Jewish Country House Weddings Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Cinq a Sept Bride for an Exquisite Jewish Micro Wedding Planned in Just 2.5 Weeks at Birchwood Country Club, Westport, Connecticut, USA

30/10/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s bride, Nicki, not only had to contend with COVID scuppering her original wedding plans over summer 2020; she was also in the midst of her PhD defense! Luckily, her mother just happens to be mega-talented wedding planner Susie, founder of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Pink House Productions, so when – just after completing her doctorate in biomedical engineering – Nicki, who’s now working as director of R&D for a biotech company working on rapid testing for COVID-19, and groom Ricky, a portfolio manager at a hedge fund in New York City, decided they wanted to make things official on an expedited timeline, they had the dream team on hand to bring their dreams to life.

And in just two-and-a-half weeks, Pink House Productions planned one of the most gorgeous micro weddings we’ve seen yet! The bride and groom gathered with their families to celebrate their love in a stunning, intimate outdoor ceremony in Nicki’s hometown of Westport, CT, and the outcome was truly exquisite – we’re obsessed with each and every gorgeous shot from photographer Mark Kornbluth.

Understandably, Nicki wasn’t in the mood for intense wedding planning just after having completed her PhD, and so she left most of the decision-making to her mom. Susie and the whole team at Pink House Productions went above and beyond, working in fun touches like personalized candle favors for each guest, candy stations containing the bride and groom’s favorite treats (individually packaged and set up in a COVID-friendly fashion, naturally, and even surprising the couple with a Mister Softee ice cream truck at the end of the night!

Nicki also happens to have been a beloved member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club, and we’re so touched to hear how helpful she found it to be able to, in her words, “see how so many other brides pivoted, and how they were able to deal with the stress and uncertainty of the situation.” She and Ricky also found their ketubah supplier, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com, through Brides Club, and can’t stop raving about how wonderful they were to work with – even rushing the ketubah to work with the couple’s expedited timeline!

If that’s piqued your curiosity to find out what our ultra-supportive Brides Club community’s all about, now’s your chance, because through this Sunday, November 1, we’re offering a FREE 30-day trial membership – but don’t forget to sign up ASAP, because the doors close at midnight Sunday.

Now over to Nicki, who’ll fill you in on all the gorgeous details of her day…

How we met

Nicki, the bride: Although we were both graduates of the University of Pennsylvania (Nicki from the school of engineering, Ricky from Wharton) we did not know each other at PENN, and were set up on a blind date four years ago by mutual friends!

A Pronovias Bride for a Travel-Themed Summer Garden Jewish Wedding at The Park Savoy Estate, Florham Park, New Jersey, USA

21/09/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Who’s missing traveling right about now? Yep, thought so. Until we can get back to it, here’s the next best thing: the fabulous travel-themed Jewish wedding of Melissa, a regulatory specialist, and Adam, an account manager.

These two may have chosen to wed close to home in New Jersey, but they highlighted their love of travel with adorable touches like luggage tag escort cards, luggage used as baskets, and even a globe guest book – which Melissa and Adam now proudly display in their living room. How cool is that?! Photographer Gabelli Studio captured everything so beautifully, and we’re in love with Studio 94 Video’s moving trailer.

There are so many more wonderful details – from Melissa’s gorgeous Pronovias gown to the couple’s adorably named signature drink, The Frozen Rosen, but we’ll leave it to the bride to tell you about all of that…

How we Met

Melissa, the bride: In the spring of 2017 we both swiped right on JSwipe and had our first date at End of Elm in Morristown. On September 2nd, 2018 Adam surprised me and proposed on the top of High Point National Park in Sussex, New Jersey.

An ASTR Bride for a Jewish Micro Wedding Pulled Together in Just Two Weeks at Endicott Estate, Dedham, Massachusetts, USA

11/09/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

As if we weren’t already in awe of all the many couples who are pulling together beautiful Jewish weddings during the pandemic, today’s couple brings it to the next level: both bride Yvonne and groom Gabriel are physicians in Boston – working exactly the kind of crazy hours you’d expect – AND they managed to pull together the bulk of the wedding in just TWO WEEKS prior to their date of July 25, 2020. Yep, you read that right… two weeks!

How’d they do it? With the help of a fantastic planner, the mega-talented Luba of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Primavera Dreams. Because of their time constraints, the couple opted to take a hands-off approach to planning, putting their full trust in Luba to execute their dreams for a simple, elegant, intimate (the two invited just immediate family and one friend on each side) outdoor wedding. After just a few Zoom meetings with Yvonne and Gabriel, Luba was off and running – and she pulled everything together perfectly, as evidenced in Alex Gordias’s stunning photography.

Yvonne and Gabriel didn’t begin planning until February 2020, so they knew from the start that COVID would have an impact on their day – and they were able to build this intimate day from the beginning rather than having to back out of plans for a bigger wedding. They were able to pick their venue, Endicott Estate, based in part on the fact that they could have not only an outdoor ceremony but an outdoor dinner, too, and Yvonne knew from the getgo she wanted to forgot the traditional bridal salon and alterations experience for safety reasons and so instead opted to order lots of white ready-to-wear dresses online, finding the perfect fit in a simple, lightweight number by ASTR the Label.

Read on for the rest of Yvonne’s account of this very special day – we truly could not be any more impressed!

How we met

Yvonne, the bride: We met in 2014 through a mutual friend (his medical school friend and my residency friend). When the mutual friend found out Gabriel was coming to Boston to train as a fellow in trauma surgery, he immediately said that we should meet and the rest is history!

A Justin Alexander Bride for an Ultra-Personal Jewish Wedding at TPC Sugarloaf, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

15/05/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple plans a Jewish wedding that’s totally, completely them – and that’s exactly what Natasha, a risk analyst at a real estate investment company, and Ryan, a development associate for Hillels of Georgia, did.

For starters, we’re obsessed with the custom ketubah the pair commissioned from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent to feature the famous University of Georgia Arch – since these two met at college there and are both diehard Bulldog fans!

We also love the fact that the bride crafted most of the décor herself! But most special of all is the fact that Natasha was given the surprise gift of a special necklace of her late mother’s. Natasha had thought her mother was buried in the necklace, but turns out her uncle had been holding onto it with the intention of gifting it to her on her special day – how beautiful is that?! We love all the emotion of the day that comes through in the beautiful photos by Katie Tiller and video from Snguyen Media.

Now over to Natasha, who looked beautiful in Justin Alexander…

How We Met

Natasha, the bride: We met our freshman year of university at The University of Georgia.

An Essense of Australia Bride for a Romantic Country House Jewish Wedding at De Vere Latimer Estate, Buckinghamshire, UK

17/02/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s nothing like a beautiful Jewish wedding in the English countryside. And Samantha, who works as a voiceover agent, and Adam, the CFO of a gaming company, could not have picked a more perfect spot for theirs than De Vere Latimer Estate. Nestled in the rolling green hills of the Buckinghamshire countryside, it ticks all the boxes – historic manor house, breathtaking grounds, and that quintessential English countryside feel without requiring London-based guests to travel too far.

And of course the couple’s photographers, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor LUZ, recorded the day perfectly, in their trademark artistic, architectural style. We’re obsessed with the way the team captured the blend of traditional and modern that made this day so uniquely wonderful.

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll let the bride – who looked absolutely stunning in her Essense of Australia gown – fill you in on the rest.