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A Lihi Hod Bride for an Enchanted Garden Jewish Wedding at Villa Orlando, Torre del Lago, Tuscany, Italy

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Today we’re thrilled to be sharing our first Jewish wedding of 2024, and is it ever a stunner! UK couple Natasha and Marc had the most exquisite lakeside Tuscan Jewish wedding, and we are OBSESSED.

To plan the day of their dreams abroad, the couple opted to work with Michelle Jacobs of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante by Michelle J, and she brought their vision of an enchanted candlelit garden wedding to life – including introducing them to their fabulous venue, Villa Orlando, and sorting everything from generators to furniture and beyond to transform the outdoor spaces.

We love the couple’s on-the-day stationery from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bigday Designs, and we can’t get enough of the elegant white and green color scheme – and that floral chuppah! Don’t miss it in the wonderful photos by James Mason and video by Whites Film.

There’s so much more to say about this very special day, but we’ll leave it to the bride – who looked ever so chic in her gown by Israeli designer Lihi Hod – to fill you in on the rest…

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A Wedding in Tuscany 

Natasha, the bride: Our venue was Villa Orlando which is in Torre del Lago in Tuscany, Italy.  I always wanted to get married overlooking a lake/water and our wedding planner took us on our venue search trip to Italy.

I knew it was the one immediately.  It’s a privately owned villa on the edge of the lake.  Our guests all stayed about 20 minutes away in Viareggio which is one of Tuscany’s coastal resorts and we held our welcome party in a beach club .

We kept the venue a secret and arranged coaches to bring all our guests to the wedding.

Our wedding venue was the Orlando family’s private home and we had access to all of the outdoor spaces; we could not have done it without a wedding planner as everything had to be brought in, including generators,  toilets,  kitchen equipment, furniture and all of the sound and lighting.

We also had a marquee on hold in case of rain, though thankfully we did not need it.

We used different areas of the property for each part of our wedding –  so the chuppah was in front of the villa, by the lake, the aperito was by the boat house and the wedding dinner was at the side of the villa. It was an unusual space and it took a lot of discussion to agree how it was going to work including where to place the stage, dance floor and the bar.  It ended up being quite an unusal layout with our top table at the side of the dance floor,  but it worked really well.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Badgley Mischka Bride for a Magical Garden Jewish Wedding Weekend at Borgo Stomennano, Monteriggioni, Italy

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Anya & Kevin, Borgo Stomennano, Monteriggioni, Italy

We love it when a couple plans a Jewish wedding that’s totally, 100% them – and that’s exactly what Anya and Kevin did in creating their swoonworthy three-day wedding weekend celebration in Italy.

The Charlottesville, VA-based couple found the perfect spot to bring their loved ones together for three days of music, food, wine, yoga, and, of course, lots of Jewish joy in Borgo Stomennano, where their magical garden dreams came to life.

Anya and Kevin opted to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Primavera Dreams to plan the festivities, and were thrilled at the way founder Luba helped them source fabulous local vendors and incorporate personal details. In Anya’s words, “Having a wedding planner was extremely helpful and took away so much stress. We are so glad that we worked with Luba. No matter how well you plan, something will always go wrong and it will never be what you think.”

The couple’s  photographers, Studio AQUA, captured the whole day so beautifully – so do scroll down for more gorgeousness, plus all the details in Anya’s own words…

Anya & Kevin, Borgo Stomennano, Monteriggioni, ItalyAnya & Kevin, Borgo Stomennano, Monteriggioni, Italy Anya & Kevin, Borgo Stomennano, Monteriggioni, ItalyAnya & Kevin, Borgo Stomennano, Monteriggioni, Italy
How We Met

Anya and Kevin were 12 years old when they first met on the tennis court in Manalapan, New Jersey. But their love story didn’t exactly start then. They went their separate paths for many years. After college, Kevin stayed in Charlottesville, VA, while Anya lived in Brooklyn, NY. Kevin found passion in entrepreneurship and music, and Anya in yoga and wellness.

On Christmas Day in 2018, their paths reconnected. Over hours of deep conversation, their connection was undeniable. Kevin asked Anya on a first date during a business trip to New York, and soon after, they spent their first unforgettable weekend together in Charlottesville.

