Jewish Garden Weddings Archives - Page 8 of 27 - Smashing the Glass

A Madi Lane Bride for a Rustic and Relaxed Backyard Jewish Wedding in London, UK

25/03/2022 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s something so special about a backyard Jewish wedding. That personal touch of making things official in your family home – there’s nothing like it. Even though today’s couple, Sara, a speech and language therapist, and Jason, a payments manager, didn’t initially plan to hold their wedding in the bride’s parent’s garden – their pre-pandemic plan A was Israel – in the end their day turned out to be everything they could’ve hoped for and then some.

Due to the pandemic, Sara and Jason kept the ceremony and dinner to just immediate family, and then invited a handful of close friends to join afterward for dancing and late-night snacks. Working with a fabulous team of vendors, the pair transformed the garden into the perfect rustic retreat, adorned with flowers and candles and all kinds of soft romantic touches.

Sara and Jason’s chuppah, rented from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People (who they found right here on STG!), was the perfect cornerstone for their rustically romantic aesthetic. They opted for “The Finchley,” built on natural branches that looked as if they were just growing out of the garden.

The couple report that one of the best decisions they made in their wedding planning was working with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Events with Grace as their on-the-day coordinator. Grace helped keep things organized during the last month of planning, and on the day she made sure everything ran smoothly and took the pressure off Sara and Jason and their families.

Scroll through Megan Donati Photography’s beautiful imagery and you’ll see what an absolute dream of a day this turned out to be. We’ll let Sara take it from here…

How We Met

Sara, the bride: We first spoke on an Aish trip when were 17. We had actually met a year earlier but I had forgotten on the trip. Jason came up to me and started talking like we were old friends. I wasn’t sure at first but on the trip we became friendly. When we got home, we started a long-distance friendship. The rest is history; we dated for 4 years long distance until Jason made the move to Essex.Continue Reading

A Reem Acra Bride for a Sophisticated Garden Interfaith Jewish Wedding at Annadel Estate Winery, California, USA

11/02/2022 by Karen Cinnamon

Okay, HOW amazing is today’s chuppah?! Is it dreamy, or is it dreamy? For that matter, today’s entire floral scheme is pretty much #goals. Bay Area couple Alexandra, a manager of product operations, and Alec, a data scientist and product manager, have got seriously impeccable taste when it comes to flowers.

The pair’s whole vision for their day was “sophisticated dreamy garden,” and did they ever execute it to perfection! Even Alexandra’s stunning Reem Acra gown featured 3D floral embroidery. The incredible photos of the day from The De Jaureguis are truly unmissable – and how cool is it that Alexandra and Alec repurposed their chuppah after the ceremony by moving it to the dessert lounge and adding seating underneath?

As a counterpoint to all this floral splendor, we love that the duo chose an elegantly simple ketubah from the amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Ketubah – with artist Stephanie’s exquisite hand calligraphy, you don’t need much else.

There’s so much more we could say about this incredible wedding, but we’ll leave it to Alexandra to fill you in on the rest…

How we Met

Alexandra, the bride: We met on the dating app Hinge in 2017 in San Francisco. Our initial messages were standard, then I was struck at how communicative we continued to be even before meeting for our first date. We went to dinner and continued the night at a cocktail bar across the street, all the while talking and discovering more about one another. Most importantly, we realized we wanted to spend more and more time together, to share our families and celebrations, and to build a future together.Continue Reading

A Berta Bride for a Magical Lakeside Jewish Wedding in Webster, Massachusetts, USA

11/10/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re absolutely obsessed with the glorious lakeside Jewish wedding of Jenna, who works in HR, and Noaam, in property technology and residential real estate! What a fantastic spot for a wedding – made even more special by the fact that the New York-based couple made the lake retreat their primary residence during the pandemic. When you see it in Studio Nouveau’s photos, we’re pretty sure you’ll agree.

Knowing what a gem of a location they had on their hands, Jenna and Noaam decided to keep the focus on their luscious surroundings, opting for delicate touches to enhance the natural beauty of their surroundings. We’re especially in love with their hand painted ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush. The custom watercolor features verdant greenery that captures the feel of their wedding spot so perfectly!

We’re also crazy for Jenna and Noaam’s gluten-free/dairy-free kosher vanilla and lemon cake from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor By the Way Bakery, which their florist decorated simply with fresh flowers.

