Jewish Lesbian Weddings Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Breathtaking Waterside Same Sex Jewish Wedding at a Private Residence, Kittery, Maine, USA

09/02/2018 by Karen

Today we have a real treat for you because we have not one, but TWO wonderful brides whose boho-beautiful style you’re totally going to want to steal.

Samantha and Elise had their tented waterside Jewish destination wedding at a private family residence and it was absolutely rub-your-eyes-and-look-again beautiful. The natural scenery provided a spectacular backdrop for the couple’s moving, family-oriented Jewish ceremony – oh, and just how cute are those flower girls?? There’s an awesome story about them which we won’t ruin, but read on, because it will just melt your heart.

Let’s talk about the brides’ breathtaking dresses, from Willowby by Watters and Lillian West respectively – they could not have looked more perfect together, with a relaxed but oh-so-chic feel and lush lace embellishments. Serious bridal style goals!

We’re also head over heels for the foliage-covered birch wood chuppah overlooking the water – what a perfect place to say ‘I do’. Oh, and the rustic-look but clean and contemporary reception décor? Sublime.

The stunning spread of photographs was provided by Alex and Bett, who captured all the love, joy and big-day details with aplomb. We seriously can’t stop staring!

We’ll hand you over to Samantha and Elise for the full story of their perfect day. Get ready to fall in love with these two!

How we met

Samantha and Elise, the brides: We met online, on OkCupid, before the days of dating apps.
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A Jew-ish Industrial Vintage same-sex wedding with a Lyn Ashworth gown at St Pancras Renaissance, London

16/01/2017 by Karen

Tissues at the ready, folks, because I guarantee that you won’t make it through this gorgeous lesbian Jew-ish wedding without welling up – especially if you watch the tear-jerker of a wedding video at the bottom of this post, artfully and sensitively shot by Love Storage.

Charlotte and Ellie wanted a dramatic and industrial meets romantic, dark florals-vibe for their big day, and they found the perfect venue in the iconic St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. The story of the day was expertly captured by fantastic photographer, Dale Weeks.

We simply adore the moody aesthetic and jewel-toned theme; Charlotte and Ellie’s vintage-industrial look made their whole day so quirky and unique, but still so chic and stunning.

The attention to detail from artistic bride Ellie was simply phenomenal. Each item was carefully and lovingly picked with the theme in mind: the home-designed invitations, the rust-coloured chairs, the Victoriana table decorations and whole flower stems strewn down the aisle. The style extended to the brides’ outfits, which were simply beautiful and perfectly in keeping with the tone and theme of the wedding.

We love the birch pole Chuppah, complete with Charlotte’s grandfather’s tallit, and that the start of the Jewish ceremony was signaled with one of our all-time favourite wedding songs, Sunrise Sunset. Could there be a more perfect or sincere way to conduct a Jewish ceremony?

Over to Charlotte and Ellie to fill us in on all the details from their divine wedding day.

When you know, you know

Charlotte: Ellie and I met online. There was no woo-ing and no long conversations. Ellie sent me a message saying “Shall we go for a drink then?” and when I agreed she informed me that I had to choose the location.

I chose The Bridge in Hoxton and we met outside Hoxton station that Saturday afternoon because we both already had evening plans.

We sat side by side in the boudoir-like surroundings, drinking coffee and chatting for hours. It felt very natural from the start, like we’d known each other for years. It didn’t take long before we were spending every spare day together!

Two extraordinary brides for a sumptuous bohemian Jew-ish Wedding at Broger’s End Kangaroo Valley, Australia

10/05/2016 by Karen

Today’s wedding reaches new heights on the wedding spectrum and I am entirely and whole-heartedly in love with every little bit of it. The attention to detail and the amount of creativity is phenomenal. I hardly know what to talk about first because it’s such a total feast for the eyes, but what I love the most is that Lara and Cass’s union remains as the focal point throughout.

On the other side of the lens for a change, Lara is one of the world’s most renowned creative wedding photographers, and indeed I have featured her work on Smashing The Glass several times. She’s a girl after my own heart wearing not one, not two, but THREE wedding gowns, accessorised by a simply astonishing bouquet by Mikarla Bauer + Jardine Botanics – truly one of the best I’ve ever seen.