Over the course of 9 months, many flights between the two cities, and a couple getaways to Hawaii and Mexico, their relationship blossomed. The values that they found in each other were exactly what they were looking for in a partner and in life. It was an easy decision for Anya to move down to Virginia in June of 2020. Kevin, Anya, and their Bernese Mountain dog, Alby, together have created a home and community in Charlottesville unlike any other.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Berta Bride for an Enchanted Garden Jewish Wedding at the Fairmont Windsor Park, UK

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It’s been a long couple of weeks for the Jewish people. In light of Hamas’s horrific acts of terrorism, we’ve taken a few weeks off from our usual wedding content to focus on supporting Israel and each other. While we sadly can’t say things have gotten to a better place, we are feeling more than ever that we need all the Jewish joy we can get – and that includes weddings.

Hence our decision to resume publishing the joyous, life-affirming celebrations of love that are the core of what we do here at Smashing The Glass. And we’re back today with something really special: Bianca and Jordan’s beautiful Jewish wedding at The Fairmont Hotel in Windsor, just outside London – made possibly by a fabulous team of #STGvendors.

 Bianca and Jordan turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Michelle Jacobs of Elegante by Michelle J to make their enchanted garden dreams a reality. Michelle planned Bianca’s sister’s wedding a few years back, so the couple knew from the beginning they were working with the best of the best. In Bianca’s words, “She was amazing and really helped guide us through the process and really understood our vision and what was important to us… Any concerns we had Michelle would deal with it for us and we knew we were in the best hands.” You can see for yourself how exquisitely it all came together in the wonderful photos by Paul Santos and the moving trailer by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Big Day Designs crafted Bianca and Jordan’s invitations, featuring rose gold foiling and wax seals, as well as their wedding day stationery, and Bianca found her stunner of a gown at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club in Knightsbridge. She chose a strapless corset A-line dress by the Israeli designer Berta – which is all the more meaningful in light of the current situation.

Do read on for more Jewish joy, in Bianca’s own words…


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How We Met

Bianca, the bride: We knew of each other as we are both from Essex but we matched on J Swipe; after a few weeks of talking we finally met up and went on a date!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Timelessly Elegant Jewish Wedding at Sandpearl Resort, Clearwater Beach, Florida, USA

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We can’t get enough of today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding on the water on the Florida coast! Jennifer, an ICU nurse, and Danny, a urologist, made things official at the Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater Beach, where they found the perfect venue for their timeless and elegant three-day celebration.  

Naturally, Jennifer and Danny needed the perfect classic ketubah to complement their vibe – and they found just the thing from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Noa Attias. Like all of Noa’s ketubahs, the gorgeous design the couple chose is truly a piece of art, and Jennifer and Danny are thrilled to be able to display it in their home. Don’t miss it in the beautiful photos from Carrie Wildes! 

We also love that when it came time for their mini-moon, Jennifer and Danny opted to spend it at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in the Bahamas! Just a 1.5 hour flight from their home in Tampa, it was the absolute perfect spot for the couple to relax and decompress after all the excitement of the wedding – and they especially enjoyed eating at the hotel’s kosher Asian fusion restaurant, Cinko!

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll let Jennifer fill you in on the rest…


How We Met

Jennifer, the bride: We met in early 2020 on bumble while we were living in Washington, D.C.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Romantic Outdoor Jewish Wedding at Terra Mia Vineyards, Paso Robles, California, USA

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We love a good vineyard wedding – and Dani and David had one of the very best! The bride, who works in tech, and the groom, in real estate investing, love going wine tasting, so a romantic vineyard was a natural spot for their Jewish wedding.

Even better, their venue Terra Mia Vineyards is located in California’s Paso Robles, halfway between Dani’s hometown of Santa Monica and David’s hometown of San Francisco.  The property is an absolute stunner – the perfect spot for the couple’s gorgeous chuppah, simply adorned with greenery and topped by tallits spanning three generations – how special is that?! We also love that Dani and David sourced their ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com!

And how wonderful are the pair’s photos, by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Derek Preciado?! He captured all the love and emotion of the day so exquisitely – and Dani and David loved the experience of working with him on the day.

Now over to Dani…

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How We Met

Dani, the bride: We like to say we were set up by a yente! A previous coworker of mine is David’s third cousin, and they were at their family’s Passover seder when she decided to introduce us.Continue ReadingContinue Reading