milady Bride for a Magical Jewish Wedding with a Floating Cake at Temple Beth El, Cedarhurst, NY

22/05/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We throw the word “magical” around a lot when talking about the beautiful Jewish wedding we’re privileged to feature… but this one brings it to another level! You see, the groom, Eric Wilzig, is a professional magician and illusionist, and the big day took its cues from his background – with some fun inspired by Eliana’s career as a gymnast, gymnastics coach, and manager at a gymnastics gym.

The couple’s “floating” chuppah (thanks to lucite columns) is pretty cool, but there’s no question that the piece de resistance was the couple’s wedding cake, which was actually levitating – no strings or wires involved.

Not many bakers could pull off a cake like this, but luckily Eric and Eliana found the dream team at Peboryon, lead by Christine and and Phil Jenson, and they worked out a design that would allow the top tier of the cake to float and spin. The couple were so taken with their concept and craftsmanship they ended up flying the Peboryon team out to New York from the UK to make it happen… and 228 (no, that’s not a typo) hours of work later, they did! Don’t miss the incredible pics from White Light Photo!

There were plenty of other magical touches to this one-of-a-kind wedding, but we’ll let Eliana, who looked ravishing in Eve of Milady, tell you about all of that…

&lt;span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
How we met

Eliana, the bride: We met through a mutual friend in NYC. A few minutes after Eric met Eliana, he did a magic trick to get her phone number…true story!

A Chanukah Jewish Wedding at Hackney Town Hall, London, UK

11/05/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

There’s nothing like a Chanukah Jewish wedding. The Festival of Lights is such a magical time to get married – which makes it a no brainer that Dvorit, who recently completed a master’s in genetics and now works in the charity sector, and Ollie, an urban planner, chose to wed on the holiday’s last night.

In honor of the holiday, Dvorit and Ollie lit candles, sang Chanukah songs, and even had a donut wall instead of a cake! We’re in love with the way Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel captured this joyous celebration in her luminous, natural photos – and videographer CCS Video brings the fab energy of the day to life!

And HOW stunning is the couple’s incredible London venue, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Hackney Town Hall? These two wanted an ultra-memorable spot to tie the knot, and did they ever find one – the breathtaking atrium, where the chuppah took place, is nothing short of majestic, and Dvorit and Ollie took full advantage of the lift handily located in the atrium to make a dramatic entrance. The bride and her parents entered the chuppah space via the lift before disembarking and walking down the aisle, and at the end of the ceremony the couple exited via the lift as well – talk about a memorable exit!

We’ll let Dvorit fill you in on the rest…

HOW WE MET

Dvorit, the bride: Ollie and I met over 3 years ago when I was visiting my brother and his family here in London (I am from Montreal, Canada, and was studying in New York at the time). Ollie worked with my brother in Bnei Akiva and my sister-in- law suggested Ollie as a potential love interest. We started talking (with Ollie none the wiser what was going on), and started dating 3 months later.

We then did long distance for 2 years (thank god for Facetime!) until I moved to London in September 2018 to do my Masters at UCL. We got engaged in the summer of 2019 when my family was all together in Montreal for my grandfather’s 100^th birthday. We then got married on December 29^th 2019, on the last night of Chanukah.

An Oscar de la Renta Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

17/04/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s nothing like a museum wedding. And you couldn’t ask for a more stunning setting than the Cleveland Museum of Art, where Dara, who works in entertainment and is the founder of her own fragrance and design company, L’or de Seraphine, and Max, an attorney, opted to hold their Jewish wedding.

Full of refined details befitting the elegant setting, this wedding took full advantage of the majestic spaces – both indoor and outdoor – the museum offers. These two had an absolutely stunning outdoor ceremony with a twelve-foot(!) garden chuppah made of boxwood. And we love the emotion and spirit of the ceremony. Don’t miss the exquisite photos from Genevieve Nisly Photography and video from Making the Moment.

