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Home > Real Jewish Weddings > Outdoor > Page 6

An Essense of Australia Bride for The Ultimate Pacific Northwest Jewish Wedding Weekend at The Evergreen PDX, Portland, Oregon, USA

26/07/2024 by Karen Cinnamon

Allison-and-Dan-The-Evergreen-PDX-Portland-Oregon-USA

Portland transplants Allison and Dan are understandably smitten with their new home – and when it came time to plan their wedding, they wanted to share their love of the Pacific Northwest with their mostly East Coast guest list.

And did they ever! Crafting a full-on wedding weekend capturing both the natural grandeur and urban charm of the area, this Jewish wedding has it all: trees, bold colors, and of course Portland’s trademark quirky character at full strength.

We’re absolutely in love with Allison and Dan’s outdoor chuppah set in a clearing amidst Hoyt Arboretum’s lush evergreens, made of dark, natural wood and adorned with a canopy of greenery and roses in hues of white, soft oranges and corals – don’t miss it in the wonderful images by Kate Holt Photography!

Read on for all the details of this very special day in the bride’s own words!

Allison-and-Dan-The-Evergreen-PDX-Portland-Oregon-USA Allison-and-Dan-The-Evergreen-PDX-Portland-Oregon-USA Allison-and-Dan-The-Evergreen-PDX-Portland-Oregon-USA Allison-and-Dan-The-Evergreen-PDX-Portland-Oregon-USA
How We Met

Allison, the bride: We met for our first date on June 9, 2017. Dan had just moved back to New Jersey from Oklahoma and Allison was living in Philadelphia, PA. Thanks to Jeff and Anna Fineberg (Dan’s brother and sister-in-law), Dan was dog-sitting Josie Beagle. We both swiped right and, after a few conversations, made a date to meet up for iced coffee. After meeting up, we sat on a bench talking outside of the Benjamin Franklin museum for a few hours. A Philadelphia resident came up and asked when the wedding would be; we still need to locate him to let him know he might be in the running for best man! In late 2018, we moved in together in New Jersey and then in January 2020, across the country to Portland, OR with our cat Zoë.

Since moving to Portland, we have braved a pandemic, job changes, a lot of hard work, nearby fires, a few snow storms, and a flood!

Our Engagement Story: Allison’s maternal grandmother (Renée, also known as Grandma Nay) always valued the finer things in life. In fact, Grandma Nay instructed two year old Allison to ask for rubies, diamonds, and pearls when someone asked her what she wanted as a gift even though at that point, Allison was more focused on toys and puppies! Grandma Nay passed away in August of 2020 and Allison was gifted grandma’s engagement ring. While they didn’t have the same style, Allison was excited to use her grandmother’s center stone in her own engagement ring.

Allison grew up knowing that her mother and father had designed their engagement ring, so always envisioned a custom ring in for her own engagement. Instead of leaving anything to chance, when she and Dan began talking about marriage, Allison worked with a jeweler from Philadelphia and was involved in the entire ring design process, making her dream of a custom engagement ring a reality! In addition to Nay’s center stone being a key element in the design, Allison also included baguettes from Grandma Nay’s ring in her wedding band. We were engaged on October 7, 2021, when the ring came in the mail via FedEx. The package was opened and, in the kitchen in our PJs and exercise clothes, the ring was immediately placed on Allison’s finger. And while it wasn’t exactly a cover of a magazine moment, (Dan had just gotten through with a strenuous bike ride) it was the perfect engagement and 100% true to us!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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A Liancarlo Bride for a Jewish Wedding Full of Wildflowers, Tacos, and DIY at The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas, USA

03/06/2024 by Karen Cinnamon

Emily and Brant, Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas, USA

It’s always a special day when we get to feature the gorgeous Jewish wedding of one of our Brides Club members – and that goes doubly for today’s bride, who’s been a beloved member of our Smashing Life community for Jewish women for years prior to her engagement to groom Brant.

When the pair got engaged, it was only natural for Emily to join Brides Club, where she couldn’t get enough of the supportive community, inspiration, and helpful resources. In her words,  

The encouragement and support was also invaluable as my mom passed 9yrs ago, and I just didn’t know who to ask about some of the important things. Coping with decisions I would normally ask my mom is also where Karen and her monthly sessions made me feel less alone – I could again, brag or problem solve or just talk weddings. Karen and the other Brides Club members stepped in, in a way, where I was missing my mom. 

