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A Trish Peng Bride for an Elegant and Authentic Jewish Destination Wedding at La Torricella, Monforte d’Alba, Italy

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Deborah and Stephan, La Torricella, Monforte d’Alba, Italy

There’s nothing like a Jewish wedding in Italy – and Deborah and Stephan’s destination celebration in the beautiful (and, dare we say, just about undiscovered in the Jewish wedding world) is really something special. The couple, who live in Zurich, fell in love with the northern Italian region’s rolling vineyards, tiny villages, extraordinary food and wine, and understated elegance – and their venue, La Torricella, was the perfect spot from which to share their enthusiasm for the region to all their guests.

Deborah and Stephan opted for a soft, natural color palette of ivory, white, warm blush, and neutral tones, designed to complement rather than compete with the greens and golden hues of the surrounding landscape. Their ketubah, designed by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Emma Bloom Art, featured a contemporary design that reminded the duo of the rolling hills of Piemonte. And the menu featured vegetarian Piemontese cuisine, made with local ingredients – including a traditional Italian wedding cake! Don’t miss all the gorgeous details in the joyful photos by Monocromo Studio. 

We also love that, after much searching, Deborah and Stephan found the perfect hazzan for their chuppah in Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Uri Gold. The pair immediately fell in love with his musical style and talent, and it’s easy to see why. In addition to singing and playing guitar during the chuppah, Uri also performed during the cake cutting and brought his incredible energy to the hora!

Now over to the bride, who looked so chic in her timelessly elegant Trish Peng gown…

Deborah and Stephan, La Torricella, Monforte d’Alba, Italy Deborah and Stephan, La Torricella, Monforte d’Alba, Italy Deborah and Stephan, La Torricella, Monforte d’Alba, Italy Deborah and Stephan, La Torricella, Monforte d’Alba, Italy

How We Met

Deborah, the bride: Sometimes the biggest changes in life begin in the most unexpected ways. I had just started a completely new chapter of my own, having moved from the United States to Switzerland to pursue my Executive MBA at the University of Zurich, when I met Stephan. He was in the same cohort, and we first met in Toggenburg, at the Alpenrose, on the very first day of the programme.

At first, we were simply getting to know one another as friends, although Stephan somehow always seemed to find his way into my orbit. But during one of our programme modules in Israel, something shifted. Perhaps it was the intensity of travelling together, a night out at Kuli Alma in Tel Aviv, or simply something about sharing such a meaningful and blessed place. Whatever it was, after February 4th, we began to see each other differently.

It was there that we started to realise that the very qualities that made us so different were also the ones that made us complement one another so naturally. What had begun as a friendship quickly grew into a partnership. Through our studies, long days in class, work, travel, and all the little moments in between, we found ourselves becoming a team and, without either of us quite expecting it, beginning to build a life together.

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A Margaux Tardits Bride for a Multicultural Scottish-Jewish Wedding at Grittleton House, Wiltshire, UK

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Sarah and Harrison, Grittleton House, Wiltshire, UK

There’s so much to love about Sarah and Harrison’s beautiful Jewish wedding at Grittleton House in Wiltshire. With Harrison’s American Jewish background and Sarah’s English and Scottish roots, the couple set out to create a celebration that brought their families and traditions together in a way that felt completely personal to them – and they absolutely smashed it!

Sarah’s father handmade the couple’s wooden chuppah (and even carved in the couple’s initials and wedding date!), while the canopy was formed by Harrison’s late grandfather’s tallit. Sarah’s mother made kippot using the family tartan, and for kiddush, the couple drank wine from a traditional Scottish quaich. Don’t miss it all in the wonderful photos by Joab Smith.

The duo needed a band that could do both a hora and a ceilidh, and they found the perfect fit in Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Sound With Us, who played soft guitar music during the ceremony, jazz during the cocktail hour, and funk, disco, and pop following the traditional dances. We also love that, as a roaming band, they went around the crowd engaging with guests, dancing and singing with them. Oh, and one of the band members also DJ’ed for the rest of the night once the live performance ended!

We’ll turn you over to Harrison for the rest of the story…

Sarah and Harrison, Grittleton House, Wiltshire, UK Sarah and Harrison, Grittleton House, Wiltshire, UK Sarah and Harrison, Grittleton House, Wiltshire, UK Sarah and Harrison, Grittleton House, Wiltshire, UK

How We Met

Harrison, the groom: I moved out to Bristol, UK as my job opened up a new role for a 2-year contract abroad. I thought it was a great opportunity to travel and gain experience outside the US. Little did I realize, I’d meet the love of my life and perpetually extend my contract, eventually settling down here. Sarah and I met the modern way – on Bumble, but immediately kicked it off ever since our first date at the Bristol Harbour Festival.

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A Milla Nova Bride for a Whimsical Jewish Wedding Weekend in Lilac at Langley Park, Chippenham, UK

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We absolutely love Amy and Sammy’s vision for what we like to call a local destination wedding for their big day: the London-based duo wanted to “create the feeling of an abroad-style wedding without actually having to travel overseas, as we wanted to have as many of our friends and family there as possible to celebrate with us.” In gorgeous Langley Park, they found the perfect countryside venue to bring their loved ones together for a full-on wedding weekend away from it all, no flights required.

Amy and Sammy love a party, and it was important to them that their guests had an amazing time at their wedding. Enter Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band. Music was a top priority for the duo, and in Amy’s words, “after coming across a ‘Sean Paul Remix’ by Ambassador Band on TikTok, we instantly knew they were the ones for us. They were so cool, had incredible voices, and their repertoire was unlike a typical wedding playlist, which really helped create the atmosphere and keep everyone on the dance floor… Geoff and the band were amazing throughout the entire process. They went above and beyond, helping us with everything from production and staging to lighting, and nothing was ever too much trouble.”

