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A Dorit Izbizki Bride for an Intimate Israeli Jewish Wedding at The Garden, Ma’ale Hachamisha, Israel

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If not for the customized face masks, you’d barely know today’s picture-perfect Jewish wedding was impacted by COVID-19. But while childhood sweethearts Yosepha and Sam were lucky enough to wed before the tightest pandemic restrictions kicked in, the spread of the coronavirus still meant that many overseas friends and family were unable to attend, leaving them with a small (by Israeli standards) guest count of 150.

Though it was obviously disappointing to have so many loved ones missing, Yosepha and Sam focused on the positives – both of having a more intimate gathering, and of being able to go through with their big day at all, under the circumstances! And we love that the couple’s siblings surprised them by collecting videos of their relatives who couldn’t be there wishing them mazel tov and letting the pair know how much they wished they could celebrate together – it was a total surprise to Yosepha and Sam, and they were so touched by the gesture.

As always, we’re in love with the emotional photography Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman Photography. His images are so full of joy and love, and they really capture the pure elation Yosepha and Sam clearly felt to be able marry in the setting of their dreams, in the presence of so many of their loved ones. We’re totally not surprised to hear these two have been receiving endless compliments on their photos!

There’s lots more to say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked so beautiful in her wedding dress by Israeli designer Dorit Izbizki…

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How we met

Yosepha, the bride: Sam and I met about 12 years ago when his family made aliyah. They moved in to the house right next door and lived there for about 2 years. We were all really young, I think I was 9 and Sam was 11. We would hang out with our siblings and neighbors together.

Our sibling wrote us a “story book” about how we met and our relationship. It was really cute and funny. Everyone would joke about how I always had a crush on the boy next door, though I think it was the other way around 🙂 

A few years after Sam and his family moved, we met again at scouts camp. We spent a lot of time together talking and hanging out. We started going out when I was in 9th grade, Sam in 10th. We’ve been together for over 6 years now, together throughout high school, Sam’s army service and my national service. It wasn’t always easy, not seeing each other for weeks at a time when Sam was on base, and dealing with stuff that you never imagined happening. 

We were so young when we got together, we both grew up a lot and changed together. It’s interesting to think about how we used to be and where we got to today. We’re both so different from how we used to be but with every change we always grew closer. We both feel extremely lucky to have had each other all these years. 

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An Essense of Australia for a Rustic Rave Interfaith Jewish Wedding at a Private Residence in Morgan Hill, CA, USA

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We’re so excited to be sharing the joyous, colorful interfaith Jewish wedding of our beloved Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Gina, an executive admin, and Mike, a college soccer coach! This wedding was SO full of personal touches, and we are totally and completely obsessed.

From the couple’s choice to wed at Gina’s aunt and uncle’s home, to making the bouquets and boutonnières from flowers grown in Gina’s mother’s garden, to the unique and fabulous theme of rustic rave, to the bride’s decision to pair her Essense of Australia gown with white sneakers with fiber optic lighting that changed colors, this wedding was SO Gina and Mike. The couple even booked some mega-talented friends of theirs as vendors on the day, including their photographer and videographer!

The bride, who isn’t Jewish, and the groom, whose family is Orthodox, made sure to craft a ceremony that reflected both of their backgrounds. They chose to have Mike’s best friend officiate, and incorporated lots of Jewish traditions – some with a unique twist. We love that Gina and Mike asked seven friends and family to each read one blessing in English, with Mike’s brothers repeating it in Hebrew. Such a special way to honor loved ones in your day!

We also love the simple floral chuppah, built by Gina’s dad! Oh, and those fab colorful flowers adorning it? They’re fake!

Of course we’re so touched to hear Gina’s kind words about Brides Club – especially that the group gave her the freedom to plan exactly the wedding she and Mike wanted.

Take it away, Gina!


How we Met

Gina, the bride: We met on Tinder in Nov 2014. On our first date, Mike picked me up at my parents’ house and met my parents!

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A Maggie Sottero Bride for an Industrial Rustic Jewish Wedding at the Art Factory in Paterson, New Jersey, USA

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Okay, HOW gorgeous is Avi and Daniel’s birch chuppah?! We adore every detail of the rustic industrial Jewish wedding of Avi, a pediatric audiologist, and Daniel, who works in real estate, but this chuppah really takes the (wedding) cake. Artfully adorned with occasional pops of red, white, and pink flowers plus hanging greenery – and covered with family tallitot – we’re totally in love with the overall effect.