Honoring her mom was a big part of Emily’s wedding planning vision – and the couple’s stunning venue, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, was chosen in part because Emily had fond memories of visiting with her mom during her student days at The University of Texas at Austin.

We’ve also got to tell you Emily’s hilarious ketubah story. She won her gorgeous tree ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent via a Smashing The Glass giveaway – before she was even engaged!

There’s so much more to say about this very special wedding, from Emily’s DIY prowess to the chuppah built by the groom to the taco menu – read on for the full story in her own words, plus the most joyous photos by Caitlin McWeeney Photography…

Emily and Brant, Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas, USA Emily and Brant, Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas, USA Emily and Brant, Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas, USA Emily and Brant, Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas, USA
How We Met

Emily, the bride: I am a professor of health communication and I was working in Tyler, Texas. Brant had moved back to his hometown outside of Tyler (Brownsboro) to take care of his grandparents’ and their home and land. He was working with a company recalibrating gas station pumps at the time. And let me tell you, making friends in East Texas as a single, childless, Jewish 30-something was hard enough. But dating? So, the apps made it a bit easier, especially with a diameter of 100 miles.

But the problem is, I hate notifications: red bubbles, numbers telling me how many unread messages, and so forth. So after work one day, right before heading to Rose City Drafthouse (probably), I attempted to clear all of the notifications on my apps: Mail, Texts, and dating apps. As such, I answered all the “new” messages that had come in and were causing that red bubble to appear. One such message asked me what three movies I would take on a deserted island.

Easy: Remember the Titans, How to Lose a Guy In Ten Days, and apparently I didn’t have a third, so not as easy as I thought. His: Temple of Doom, From Russia with Love, and “maybe Cast Away.” We messaged back and forth about traveling, college, and jobs, this guy, Bobby, asked If I wanted to get dinner that Saturday once he was back in town. The conversation was easy and fun, and his Bumble profile says he’s over 6ft and he sometimes worked out. Sure! But I couldn’t Saturday, because of my friend’s surprise party, but how about Sunday?

As I pulled up to the restaurant (BJ’s Brewhouse, because they have gluten free options he said), I got frantic text messages from a new colleague. I texted Bobby (Brant? Who knows!) to tell him I was in the parking lot but had to take a work call. Only 10min late walking in (he says 30min… in fact every time he tells the story, the time increases), we then spent the next two or more hours talking and having a great time.

Unfortunately, he paid with cash so I couldn’t sneak his last name to stalk him on socials, but I did snag his digits to tell him I got back to Joey, my weenie dog, safely. Although I pretended I wasn’t into dating exclusively, I swept him to Dallas to see Billy Joel, we dressed up for Halloween pretty grandly, picked out pumpkins all basic-like at a pumpkin patch, and he helped me hobble around in my knee high walking boot. I knew by the time I took him to that Texas football game things were different this time.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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A Vera Wang Bride for an Israeli-American Jewish Wedding at Hagiva, Givat Brenner, Israel

27/05/2024 by Karen Cinnamon

Alexa-and-Nitay-Hagiva-Givat-Brenner-Israel

If you can’t get enough of Israeli weddings, we’ve got a treat for you! The fabulous Jewish wedding of Alexa and Nitay, at gorgeous Hagiva, has all the things we love about weddings in Israel: a gorgeous outdoor setting filled with greenery and Jerusalem stone, gorgeous chuppah, Israeli food and music, and, of course, epic party vibes.

Nitay is Israeli, while Alexa is American – and the pair perfectly combined the best of both wedding traditions to make sure everyone felt comfortable and included on the day. They turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Vanessa Ohayon to help bring their vision to life – and did she ever! In Alexa’s words,

Vanessa is a true professional at what she does. When we first met Vanessa, we connected instantly and she understood our vision from the start. Vanessa brings her amazing energy into every detail of any wedding. She had a solution for everything and when there were any hiccups (there are always hiccups), she knew how to bring us down to earth and find the best way to handle them. We couldn’t have done it without her!

