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A Helena Kolan Bride for a Colorful, Multicultural Jewish-Hindu Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA

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Get ready to be BLOWN AWAY by the incredible Jewish-Hindu wedding of our beloved Brides Club member Jaime, who has an online fitness business, and Varun, who is CEO of a tech company. These two wanted a one-of-a-kind day that felt larger than life, and did they ever achieve that goal – thanks in no small part to the expertise of their wedding planner, Leora of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Best Bride, who Jaime describes as “the best wedding planner on the planet. Period.”

Blending two different faiths and cultures is no small feat, but Leora made it a breeze, working with Jaime and Varun to craft a jam-packed day – and we do mean a full day; this wedding went from noon until midnight! – including two ceremonies (one Hindu, one Jewish), a positively mouthwatering bicultural food experience featuring Israeli and Indian street food, and, of course, a rocking party to end things off.

The results were thoroughly, breathtakingly beautiful – we’re equally obsessed with the color and energy of the Hindu ceremony and the romance and drama of the sunset Jewish ceremony. And how beautiful is the couple’s floral ketubah, created by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush?! Jaime can’t stop raving about her experience working with founder Rachelle to create the perfect design to match the color and décor scheme for her Jewish ceremony.

You really, really don’t want to miss the fantastic photos from Clane Gessel and Sanaz Photography. Because their day had so much going on, planner Leora encouraged Jaime and Varun to hire two photography teams to make sure none of the good stuff went undocumented, and Jaime is SO glad she followed that advice. And the trailer by AndHer Visuals is equally unmissable.

Now over to the bride, who had not one, not two, but THREE dresses for the big day – her gorgrous, vibrant dress for the Hindu ceremony was made by Vama Designs, and her gown for the Jewish ceremony was custom made by Israeli designer Helena Kolan (who also created Jaime’s reception dress)…

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How we met

Jaime, the bride: We met on OKCupid in San Francisco when we were both working in the start up scene. 

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A Martina Liana Bride for a Sunset Jewish Wedding at the Marriott Marina del Rey, California, USA

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We’re so excited to be featuring the beautiful SoCal Jewish wedding of our beloved Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Ashleigh, an ice skating coach and photographer, to Jason, a former PRO MMA fighter and current Muay Thai master instructor and personal trainer.

All of us at Team STG so enjoyed following Ashleigh’s planning journey in Brides Club, and we’re so touched by her kind words about her experience in the group:

Karen was so involved and totally dedicated in guiding me along my bridal journey. STG Brides Club is a virtual community where friendships are built and everyone truly supports each other. I love the fact that Karen encourages Bride’s Club Meet Ups. It is easy to form friendships online but in this day and age to meet and bond offline is a rare occasion! Now that I am married, I find myself still enjoying being a part of the STG community and I encourage every bride-to-be to join.

Aw, thanks Ashleigh – who clearly put all that Brides Club guidance to good use, because this wedding is incredible! From the floral chuppah with a panoramic view of the marina, the city, AND the ocean, to sweet personal touches like the couple’s dog, Baby, walking down the aisle in a princess crown, this was one beautiful day, and we’re obsessed with the breathtaking photos by Dmitry Shumanev and video from White Rose Production produced.

Also, how stunning does Ashleigh look in her gown from Martina Liana Bridal?! We’ll let her fill you in on the rest…

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How We Met

Ashleigh, the bride: We met at the gym. Jason was teaching his kickboxing class and I thought him incredibly handsome but did not think that an MMA fighter that looked like a ninja could be Jewish. To my surprise, he was and that is when my stalking began, which lasted for 4 months until he finally asked me out.

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An Alon Livne Bride for an Elegant Dinner-Meets-Music Festival Jewish Wedding at the David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem, Israel

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We always love seeing how Jewish wedding pros plan their own big days – and the wedding of Tel Aviv-based event planner Steve Bar, who has a production company focused on weddings, bar\bat mitzvahs, and corporate events, and bride Sapir, who works in real estate, does not disappoint.

Together, Steve and Sapir planned a breathtaking affair they conceptualized as elegant traditional dinner-meet- music festival, reflecting their shared connection to Judaism and love of music, as well as the bride’s childhood in Europe, which inspired some of the more formal touches, like crystal chandeliers and over 1000 (!) candles.

