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A Pronovias Bride for an Old-World Glamor Travel-Inspired Jew-ish Wedding at Westmount Country Club, Woodland Park, New Jersey, USA

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Jewish Wedding Westmount Country Club, Woodland Park, New Jersey
If you’re a fan of old-world elegance and you love that chic, vintage-inspired aesthetic, prepare yourself, because Stacey and Chris’s Jew-ish wedding is going to blow you away. 

Bride Stacey describes herself as a type-A personality, which explains the absolutely extraordinary attention to detail, consistency in the beautifully executed wedding theme and fabulous choice of vendors. 

The dreamy color scheme, incorporating dusky purples, pale pinks, ivory and hints of metallic gold, sat perfectly alongside the vintage travel vibe, celebrating the globetrotting couple’s shared love of exploring the world together.

Every last detail, from the tremendous floral-adorned chuppah to the looks-too-good-to-eat (almost, we’d still take a slice) cake, the luggage tag place cards to the personalized globe, was simply stunning. 

Stacey and Chris’s Jew-ish ceremony celebrated the best, and most unique, parts of their relationship, with lots of humor, love and devotion along the way.

Sensational bride, Stacey, genuinely looked like an old Hollywood icon in her glamorous Pronovias gown and breathtaking hair and makeup. 

Photographer Paul Francis Photography captured timelessly beautiful shots, while Stacey provided the eloquent, detailed writeup below. We’ll leave you in their capable hands – we just know you’re going to fall head over heels in love with everything about this beeeeeautiful big day! 

Jewish Wedding Westmount Country Club, Woodland Park, New Jersey

Jewish Wedding Westmount Country Club, Woodland Park, New JerseyJewish Wedding Westmount Country Club, Woodland Park, New JerseyJewish Wedding Westmount Country Club, Woodland Park, New Jersey
How we met

Stacey, the bride: Chris and I met in high school back in 2005. Over the years, we have developed a great love for travel. In April of 2015, Chris and I traveled back to one of our favorite countries, Italy, for the Passover/Easter break.

Little did I know, Chris had tucked away an engagement ring inside of his luggage.

We had an incredible week traveling through Milan, Cinque Terre, and Florence. At the leg of our trip, Chris had arranged for us to visit San Miniato Al Monte, a basilica in Florence, overlooking the city. It was at this magical location that Chris got down on one knee and proposed. The proposal wasn’t the only surprise. Chris had previously contacted an Italian photographer, who was dressed as a tourist, to capture our proposal.
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A Chinese / Jewish “Chewie” Star Wars-Inspired Wedding With a ‘Shabbatical’ at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado, USA

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Ever wondered what we mean when we say “your Jewish wedding your way?” Well, luckily, Quan and Jesse have created the perfect example of what that looks like – a totally unique celebration that perfectly represents them as a couple (and Star Wars!!).

To celebrate bride Quan’s Chinese heritage, and groom Jesse’s Jewish background (and, of course, love of Star Wars), the couple affectionately dubbed their big day their “Chewie wedding”. How cute is that?? 

Splashed with bright color, just how Quan likes it, the Jew-ish wedding was held at a total dream location, Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Not only did that mean a backdrop of a breathtaking Colorado landscape, but it was also full of personal meaning to the couple, who spent much of their early relationship there. 

In fact, every choice the pair made, and every last detail, had sentimental value and personal significance, creating a wedding that was just for them and their loved ones. We’re not crying, we just have something in our eye!!

Oh, and if they weren’t already inspirational enough, both Quan and Jesse have taken a break from their respective high-flying jobs to, in the spirit of their seven blessings, travel the world, in what they have creatively, and brilliantly, named their “shabbatical“.

We all make commitments that we wholly intend to keep, but then find life gets in the way. Jesse and Quan have proved that nothing can keep you from your dreams, and they have absolutely taken their commitment to treating each day like shabbat for a year seriously. In fact, you can even follow their adventures on Instagram! 

