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A Galia Lahav Bride for a Luxe Jew-ish Wedding at Lost Orangery, Euridge Manor, UK

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Rachel and Alex’s Jew-ish wedding took place on a very, very rainy September day – but this fun-loving couple embraced the weather wholeheartedly, and unreservedly had the best day of their lives.

This gorgeous wedding was all about making much-loved guests, who had come for a full weekend in the countryside, feel special and appreciated. Considerate couple, Rachel and Alex, went above and beyond with caring, personalized touches, providing a plethora of fabulous favors, handwritten notes and even hangover kits. 

We LOVE the oh-so-Israeli story of how beautiful bride Rachel found her dream Galia Lahav dress (we won’t ruin it for you, it’s too funny), and the celebration of divine Israeli designers – we’re with you, Rachel! 

Not one, but two of our fabulous Recommended Vendors were involved with this gorgeous big day, including incredible florist, Mary Jane Vaughan and videographer, HD Moments, who shot the stunning, cinematic wedding video below and submitted this amazing W-Day to us.

The details and emotion of the day were captured by the talented photographer, Aga Tomaszek, and the witty writeup below was by Rachel, the bride. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did. 

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Jewish Wedding The Lost Orangery Euridge Manor Cotswolds UK

Jewish Wedding The Lost Orangery Euridge Manor Cotswolds UK
How we met

Rachel, the bride: We met at Movida nightclub. A not-so-classy establishment, but we instantly clicked. While I don’t believe you can ‘love’ someone at first sight, we both just knew that we would have a future together of some kind, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it to be as fairytale-like as it is!

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A BHLDN Bride for a Jew-ish South American Celebration in Quito, Ecuador

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Here at Smashing the Glass, we’ve taken little virtual trips absolutely everywhere – from Paris to Tel Aviv, New York to LA – and today, to Quito, Equador, for Adina and Mauricio’s romantic Jew-ish wedding celebration.

Power couple, Adina and Mau met for the first time in Ecuador, and it was love at first sight. The pair shortly reunited in Washington D.C., where they now live. Mau is an international relations consultant at the Organization of American States whilst Adina is a non-profit immigration attorney. 

For their big event, the pair returned to Ecuador for an interfaith Jewish ceremony, conducted by a friend in both English and Spanish, with Latino influences throughout the day. Their venue overlooked the Andean mountains, where the loved-up couple first met.

Special touches that we absolutely love include a relaxing lounge area complete with a caricaturist, beautiful bulb lights to add to the magical, mystical atmosphere of the surroundings and a totally stunning, floral chuppah!

Beautiful and vivacious bride, Adina, looked sensational in her glamorous Wtoo by Watters for BHLDN gown, as you can see in these stunning images by Juan Pablo Velasco.

We’ll leave you now with Adina’s articulate and emotional words about her and Mau’s big day. Take it away, Adina!

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How we met

Adina, the bride: We met in the summer of 2012 in Quito, Ecuador through our mutual friend, Amela. I was in Ecuador for an internship working with refugees, and Mau was just coming back from living in Europe, about to move to D.C. for an internship.

One of my first nights in Quito, we met for dinner and were each impressed and amazed by each other. We talked for hours, and Mau ordered me an ice cream sundae. Every weekend, we traveled together with friends and explored beautiful places all over Ecuador.

Together, we got to experience many exotic and diverse environments in Ecuador for the very first time. We discovered indigenous markets in Otavalo, enjoyed gorgeous beaches and fresh ceviche in Montaà±ita and Manta, rode chivas and swam in waterfalls in Baà±os, and mountain biked down Cotopaxi. Knowing Mau had already planned to move to D.C. for work before we met, we never really questioned being together, even when I had to return to D.C. to start law school.

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A DIY ‘Jew-Bu’ Wedding at The Wildflower Barn, Driftwood, Texas, USA

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There’s no two ways about it, Rachel and Michael’s gorgeous Texas Jew-Bu wedding ticks all of the STG boxes. Creative? Tick. Cool? Tick. Unique? Tick. Emotional? Tick. The couple’s quirky, alternative vibe was evident in every little detail.

With a little help from some very crafty friends, acupuncturist-moonlighting-as-an-office-manager, Rachel and product manager / DJ, Michael put their personalities into all of the DIY touches, from their origami cranes to their Tibetan prayer flag chuppah, their sunflower centerpieces to their gorgeous home baked cakes, courtesy of a friend.

