Jewish Super Luxe Weddings Archives - Page 5 of 20 - Smashing the Glass

A Liz Martinez Bride for a Last-Minute Pandemic Jewish Wedding at Villa Nova, Beit Nehemiah, Israel

22/03/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s safe to say that pretty much no 2020 couple had smooth sailing when it came to their wedding. But the Jewish wedding planning journey of May and Shachar, Israelis living in NYC, was even bumpier than most.

These two started off planning a destination wedding in Tuscany. Then COVID hit Italy – hard. So they decided to shift everything back home to Israel. No small feat, but the couple managed to book their venue and vendors (all while living on the other side of the world in New York, of course).

In the midst of all this chaos, May and Shachar decided to pack up their life in NYC and head back to Israel to ride out the pandemic. Finally, living in the same country as their wedding – that should make things easier, right? Well, not quite – just a couple weeks before their wedding date of September 22, May and Shachar were faced with the prospect of a three-week lockdown.

Unwilling to postpone yet again, the duo opted to do the opposite, and move their wedding up to September 15 so they could make things official before the start of the new lockdown. By the time they closed on a new venue, they were left with just two days to pull everything together.

Luckily, May and Shachar had a stellar team on their side. To look at Shai Ashkenazi’s incredible photos, you’d never guess it all came together on such short notice – every single detail is picture perfect, and, like May says, the images look like they came straight out of a glossy fashion magazine.

There’s so much more to say about this incredible day – but we’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked stunning in her Liz Martinez dress (followed by a custom glittery jumpsuit by Mor Morstein she changed into for the reception)!

How we Met

May, the bride: Our story begins a little bit before New York. Before I moved to New York, I posted on a Facebook group called “Israelis in New York” that I’m moving to the city and looking for help with some information about the work I’m starting and some information about the city. I got a message from a guy who was familiar to me from his picture, and it turns out he is the brother of a friend who worked with me, and I met him in the past (about 5 years ago) at her house when he was visiting his family in Israel.

Since I recognized him, I decided to answer his message and we started talking, he really helped me with some questions and asked if I could bring something for his business with me to New York, of course I agreed (by the way – he didn’t link me to his sister and had no idea about our little meeting a few years ago). When I arrived to NY after the long flight I realized, that from all of Manhattan neighborhoods, the hotel I got from work was right next to his apartment! So he arrived really quickly to get his delivery – just a few minutes after I arrived at the hotel with my luggage. And from that day we never parted. We have been together for more than 3 years, living together in New York.

Shachar planned the marriage proposal in the summer, in New York. He toured locations in central park and ordered me an engagement ring from Israel based on a photo I once showed him. It turns out that when the ring arrived on delivery to New York, I showed him a picture of another ring that I liked more, which is not similar to what he ordered for me. He decided to change the ring and make another one exactly according to what I liked, and the whole procedure of preparing and sending the new ring took time. Until the winter.

Of course I didn’t knew there was a ring before. We arrived to Central Park on a really cold day, claiming that his brother had to choose a location for a photoshoot there. We walked around Central Park to get to the “photoshoots” place, which turned out to be the place for the proposal – the Central Park lake. The place was just beautiful and pastoral, and the proposal was exciting and intimate. Of course I immediately said yes! And I cried. His brother documented everything and it was just perfect!Continue Reading

An Anne Barge Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding at Gotham Hall, NYC, New York, USA

15/03/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Remember when weddings could be inside? And have triple-digit guest counts? Hopefully the day when weddings no longer have to be socially distanced will come sooner rather than later… but until then, feast your eyes on the gorgeous pre-pandemic Jewish wedding of Caroline, who runs operations at a diagnostics start-up, and Alex, a chemist-turned-management consultant.

These two worked withwedding planner Susie Blumenfeld of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Pink House Productions to craft their perfect Manhattan glam celebration – complete with the perfect grand midtown venue, Gotham Hall; classic letterpress invitations designed by the multi-talented Susie Blumenfeld of Pink House Productions; and an elegant Anne Barge gown purchased from none other than Kleinfeld! And, in one of those quintessential only-in-New-York moves, at the end of the night the couple capped things off with a 3 AM visit to a Korean restaurant for a late night snack – still wearing their wedding clothes. Don’t miss Rebecca Weiss Photography’s images of the whole NYC-perfect day.

We also love that Caroline and Alex each had their own tisch before the ceremony, where they could gather with their friends and family to get the celebration started. Alex didn’t have a ton of demands for the big day, but the one thing he was set on was having at least three types of herring at his tisch – and in the end, the venue (who also handled catering) supplied eight!

We’re also obsessed with the couple’s minimalist ketubah by the wonderful Stephanie Caplan of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Ketubah. Featuringa simple circular design with coppery-gold detail, it bears a quote from the Book of Ruth across the top: “Ki el asher telchi eilech,” “Wherever you go, I will go” – the same quote that’s inscribed on the inside of Alex’s ring.