So much originality permeates Lara and Cass’s day from choosing to get ready and walk down the aisle together, to all sorts of gorgeous DIY like a ‘Guess Who’ game handmade by Cass using their family members, to an idea that I’ve never seen before: a flower crown station for the guests to accessorise with before the ceremony so that when the couple walked down the aisle they saw all their guests with flowers in their hair. Love love LOVE!

Sheree from She Designs Events blended their two very different loves into one creative theme which works brilliantly even though it combines everything from Country & Western to Vintage Romance! I love the idea of not compromising to one theme but rather merging both your loves.

Our two brides come from different religious backgrounds and chose to incorporate Lara’s Jewish culture with some crazy Jewish Dancing that really set the tone for the evening. Lara said:

We had the Jewish dancing before entering the reception and it really loosened everyone up! We were being thrown up and down on chairs and tossed in the air and running around in circles and forming conga lines around the fire pit! It was a definite highlight.”

And there are so many… You truly have to savour every one of Dan O’Day‘s astonishing images to take it all in. Oh, and there is a wonderful film by Light Noise Films at the end which you just must watch. What a total treat!

Planning the wedding ourselves

Lara: I think I completely underestimated how time consuming planning an entire wedding from start to finish can be, never mind running a business at the same time.

Cass was great as she really let me take full control of everything but was always there when I needed her to bounce ideas with and make final decisions or to get things done.

We had spread sheets and documentation for everything – its really quite overwhelming how many things / vendors there are to keep track of and all the little details to organise – but well worth all the effort in the end.

Sarah & Anne | Super stylish Same Sex Jewish Wedding at Hart House, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

22/03/2016 by Karen

I couldn’t name this blog anything but smashing the glass. It is THE moment of a Jewish wedding and images like the one above just make me so happy. Two beautiful women, crazy in love, performing this hugely symbolic tradition under a gorgeous chuppah. I’m telling you, one of the best things about this job is definitely how uplifting it is to look at images like these.

And like all the real Jewish weddings on Smashing The Glass, this W-Day is completely refreshing. Both brides chose to forgo the traditional wedding dress style in favour of a two super sleek and contemporary creations by Carolina Herrera and Judith and Charles respectively, accessorised in Anne’s case by the most delicate headpiece.

And that’s not the only thing that has me swooning. There are gorgeous dainty florals and rustic table runners by GLP Events that not only look delightful (Anne wanted a simple arrangement of flowers that reminded her of the fields in the small French village where she grew up), they’re cost-effective too.

And the guests…well if the photos at the end of the night are anything to go by, then it’s clear that everyone had a darned good time!

Back with a bang for his 3rd feature on STG, Niv Shimshon has captured the mood perfectly with these terrific shots. Prepare to swoon.

how we met

Sarah and Anne, the Brides: We met one cold winter’s evening in Montreal and have been together nearly every day since. On the night we met, Anne was sick with a nasty flu. Sarah, a germophobe, knew it was love at first sight because she didn’t want the date to end despite Anne’s coughing, sneezing, and significantly high fever. Anne is calm, cool and collected, and Sarah is witty, funny, and shows pictures of her dog to strangers every time she has a chance.

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Rachel & Nikki | Jewish lesbian wedding with a nature-inspired theme, at Temple Emanuel in Kensington, Maryland, USA

16/06/2015 by Karen

Rachel and Nikki put together a Jewish wedding full of warmth and love with a very personal vibe. Their day was all about sharing, loving and being together, and they designed their entire ceremony so that every part of it was intentional and meaningful. It was based on a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony, with adaptations for their progressive values and the fact that they were two women.

One element I particularly love is that their processional to the chuppah was led by Nikki’s and Rachel’s 97-year-old and 87-year-old (respectively) grandmothers walking hand in hand down the aisle. Apparently there wasn’t a dry eye in the room from that moment on.

Sustainability was also central theme of their big day. For the centrepieces they chose bamboo, orchids, bonsai trees and succulents planted in driftwood. Guests were able to take these home with them and Nikki and Rachel said how wonderful it has since been to visit family and friends after the wedding and see the plants in people’s homes.

Rachel and Nikki are here to tell you more about their special day, along with images from Michael Temchine.