Jewish Interfaith Weddings Archives - Page 2 of 21 - Smashing the Glass

An Emmy Mae Bride for a Chinese-Jewish Wedding with a Peony Chuppah at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Wellesley, MA, USA

04/03/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

It never fails to set our hearts aflutter when we see a couple merge their diverse backgrounds into one beautiful Jewish wedding. And we adore a peony chuppah. Therefore, we knew from the get go that we were going to fall head over heels for the wonderful Chinese-Jewish wedding of college sweethearts JingJing, who works in data analytics, and Andrew, who’s in software development.

Since these two were planning a Massachusetts wedding all the way across the country from their home in Seattle, they knew they’d need some support in planning the big day. And so they turned to the fabulous Luba of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Primavera Dreams, who they knew they could trust to understand their diverse families and cultures.

Luba worked with the couple to incorporate traditions both Chinese – like pops of red, the traditional Chinese wedding color – and Jewish – like the stunning peony chuppah – into the day. There were even some small touches reflecting the groom’s Russian heritage thrown into the mix, like chamomile incorporated into the florals.

And back to that peony chuppah… peonies are JingJing’s favorite flowers (and, after scrolling through these lovely photos by Mark Spooner, maybe ours too?), so it was only natural to showcase them. Mixed with fresh greenery and other flowers in shades of pink, peach, and white, the chuppah struck the perfect balance between minimalism and whimsy, simplicity and lushness.

There’s so much more we could say, but we’re going to leave the rest to the bride, who looked so elegant in her 3D floral lace dress from Emmy Mae Bridal…

A Garden Venue

JingJing, the bride: We got married at The Gardens at Elm Bank at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Wellesley, MA. We wanted a primarily outdoor venue that would be beautiful on its own, and we were definitely partial to the garden aspect (we got engaged at a botanic garden!). Elm Bank checked all our boxes for setting as well as location and flexibility as a vendor.Continue Reading

A Multicultural Israeli-Indian-British Jewish Wedding Weekend at Pichonka, Israel

24/02/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s not much we love more than seeing a couple combined their diverse backgrounds into one unforgettable day. So naturally we’re all about the beautiful Israeli-British-Indian wedding of Hannah, who runs a dog-training and dog-assisted therapy business, and Amir, who works in security.

Using flowers, décor, music, a blue and gold color scheme – see the bride’s stunning Indian-style wedding dress, which she chose as a reflection of the new culture she’d be adopting with her marriage – and even a pre-wedding Jewish-Indian henna ceremony, these two crafted a truly one-of-a-kind day bringing together all the most beautiful elements of their cultures.

And they couldn’t have done it without their amazing wedding planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Victoria Rosen. In the bride’s own words:

Employing a wedding planner helped enormously to relieve the stress. Vicki proved us with suppliers and recommendations that I almost certainly would not have been able to find myself. I made sure that all details were in place before the big day itself so that I could just enjoy every moment without worrying about a thing!

Hannah and Amir’s venue, Pichonka, really highlighted the natural beauty of the couple’s current home country, Israel, with their outdoor chuppah held on a balcony that jutted out over the breathtaking Judean Hills. Check out Rehovot Studios’s beautiful photos and video.

We also love that Hannah and Amir went all out to ensure their wedding was accessible and enjoyable for all of their guests – both the many English-speakers who flew in from abroad, as well as the Israelis. They made sure they found a fully bilingual rabbi to conduct their ceremony so that all of the guests were able to follow along, and providing a wedding program explaining the various Jewish traditions for those unfamiliar.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride…

How we met

Hannah, the bride: We met online via a dating website.

A Lee Petra Grebenau Bride for an Intimate Destination Jewish Beach Wedding Weekend at Aruba Marriot Resort and Stellaris Casino, Aruba

21/02/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s nothing like a destination wedding weekend – just you and your beloved and your very nearest and dearest friends and family, away from it all, coming together and getting to know each other and celebrating your love. That’s exactly what Jessica, a speech language pathologist, and Max, a manager for a pipe supply company (#masefourthwithbejess), did, jetting off to the Aruba Marriot and Stellaris Casino with an intimate crowd of 40 to party all weekend long.

These two threw a laid-back, informal centered around a huge dance party – and followed up with another party the next day on a private pirate boat! The couple flew in their photographer, Nela from Christian Oth Studio, and she was, in the bride’s words, a total Rockstar, snapping beautiful, artful photos from start ot finish.

