Jewish Interfaith Weddings Archives - Page 3 of 18 - Smashing the Glass

An Eddy K Bride for a Modern Vintage Jew-ish Wedding at Sixth & I Synagogue and Loft at 600 F, Washington, DC, USA

06/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We always love hearing from couples who’ve used Smashing The Glass as a wedding planning resource, and today is no exception. Beautiful bride Kiki reports that she loved STG for the real wedding inspo and vendor suggestions, and especially the Jewish 101 sections, which she found super helpful in planning her Jew-ish ceremony. Aw, thanks Kiki!

It was important to Kiki and Rob to plan an inclusive Jew-ish wedding that would be equally welcoming to Rob’s family, who are Jewish, and Kiki’s, who are not. They found the perfect spot in the historic Sixth & I Synagogue in their hometown of Washington, DC — you’ve got to check out the gorgeous photos from Ryan Hicks of Lily & Lime — with the reception nearby at Loft at 600 F, another cool historic building, just the thing for a modern vintage-themed wedding!

Also perfect for the modern vintage aesthetic? Kiki’s stunner of a gown by Eddy K, a strapless lace low-backed number with a dramatic train.

But the visuals are far from the only thing we’re loving about this wedding. Kiki and Rob incorporated all kinds of personal touches into the day. Our favorite: before the wedding, their rabbi had them each write ten things they love about each other and email it to him. Then, on the day, before the seven blessings, he talked about the pair as a couple and mentioned the things they had said about each other. Isn’t that the sweetest?!

Before we hand things over to Kiki, we’ve got to mention that we’re so pleased we were able to help guide Kiki and Rob toward Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent for just the right ketubah. In Kiki’s words, working with them was “nothing short of amazing,” with customer service that went above and beyond.

How we met

Kiki, the bride: We met when I started working at George Washington University in fall of 2013 and became friends first through lots of happy hours with coworkers and mutual friends. He now works at NIH in research imaging and I work at GWU assisting in patient care. We started dating that December, and got engaged while on vacation in Florida in December 2016 on the beach at sunrise.

A Colorful Multicultural Destination Jew-ish Wedding at Casa de la Cuesta and Casa de la Noche in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

07/05/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Oh my goodness, we’re positively blown away by Pierce Weddings’ photos of today’s vibrant Mexican-Jewish wedding. The colors, the light, the artistic composition, the emotion — it’s all here.

Multicultural couple Karina, a law student and health care advocate, and Garrett, who is working toward a PhD in environment and resources, always knew they wanted their day to reflect their backgrounds, hers Mexican and his Jewish.

They decided to marry in the beyond-picturesque town of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, which just happens to be Karina’s grandmother’s hometown. Their color scheme was an homage to the town’s colorful streets — and once you take a look at the photos, you’ll see why.

They had not one but two super unique venues: for the ceremony, Casa de la Cuesta, a gorgeous B&B well-known for its traditional Mexican mask museum; for the reception, Casa de la Noche, an old bordello turned into a B&B.

As Karina and Garrett themselves say, their life together has always been honoring each other’s traditions in an authentic, personal way, and their wedding was no exception. The couple wrote their own trilingual (!) ketubah, in Hebrew, English, and Spanish; their stunning chuppah was an homage to Oaxacan embroidery and Frida Kahlo paintings; and they combined the Jewish seven blessings with some super cool Mexican wedding traditions.

Possibly the coolest of these was the couple’s callejoneada, a procession through the streets including giant papier mache puppets in the pair’s likeness, Mariachis, and even tequila-carrying donkey (yes, you read that right!). Read on for the details.

A Wedding in Mexico

Karina, the bride: We were married in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, a gorgeous town just an hour north of where Karina’s grandmother grew up. We wanted a hometown, Mexican wedding, so we brought the wedding to Karina’s grandma’s hometown.

Our ceremony was at Casa de la Cuesta, a gorgeous B&B well-known for its traditional Mexican mask museum. Our reception was at Casa de la Noche, an old bordello turned into a B&B.

A Super Luxe Laduree-Fuelled Interfaith Jew-ish Wedding at the Shangri-La, Paris, France

20/04/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s SO MUCH to love about today’s stunner of a Jew-ish wedding, but I’m particularly obsessed with how they incorporated one of my all-time favorite patisseries into their day…

New York-based Melissa, who works in luxury marketing, and William, in finance, opted to wed in Paris, where William lived for many years. The city played an important part in the development of their relationship — as did one of its most delicious exports, Laduree.

Known for the tastiest macarons around (seriously, once you try one of theirs you won’t want to bother with any others), as well as exemplary presentations of classic French pastry, Laduree has long been a favorite Parisian haunt of the couple’s. So much so that when William proposed — in the City of Love, naturally — he did so over a bag of Laduree goodies (seriously, we love this guy!).

In a nod to their engagement, the pair opted to forgo cake in favor of something quintessentially French: a croquembouche. But not just any croquembouche. A rose lychee flavored croquembouche from Laduree. I’m positively drooling over here just thinking about it!

Instead of a traditional guest book, Melissa and William asked their guests to sign a Laduree macaron book. Each page featured a different flavor, and guests could choose one to sign. Oh, and the favors? Laduree macarons, in a selection of the bride and groom’s favorite flavors.

Even their venue, the mega-opulent Grand Salon at the Shangri-La Hotel, kind of resembles one of Laduree’s beautiful salons (although unlike my local Laduree, the Shangri-La comes complete with a straight-on view of the Eiffel Tower). The place is just dripping with old-school Parisian glamour.