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful day, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked positively ravishing in the Demi gown from Muse by Berta…

How we Met

Jenna, the bride: I had been living and working in NYC for 10 years when in the fall of 2018, Noaam, who was living in Boston at the time, decided to visit New York for a few weeks during his slow season of work. While there, we matched on the dating app Hinge and Noaam asked me to meet him for a drink. A couple days before we were scheduled to get together, Noaam revealed to me that he actually lived in Boston, not NYC, but wasn’t looking for a short term fling. I wasn’t interested in a long distance relationship and I made up an excuse to cancel at the last minute. Noaam was disappointed but persistent and came back to NYC the following week and asked me out again! That time I agreed.

We met at a bar near my apartment on the Upper East Side and we laughed the entire date. I was also happily surprised that when I told him that I had two cats, he wasn’t put off and he wasn’t allergic!

We then continued to see each other, traveling back and forth between Boston and New York, and in a short amount of time became exclusive. After a year of long distance dating, Noaam moved in with me in NYC.

In March 2020 Noaam proposed privately at our apartment and organized a beautiful and intimate engagement party right after with our closest family and friends. Little did we know that only one week later NYC would shut down due to COVID! As soon as the shutdown was announced, we decided to pack a couple of bags and drive to his family’s lake house in Webster, Massachusetts with the intent of staying a few weeks until things settled down in NYC. Fast forward, and we’ve been living full time at the lake house ever since!Continue Reading

A Mia Pava Bride for a Vintage Garden Backyard Jewish Wedding in Bet Shemesh, Israel

14/06/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Having doubts about a backyard wedding? So did today’s bride, Jodi. But Jodi and Joseph’s incredible wedding just goes to show a well-planned wedding at home is NOTHING like your average lowkey barbecue.

Israeli couple Jodi, a student at Hebrew University and the director of a program called Here Next Year, a Nefesh b’Nefesh organization that supports teenagers who are making Aliyah during their gap year in Israel, and Yoseph, who’s currently serving in the IDF, had initially planned a big Thanksgiving 2020 wedding at a gorgeous venue in Israel. But when it became clear that their original plans wouldn’t work out, they moved their date up to October and changed their venue to Yoseph’s backyard.

With the help of planner and florist Penny & Co Events, the space was transformed into the vintage garden fantasy of Jodi’s dreams, with tons of orange and pink flowers amidst lush greenery, beautiful lights and candles, and vintage styled furniture. Every inch is positively dreamy – don’t miss the incredible photos by mega-talented Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman Photography (who also happens to be the very first vendor the couple booked when they got engaged)!

There’s so much more to say about this glorious day, but we’ll leave the rest to Jodi, who looked stunning in Mia Pava… Before we do that, though, just a reminder that our virtual Jewish Wedding Planning Party is coming up on Sunday, June 20! In addition to, well partying, our founder Karen Cinnamon will answer all your burning wedding planning questions, plus guide you through everything from what to ask your vendors as you plan during the pandemic to creative ideas on how to make your wedding unforgettable. This event is free, but slots are limited – so sign up to claim yours today!

How we Met

Jodi, the bride: We met through a mutual friend named Yonatan. Yoseph grew up with him and I had gone out with him once. About a year after I met him, Yonatan texted me – “I know your husband.” The rest is history 🙂Continue Reading

An Amsale Bride for a Backyard Jewish Micro Wedding in Boynton Beach, Florida, USA

30/04/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Like so many 2020 couples, Marissa, a physical therapist and reiki master, and Rory, an accountant, ended up with a Jewish wedding very different from the one they’d originally planned. The NYC couple had originally opted for a jam-packed wedding weekend on the beach at a private club in Florida’s Palm Beaches. Everything was just about ready to go for their May 2020 date when the pandemic hit.

Despite all the work and dreams that went into planning their dream wedding, two changes of date later Marissa and Rory ultimately had to make the hard decision to cancel their original celebration and plan a micro wedding for ten in Marissa’s parents’ backyard from scratch. For the most part, the pair had to find new vendors, but two of the ones they’d originally booked were able to make the shift: first, there was Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Nava Shoham, Marissa and Rory’s rock star ketubah designer, who came through with not one, not two, but THREE versions of the couple’s gorgeous ketubah, to account for all of their changes of date. Second was Emily Harris Photography, who’s responsible for the couple’s exquisitely joyous pics.

In Marissa’s words, “The day and night was the most perfect imperfect celebration and ended up being so much more than we imagined. We do hope to get the big party eventually but the night will always be so incredibly memorable.” We’ll let her take it from here…