And of course we’re obsessed with the bride’s incredible custom gown from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Lee Petra Grebenau. Lee is one of our very favorite Israeli designers, and Jessica was lucky enough to be able to work with her in person in NYC to create the dress of her dreams – something feminine yet edgy, appropriate for the beach yet not a beach dress – and above all, something with a big bow. Lee came through and then some – we could not be any more in love with the design she came up with for this beautiful bride.

And speaking of the beautiful bride, we’ll leave it to her to fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Jessica, the bride: We met at a bar in the Hamptons. My sister was dating Max’s best friend. After months of messaging my sister to set us up, I agreed to go on a date with him. We have been together ever since.

A Hayley Paige Bride for an Interfaith Jewish Wedding with a Starbucks Kiddush Cup at The Addison, Boca Raton, Florida

07/02/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Just when we think we’ve seen it all, along comes a Starbucks kiddush cup to prove us wrong! Yes, you read that right – Samantha, a baker, and Scott, who’s in commercial real estate, really did use a Starbucks coffee cup in place of a standard kiddush cup during their interfaith Jewish ceremony, in a nod to their adorable how-they-met story! Just one of the many little touches that went into making this wedding so personal and special.

For instance, we love how these two brought an English garden vibe to their South Florida venue, as a nod to Scott’s origins in the UK. With plenty of blush pink blooms, leafy greens, and twigs – don’t miss the beautiful chuppah! – we love the ambience Samantha and Scott created, and photographer Starfish Studios captured it all so perfectly.

We’ll turn you over to the bride in a minute, but first we have to rave about her impeccable bridal style – from her lovely Hayley Paige gown to her custom handpainted leather jacket, Samantha totally rocked it!

How we met

Samantha, the bride: We met at a Starbucks. We kind of just struck up a conversation and continued talking. Most of the time, I’m not one to talk to other people, I like to get in and get out and go on with my day, but there was something about Scott that kept me there, probably his accent if I’m not lying.

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An Essense of Australia Bride for an Interfaith Jewish Wedding at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, UK

23/12/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We’ll be taking a little break from posting over the holidays. We’ll still be active over on our Instagram, and inside our Brides Club and Smashing Life memberships, so hopefully see you there! Otherwise we’ll be back here on Friday January 3rd for our very first real Jewish wedding of 2020 (and it’s an epic one). Happy Holidays!

How was your first night of Hannukah last night? We’re so excited for the Festival of Lights and together with all our STG Brides Club and Smashing Life members, we lit our Chanukiahs together inside our Facebook group last night and it was magical!

Not yet a member of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club? You can join here – we’d love to have you inside our community (and of course also help save your time, your money and your sanity on your way to creating your day your way).

Speaking of Brides Club members, we are totally in love with today’s real Jew-ish wedding of Brides Club member, Bethany, an assistant merchandiser, to Gavin, a project coordinator.

They held their wedding at Trinity Buoy Wharf, a stunning warehouse venue in London, And with the city skyline as the dramatic backdrop to their big day, what a celebration it was!

We love the way the interfaith couple – Gavin is Jewish, while Bethany was brought up Christian – followed their civil ceremony with a personalized religious blessing they crafted alongside their rabbi to reflect their shared values and beliefs. We’re also obsessed with Voyteck’s emotional-packed documentary-style photography, which captures the essence of the day so perfectly.

And with top-notch ‘sharing style’ catering from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Adam Nathan – who the bride praises for going above and beyond in his willingness to run with any idea, no matter how out there (not to mention his delicious food, which guests are still raving about) – served alongside beer and damson gin the couple made themselves (!), we’re experiencing serious FOMO that we didn’t get to attend ourselves. (Also, how perfect is it that Bethany and Gavin named their beer“How Amaze is this Porter” to tie in with their wedding hashtag, #howamazewedding?)

Now over to the bride, who looked beautiful in Essense of Australia…

A London Wedding

Bethany, the bride: We got married at Trinity Buoy Wharf. It was a long search for a venue as we were determined to not have a wedding/party in a hotel ballroom and additionally we wanted a venue that none of our friends had been to! We did a lot of searching for venues, but it was all worth the wait! We also chose this venue as we knew that if we were going to get married in London then we actually wanted to be able to see London (Bethany grew up in the Suffolk and Shropshire countrysides, so that was an option too!).

We didn’t want all of our guests who were coming from across the world to come to our wedding and then be in a room which could have been anywhere. So we found a lighthouse on the Thames, opposite the O2 with the city in the background, it was perfect!