Rachel looked every bit the beautiful bride in her stunning, textured Theia Couture gown, chosen for its immense huggability (totally a word), which we think is just adorable. We also have total style envy over her cute cat-eye makeup look and lashes!

The day was recorded for the ages by fabulous photographer, Caitlin McWeeney, we hope you enjoy the images, and Rachel’s brilliant write up, as much as we did.

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How we met

Rachel, the bride: We met at a party in May of 2008. Michael was DJing. I danced. The rest is history!

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How to talk to your family about marrying a non-Jewish partner

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By Sara Gibbs (All images are from the author’s Jew-ish wedding)

I always assumed I would marry a Jewish man. Even though I wasn’t religious, I grew up with a strong sense of culture and belonging. My father was Israeli, my mother, a Habonim alum from north London. While other families celebrated Christmas, I looked forward to feasting on doughnuts, spinning dreidels and eight days of presents (this bears repeating – eight days of presents – what you got on that, Santa?). My September birthday was frequently, and notably, ruined by coinciding with Yom Kippur, and then magically repaired with the breaking of the fast (what better way to break a fast than with birthday cake?). I loved helping to build the sukkah, failing to blow the shofar, searching for the afikoman. I loved my friends at cheder, I loved the songs, and the rituals and the togetherness – the unique warmth of a Jewish family.

I was going to marry a Jewish man, because I wanted a Jewish home. I wanted to have Jewish babies and raise them in a house full of the music of my culture, the foods, the beautiful bickering – anything else was unthinkable.

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Love chooses you

The thing about love, though, is that you don’t choose it – it chooses you. At university, I met a Jewish man, a fellow vegetarian and bohemian type, who, on paper, was perfect (and who, to this day, remains one of my closest and most important friends). But for all his convenient Jewishness, true love didn’t choose us.

We parted ways and I moved to London, where, in my very first job, I met an initially very surly IT manager, who was raised at an international school in Saudi Arabia. He was grouchy and didn’t seem to like me at all. And, in return, I didn’t like him one bit (that’ll teach him). But over much political debate, and him coming to the rescue when I managed to kill my poor, overworked laptop, this incredibly kind, startlingly intelligent, warm-hearted man was revealed to me. All grouchiness subsided – I’d read him all wrong. I had accidentally discovered a diamond – one of the last good ones. A man who would cook and clean and support my dreams with unconditional love and unfathomable patience. He wasn’t Jewish – but it didn’t matter. I was in love.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Nature-themed Jewish wedding at Riverdale Community Hall, Edmonton, Canada

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It seems strange to talk about a personalized wedding, given that committing the rest of your life to another human being is about as personal as it gets, so, fundamentally, all weddings are personalized. But some couples take it to a whole other level, injecting the essence of who they are as individuals, and a team, into every moment and every detail of their big day.

Leila and James did exactly this. The family-oriented pair celebrated their heritage, personalities and interests in each choice that they made. This strong unit, and the love that would surround them as they journeyed on into married life, was evident in every word and every beautiful image by FO Photography.

There is no better interior (exterior) decorator than Mother Nature, and the nature-themed wedding brought the best of the outside indoors, with forest-inspired centerpieces (created with a little help from a bonafide zoologist friend).

In addition to a personal zoologist, James and Leila’s creative cast of friends helped provide custom cocktails, created by a culinary artist pal, jars of vanilla extract as favours, with the vanilla beans brought back from a trip to Madagascar by a friend, and an international Chuppah, celebrating the couple’s respective heritages, sourced by the bride’s mother.

Added touches included HUE lighting to create an atmosphere (used with enthusiasm by the couple at home) and personalized vows, with the subject matter and key themes in common, but the final content as a surprise for one another.. 

We’ll hand over to beautiful bride, Leila, for her report on the big event. Take it away, Leila! 

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A nature-themed wedding

First and foremost, our wedding decorator was amazing. She is a good friend of ours, and worked with our limited budget to make our wedding incredibly beautiful.

She is the artist behind ID Bohemia and she did an amazing job. She helped us navigate all sorts of unknown channels, and we are so grateful for her friendship and her artistic eye for design. We had a nature theme, and our colours were green, gold and fuscia.

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