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A Madi Lane Bride for a Rustic and Relaxed Backyard Jewish Wedding in London, UK

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There’s something so special about a backyard Jewish wedding. That personal touch of making things official in your family home – there’s nothing like it. Even though today’s couple, Sara, a speech and language therapist, and Jason, a payments manager, didn’t initially plan to hold their wedding in the bride’s parent’s garden – their pre-pandemic plan A was Israel – in the end their day turned out to be everything they could’ve hoped for and then some.

Due to the pandemic, Sara and Jason kept the ceremony and dinner to just immediate family, and then invited a handful of close friends to join afterward for dancing and late-night snacks. Working with a fabulous team of vendors, the pair transformed the garden into the perfect rustic retreat, adorned with flowers and candles and all kinds of soft romantic touches.

Sara and Jason’s chuppah, rented from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People (who they found right here on STG!), was the perfect cornerstone for their rustically romantic aesthetic. They opted for “The Finchley,” built on natural branches that looked as if they were just growing out of the garden.

The couple report that one of the best decisions they made in their wedding planning was working with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Events with Grace as their on-the-day coordinator. Grace helped keep things organized during the last month of planning, and on the day she made sure everything ran smoothly and took the pressure off Sara and Jason and their families.

Scroll through Megan Donati Photography’s beautiful imagery and you’ll see what an absolute dream of a day this turned out to be. We’ll let Sara take it from here…

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How We Met

Sara, the bride: We first spoke on an Aish trip when were 17. We had actually met a year earlier but I had forgotten on the trip. Jason came up to me and started talking like we were old friends. I wasn’t sure at first but on the trip we became friendly. When we got home, we started a long-distance friendship. The rest is history; we dated for 4 years long distance until Jason made the move to Essex.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Dreamy Oceanside Jewish Wedding at Al Hayam in Caesarea, Israel

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May & Benjamin, Al Hayam, Ceaserea, Israel

How gorgeous is the fabulous Israeli Jewish wedding of May, a pilot, lawyer, and CEO of two organizations (talk about a busy bride!) and Benjy, the cofounder and CEO of a recruitment software company?!

These two chose to make it official at one of Israel’s most stunning seaside venues, Al Hayam in Caesarea. Al Hayam is totally swoonworthy in its own right, with its fabulous outdoor spaces and serene ocean views, but for this couple it also had tons of sentimental value since May grew up nearby – and the couple even visited the first time they came up to Caesarea to visit May’s family together!

And of course we’re absolutely obsessed with May and Benjy’s incredible photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si. His photos look like they came straight from the pages of the chicest glossy magazine – each image is a true work of art. Not only that, but the couple also report that Jossef and his team were an absolute delight to work with and made them feel super comfortable on the day.

May & Benjamin, Al Hayam, Ceaserea, Israel May & Benjamin, Al Hayam, Ceaserea, Israel May & Benjamin, Al Hayam, Ceaserea, Israel
A Seaside Venue 

We got married at Al Hayam in Caesarea, Israel. This venue is outdoors, and over looks the Mediterranean sea. May grew up in Caesarea and spend most her childhood in the sea. It was also the first place May took Benjy to when he came to visit her family for Shabbat. It has great significance to both of us.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Autumn in the Adirondacks Jewel-Tone Jewish Wedding in Lake Placid, New York, USA

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Get ready for a seriously swoonworthy landscape! Today’s couple, Kelilah, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and Bobby, a localization and mapping engineer, opted to make things official in New York’s beautiful Adirondacks, near where the bride grew up.

Even better, they held it during the most wonderful time of the year in the Adirondacks: autumn! With an outdoor ceremony on the shores of Lake Placid, Whiteface Mountain in the background, and a fabulous jewel-tone color scheme, there’s so much to love about this fabulous day – don’t miss the wonderful photos by Britt Parr of Parr Photo Co..

We’re also totally obsessed with the couple’s gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tallulah Ketubahs. Kelilah and Bobby knew they wanted a design that reflected their wedding venue and theme, and they found the absolute perfect fit in their

laser-cut design with a watercolor wash background of two love birds in the forest. Needless to say, the couple found artist Rachel of Tallulah Ketubahs an absolute joy to work with – and, despite the couple putting off their ketubah choice until the last minute, Rachel still made sure the finished product arrived ahead of schedule.

And how cool is it that after the ceremony, Kelilah and Bobby opted to spend their yichud on a romantic boat ride on Lake Placid?! Love it!