There’s so much to gush over, but it’s already time to hand over to proud groom, Jesse, for the full account of the day, illustrated with a sensational spread of images by Once Like a Spark.

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Jewish-Chewish-Wedding-Red-Rocks-Amphitheatre-Colorado-USA

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A venue with personal history

Jesse, the groom: We were married at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. We actually had the venue booked before we were engaged. Jesse was working with a jeweler to design the engagement ring and we both knew we wanted a short engagement and a wedding before the Colorado winter.

We started looking for venues and made a call to Red Rocks. The venue usually books more than a year in advance, so we were really surprised and lucky to find out that someone was late turning in their deposit and a September date was potentially available. Fortune was in our favor and the events manager called us two weeks later to give us the date: Sept 10th.

Red Rocks has a lot of significance for our relationship. Immediately after our first date in February, I went home and bought tickets to summer concerts at Red Rocks. I knew that I would be taking Quan to those concerts. Some of our favorite dates were during the summer concerts we attended at Red Rocks.

We fell in love in the Colorado outdoors – not only at Red Rocks, but also hiking and ski trips in the Rocky Mountains. For us, Red Rocks was the iconic Colorado venue where we wanted to host our family and friends so that they could also take in the beauty of the great outdoors of Colorado. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Magical Woodland Jewish-French Wedding Bursting with Love at Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, Canada

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Jewish wedding Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, Canada
Guys, get the tissues ready – this is not a drill. Repeat, this is NOT a drill. This loved-up pair will definitely give you the weepies. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Sari and Jason’s magical forest Jewish-French wedding was not only absolutely whimsical and captivating to look at, but was a moving, heartfelt affair. The adoration these two lovebirds have for one another shone through every moment of the day and every word they uttered to one another.

The wedding’s aesthetic is so divine that we’re not sure where to start, other than, upon seeing it, one of our STG team members (we’re looking at you, Sara!) gushed that this was the wedding they would have today if they could do it all again.

Nestled among the trees was the stunning birch wood chuppah, built by groom Jason and his dad, was such a hit (even though the two of them had never been to a Jewish ceremony ) that Jason now rents it out as part of his small business, Dundas Valley Chuppah. In fact, Dundas Valley Chuppah has made an appearance on Smashing The Glass before, providing the silk peonies for this beauty.  

Gorgeous bride Sari absolutely stunned in a breathtaking blush gown, assembled from a variety of sources to create the dream dress. She looked like a fairy princess swishing around the woods in her dreamy tulle skirt – absolutely divine!

There’s so much more to say, and we could go on forever about everything from the fabulous flowers, to the fact that the couple started rehearsing their first dance a whole year in advance of the wedding! But it’s time to now hand you over to Sari’s writeup, accompanied by a stunning spread of images by E. Baker Photography and the tear-jerking, romantic video below by Dave Tebutt Wedding Films. Get ready to fall in love…

Jewish wedding Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, Canada Jewish wedding Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, CanadaJewish wedding Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, Canada Jewish wedding Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, Canada
How we met

Sari, the bride: We met online! Funny enough, Jay had logged on and was trying to find out how to deactivate his account. As he was searching online, I popped up and had sent him a message. There hasn’t been a day since then that we haven’t talked.

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A Jewish-French-Greek-British Animal-Filled Wedding at London Zoo, London, UK

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Before we get started, we need to present today’s bride, Clelia, with a medal for THE most Smashing The Glass-obsessed bride ever to grace these pages. Clelia took an extraordinary amount of inspiration from the blog, including sourcing almost every vendor and having one of our past real brides, Lauren, create her incredible chuppah design.

Helping Jewish brides to plan their weddings is exactly what Smashing The Glass is all about, and Clelia embodies our spirit and ethos and then some! Thanks for making us such a huge part of your journey, Clelia, we are truly honored.

