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An Aleena Lena Bride for a Rustic Chic Jewish Wedding at The Art Factory, Paterson, New Jersey, USA

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This is one cool wedding! Victoria, an investment banker, and Judah, a medical student, are a super stylish couple, and they planned one of the chicest urban-rustic Jewish weddings EVER at The Art Factory in Paterson, New Jersey.

We love how they leaned into the unique industrial-rustic vibes of their venue, picking green as their wedding color and using tons of greenery in their décor. The couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alex Knight, captured it all so perfectly – in Victoria’s words,

Alex and his team are some of the best people we’ve gotten to work with – they are kind, funny and an all around good time. They were great at making us feel comfortable, hyping us up and capturing all of the little moments that we may have overlooked. They’re truly the best!

There’s so much more to say about this fabulous wedding – how fun is it that Victoria and Judah incorporated dancing under the chuppah between each of their sheva brachot?! – but we’ll let the bride take it from here…


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How We Met

Victoria, the bride and Judah, the groom: We met on Victoria’s first day of undergrad. We were both students in the joint program between JTS and Columbia University, Victoria a freshman and Judah a junior. Victoria came to school with her best friend, Sarah, who she made a pact with that they wouldn’t date in college – they were there to get their degrees! On their first day there, however, Sarah saw Judah and noted to Victoria that he looked like her type (he was wearing a kippah). We started talking, and the rest was history!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Joyful, Multicultural Bedouin-Jewish Wedding at Bustan, Abu Ghosh, Israel

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Ari and Angelo, Bustan in Abu Ghosh, Israel

Today’s very special wedding showcases Israel at its absolute best – its beauty, its diversity, its abundance of beautiful traditions, and, above all, the spirit of its people. Bride Ari, a freelance writer is a Sephardic Jew who made aliyah from the US, while groom Angelo, who’s in the process of becoming a detective with the Israeli Police, is Bedouin – and their wedding was all about blending their two cultures into a heartfelt (and stylish!) celebration of their love for each other, their friends and families, and Israel.

The merging of these two cultures was beautiful, but it wasn’t easy. While it was important to them to have Jewish ceremony, they weren’t able to have a Rabbinute wedding, so they turned to the organization Havaya to find an officiant who helped them craft an utra-personal ceremony. As for aesthetics, in Ari’s words, the couple’s theme was “trying to find ways to include both of our cultures in a way that didn’t look like the Ottoman Empire threw up all over the place.”

To quote the couple,

Absolutely none of this would have been possible (including the general maintaining of our sanity) without our amazing wedding planner, Yana from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia Events. I think a lot of people say that about their wedding planner but they can’t possibly mean it as much as we do. It’s not easy being a mixed couple and all the drama that dredges up while wedding planning. Yana truly helped us navigate every step of the way and we are endlessly grateful to her and now she’s stuck with us forever.

This wedding was so full of ultra-personal touches it’s hard to know where to start – but one thing we adore is Ari and Angelo’s choice to stand under their chuppah wrapped in a shmakh (Bedouin keffiyeh), to represent the bringing together of their two cultures – and instead of the traditional red or black color scheme, they went for blue to represent Judaism and their love of Israel. Don’t miss it in the incredible photos by Yarin Taranos.

Now over to Ari…

Ari and Angelo, Bustan in Abu Ghosh, IsraelAri and Angelo, Bustan in Abu Ghosh, Israel Ari and Angelo, Bustan in Abu Ghosh, IsraelAri and Angelo, Bustan in Abu Ghosh, Israel
How We Met

Ari, the bride: We met in 2017 during just a random night out. Ari made plans to go out with a friend she bartended with and that friend brought his work friends, including Angelo. We both remember making a note of the date because it felt important. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Viktoria Chan Bride for a Boho Jewish Barn Wedding with Lot of DIY Touches at Kinkell Byre, St Andrews, Scotland, UK

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We love it when a couple plans a Jewish wedding that’s 100% totally them – which is exactly what Glasgow couple Genna, who works for an innovation charity, and Raphael, an architect, did for their big day in beautiful St Andrews.

Celebrating the groom’s Brazilian heritage as well as the couple’s home in Scotland and incorporating so many DIY touches from the couple and their mums, this is truly a wedding to remember.

