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An Essense of Australia Bride for an Enchanted Autumn Jewish Wedding at Garnethill Synagogue and Oran Mor in Glasgow, Scotland, UK

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It’s always a good day when we hear from couples who loved used Smashing the Glass to plan their Jewish  weddings — like today’s fab couple, Stephanie, an architect, and Darren, a retail director for Aspinal.

We’re so pleased that the bride was a loyal reader of STG in the lead up to her big day, even finding fantastic videographer Velvet Wedding Studio on the blog! He and photographer David Grant Simpson did the absolute best job of capturing the magic of the couple’s enchanted autumnal wedding (over Halloween weekend, no less!).

As an architect, Stephanie was focused on getting married in a beautiful space — and she ended up with not one, but two of them! With the chuppah at the majestic 19th-century Garnethill Synagogue and the evening party at super cool converted church venue Oran Mor, this wedding was basically non-stop architectural splendor.

We love how Stephanie and Darren decided to include a ceilidh in their big day as a way of honoring the bride’s Scottish background and providing some familiarity to balance out the novelty of the Israeli dancing for their non-Jewish guests. Good sport Darren even let Stephanie cajole him into putting on a kilt for the Scottish dancing!

Stephanie, who looked stunning in her Essense of Australia dress, will fill you in on the rest of the fantastic details…

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How We Met

Stephanie, the bride: I never ever thought I would try online dating, but as time went on I just realized that it was now the ordinary way to meet someone and gave it a go. We both have stressful jobs, which can make it difficult to find time to date. I still can’t believe that I met my now-husband on Jswipe but I guess that’s modern day romancing for you!

So many people ask me when we knew we wanted to get married. About a month into the relationship after coming in from a night out with, Darren we were laughing about something and then told me he would marry me tomorrow. I know it was a passing comment after I made him laugh, but I guess in the back of our minds we both knew that we wanted to settle down. It sounds odd to many but I think when you meet someone in your thirties you have both already seen the world, been around the block and essentially are in a totally different mindset when you are getting into a relationship. Online dating is literally like modern‐day matchmaking! I guess in a way you could say it was love at first sight, or love at first selfie.

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A Pnina Tornai Bride for an Uber Glam Jewish Wedding at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, Florida, USA

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This mega-chic Jewish wedding is so picture perfect, between the dreamy Palm Beach setting and the jaw-dropping florals (have you seen that chuppah?!) you’d never guess that it almost didn’t happen. Brett, a social worker, and Dakota, who works in real estate, had to cancel their original wedding date at the last minute when their venue closed due to a Category 5 hurricane. Luckily, they were able to reschedule — with ALL of their original vendors, no less. How fabulous is that?!

But this wedding is so much more than its dramatic origin story. We ADORE Brett’s guipure lace gown by Pnina Tornai, which she custom designed alongside Pnina herself at Kleinfeld. It’s sexy without going over the top, and could it fit Brett any more perfectly?!

We’re also pretty smitten with the florals, courtesy of Lane of Dalsimer Atlas. The couple gave him more or less free reign over the flowers, and it turns out that was an excellent call.

Their floral chuppah is just the dreamiest, lush and romantic as can be. And we love the ultra-creative multilevel tabletop dà©cor setup Lane came up with! Check it out for yourself in Emily Harris Photography and Senderey Video Productions’s fantastic captures of the day.


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How we met

Brett, the bride: We met in college at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Go Blue!!) and have been together very, very happily ever since!

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A Berta Bride for an Ultra-Chic Vegan Jewish Wedding at Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem, Israel

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This Jewish wedding is just SO wonderfully chic. It also happens to be 100% vegan. Sara and Ronen, animal lovers and ethical vegans, planned the whole affair with zero animal products in sight. Everything from the menu to the attire was plant-based through and through.

That’s no easy feat — especially when it comes to finding a fab gown with no silk. But Sara pulled it off and then some. We absolutely adore her sexy, ultra-feminine dress from Berta Bridal (the eponymous designer of which just so happens to be Israeli!). Ronen looks pretty snazzy in his wool-free suit, himself.

Despite the marked absence of meat from the festive meal, venue Mamilla Hotel’s plant-based food service got rave reviews from nearly all the guests — many told the couple afterward it was the best wedding food they’d ever had!

We love that Sara and Ronen weren’t afraid to stay true to themselves and their values on their big day — and love even more that it paid off!

The other awesome thing about this wedding? The view. The rooftop of the stunning Mamilla Hotel, where the couple held their breathtaking ceremony, just happens to overlook Jerusalem’s fabled Old City, and the skyline is just BEYOND.

It doesn’t get much better than this — and the setting was extra meaningful to the couple, since Ronen grew up in Jerusalem. You’ve GOT to check out Ori Carmi‘s dazzling photos and Idan Hershko’s outstanding video of the day.