Now back to staring at wedding pretty and getting inspired, which is what we’re all here for. If you’re a fan of adorable monkeys and meerkats (and if you’re not, who even ARE you??) you’ll love today’s into-the-wild venue, London Zoo. We’re SO here for Clelia and George’s animal kingdom selfie competition – what an inspired way to make the most of such a unique venue! 

Clelia and George were full of gratitude for the way their loved ones came together to help make their dream day perfect, and it really shows in the images and Clelia’s moving writeup. We’re all also totally behind Clelia’s words about body positivity and self love, and are so grateful to her for sharing her feelings on this. 

It was also, as we mentioned, a wedding packed with STG Recommended Vendors, including ludicrously talented klezmer band, Shir, wonderful rabbi, Paul Glantz, and ultimate gift-list service, Prezola.

Famed photographer, Laura Babb, and her partner in crime, videographer Peter Wilbourne, did an outstanding job of telling the story of the day through their stunning spread of images and Peter’s cinematic wedding video. We feel like we were there in person! 

It’s finally Clelia’s well-deserved and long-awaited turn to take over the blog for a post. Take it away, Clelia!

Jewish wedding London Zoo UK

Jewish wedding London Zoo UK

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Jewish wedding London Zoo UK

Jewish wedding London Zoo UK
How we met

Clelia, the bride: We met in a car park in Northampton when our colleague, Richard, offered to drive us both back to London. Instead of awkward work chat, I asked George every question in the Proust questionnaire. 

When Richard dropped us off at a north London tube station, George asked me out on a date. I introduced him to long haul-holidays, he introduced me to beans on toast and football. I agreed the kids would support Spurs, he agreed the kids would be raised Jewish and proposed under Tower Bridge, a few meters from where he’d first seen me in the office.
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A Stunning Super Luxe Peony-filled Jew-ish Destination Wedding at Buranco Vineyard, Cinque Terre, Italy

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SWOON! That’s us right now, at STG HQ, swooning away at this jaw-dropping Jew-ish Italian destination wedding. 

Now that we’ve picked ourselves up off the floor, let’s get into the reasons Maggie and Ben’s super luxe celebration in stunning Cinque Terre is just SO sublime!

Let’s start with the fabulous destination. Maggie and Ben love to travel, and together they’ve seen the world. In keeping with their globetrotting history, they felt a divine destination was the way to go, so just think of the competition Cinque Terre had to beat to be selected for such an honor. 

Cinque Terre, of course, is that gorgeous, colorful Italian coastal town you see every time you open a travel guide on the world’s most beautiful places. 

Just when you think a place like that couldn’t get any more beautiful, enter Maggie and Ben, with their incredible, chic and fashion-forward wedding dà©cor, bright and bold color scheme and sensational floral arrangements. The result? A total feast for the eyes. 

Beautiful bride, Maggie, is in architecture and design, so of course every last detail was perfect, especially with the help and keen eye of Cinque Terre Wedding. 

A wedding that was just as lovely on the inside as it was to look at, both the bride and groom’s respective fathers officiated their Jew-ish ceremony, and every choice was filled with heart and personal meaning for the couple.

Photographer, Facibeni Fotografia, and videographer, S-Bros, each did an amazing job of capturing the day- it almost feels like we were there! We’ll hand you over to Maggie now for the full writeup of her magical destination wedding. 

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Jewish destination Buranco Vineyard, Cinque Terre, Italy_0001

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Jewish destination Buranco Vineyard, Cinque Terre, Italy_0009

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How we met

Maggie, the bride: We met on match.com in 2007, and quickly learned that our paths should have crossed more than once over the course of our lives; we were both born and raised in Massachusetts, both had some history in Scottsdale, Arizona, and both finally settled in Los Angeles.

Ben finally proposed after almost nine years of dating, on a trip we had been planning to Bali and Vietnam over the holidays in 2015. Our family and friends were already expecting a destination wedding, and after a proposal in Bali and engagement celebration “tour” through Vietnam, we knew we had to follow it with an equally amazing wedding!

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