The groom designed all the wedding stationery plus the ketubah – and also built the couple’s stunning minimalist chuppah – Genna’s mum handmade the kiddush cups over 50 wooden candle holders that were placed around the venue and on the tables, and Raphael’s mum baked the couple’s wedding cake! Don’t miss all the wonderful details in Christian Olliver’s beautiful photos!

Food is important to Genna and Raphael, and when it came time to choose a kosher caterer they went for the best of the best: Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Feast by Ed Shaerf. In Genna’s words, Feast by Ed “absolutely blew us away. Not only was the food incredibly tasty, but the presentation and the professionalism of the staff were also out of this world! Everything was seamless and ran like absolute clockwork.”

There’s so much more to say about this joyous, love-filled day – but we’ll leave it to Genna, who looked so radiant in her minimalist gown by Swedish designer Viktoria Chan – to fill you in on the rest…

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How We Met

Genna, the bride: We met through my brother, Adam, who has been Raph’s best friend since they were 10 years old. About 5 years ago, Adam and his then fiance, now wife, Olivia suggested that we go for a drink together because we had ‘lots in common’ – and it went from there! After a few years of a long distance relationship between Glasgow and London, we settled in Glasgow, where we’re both originally from.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Magical Garden Jewish Wedding at Habustan, Abu Gosh, Israel

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Ariella & Ryan, Habustan, Abu Gosh, Israel

Gorgeous venue alert! Israeli couple Ariella, an account manager in digital marketing, and Ryan, a product manager at a high-tech startup, fell in love with their venue, Habustan, the minute they set eyes on it – and we’re pretty sure we’re having the same experience right now!

The couple couldn’t get enough of the magical garden vibes, and they knew they wanted to keep the focus for their big day on the venue’s natural splendor, with fairy lights, trees, and flowers galore. Their photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman, captured the understated yet elegant feel of the day so perfectly – in addition to making Ariella and Ryan and their guests feel comfortable and calm as he captured the most phenomenal moments.

One special touch we love: when it came time for the sheva brachot, Ariella and Ryan picked seven VIPs to give one bracha each, and they gave their MC a small script to introduce each person, thanking them for the way they touched the couple’s lives.

We’ll let Ariella fill you in on the rest…

Ariella & Ryan, Habustan, Abu Gosh, Israel Ariella & Ryan, Habustan, Abu Gosh, Israel Ariella & Ryan, Habustan, Abu Gosh, IsraelAriella & Ryan, Habustan, Abu Gosh, Israel
How We Met

Ariella, the bride: . We met through a mutual connection, who knew Ryan well and got my name and info from a friend of his who found out that I had recently made Aliyah. We went on our first date only three weeks after I landed in Israel and the rest is history!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Elegant Jewish Wedding Full of Fun Touches at Institute Park, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

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Today’s couple, Angela and Jesse, are busy people. They’re both registered nurses, each working in different critical care specialties – and on top of that, they also run their own farm!

So when it came time to plan their Massachusetts Jewish wedding, they wanted a day of nonstop fun – and that’s exactly what they got! From a wedding trolley party bus to transport the wedding party, to a black tie dress code as a counterpoint to Angela and Jesse’s usual scrubs and farm clothes, to DIY artificial flowers by the bride herself, this day was chock full of wonderful touches – don’t miss them all in the beautiful photos and trailer by Zach and Ava from Woodside Productions!

One of our very favorite special touches is the couple’s ketubah, designed by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Nava Shoham. Angela and Jesse adored Nava’s River of Dreams ketubah from the moment they set eyes on it, and they can’t stop raving about the process of working with Nava.

Now over to Angela…

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How We Met

Although they are both are in the medical field, they did not meet on the job. They met through a shared love for farming and farm animals and mutual friends within the farming community. The friendship effortlessly blossomed while they both served on the Agricultural Commission in the town they lived in previously. Jesse served as Vice Chair and Angela served as the secretary.

Angela had always dreamed of raising alpaca and Jesse was able to make her dreams come true when he found her a seller that needed to rehome five lovely alpaca. The alpaca became her first farm animals! Soon there were goats and chickens and ducks and more! Today, they play out their farm dreams together!

They currently own and solely operate Moonlight Run Farm, LLC in Barre, Massachusetts and have expanded to raising many types of animals such as llamas, Nigerian Dwarf goats, and Scottish Highland Cattle (just to name a few). They also provide an array of farm services and educational workshops for community.

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