We’re also obsessed with Amy and Sammy’s whimsical floral outdoor-chuppah – don’t miss it (and all the other fab details) in the wonderful photos from Stories from Eros!

Now over to Amy… 

How We Met

Amy, the bride: Sammy was in the year below me at school. He went to Yavneh with my cousin, so although we had crossed paths a number of times we had never actually spoken. We met properly 5 years ago at a mutual friends birthday at Pergola, and went on our first date a week later – as  they say, the rest is history!

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A Grace Loves Lace Bride for an Ultra-Personal Jewish Wedding at Home in Old Westbury, New York, USA

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Elana and Seth, Old Westbury, New York, USA

We love it when a couple makes their Jewish wedding totally, completely them – and that’s exactly what Elana and Seth did. Every single choice they made – from incorporating family and friends at every step of the process to deciding to wed at their family homestead, where Elana’s family has lived for more than thirty years and the couple now make their home – was rooted in their desire to plan a celebration that felt more like, in the couple’s words, a “participatory cultural gathering” than a conventional wedding.

Elana and Seth, along with Elana’s parents and other family and friends, spent months preparing the property for the big day, doing everything from growing flowers to clearing paths and rigging infrastructure. The couple’s intimate Jewish ceremony, which took place on a Friday, featured so many personal touches, from a pre-wedding bathtub mikvah to an elemental procession involving all the guests to Seth’s family chuppah to the couple’s fabulous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Once Upon a Paper.

The duo worked with artist Elena to create a bespoke design, and, in Seth’s words, “She welcomed every out there idea we brought to her and created something that felt both ancient and entirely personal. The final result is a true reflection of us.” Don’t miss her incredible work in the images by Kali Taylor and Thais Aquino.

There’s so much more to say about this very special celebration (which included a Wedding Crashers-themed party the Saturday following the chuppah), but we’ll let the couple fill you in on the rest…

 

Elana and Seth, Old Westbury, New York, USA Elana and Seth, Old Westbury, New York, USA Elana and Seth, Old Westbury, New York, USA Elana and Seth, Old Westbury, New York, USA

How We Met

Seth: We first crossed paths in Lake Tahoe in 2014, when Elana was touring as a performing artist. I remember feeling her energy before we had even properly met or had a deep conversation. We remained loosely connected through overlapping community throughout the years, but it was not until 2022 that we truly sat down together and started to get to know one another.

Elana: I thought it was a business meeting. Seth had other ideas.

Seth: I remember saying jokingly, not jokingly, “I’m Jewish, you’re Jewish… our mothers are going to love each other ;)” Elana rolled her eyes but was intrigued at my boldness.

Elana: At the time, I was amidst a year of celibacy and consciously creating space to call in a life partner. Seth arrived right at the threshold of that year. It gave us space to deepen a genuine friendship while our love organically revealed itself to both of us.

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An International Interfaith Jewish Wedding Focused on Friends and Family at South Farm, Royston, UK

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Kelsey and Owen, South Farm, Royston, UK

We love it when a couple makes their wedding totally, 100% them – and that’s exactly what Kelsey, hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, and Owen, from Sydney, Australia, did. The pair met at the University of Cambridge in 2019, and ever since they’ve been building a life together in the UK. When it came time to plan their big day, they knew they wanted to showcase their newfound home while reflecting the places they came from – and did they ever do an awesome job, with everything from Australian meat pies for late-night snacks to cranberry cocktails as a nod to the bride’s family home on Cape Cod!

Kelsey and Owen opted to wed at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor South Farm, a beautiful working farm that showcases the best of the English countryside. In addition to the gorgeous indoor and outdoor spaces (and the fact that the venue grows lots of the produce used in their catering on-site), in Kelsey’s words,

We also immediately found the entire South Farm team to be consistently kind, welcoming, and supportive throughout the planning process. We felt completely looked after from start to finish… Even though South Farm host weddings almost every day of the year, they made us feel like ours was the only wedding they had to pay attention to.

Friends and family also played a huge part in the day: a friend served as the couple’s celebrant, another friend created all the floral arrangements, and various loved ones offered personalized blessings to the couple instead of the traditional Sheva Brachot. We also love that Owen composed the piece of music to which Kelsey walked down the aisle – which was performed by friends! Don’t miss all the love and emotion in the wonderful photos by Lee Allison.

Now over to Kelsey…

Kelsey and Owen, South Farm, Royston, UK Kelsey and Owen, South Farm, Royston, UK Kelsey and Owen, South Farm, Royston, UK Kelsey and Owen, South Farm, Royston, UK

How We Met

Kelsey, the bride: We both arrived in Cambridge in 2019 to study at the University of Cambridge. Kelsey came from Boston, Massachusetts to do a PhD researching the role of play in children’s healthcare, and Owen came from Sydney, Australia to do an MMus in Music and sing with the Choir of King’s College. We were both members of Hughes Hall and met on our very first night in Cambridge the college hosted welcome drinks at the bar. We got to talking that evening and quickly became close friends during those first few whirlwind months of settling in.

Then, abruptly, the pandemic. As international students, we both made the difficult decision to stay in Cambridge amidst the uncertainty of those early months of 2020. As some of only a handful of people still in our college, we spent an inordinate amount of time together going for long walks, cooking together, online pub quizzes, meeting each other’s family and friends via video calls – we had basically started dating before we were actually dating. Friends and family, both near and far, were constantly asking us what was going on between us… it took nearly nine months of friendship for us to realize it too!

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