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

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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…

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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 100th birthday. We then got married on December 29th 2019, on the last night of Chanukah. 

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

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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…

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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 ReadingContinue Reading

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

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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…


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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.

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An Anna Georgina Bride for a Foodie’s Dream Winter Jewish Wedding at the Corinthia Hotel, London, UK

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Welcome to the glorious winter Jewish wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Rebecca, an event coordinator, to groom Danny, a plumber.

In addition to an absolutely mouthwatering menu (HOW delicious do Chiko Photography’s incredible captures of the food look?), we love the fact that, in memory of a close friend, they opted not to have any flowers at the wedding, and instead to donate the money they would’ve spent to Chai Cancer Care. Not only is this incredibly moving, the alt décor they came up with – focused on candles and tealights for the tables – looks so good we’d hardly even have noticed the absence of flowers if they bride hadn’t brought it to our attention!

We’re also in love with Rebecca’s perfect wintry glam bridal look, with a dreamy longs-sleeve gown by Anna Georgina and impeccable makeup by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Susan Yates – who Rebecca praises for taking the time to understand each bride’s preferences AND, crucially, her skin type as well.

Now over to the bride!

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Luxurious Surroundings

Rebecca, the bride: We got married at Corinthia, London – working in events I wanted to choose somewhere that a) I haven’t worked at a lot, I didn’t want to associate my wedding with work and b) somewhere totally luxurious. I may work in hotels, but I don’t often stay at them, so I checked in the day before with just my siblings and parents, it was such a treat and we had the best time just the six of us.

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An Enzoani Bride for an Elegant Outdoor Jewish Wedding at Castle Green in Pasadena, CA, USA

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Can you believe this beautiful Jewish wedding was planned by a bride in the midst of her general surgery residency?! Juliane deserves some kind of wedding planning award – and groom Guy doesn’t have it much easier as a detective with the LAPD!

Despite their busy schedules and short planning period – just six months, so the couple could wed before Juliane had to move across the country for her colorectal surgery fellowship – these two were committed to being involved in their planning and crafting an ultra-personal day. To make it happen, they enlisted the fantastic team at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Amethyst Event Productions.

In the bride’s own words:

My advice is to get a wedding planner. You don’t have to break the bank and they don’t have to plan your whole wedding (but they also can), but they can definitely make it a stress free zone on the day of the wedding. Our wedding planners made every last detail and vision come together and our wedding was so memorable because of it.

Before we turn you over to the bride – who looked so classically elegant in Enzoani– we have to remark on how much we adore Juliane and Guy’s simple white chuppah – with just a few arrangements at the corners, and a tallit canopy, it just goes to show you don’t need to go over the top to create a super-memorable chuppah. Don’t miss the photos from White August Photography!

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How We Met

Julianne, the bride: Guy and I met via the dating app J Swipe. We texted via the app and then Guy called me. We had a lengthy conversation and by the end of it Guy apparently wasn’t convinced enough to ask me out because he told he would call me again instead of asking me out. I remember being surprised and disappointed that we spent so long on the phone and he didn’t mention a date! Eventually after another phone call we did go out. Our first date was at the Black Liquor Market and it is the last first date each of us has been on since.

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