Jewish City Chic Weddings Archives - Page 45 of 74 - Smashing the Glass

A Vera Wang Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding in the Hamptons, Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa, New York, USA

09/04/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We see a lot of beach weddings at Smashing The Glass, but this one really goes all out with the seaside theme! NYC-based Jessica (@jessschein) and Evan (@evanschein) wanted to get married in Montauk in the Hamptons, their go-to weekend getaway from their hectic lives in the city. They chose Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa for its extraordinary views of the ocean — and the stunning sunsets over the water. Totally stunning, right?!

Jessica and Evan wanted to keep their day open, airy, and focused on the gorgeous setting. To complement their surroundings, the pair opted for a very nautical white and navy blue color scheme.

You’ve got to check out their out-of-this-world” blooms all in white — there’s something so dramatic about keeping the flowers to a single color.

And Jessica and Evan’s chuppah for their outdoor ceremony continued the theme — light and airy, it was adorned with the most beautiful white flowers — hydrangeas, orchids, and more — with sheer white side panels, so as not to interfere with the ocean view in the background. Doesn’t it look romantic against that backdrop?

Photographer A Day of Bliss did a wonderful job documenting the day, and the couple sing their photographers’ praises not only for their flawless shots but also for being fantastic to work with on the day. Videographer Keith Brady Media captured the feel of the day perfectly too!

Jessica looked so elegant in her lace fit-and-flare Vera Wang gown, with an exquisite long train. She and Evan wanted their day to be sophisticated and chic with modern flair, and it really was. Now over to the bride…

How we met

Jessica, the bride: “I am so happy my teacher is going to be my Aunt!” — (Evan’s 8-year-old niece, and yes, Jessica’s former preschool student) said, the night Jessica and Evan got engaged.

Our story began in October 2012, on a little known dating site, called JDate. However, I was already part of Evan’s family — he just did not know it yet!

Let’s rewind…

I came across Evan’s profile, and after going back and forth with the usual 21 questions, we realized it was a very small world. It turned out that I was a preschool teacher at the school Evan’s niece attended. But wait, there’s more… Evan’s niece did not just go to the preschool where I taught, I was actually Evan’s niece’s teacher — 2 years earlier!

Evan told me that he needed to get his niece’s approval before committing to a date. (I thought to myself that the chance of going on their first date lay in the hands of a 4-year-old!) As it turns out, I got an A+ rating, his niece saying, “Miss Jessica was the best teacher ever!” This was a fact confirmed by Evan’s brother and sister-in-law, who later admitted they always wanted to set me up with Evan. The rest is history!

A Pronovias Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding at the Corinthian Yacht Club, Tiburon, California, USA

02/04/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Talk about a venue with a view! Today’s couple, Maggie and Keith, got married at the Corinthian Yacht Club, in beautiful Tiburon, California, just north of San Francisco.

As if the location right on the water weren’t enough, their venue has THE most stunning view of San Francisco. Especially at night, with all of the city lights, it’s really something to behold. For maximum impact, they opted to hold their Jewish wedding during the full moon!

One very cool way Maggie and Keith made the most of being surrounded by the people they love is by opting to set their chuppah up in the middle of the ceremony room, rather than at the front as is common. They felt this was a more intimate setup, and we totally agree! Always love to see couples making traditions their own like this.

And Maggie and Keith give their amazing planner, Cassy Anderson of Cassy Rose Events, full credit for helping them make their vision for the day a reality. They wanted their wedding to be fresh, classic, and elegant, but not totally traditional — and, most of all, they wanted it to reflect who they are as a couple. Cassy totally nailed it.

The pair were thrilled with their photographer, Robin Jolin too, not only for her incredible eye but also for how comfortable she made them feel on the day. And Maggie looked so elegant in her chic Pronovias gown — can you believe she found it at a sample sale, her very first (and, as it turned out, last) dress shopping stop?! Now over to the bride herself…

A Venue with a View

Maggie, the bride: we got married at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon. The water and spending time together on the Bay is a huge part of our lives, and we loved that we could share that with our guests. The view of San Francisco was a big part of why we picked the location. My dad helped us set the date by selecting a full moon evening. We are so glad we did.

Both of us grew up in the Bay Area and the majority of our friends and family live in San Francisco or elsewhere nearby. We wanted to have an inclusive event that our guests could could make a weekend out of, or alternatively just take a cab over and enjoy the evening.

Not the most romantic theme of all time, but we wanted to day to feel easy, fun, and special for our guests! We selected a location that would be beautiful and interesting for those coming into town and also allow them to easily walk from their hotel to the rehearsal dinner to the hotel to the venue the next day. Our goal was to allow people to fully enjoy the weekend, without having to get in a car.

A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Super Chic Seaside Jewish Wedding at Rosh Hashanah, Bait al Hayam, Jaffa, Israel

30/03/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Can you believe it’s Erev Passover this evening? How did that happen already?! And what are you doing for seder night tonight? I’m on holiday and we’re having our Seder in Tel Aviv, celebrating with my family in Israel, so it seems appropriate to post a gorgeous Israeli wedding today!

And today’s real Jewish destination wedding fully embraced another beautiful Jewish holiday: Rosh Hashanah.

London-based bride Jamie, a PR and marketing manager for a cancer charity, and groom Joel, who works in finance, opted for a chic outdoor destination wedding in sunny Jaffa, Israel, during the High Holiday season.

Opting to marry at gorgeous seaside venue Bait al Hayam, the couple had an outdoor rooftop chuppah overlooking the city of Jaffa and the sea, with the party in a beautiful air conditioned room beneath — a big deal given the Israeli climate!