Oh, and did we mention their chuppah overlooked the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem? Photographers Yaniv Cohen of Dynamica Studio and Shay Ohayon photographed the day so beautifully, and videographer Ronen Abayev created the couple’s fab trailer.

We’re also totally obsessed with Sapir’s TWO gorgeous gowns from beloved Israeli designer Alon Livne. For the chuppah, she opted for a traditionally romantic number heavy on the lace and tulle – and topped with a 5-meter long veil! Then, for the reception, she changed into a sleek, contemporary strapless number, which she reports as perfect for dancing. We’ll let her fill you in on the rest…

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A Jerusalem Wedding 

We chose to get married in Jerusalem at the David Citadel Hotel. We picked this location because of several reasons. First, we had our first date in Jerusalem at the restaurant of the Mamilla hotel which is right around the corner.

Second, we are very connected to the Jewish religion and having our chuppah in front of the walls of Jerusalem was magical.

Third, most of our guests and family are from Tel Aviv + the surrounding areas and abroad.  Since most of our guests never been to a wedding in Jerusalem, we chose to do something different and create a whole experience for them, starting with a beautiful wedding on Thursday evening and ending in a Jerusalem weekend with our friends and family.

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A Reem Acra Bride for an Enchanted Forest Jewish Wedding at Gotham Hall, New York City, USA

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As Karen wraps up her whirlwind tour of NYC, we’ve got another New York-tastic Jewish wedding for you to celebrate her first trip out here on official Smashing The Glass business.

Today’s couple, Charlotte and Nate, went for classic Manhattan glam with a touch of Midsummer Night’s Dream fantasy. First off, can we talk about their chuppah?! In honor of the bride’s love for greenery, the couple’s florist basically created a mini enchanted forest right in the middle of their grand, old-school venue.

With hanging greenery, white blossoms, birch poles, and tons of sparkling lights, it’s truly something to behold. And keeping the magical vibes going strong for the guests, these two even had trees to match placed in the middle of the seating area! Even their gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com featured a tree! And the photography team from Fred Marcus Studio and videographers at Current Films captured everything so perfectly.

We’re also obsessed with Charlotte’s gorgeous, classic gown from Reem Acra – with a gorgeous beaded jacket on top for that little something extra. We’ll let this stylish bride take it from here…

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A New York City Wedding

Charlotte, the bride: Gotham Hall is a classic new york city venue that I think stands out from all the rest. It is a super glamorous and grand venue but still achieves the charm and intimacy that I was looking for. I also loved working with the Gotham Hall team, they are all fantastic.

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A Galia Lahav Bride for an Elegant and Energetic Persian Jewish Wedding at the Sheraton Universal, Los Angeles, CA, USA

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We love a good Persian Jewish wedding here at STG, and today’s is no exception. Sadaf, a clinical pharmacist, and Payam, a personal injury lawyer, had an epic party – with over 500 guests, how could they not?! The awesome energy kept everyone on the dance floor nonstop, and we really do mean nonstop – the bride and groom were so busy tearing up the dance floor that they skipped dinner!

And we love how they followed the Persian Jewish tradition of having the wedding party and close relatives  walk down the aisle before the bride and groom and their parents – for Sadaf and Payam, that amounted to over 40 people, each of whom danced down the aisle to a song of their choice!

We’re obsessed with the glam photos from  V Production – and how cool is the post-wedding shoot they did of the couple at Malibu Creek State park?!

We’re so touched by how the couple included Payam’s mom, who had tragically passed away two years before, into the wedding, by dedicating the wedding to her on their invites and displaying a picture of her under the chuppah.

We’ll let Sadaf, who was nothing short of ravishing in her dreamy Galia Lahav mermaid gown, tell you the rest…

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How we met

Sadaf, the bride: Two and a half years ago, Payam and I attended a mutual friend’s house party. We never talked or met at the party. After the party, a mutual friend told Payam that she thinks we may be a good match for one another.

A few days later Payam send me a message on Facebook. Since we were not Facebook friends, his message went into my spam folder. After a few months I accidently came across his message, which was upper, cute. In the message he wrote: “a mutual friend has spoken highly of you and I would like to get to know you”. It was too cute to say no. I messaged him back and we started a conversation. On June 27th 2016, we finally went on our first date and the rest was history.

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