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An Isabelle Armstrong Bride for a Jewish Wedding with Killer Manhattan Views and an Orchid Chuppah at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, New York, New York, USA

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Jewish wedding Mandarin Hotel NYC USA_0052
There are no words for how obsessed we are with epic orchid chuppah. With lucite columns draped in strands of gorgeous flowers, it’s just SO dreamy. And don’t even get us started on the backdrop of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.

It doesn’t get much more quintessentially NYC than the Jewish wedding of Vlada, who works in corporate banking, and Joshua, a corporate and bankruptcy litigation attorney (#2beepst). Between their venue — high atop the landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel — their magnificent New York skyline cake by none other than Ron Ben Israel, and the bride’s Isabelle Armstrong dress purchased from Kleinfeld.The couple even had a wedding announcement in the New York Times!

It wouldn’t be the ultimate NYC wedding without a touch of celebrity, and Kevin Osborne Band from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Hank Lane provided that and then some — Kevin is a backup singer for Billy Joel, in addition to being an awesome band leader in his own right.

Felix from Fred Marcus captured all the glam details and jawdropping views with aplomb, and Frank Ahn from Frank Ahn Films recorded the emotion of the day so well.

Okay, now over to the bride…

Jewish wedding Mandarin Hotel NYC USA_0052

Jewish wedding Mandarin Hotel NYC USA_0052Jewish wedding Mandarin Hotel NYC USA_0052Jewish wedding Mandarin Hotel NYC USA_0052
How We Met

Vlada, the bride: We were introduced by a mutual family rabbi named Joseph Potasnik.

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A Pronovias Bride for an Ultra-Emotional Winter Glam Jewish Wedding at Two Temple Place, London, UK

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Jewish wedding Two Temple Place London UK_0020
We’re totally obsessed with today’s fantastic (and first time featured on STG) London venue. Two Temple Place. It’s positively bursting at the seams with Edwardian opulence, from the epic wood paneling to the lovely gold fixtures to the massive stained glass skylight!

Lucinda, who works in marketing, and Max, a lawyer (#teamopptiedtheknot)could not have picked a cooler spot for their winter glam Jewish wedding, and we love how they played it up with awesome candelabra centerpieces, a beautiful gold chuppah, and the perfect wintry florals in deep berries and greens.

We’re totally not surprised to hear the bride’s report that the kosher catering from STG Recommended Vendor Food Story was stellar (and that the catering manager was a huge help in coordinating the day, even beyond food), and we’re totally craving some of those luscious canapà©s in the photos. The cocktails look pretty swanky themselves, for that matter…

But this wedding is more than it’s luxe style. The emotion captured in Barney Walters’ wonderful photos is just something else — his captures of the couple under the chuppah are truly unmissable. We love that, since Lucinda’s father had passed away, Max’s dad stepped in and gave a beautiful speech — the fact that Lucinda was so bowled over with emotion after listening to his speech, plus Max’s, the MC’s and best man’s, that she couldn’t deliver her own bride’s speech she’d prepared for herself really says it all!

Now we’ll hand you over to Lucinda herself, who looked so elegant in her simple, chic Pronovias dress…

Jewish wedding Two Temple Place London UK_0010Jewish wedding Two Temple Place London UK_0010Jewish wedding Two Temple Place London UK_0010
How we met

Lucinda, the bride: We met through mutual friends in a London nightclub… and the rest, as they say, is history!

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A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Jewish Wedding at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London, UK

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Jewish wedding Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London, UK_0146
For years, we’ve been dreaming of blogging a Jewish wedding at one of the most spectacular venues in all of London: the majestic Natural History Museum in lovely South Kensington. An absolute masterpiece of Victorian architecture, it doesn’t get much more iconic than this.

And today, our wedding blogger dreams are coming true with the epic wedding of Orly and Zak! Following a ceremony at the New West End Synagogue in Bayswater — no slouch in the architecture department itself — the pair and their guests decamped to the museum’s stunning Hintze Hall — if you’ve been, or seen it in pictures, it’s the main space with the whale skeleton overhanging! HOW awesome is that?! And how cool are the epic action shots from Pascale at Reportage Gallery?

Orly, an OB/GYN, and Zak, who works in property development, rounded out their marvellous day with kosher catering from fabulous STG Recommended Vendor Food Story (the pair are STILL getting compliments on their unique canapà©s, cocktails, and everything else by the amazing Food Story team), and they also benefitted from the ultimate day-of coordination (plus a little assistance wrapping up the last few weeks of planning) from the amazing Georgia of Moriarty Events.

Orly’s princess-perfect Monique Lhuillier gown purchased from much-loved STG Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club (who added the PERFECT lace straps to keep Orly’s shoulders covered for the ceremony).

If that’s not enough to catch your attention, there’s also a super sweet story about the couple’s history with the venue, plus a dramatic Hora incident (don’t worry, though, it all ended well!).

We’ll hand you over to the bride in a moment, but first a quick reminder that our FREE online event, ‘The secrets to an unforgettable Jewish wedding’ with our founder and editor, Karen, is happening next Monday November 12 and spots are filling up FAST! Grab your place now to ensure that your Jewish or Jew-ish wedding is as unforgettable as Orly and Zak’s…

Jewish wedding Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London, UK_0147

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Jewish-wedding-Natural-History-Museum-South-Kensington-London-UK

Jewish-wedding-Natural-History-Museum-South-Kensington-London-UK
An Iconic Venue

Orly, the bride: We got married at the New West End Synagogue in Bayswater and had our reception in Hintze Hall at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington. The synagogue is really one of the most beautiful in London with such magnificent architecture and such a warm, welcoming community.