We’ll leave it to the bride to fill you in on the rest…

How we Met

Caroline, the bride: We met through OKCupid, a dating app, in 2018.Continue Reading

A Pronovias Bride for an Elegant Pandemic Jewish Wedding at the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand, Paris, France

12/03/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re absolutely obsessed with the uber-chic Jewish wedding of Parisian couple Lauren, a resident in medical oncology, and Eitan, a dental surgeon. These two planned such a perfectly elegant celebration in the luxe ballroom of the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand, if not for the masks in their photos we’d never have guessed they wed during the pandemic.

Though the pair did have to postpone from July to September, they were fortunate in being able to stick with their original venue – at the time of their wedding, France’s only restrictions on gatherings were that masks and social distancing were required, and by cutting their original guest list in half Lauren and Eitan were able to make the Intercontinental’s ballroom work by spacing tables far apart and keeping the crowd at 1/3 the space’s full capacity. And we’re so glad they did, because this venue is really something special – don’t miss it in all its glory in Sprod Events’ gorgeous photos!

Because of the need for social distancing, not much dancing was possible – and so Lauren and Eitan had the clever idea to have a light show to keep everyone entertained! We also can’t get over the fact that their venue hired a security guard to walk around and make sure all the guests were wearing their masks properly throughout the wedding – and Lauren reports that to this day, guests are still joking about the “Mossad agent” they had at their wedding!

We can’t turn you over to Lauren without mentioning that she is a beloved member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club, and we’re so touched to hear how much she valued the group during her wedding planning – so much so that, in her words, “joining the club is my first advice to other brides!”

Take it away, Lauren!

How we Met

Lauren, the bride: We met through mutual friends, during a Birthright trip to Israel in summer 2015.

I did this trip with my best friend, who brought her sister, and the sister brought some of her friends. One of them was Eitan. We got to know each other during the trip, then we kept in touch, and became good friends. Two months and a half later we were finally dating. 4 years later we were engaged, and 11 months later, we are married !

An Anne Barge and Pronovias Bride for a Geeky-Meets-Glam Jewish Wedding at Ashford Estate, Allentown New Jersey, USA

03/08/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re so excited to be featuring the utterly fabulous Jewish wedding of our beloved blogging bride and Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Juliette! The bride, a consultant specializing in real estate, wed her Hebrew school sweetheart Matt, who works in application security, put together the most wonderfully THEM celebration combining a lot of NYC (where the couple live) glitz with a little geek chic in the form of touches like signature drinks inspired by Dungeons and Dragons. Don’t miss the elegant photos by Fred Marcus Studios and emotion-packed video by Northeast Horizons.

We’re obsessed with Juliette’s bridal style – for the ceremony, she went old Hollywood glam in an Anne Barge stunner found at Kleinfeld Bridal, and then for the reception she changed into a short, danceable dress from Pronovias which she paired with Christian Louboutin sneakers. Two totally different, yet equally awesome, looks – and if you haven’t already, don’t miss the wonderful post Juliette wrote for Smashing The Glass about wedding dress shopping as a plus size bride.

And how gorgeous is the couple’s paper cut Danny Azoulay ketubah, purchased from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com (and with a 10% discount just for Brides Club members!).

Speaking of Brides Club, we’re so touched by Juliette’s kind words about the membership, which she calls: “one of the absolute BEST most amazing fabulous and needed part of my entire experience of being a bride.”

If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you can join Brides Club too here!

We love you, Juliette… over to you!

How We Met

Juliette, the bride: Matt and I met 9 years ago at the age of 15 at Hebrew high. My mom made me go and told me I could meet my future husband, I didn’t believe her but went anyways. They say moms always know. Matt and I dated through high school and college (we never were at the same school) and when we graduated we moved to NYC to work at the same company.

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for an Autumnal Luxe Jewish Wedding at Cipriani 42nd Street, Manhattan, NY, USA

20/07/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Okay, HOW incredible is this tree chuppah dreamed up by Julia and Max for their New York Jewish wedding? Despite getting married smack dab in the heart of Manhattan, the couple, both of whom work in finance, love autumn in New York (who doesn’t?) and wanted to bring the feel of the city’s most beautiful season to their decidedly indoor affair.

And they really, really did, through the creative use of lots and lots of gorgeous indoor trees decked out with those signature autumn leaves. That’s where the chuppah comes in – and is it ever a stunner! – but the autumn tree effect extended to the couple’s wonderful centerpieces as well. The overall feel was totally magical – almost like an indoor walk through Central Park on a beautiful October day. Don’t miss Andrew Henderson’s beautiful photos of the day.

And as if that weren’t enough NYC fabulousness for one wedding, we’re also smitten with Julia and Max’s adorable invitations by Bella Figura, featuring whimsical sketches of classic NYC icons – like a subway train pulling away with a “Just Married” sign! Too cute!

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave it to the bride – who looked ravishing in Monique Lhuillier – to fill you in on the details…

How we met

Julia, the bride: Max and I met over a summer internship at Morgan Stanley while still in college. The two of us were alphabetically seated next to each other during a week of training in Manhattan, and immediately thought the other was special. Even though we had planned to work on different coasts post-graduation, we made our relationship work long distance. A few years later, Max joined me in California where we’ve now been living together for 4 years.