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A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Colorful Jewish Wedding with Lots of DIY Touches at Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

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Aly and Benji, Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

Calling all DIY-loving brides and grooms! If you’re planning on crafting some elements of your Jewish wedding yourself, the beautiful wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Aly to Benji is a must-read.

From the get-go, Aly and Benji knew they wanted their big day to feel fun and whimsical to reflect their personalities – in Aly’s words, she wanted “the opposite of a white wedding!” And with tons of pastel colors (plus a few pops of something brighter) and tons of DIY, that’s exactly what they got.

Soon after getting engaged, Aly bought a cricut machine, and in the leadup to the big day she DIY’ed the couple’s large welcome mirror, customized their ring box with their initials, made the MOB and MOG personalized hoodies to get ready in, customized the card box, and DIY’ed a vase with the signature drink menu on it. Aly also designed all of the digital and print elements – including the invitations – using elements from Canva for the table numbers in gorgeous frames, menu cards, cocktail hour signs, and digital signage around the venue – she’s truly the queen of DIY! Don’t miss all the special details in the wonderful photos by Nadav at Manning Avenue.

There’s so much more to say about this exuberant Jewish wedding, but we’ll turn you over to Aly for the rest…

Aly and Benji, Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada Aly and Benji, Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada Aly and Benji, Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada Aly and Benji, Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

How We Met

Aly, the bride: On Benji’s birthday in 2019, we matched on Hinge! Benji might have been not-so-sober celebrating in Greece, but luckily, his location was still set to home for me to find.

A few weeks later, Benji suggested we “meet in the middle” at the Yonge and Sheppard Jack Astors (RIP) which was 10 minutes from his house and 20 minutes from Aly’s… but the date went well enough for us to keep our Snapchat streak going while Aly went to Disneyworld for two weeks and Benji waited patiently for her to come home (streak is still going strong at 2,200+ days!).

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A Galia Lahav Bride for a Jewish Wedding Full of Personal Touches at The Mansion at Glen Cove, New York, USA

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Marina & Alex, The Mansion, Glen Cove, NY, USA

We love it when a couple makes their Jewish wedding totally, 100% them – and that’s exactly what Marina and Alex did, keeping their big day at Glen Cove, New York’s The Mansion focused on personal touches with special meaning. From working with Marina’s sister, the mega-talented Yelena Mirchevskaya of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Studio Yarden, on their ketubah and invitations, to incorporating elements of their Russian-Jewish heritage in the cocktail hour, to crafting a ceremony filled with Jewish customs that were meaningful to the couple, this was truly a very special wedding.

One of the highlights of the day was the collab with Studio Yarden: Marina and Alex’s invitations, featuring a custom illustration of the duo, set the tone for the entire wedding, and guests couldn’t stop commenting on how unique and beautiful they were. The couple’s ketubah, also created by Yelena, was equally meaningful. Yelena brought Marina and Alex’s vision of a modern design featuring pomegranates and eucalyptus to life, hand-painting every detail and even adding gold leaf to create a truly stunning piece of art.

Equally stunning was Marina’s gown by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Galia Lahav. The beloved Israeli designer is known for her luxe, romantic stylings, and Marina’s flowy cream-blush number was sheer perfection. Don’t miss it all in the wonderful photos by Inbal Sivan and trailer by Studio 27!

Now over to Marina…

Marina & Alex, The Mansion, Glen Cove, NY, USA Marina & Alex, The Mansion, Glen Cove, NY, USA Marina & Alex, The Mansion, Glen Cove, NY, USA Marina & Alex, The Mansion, Glen Cove, NY, USA

How We Met

Marina, the bride: My husband and I met at work. I was working as a Creative Director at a tech company when he joined as a Cybersecurity Consultant. We were friends for almost two years before we started dating. At the time I was in a relationship, but almost as soon as it ended, he asked me out.

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An Emma Beaumont Bride for a Lebanese-Jewish Wedding with a Fantastic Floral Chuppah at Easthampstead Park Hotel, Wokingham, UK

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Tatiana and Daniel, Easthampstead Park Hotel, Wokingham, UK

Gorgeous chuppah alert! Londoners Tatiana and Dan, who both work in tech, had one of the most absolutely exquisite floral chuppahs we’ve seen – and we see a lot!

Given that Tatiana’s family owns Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Easthampstead Park Hotel in Wokingham, it was a natural choice for their wedding weekend. The stunning Victorian country house venue an hour outside London provided the perfect spot for all of their events, from the Lebanese-themed Friday night dinner to the main Jewish ceremony and reception on Saturday to the Sunday brunch – and since they fully took over the hotel for the weekend, all of their guests were able to stay together and get to know one another.

Planning a three-day affair is no easy feat, and Tatiana and Dan turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Sophie Amor to help make their wedding dreams come true. In Tatiana’s words, “Sophie was so incredible, and her patience was unwavering – she made us feel like ours was the only wedding she was working on for nine months! I really couldn’t recommend her more – she was so organised, understood me & Dan inside and out and just made our weekend completely stress free.”