The Natural History Museum has always been a really special place for us as a couple — on our very first date I told Zak about a little mistake I had noticed on a poster in the dinosaur exhibition. A few weeks later, unbeknownst to me, Zak had already decided we were going to get engaged and started trying to convince them to give him the poster for when he proposed.

It took him a few years, but eventually the NHM gave him the poster and he surprised me with it during his speech on our wedding day! Now it’s up in our hallway! Hintze Hall is such a stunning space and it was such a privilege to party under Hope the whale in such an iconic London venue!

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A Vera Wang Bride for a Magical Outdoor Jewish Wedding at The Vineyards in Simi Valley, California, USA

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Jewish wedding The Vineyards in Simi Valley, California, USA_0012
We are absolutely and unequivocally in love with today’s gorgeous outdoor Jewish wedding. The garden chuppah, the California vibes, the perfect summer light… just WOW. Miki and Sonja Photography captured it all SO perfectly, and videographer Stavro Productions made such a moving recording.

But this awesome celebration was about so much more than the magnificent surroundings. Lisa, a therapist who works with Holocaust survivors in addition to running her own concierge practice, FeelingConfidential, and Alexander, a personal injury attorney, also made sure their big day was full of unique personal touches.

For instance, we love how the duo designed their ceremony programs to be folded into fans, so that guests could use them to keep cool during the outdoor ceremony.

And how sweet is it that Lisa recorded herself reciting a blessing, and then arranged to have it played while guests (and the groom, of course) were waiting for her to walk down the aisle?!

Now over to beautiful Lisa, who looked like an absolute modern day princess in her gorgeous Vera Wang… 

Jewish wedding The Vineyards in Simi Valley, California, USA_0012 

Jewish wedding The Vineyards in Simi Valley, California, USA_0012

Jewish wedding The Vineyards in Simi Valley, California, USA_0012
How We Met

Lisa, the bride: Although we both lived in NYC at the same time, lived in Israel at the same time, and attended various parties and events over the last 10 years, we had never met.

3 years ago Lisa was living in Los Angeles, and Alex in his hometown of Las Vegas. My best friend and Alex’s best friend set us up the old fashioned way. We went on our first date in Las Vegas on the strip… the date lasted 7 hours 🙂

Flash forward a few months later, Alex knew he couldn’t take the LA girl out of LA, so he quit his job, passed the CA state bar, and started anew in LA to be with me. The ultimate sacrifice for love 🙂

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A Leanne Marshall Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding with a Rose Gold Chuppah at Dartmouth House, Mayfair, London, UK

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Jewish wedding Dartmouth House, Mayfair, London UK_0047
This has got to be one of the very most ‘Smashing The Glass’ weddings we’ve EVER blogged. Featuring our very own blogging bride Jennifer, a whole slew of STG Recommended Vendors — from Camilla J Collins, who did Jennifer’s fantastic hair and makeup, to Monica Vinader, who designed the bride’s gorgeous necklace, to childcare from Safe and Sound Events — and of course our own-brand Smash Glass pouch, we’re totally in love with this elegant day.

Jennifer, a photographer with years of wedding industry experience, and Charlie, a solicitor, obviously had some insider knowledge that helped them make their big day so epic — for instance, photographer Paul Toeman just happens to be a close colleague and friend of the bride — but nonetheless they report finding tons of inspo and guidance on STG, from choosing their music to crafting the ceremony.

We’re obsessed with the couple’s stylish, modern wedding trailer from another amazing STG Recommended Vendor Denee Motion, as well as their fab DJ Live from STG Recommended Vendor The Function Band, who got even the non-Jewish guests enthused about the Israeli dancing and kept everyone dancing right through to the end.

And the day was full of so many beautiful details, from the rose gold chuppah to the blush florals to the couple’s super cute hashtag #ballblatts, an amalgamation of their surnames.

If you want your wedding to be as memorable as Jennifer and Charlie’s, make sure you sign up to our FREE online event: ‘The secrets to an unforgettable Jewish wedding’ with our founder and editor, Karen, happening on Monday November 12 it’s going to be unmissable!

Now let’s hand over to the bride, who looked stunning in her blush dress from Leanne Marshall.


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Jewish wedding Dartmouth House, Mayfair, London UK_0011

 Jewish wedding Dartmouth House, Mayfair, London UK_0078Jewish wedding Dartmouth House, Mayfair, London UK_0078
How We Met

Jennifer, the bride: Charlie and I met when we were 17 years old. We shared our first kiss on the tennis courts in Hampstead Garden Suburb. Six months later, I was cruelly dumped in the window seat of a coffee shop in full view of every school girl and boy in Highgate Village. 

Ten years later, having successfully avoided each other — despite living in the same postcode — our paths crossed once again in the Steeles pub on Haverstock Hill. All it took was one misinterpreted pat on the knee for Charlie to think I was interested (again) and before I knew it we were on our second ‘first’ date.

One month later we went away on holiday together, where I essentially forced Charlie to be my boyfriend. Our history allowed us to skip those first few awkward months of dating. There were no doubts about where our relationship was going. We share such similar values and goals; it was as if we were meant to grow up apart to meet again at the right time in our lives.

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