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Four Designer Wedding Dresses for a Jew-ish, Chinese destination wedding at Castello Di Casole in Chianti Tuscany Italy

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What’s better than one gorgeous wedding dress? FOUR gorgeous wedding dresses, that’s what! That’s just one of the many wow-factor details of Cher and Tim’s Jew-ish wedding set in the Tuscan Hills of Italy, planned to perfection by Katy Cresner.

The dreamy Tuscan destination played host to a beautiful fusion of cultures, with Tim’s Jewish background and traditions meeting Cher’s Chinese customs. A Chinese tea ceremony followed by a Chuppah is about as delightfully diverse as it gets, with the inclusion of a traditional red dress for the tea ceremony, in which bride Cher looked simply divine.

We love the soft pastel color palette, juxtaposed against the natural backdrop of rolling Tuscan countryside – a mesmerizing, fairytale aesthetic. 

As it was a destination wedding, the couple turned it into an opportunity to provide a luxury resort weekend for their guests, looking after them with multiple events over the weekend. It looked, in a word, lush. We are VERY envious! 

The big day, of course, had several bridal outfit, hair and makeup changes, each stunning in its own right. The bride wore gowns by Zuhair Murad, Monique Lhuillier and Valentino respectively, as well as heels by both Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin.

All of the day’s details were captured beautifully by fabulous photographer, Chiko, supreme wedding videographer, AT Motion, and the write up is by lovely bride, Cher. 

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Jewish Wedding Castello Di Casole Chianti Tuscany Italy_0002

Jewish Wedding Castello Di Casole Chianti Tuscany Italy_0002

Jewish Wedding Castello Di Casole Chianti Tuscany Italy_0002

Jewish Wedding Castello Di Casole Chianti Tuscany Italy_0002
How we met

Cher, the bride: We first met at Tim’s friend’s engagement party. He was playing pool for money when I started to mess with the game by lying on the pool table and disrupting the game. Although he went on to lose the game, and his money, it was the start of something special…
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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