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Sensation Band made sure the dance floor was packed all night long – and also arranged for the incredible electric violinists who played as guests made their way to the dinner marquee!

The couple’s photographer, Pippa Mackenzie, captured the day so beautifully, and their videographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion, filmed the celebration in his trademark cinematic style – and Tatiana and Dan appreciated his calming presence on the day.

There’s so much more to say about this very special wedding – but we’ll turn you over to the bride, who looked simply ravishing in her bespoke Emma Beaumont gown, for the rest…

Tatiana and Daniel, Easthampstead Park Hotel, Wokingham, UK Tatiana and Daniel, Easthampstead Park Hotel, Wokingham, UK Tatiana and Daniel, Easthampstead Park Hotel, Wokingham, UK Tatiana and Daniel, Easthampstead Park Hotel, Wokingham, UK

How We Met

Tatiana, the bride: We were introduced between the second and third lockdowns in London, and have slightly varying accounts of what happened! For me, I was chatting with a few different guys, two of which were already named Dan (Dan 1 and Dan 2). When I met my friend Saacha for lunch, she cut in and said, “OMG, I have Dan 3 for you!” and passed Dan my number. However, for Dan, he was feeling a bit worn out with dating after a not-so-great date, so he only reached out a week later. We met and saw each other for the first time at The Marylebone Pub were we had our first date, and hit it off right away (helped by many tequila shots and lots of laughter).Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Romantic Destination Jewish Wedding at Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy

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Naomi and Nathan, Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy

We love a Jewish wedding in Tuscany! And Montreal couple Naomi, a luxury travel concierge and planner, and Nathan, an accountant, had one of the best.

Their big day at Villa Medicea di Lilliano featured the chicest mismatched bridesmaids, a Mamma Mia-inspired flash mob, the most incredible kosher catering by Cantina Giuliano, and so much more.

To make the celebration of their dreams a reality, the couple opted to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Sandro Poli of The Couplers. In Naomi’s words,

If you’re Jewish and getting married in Italy he’s the guy for you!! He’s so amazing and super helpful. He really helped us with everything from A-Z. It was truly amazing working with him especially since he spoke Italian and is also Jewish so he really knew the ins and outs of everything. I couldn’t recommend him enough. He truly became family.

Sandro, who worked in fashion before becoming a wedding planner, even sewed sleeves onto Naomi’s dress 20 minutes before the chuppah!

Don’t miss the wonderfully stylish photos by Isabella Pratesi – they’re truly something special.

Read on for all the details in Naomi’s own words…

Naomi and Nathan, Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy Naomi and Nathan, Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy Naomi and Nathan, Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy Naomi and Nathan, Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy

How We Met

Naomi, the bride: Nathan and I grew up in Montreal and are the same age. The Jewish community of Montreal is incredibly special and everyone kind of knows each other. Growing up we always kind of knew of each other (we went to different Jewish schools though). The summer of 2021 my best friend suggested going on a trip to Greece with a couple of her friends. At the time she was seeing Nathan’s cousin so she invited him and he invited his friends. We ended up doing a big trip to Greece! There is where Nathan and I’s friendship started. And then once we got back we pretty much fell in love right away. We started dating two weeks later.

Funnily enough earlier that summer Nathan worked for my dad (my dad owns a kosher pizza restaurant) and Nathan was doing deliveries as a summer job! So my dad already loved him and he was accepted into the family pretty quickly. On our way back from Greece we were all supposed to go to Israel but due to Covid our flights got cancelled. Him and his friends ended up going to Paris (they are all from there) and by fluke I ended up stuck in Paris for 3 days. We hung out every day. Honestly we’ve been inseparable since.

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A Berta Bride for a Magical Jewish Wedding at Finca La Concepcion, Marbella, Spain

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Lauren and Daryl, Finca La Conception, Marbella, Spain

 

Marbella is such a magical spot for a Jewish wedding, and Lauren and Daryl’s is truly something special. Finca La Concepcion was the perfect backdrop for their big day, with its glam garden vibes.

This was one epic party, and Lauren and Daryl brought in all kinds of fun touches to make the day truly theirs – like a “take your pair and find your chair” seating plan, with a wall covered with sunglasses for all the guests to take!

Another special thing about this wedding is the fact that Lauren and Daryl were able to have both sets of grandparents with them under the chuppah, alongside their parents – how touching is that?!

Throw in a stunning floral chuppah and an uber-elegant gown by Israeli designer Berta, and we’re sold. Nora Photography and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion captured the day so perfectly – don’t miss the breathtaking cinematic trailer! 

Now over to Lauren…

  Lauren and Daryl, Finca La Conception, Marbella, Spain Lauren and Daryl, Finca La Conception, Marbella, Spain Lauren and Daryl, Finca La Conception, Marbella, Spain

How We Met

Lauren, the bride: We met in school and got together when we were 19 years old.

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