Now over to Sara…

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A Jerusalem Wedding 

Sara, the bride: My husband, Ronen, and I got engaged in Tel Aviv, Israel, in May of 2017, but his original plan was to propose at the rooftop restaurant of the Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem. That plan was foiled by the US president’s visit, and we all had to leave Jerusalem. But once we were engaged, we decided to be married there.

Ronen grew up in Jerusalem and felt it was like coming full circle to be born and then married with the Old City as the backdrop. I had only been to the venue once, in the winter when the roof was enclosed. I did all the planning off of a few photos and a FaceTime walk-through with my boss, who was visiting the winter before our date.

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An Epic Enchanted Garden-Themed Jewish Wedding with Airplanes, Classic Cars, and a Carousel at Bicester Heritage, Bicester, UK

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Jewish wedding in an aeroplane hangar at Bicester Heritage UK
Where do we even start with today’s Jewish wedding? It’s got to be one of the most amazing we’ve seen, like… EVER. Do you see that chuppah?! We’ve honestly never come across one like it before, like an actual magical forest transported indoors (thanks to the never-ending talents of Amie Bone Flowers)– and it’s about the size of one, too.

Shier, a junior doctor, and Xander, a product designer, went BIG with everything from their venue — an actual airplane hangar that they transformed into an enchanted forest for the day — to their glorious chuppah (!!!) to Shier’s wonderfully OTT flower crown.

The pair brought a Victorian-style carousel in for the day, and post-ceremony Shier and Xander drove onto the dancefloor in one of Xander’s many classic cars, a baby blue open top from the 1960s. Seriously. Check it out in At Motion’s brilliant video of the day. Oh, and the groom flew into the wedding, landing a 1930s open-top airplane in feet away from the crowd of guests.

When we say this pair went big with everything, we do mean everything. Dessert-loving Shier couldn’t bear to choose just one cake, so Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Food Story put together a dessert table with literally dozens. The couple’s guests couldn’t stop raving about how delicious the food was, and many were shocked when they found out it was kosher (as is often the case with the amazing Food Story!).

Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor David Pullum did SUCH an amazing job photographing the day, capturing the drama of the setting, the emotion of the ceremony, and the fun of the party so well, we feel like we were there ourselves. We certainly wish we were — we’ve fallen head over heels for this wedding, and we’re pretty sure you will too.

Oh, and did we mention there’s a super cool story behind Shier’s fab gown (and no, it’s not a Vivienne Westwood). Read on to find out its unexpected journey — and all the other details of this most epic of weddings.

Jewish wedding in an aeroplane hangar at Bicester Heritage UK

Bicester Wedding

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Not Your Average Venue

Shier, the bride: We got married in a beautifully alternative venue, an airplane hangar within a site called Bicester Heritage. The site is a repurposed WW2 RAF bomber station now dedicated to all things relating to classic cars and motoring. My brother initially read about the site in a classic car magazine and immediately thought of Alexander (my now husband!) and me because Alexander’s biggest passion in life, apart from me of course, is his classic car collection and all things related.

I sent an email over to their event manager Tiggy Atkinson and the rest was history! Initially even Tiggy was a bit skeptical as they had never hosted a wedding before, although they do host many large-scale events such as car auctions and classic car conventions. Our families and friends were also very skeptical upon hearing we wanted to get married in what was essentially an empty 50,000ft garage, however Jess from Every Event London (our wedding planner) and my brilliantly creative mum consistently reassured us that together we could turn this monolithic empty space into a dream wedding venue.

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A Pronovias Bride for an Ultra Chic Floral-ful Jewish Wedding at the Conservatory at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden, Luton, UK

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There’s not much we love more than a good signature cocktail. Except for, say, FOUR signature cocktails, like today’s couple had at their gorgeous Jewish wedding.

Lauren, a beauty journalist, and Phil, a business development manager in financial services, went all out and came up with a Manchester Margarita (the groom is from Manchester), a Quinn & Tonic bar (Quinn is the couple’s last name), a Lauren’s Lychee Martini, and a Phil’s Passion Fruit Mojito. Um, we’ll take one of each!

But it’s not just the drinks we’re mad for at this wedding; the aesthetics were pretty fab as well. Lauren and Phil ran with the walled garden venue theme and crafted the coolest flower wall (they did it themselves) and decked their gorgeous pink(!) chuppah out in flowers and eucalyptus leaves. Photographer Grace Pham captured all the details SO perfectly.

Also we LOVE that these two met in the security line of Luton airport (like something out of a movie, right?!) and so chose a venue in Luton, near to where they first met.

Let’s hand over to Lauren, who looked ever so dreamy in her sparkling beaded gown from Pronovias…

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Grace Pham

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Jewish wedding at The Conservatory at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden UK_0007

How we met

Lauren, the bride: We met on a Jewish university trip to Israel. Specifically, we met in the security line in Luton airport. Phil cut his knee when he was going through security and I rushed up to him with a plaster (I always carry an emergency bag – haha). It went from there, and our incredible holiday romance turned into a long-distance relationship – we travelled between Manchester, where Phil lived, and London every weekend for a year and a half. Following this, he finally moved to London!

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