And you won’t want to miss the giant puppets Dara and Max brought in for their afterparty, either. But we’ll leave that to the bride, who looked oh so elegant in Oscar de la Renta…

A Museum Wedding

Dara, the bride: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio is the city where my family is deeply rooted. The ceremony was held on the South Terrace just before sunset. The guests entered through the 1916 building and were invited into the Ames Family Atrium. The Atrium is the majestic centerpiece to the museum’s recently completed eight-year expansion and renovation project, designed by Rafael Viñoly. The soaring, three story high ceiling accentuates the grandeur of the glass-enclosed space, centrally located in the heart of the world-renowned galleries of the museum.

A Berta Bride for a Spiritual Glam Jewish Wedding at the Millennium Biltmore, Los Angeles, CA, USA

01/04/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Is this #chuppahgoals, or is this #chuppahgoals? Yep, we’re totally obsessed with the luxe, glam Jewish wedding of Heather, a dermatology resident, and Alex, lawyer who specializes in litigation defense. These two made the wise decision to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Best Bride to bring their divergent tastes and traditions – the Ashkenazi bride wanted enchanted garden vibes, while the Persian groom preferred to keep everything white and sophisticated – together into one seamlessly perfect day.

This incredible chuppah – featuring abundant white flowers and lush greenery – was the stunning compromise Leora, founder of Best Bride, helped the pair settle on. Don’t miss the gorgeous photos from Katie Beverley! And Leora’s also a master when it comes to combining different backgrounds, so needless to say the cross-cultural elements of the wedding went without a hitch.

We also love that these two put as much thought into the spiritual side of their wedding as they did to the aesthetics. Heather was especially moved by the idea of a Jewish bride serving as a source of blessing on her wedding day, and decided she wanted to pray for as many people as she could on the day – so she shared a Google doc on Facebook and let her friends submit prayer requests for anything, anonymously. Such a smart idea! We’re equally obsessed with Heather and Alex’s gorgeous papercut ketubah by Enya Keshet, which they purchased through Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com.

Now over to the bride, who looked simply ravishing in beloved Israeli designer Berta gown…

How we met

Heather, the bride : I moved from the East coast to Los Angeles in the summer after my third year of medical school to pursue a dermatology research year at USC. I thought that making a Hinge dating ap profile could be a good way to meet people in general. Alex was my first date in Los Angeles! The rest is history.Continue Reading

A Vera Wang Bride for an Elegant Spring Jewish Wedding at Pleasantdale Chateau West Orange, NJ, USA

23/03/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Because we can all use a bit of springtime cheer right now, we’re excited to share the beautiful Jewish wedding of two high school sweethearts: Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Elizabeth, a lawyer, and Bernie, a doctor (#cantTARASaPART).

It’s always a pleasure blogging the weddings of our Brides Club members, and we’re so touched by the bride’s kind words about how the group helped her plan her big day. Elizabeth especially loved the personal vendor referrals Team STG provides to Brides Club members on a daily basis – we connected her with her fab planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Amy Katz Events, who did SUCH an incredible job bringing the couple’s vision for their day together and keeping everything running smoothly on the day, as well as the couple’s ketubah designer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Melanie Dankowicz – the gorgeous floral papercut she created was the absolute perfect fit for the soft springtime vibes that characterized the day.

Speaking of springtime vibes, how about that chuppah?! We adore the profusion of roses and peonies in soft pinks, corals, and whites – and those hanging floral strands just add that little something extra. The mirrored frame keeps the whole structure looking contemporary, too – don’t miss it in the wonderful photos from Maya Myers and video from Motoko Fukayama of Love in Progress.

We’ll let Elizabeth, who was a total knockout in Vera Wang, take it from here…

A Chateau Wedding

Elizabeth, the bride: We got married at Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange, NJ. We are both from NY so neither one of us had any particular ties to NJ, but we were struggling to find a venue that spoke to us. Then someone suggested Pleasantdale and we fell in love from the moment we walked in.