Now over to Kelilah…

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How we Met

Kelilah, the bride: We met while we were in grad school at Penn State in 2014; we are both Mechanical Engineers. We first met, unexpectantly, at a bus stop in October 2012. Apparently, Bobby wanted to meet me but had not had the opportunity previously, so he just began a conversation at the bus stop. After that brief chance meeting, our paths did not cross again until I joined the research lab he was working in, in January 2014. We are both relatively shy, so it took us a few months to really start talking about more than just research.

We are both involved with robotics and controls; his research is focused on autonomous vehicles, mine is focused on assistive and rehabilitative robotics, including designing a robotic wheelchair. Eventually, I asked him to join me for a trivia night I went to every Wednesday with a group of my friends. After that evening, we started spending more time together. By the end of July, we had our first “official” date. That December he told me he loved me at Penn State’s Arboretum; four years later he proposed to me in the same spot.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Smashing the Sake Barrel: A Multicultural Same-Sex Chinese-Japanese-Jewish Wedding at Spring Studios, Kentish Town, London, UK

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Just about all the weddings we blog feature a couple smashing the glass, but we’re pretty sure this is our first where the couple’s also smashed a sake barrel! Beautiful London-based brides Phoebe and Misa, both software engineers, planned the most smashing (sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves) lesbian Jew-ish wedding combining Phoebe’s Jewish background with Misa’s Chinese and Japanese heritage – and we’re obsessed!

These two wanted their day to truly reflect them as a couple, and we don’t think they could possibly have done a better job. With a Jew-ish ceremony led by Phoebe’s childhood rabbi, Chinese and Japanese canapes, personalized sake cup favors for the guests, and a blessing in Japanese from Misa’s mum, we’re obsessed with how seamlessly multicultural the duo made their day.

And back to the smashing of the sake barrel – did you know that it’s a Japanese custom to break the lid of a sake barrel with a wooden hammer on special occasions? What a cool parallel to smashing the glass (which Phoebe and Misa also did, naturally) – and the sake from that smashed barrel was used for the final toast of the night!

We’re obsessed with Phoebe and Misa’s incredible photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Marta Ilardo. The camera-shy couple wanted a documentary-style photographer who’d make them feel comfortable on the day, and Marta fit the bill perfectly – plus, how stunning are her photos?

Now over to the Phoebe and Misa, who looked gorgeous in their dresses by Aesling and Mikaella, respectively…

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How we Met

Misa and Phoebe, the brides: We actually met at a coding bootcamp (Makers Academy) in 2016! Phoebe was working in finance and Misa was doing a PhD in partnership with Cancer Research UK, when we both decided to re train as Software Engineers.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Enzoani Bride for a Nature Lovers’ Country Chic Jewish Wedding at Glynwood Farm, New York, USA

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Rachel & Mitch, Glynwood Farm, New York, USA

If getting married in the rain is good luck, then how much better to get married in a hurricane?! Yep, today’s couple, Rachel and Mitch, made it official at a gorgeous farm venue in New York’s Hudson Valley in the middle of Hurricane Henri.

Lots of couples would’ve been thrown by the dramatic weather, but – thanks largely to their fabulous team of vendors – Rachel and Mitch took it all in stride. As you’ll see if you scroll through the gorgeous photos from Golden Hour Studios, the day could not have been more perfect, dramatic weather or no!

Rachel and Mitch are huge nature lovers, and their aim for their country chic Jewish wedding was for “the whole wedding to feel like just grew out of the landscape,” with shades of green and white abounding.

The nature vibes extended to the couple’s beautiful custom ketubah, which they knew from the start needed to include trees. After much online searching, when Rachel found Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tallulah Ketubahs, she knew she’d hit the jackpot. Rachel crafted the most exquisite arboreal ketubah – after getting to know Rachel and Mitch, their love story, and their vision – which now hangs proudly in the couple’s living room!

Now over to the bride, who looked radiant in Blue by Enzoani…

Rachel & Mitch, Glynwood Farm, New York, USA Rachel & Mitch, Glynwood Farm, New York, USA Rachel & Mitch, Glynwood Farm, New York, USA Rachel & Mitch, Glynwood Farm, New York, USA
How we Met

Mitch and I met on the dating app Hinge. Our first date was August 22, 2018 in Union Square Park and it was love at first sight! We fell in love that night and the rest was history. Mitch met my whole family a week later and we moved in together 2 months after that. Everyone thought we were crazy but we just knew we were meant to be together. We always knew we were going to get married on August 22, 2021 – 3 years to the day of our first date. Our anniversary!Continue ReadingContinue Reading