In honor of Rosh Hashanah, Jamie and Joel had mini honey pots and apples at each place setting — isn’t that sweet?! We love that this couple incorporated Jewish tradition into their day in ways that were totally authentic to them.

For instance, even though, as Ashkenazi Jews it would have been customary for them to have their badeken separately from the chuppah, they chose to do it on the aisle, because that’s what spoke to them.

And the pair opted to follow the Jewish tradition of not seeing each other in the week leading up to the wedding… that takes some real dedication!

Their wedding also had some incredibly cool touches inspired by sources other than Jewish tradition: for one, as part of their entertainment they had a flower stall where guests could have flower wreaths, bracelets, hair slides, and boutonnieres made! Isn’t that lovely? And a great alternative activity if you’re not into some of the more standard options like photo booths.

Photographer Ronen Boidek captured the day in all its effortless elegance and the insanely talented STG Recommended Vendor Portnoy Brothers brought emotion out of all of the guest through their incredible acoustic sound and beautiful traditional songs. We can’t recommend the Portnoy Brothers enough, one of our absolute favourites! Jamie, who looked super glam in her old Hollywood-style silk Suzanne Neville gown (seriously, we’re all a little bit obsessed with it at STG Towers), will fill you in on the rest.

Hag Sameach – enjoy your matzoh ball soup wherever you’re celebrating this evening!

How we met

Jamie, the bride: I always knew of Joel… I lived with his brother at university, but I met Joel properly once I moved to London, at a friend’s birthday. He carried me out of the bar over his shoulder and we’ve never looked back! 😉

An Oleg Cassini Bride for a Multicultural Jewish Wedding at Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel, Belgravia, London, UK

26/03/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s couple, Monica, a surveyor, and Damon, an e-commerce manager, had a beautiful multicultural Jewish wedding smack bang in the center of London. Their glam day featured a champagne color scheme, stunning flower arrangements, and a super cool Perspex chuppah.

Bride Monica converted to Judaism, and it was important to the couple to incorporate traditions reflecting all of their families’ heritage into the day. They had musicians from Sweden, Germany, Israel, and London brought in to perform songs in Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, and English, and their singers even learned some Greek to make sure they really mastered the performance!

Keeping with the theme of family, they chose their venue, Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in Belgravia, partly because it’s where Damon’s sister got married previously, and they loved having that connection. The couple got their mothers to team up on the welcome speech, Monica’s dad not being much for public speaking! And Damon’s touching speech, including a musical performance by the groom himself (!) made every guest in the room tear up.

Their amazing photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor David Morgan, was likewise chosen partly because he had worked on a previous family wedding – but also because when the couple met with him they just clicked. Monica sings his praises as not only a super calming influence on the day who “saw beauty in moments you wouldn’t expect,” but also a huge support in the lead-up to the wedding.

Lucky for you UK brides-to-be, David is also offering a 10% discount on any package to members of our VIB [Very Important Bride] Brides Club! He’s just one of many handpicked vendors offering discounts or free gifts to members of this very special group, which also features a private members-only Facebook group with around-the-clock support and advice from my team and me, plus all kinds of cool bridal extras and goodies. If you haven’t joined yet, don’t delay as we’ll be closing membership for this quarter shortly!

Monica and Damon were also delighted with their videographer, Jamie Horton at Yours Truly. Jamie had never worked on a Jewish wedding before, but he was excited to learn about a new set of wedding customs.

In the VIB Facebook community, we hear from a lot of brides who are unsure about using vendors new to Jewish weddings, and this just goes to show that so long as the vendor in question is willing to learn about new wedding traditions there’s really no reason to worry.

Here’s more from Monica, who was just gorgeous in her sparkly Oleg Cassini gown…

How we met

Monica, the bride: We met when I was 20 years old; he is my best friend’s brother.

A Superhero-Themed Jewish Wedding during Hanukkah, Grace, Rishon LeZion, Israel

23/03/2018 by Karen

Today’s Jewish wedding has got to be one of the most purely fun we’ve blogged. Rita (@ritalove14), a physiology student who works with high school students with special needs, and Tal, who works in media marketing, adore the Marvel Universe. How much, exactly? So much that they chose to theme their wedding around their love of superheroes!

And they really went all out! Their invitations featured a custom drawing of the pair as superheroes, the rest of their stationery cleverly carried on the theme, and at their reception they had all kinds of superhero props, from masks to balloons to Captain America armor!

As if that weren’t fun enough, Rita and Tal also had a balloon artist making glow-in-the-dark balloon sculptures and hats for their guests on the dancefloor! Plus, they made their two dogs (decked out in little bride and groom costumes!) part of the action. Photographer Yarin Taranos and videographers Aviv & Tali really captured the spirit of the day.

The pair chose to get married on the first night of Hanukkah, considered an auspicious time to wed in Jewish tradition. This gave Rita and Tal an opportunity to work the holiday into their wedding in some memorable ways: during the ceremony, Rita’s grandfather lit the menorah, and then their rabbi led the whole crowd in songs! And as favors, they gave out glittery boxes shaped like candles that were stuffed with chocolate gelt–as well as a tiny superhero figure, naturally!

Rita was the absolute MOST laidback bride: her primary objective in choosing a dress was to find something comfortable she could dance in, her shoes–glittery VANS–were chosen for the same reason, and she wasn’t even planning to hold a bouquet, until at the very last minute, on the day, she asked her driver to pick one up! She’ll fill you in on the details of her totally super day.

A Brand New Venue

Rita, the bride: We got married at Grace. It’s a new, urban venue, and we were one of the first couples who to book our wedding there! The newness was a bit scary, but we were so impressed with the staff and the appearance that we decided to book.
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How we met

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A Venue with a View

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How we met

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How we met

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A Brand New Venue

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