The chuppah was the perfect fit for Avi and Daniel’s super cool venue, the Art Factory in Paterson, New Jersey. We love the eclectic warehouse vibe, the big windows and abundant natural light, and even comes with its own prop room! These two dressed the space up perfectly with giant paper flowers, vintage sewing machines, and all kinds of other awesome touches. We’re loving every single detail in Amy Sims’ wonderful photos, and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kiss the Bride Films’ trailer is so full of emotion and love – pure perfection!

And how special is it that the couple’s beautiful navy paper cut ketubah was crafted by the groom’s mother?! She designed and calligraphed it from start to finish, all by hand.

We’ll let Avi, who looked so lovely in Maggie Sottero, tell you about the rest…

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Warehouse Vibes

We got married at the Art Factory in Paterson, New Jersey. It has a very eclectic warehouse vibe, and you can use the entire space however you want, using their prop room or bringing in whatever materials you want. This made our celebration so personalized because the space was completely naked and we decorated how we wanted to. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Elia Vatine Bride for a Ketubah Artist’s Egalitarian Vegan Jewish Wedding at the Great Barn at Headstone Manor, UK

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We love seeing what kinds of choices our favorite wedding vendors make for their own Jewish weddings, so naturally we couldn’t wait to hear all about ketubah artist Rachelle’s big day. Rachelle is the mega-talented artist behind Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush, and we knew from the getgo that her wedding to Elan, who’s a sales director for a tech company, was going to be something special.

And was it ever! We’re in love with everything from the gorgeous, vibrant colors and florals to the historic venue (which once belonged to Henry VIII!) to the wonderful rustic wood chuppah supplied by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Happy Chuppah People to the egalitarian ceremony, featuring touches like seven personalized English blessings written by one of the bride’s sisters and read by the bridesmaids.

Then there’s the ketubah. Rachelle is known for her nature-inspired designs, featuring trees, mountains, oceans, and more, and we adore the willow leaf design she chose for her own ketubah. And this busy bride didn’t stop there – she also designed all of the stationery for the day herself! We’re in love with the way photographer Frances Sales and videographer Pristine Videography captured all the exquisite details of this fantastic day.

Scrolling through the images, you’d never know Rachelle and Elan’s wedding took place on March 15, 2020, just as coronavirus was getting serious in the countries where most of this Israeli-British-American couple’s guests reside. In the end, half the couple’s guests were unable to attend – including Elan’s sister, who watched the ceremony via a live stream set up by a friend.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to Rachelle, who looked stunning in her secondhand Elia Vatine dress…

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How we met

Rachelle, the bride: We met on Tinder 4 years ago – our first date was at Tel Aviv University’s student day! We were a couple from day one.

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A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Festival Jewish Wedding at Lattenbury Hill Weddings, Cambridgeshire, UK

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We love a good boho festival Jewish wedding. And Alana and Adam’s is one of the best. These two worked hard to craft a day that was 100% them – filled with tons of DIY touches, from spray painting soup cans to turn them into flower vases, having the bride’s mother bake 500 brownies for the wedding dessert, and getting friends and family together to set up the venue – and they absolutely smashed it.

This wedding was full of so many exquisite details, from the gorgeous rustic turquoise stationery suite created by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Liv & Luc, inspired by a favorite holiday snap from a trip to Italy to the way Alana and Adam crafted a personal ceremony highlighting their shared values of feminism and equality: they both smashed a glass, gave a speech, wrote vows, and circles each other under the chuppah.

And because you can’t have a festival without awesome music, the couple opted to bring in the big guns: Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor TOTEM, who Alana and Adam picked partly for their vast experience with Jewish weddings and wide repertoire of Israeli dancing songs, kept the guests on the dance floor all night long in their signature style. We can’t get over all the love and energy captured in the photos by Aaron Collett Photography and videographer James Alexander Chapman.

Before we turn you over to Alana, we’ve also got to mention her stunner of a gown by Maggie Sottero, which she found at the wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Morgan Davies Bridal. Alana was on the hunt for a boho style figure hugging lace gown, and did the team at Morgan Davies ever help her make the dream a reality!


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HOW WE MET

 Alana, the bride: We met at a mutual friend’s engagement party 6 years ago, pretty sure we were the only single ones left in the room and were introduced to each other in an awkward year 6 disco style way. He managed to convince me he was a bomb disposal expert (he’s not) and the rest is history.

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