Claire Morris Photography and videographer Zen Film Works captured the day beautifully — you’ve got to see the portraits of the couple at iconic spots all around Paris.

It was important to Melissa, who is Jewish, and William, raised Catholic, to find a ketubah vendor who offered texts suitable for interfaith couples, and they ended up with a beautiful papercut from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com.

Now I’ll turn you over to Melissa could not have looked more elegant in her showstopper of a gown, custom designed for her by Sharon Wilkes (who we adore, and just happens to her best friend’s mother).

How we met

Melissa, the bride: We originally met in the summer of 2006, while we were both participating in a summer pre-college program at Georgetown University following our junior year of high school. As I was from New York and William was from Paris, seeing each other after the program was quite unlikely, but we were smitten with each other.

We kept in touch on and off for the next 5 years, and resumed speaking after a long hiatus around February 2011 when William, who was working in finance but had retained his teenage passion for writing, had written a short story and asked me for my thoughts.

In May of 2011, I had just graduated early from university and was traveling through Europe, while William was on a summer break from his master’s program in Paris. William asked me to meet him for a spontaneous trip in southern Spain, and I said no at first, nervous about seeing him after all those years.

But in my heart I felt that I should go, and a few weeks later I flew to meet him in Andalusia, where we spent five days traveling together and began to fall in love. After the trip, we decided to give things a real shot and began dating long distance. This lasted for four years, with me in New York and William in Paris and London, before William could finally move to New York in June 2015.

A BHLDN Bride for a Vintage-Style Cultural Fusion Peranakan Singaporean and Jewish Wedding at Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool and Lincoln Park Conservatory Illinois, Chicago, USA

23/02/2018 by Karen

Ahhh guys we don’t care how fan-girly we sound, today’s Jewish real wedding is just the COOLEST! Andrew and Lauren’s big day fused their Jewish and Peranakan Singaporean backgrounds in just the most inventive and beautiful ways.

A tea ceremony during the chuppah? Perfect. Pineapple tart rugelach? Yes please. Chocolate Shekel favors in Chinese double happiness red packets? Inspired. We also adore the themed Singapore Sling and Tel Aviv Sunset cocktails – just perfection. Everything, from the music to the menu, was chosen with both cultures in mind, finding amazing ways to bring them together. This wedding looked like a marriage.

Given the stunning aesthetic of the wedding, it will come as no surprise that bride Lauren, is a stationery designer, and put her skills to good use, designing the most stunning stationery suite that managed to honor both cultures and still fit in perfectly with the vintage-inspired vibe.

Lauren looked like an Old Hollywood A-lister in her beautiful lace BHLDN gown, and even more breathtaking under the rustic and charming chuppah using her grandparents’ lace.

The venues, Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool and Lincoln Park Conservatory, are two of the couple’s favorite spots – little oases of calm in their Illinois neighborhood.

The story of the day was beautifully captured by photographer Jaclyn Simpson and the happy couple provided the funny and charming write up below together. We could genuinely go on and on all day, so we’ll stop now and let Lauren and Andrew fill you in on the rest. Please give it up for the bride and groom!

A hidden garden in the neighborhood

Andrew, the groom: Lauren and I got married in our neighborhood, a two-minute walk from where we lived. We had a small family ceremony at the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, which is a hidden garden filled with native plants of Illinois. Afterwards, we had a slightly larger reception (just around 50 people) next door at the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Since moving to Chicago we’ve visited these two sites regularly as a way to escape the city and the occasional sub-zero winter. I also worked for the Chicago Park District and knew many of the staff at the conservatory.

The AG & LM penny pattern in the pond was a complete surprise for us from the staff at the Chicago Park District! Many of the gardeners, naturally, are also talented visual artists and my co-worker Gustave spent a good deal of time putting this together without us even knowing. It was definitely a highlight of the reception!

A Blush and Rose Gold Color Scheme for a Romantic Jew-ish Wedding at The Ballroom at Ellis Preserve, Philadelphia, USA

19/01/2018 by Karen

Today’s real wedding is a very special one – and not just because it’s an absolute beauty (which it TOTALLY is) but because dear Gillian is one of our much-loved real blogging brides of 2017! It’s such an honor and a privilege to finally be able to share her and Pete’s Jew-ish wedding day.

We love a Jew-ish wedding where both cultures and backgrounds are represented, and Gillian and Pete’s mixed-faith ceremony saw their priest and rabbi working together to create something that truly represented them – too beautiful!

Beautiful bride Gillian looked a million bucks in her Tara Keely gown, which she paired with meaningful and custom-made accessories, with a little help from her dad, who is a tailor, and also made Pete’s midnight suit.

A color scheme of blush shades and rose gold is, of course, the ideal excuse to rock that mismatched bridesmaids look, and the overall effect was absolutely stunning.

The couple had so many unique and borrow-able ideas, such as cute-as-a-button custom acrylic signs and the most adorable postcard guest book idea. Guests wrote their good wishes for the couple on postcards, which are still being posted on to them by family to this day. What an excellent way to make your big day last!

The story of the day was captured by the brilliant Blaise Szallasi, whose spread of images you can see below, and the totally stunning cinematic videography is by Wise Films.

We’ll leave you in Gillian’s capable hands for her brilliant writeup. We’ve loved having Gillian’s upbeat voice on the blog, so please give her a standing ovation. Take it away, Gillian!