We’re also obsessed with the couple’s exquisite photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tzahi Shemesh. Have a scroll through and we’re pretty sure you’ll agree with Alexa’s assessment:

He made us laugh, feel comfortable, and most importantly, captured our “in the moment” memories. Him and his team were at every angle and made sure to not miss a thing! He is an artist and makes us relive our special day every time we look back at the photos. They’re magnificent!

There are so many more fabulous details to share about this very special wedding – we’ll turn you over to the bride, who looked timelessly elegant in Vera Wang, to fill you in…

Alexa-and-Nitay-Hagiva-Givat-Brenner-Israel Alexa-and-Nitay-Hagiva-Givat-Brenner-Israel   Alexa-and-Nitay-Hagiva-Givat-Brenner-Israel Alexa-and-Nitay-Hagiva-Givat-Brenner-Israel
How We Met

Alexa, the bride: Nitay and I both lived in Chicago after college. We had many mutual friends who all met up one night to go out in January 2017. Nitay approached me the second he saw me and made sure he didn’t leave without getting my number! Later that week we went on our first date to a sushi restaurant. The rest is history 🙂Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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A Rachel & Rose Bride for a Jewish Wedding with a View at Lake Kawaguchi, Japan

20/05/2024 by Karen Cinnamon

Ben-and-Ariella-Lake-Kawaguchi-Mount-Fuji-Japan

We couldn’t be more thrilled to be featuring STG’s very first Jewish wedding in Japan today! Ariella and Ben live in LA, but they dreamed of making things official against the majestic backdrop of Mount Fuji – and that’s exactly what they did.

Though it’s often difficult to see Mount Fuji in the distance, the couple lucked out and got a clear, sunny day – the absolute dreamiest setting for their cherry blossom- and rose-covered chuppah.

This day was so dreamy, it’s hard to believe Ariella and Ben planned it in just three months – and they did it all themselves too, with some help from an English-speaking coordinator from their resort who pitched in with translation.  

Read on for the rest of the story in the couple’s own words…


Ben-and-Ariella-Lake-Kawaguchi-Mount-Fuji-Japan Ben-and-Ariella-Lake-Kawaguchi-Mount-Fuji-Japan Ben-and-Ariella-Mount-Fuji-Jewish-wedding Ben-and-Ariella-Lake-Kawaguchi-Mount-Fuji-Japan
How We Met

Ariella, the bride and Ben, the groom: We met at a mutual friend’s Friday night Shabbat get-together in West Hollywood, Los Angeles in November 2020. Ariella had moved to LA three months prior to meeting Ben.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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An Alexandra Grecco Bride for a Summer Jewish Wedding at Solé East Backyard, Montauk, New York, USA

22/04/2024 by Karen Cinnamon

Alex and Mike, Sole East Backyard, Montauk, USA

Dreaming of summer? Us too – and that’s why we can’t get enough of the fabulous Jewish wedding of Alex, who works in education, and Mike, in finance. The New York couple loves spending their summer weekends in Montauk, and they wanted to bring those relaxed, intimate vibes to their big day.

With an outdoor chuppah at Solé East Backyard followed by an afterparty at Roberta’s Pizza, they positively nailed it – thanks in no small part to their wonderful wedding planner, Andrea Adelstein from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor NYLux Events.

In Alex’s words,

Andrea has an incredible attention to detail and extremely high standards – both of which were key when working with so many different vendors. NYLux handled everything! The coordination of vendors and day of execution is extremely challenging and it was nice to know that I was in such good hands throughout the entire process. Andrea really understood what my vision was and worked incredibly hard to make sure it came to life.

To complete the summer theme, Alex and Mike used Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com to create their custom ketubah, with a natural wood and white color scheme and surrounded by shells from Ditch Plains beach in Montauk.

Karlie Louise Photography captured the whole day so beautifully – do scroll on to see the day in all its glory!

Alex and Mike, Sole East Backyard, Montauk, USA Alex and Mike, Sole East Backyard, Montauk, USA
How We Met

Alex, the bride:  We met the old fashioned way – at a bar! We were both 22 and living in the East Village. We ended up at the same bar on a Saturday night and had friends who knew each other. Our groups merged and we ended up talking in a corner for hours.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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