Outdoor Archives - Page 81 of 95 - Smashing the Glass

A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Jewish Wedding with a Living Tree Chuppah at Micklefield Hall, UK

27/11/2017 by Karen

Hold up – press pause on your day, put down that deadline for a minute (I know, we’re terrible influences) and take some proper time to appreciate the utter gorgeousness that is Becky and Adam’s Jewish wedding!

We thought we’d seen every chuppah design out there, but a living-tree chuppah, adorned with friends’ and family’s blessings and wishes for the couple’s future is such an awesome, unique idea. There are so many incredible hidden gems at their venue, Micklefield Hall, but Becky and Adam were the first couple to get married underneath that tree, making their own mark on the venue’s story.

To say Becky and Adam did things their way would be an understatement – they did things their way, and then some.

We LOVE that bride Becky stayed true to herself, even when under pressure, and went with her own beeeeautiful minimalist makeup look. Becky did so with the confidence that, in the words of the couple’s wonderful photographers, Adam and Hannah, “the best photos are of a happy bride”. And right they were – Becky’s happiness and ease with herself glows through in the stunning spread of wedding pictures Adam and Hannah provided.

Becky’s detailed Maggie Sottero gown also looked like a dream on her, and was a perfect fit for the rustic, boho-style aesthetic of the day as a whole.

The couple opted for a really personalized Jewish ceremony, with both bride and groom smashing a glass. We are SO here for that, and it’s a prime example of how Jewish customs don’t have to be antiquated. You can absolutely make them your own and construct a ceremony that works with your own values.

THREE of our incredible Recommended Vendors were involved with this love-filled big day. The ketubah was lovingly made by Ink With Intent, wedding band The White Keys rocked the reception and videographer Moon & Back made the cinematic, heartfelt wedding video below, which you simply MUST watch!

There’s so much more to say about this breathtaking day, we haven’t even had time to touch on the divine dà©cor, but we’d be going on forever, so we’ll pass you over to Becky, and Adam, for the full report.

How we met

Becky, the bride: We met when we both lived in Moishe House London, a home-based community for Jewish young adults. I interviewed Adam to live in the house and it went from there…
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A BHLDN and Mordechai Avraham Bride for a Magical Forest Egalitarian Jewish Wedding at Tzel Hadumim, Neot Kdumim, Israel

24/11/2017 by Karen

We are totally in love with Esther and Yoni’s magical forest wedding venue, Neot Kdumim, which we’ve featured before on STG. Saying “I do” under the stars just sounds too dreamy and romantic — we can’t even!

Beautiful bride, Esther, couldn’t decide between a beautiful BHLDN number and a vintage lace boho gown by Mordechai Avraham – so she chose both! We are very much on board with this decision, and it perfectly tied together their laid-back-meets-formal vibe.

Esther accented the bohemian vibe with natural-look makeup and fresh flowers in her hair, making her the walking centerpiece of the whimsical forest wonderland. Guests were also adorned with flower crowns, which doubled up as favors, making everyone who attended a living part of the dà©cor. Divine!

Surrounded by natural beauty, Esther and Yoni kept things simple, with sweet floral accents adorning the chuppah and a much bigger focus on their egalitarian, highly personalized Jewish ceremony. We love these priorities, and it’s no secret that we’re always huge fans of consciously gender-equal weddings.

Phenomenal photographer, and much-loved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Ben Kelmer, captured the story of the day, and was met with absolutely glowing praise by the happy couple and their families. Looking over the stunning spread of images below, it’s easy to see why.

The vibe was also beautifully captured in the spine-tingling wedding video below, provided by Studio Polly.

It’s Esther’s turn to take over the blog to tell us all about her and Yoni’s unbelievably beautiful big day. Take it away, Esther!

Getting married under the stars

Esther, the bride: We got married in Tzel Hadumim; the wedding venue in Neot Kdumim. We wanted a place that was relaxed and fun, but also worked with the more formal direction our families were into, and this place perfectly combined the best of both worlds.

I also really wanted to get married outside and not in a hall. Tzel Hadumim has all the amenities of a hall, but it’s in the middle of a forest, under the stars. We also live in Jerusalem and it was only 40 minutes away, so it was pretty convenient.
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Destination Jewish Wedding with an Italian Feast at Grand Hotel Royal, Sorrento, Italy

15/11/2017 by Karen

Picture the scene: it’s Italy’s breathtaking Amalfi coast. The sun is beaming down over a stunning, long aisle towards a beautifully decorated chuppah, with a sea view, no less. Sounds like a dream, right? Well it was Aimee and Richard’s reality! Their Jewish destination wedding was truly a sight to behold.

Complete with a vegetarian Italian feast and Limoncello favors (as well as kippot, provided by one of our amazing Recommended Vendors – Hebrewear), the wedding paid constant homage to the location, and brought some of the sea into the color scheme, with its baby blue and sparkling hues.

The wedding was ALL about family, with family forming the main wedding party (and two ADORABLE flower girls stealing the show), as well as the couple honoring lost loved ones, with special memorial candles by the chuppah.

It’s not easy to plan a wedding from overseas, but the happy couple pulled it off with aplomb, with the help of wedding planners, Sorrento Sunland.

Aimee looked gorgeous in her Morilee dress, which was totally meant to be! We won’t ruin the story for you, but do read on. We’ll pass you over to Aimee for that, and other wonderful wedding anecdotes now, accompanied by perfect pictures by photographers The Bros Photography.

Put on the kettle, or pour yourself a glass of wine, sit back and let us transport you to sun-soaked Italy… ahhh…

How we met

Aimee, the bride: Rich and I went to the same Jewish primary and secondary schools in Barkingside. We actually properly met for the first time at Rich’s house, around 10 years ago. My best friend was going round to sing for him and she insisted I come with. We did date a little, but remained good friends. We officially got together seven and a half years ago, when I got back from travelling for a year.

A Chinese / Jewish “Chewie” Star Wars-Inspired Wedding With a ‘Shabbatical’ at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado, USA

10/11/2017 by Karen

Ever wondered what we mean when we say “your Jewish wedding your way?” Well, luckily, Quan and Jesse have created the perfect example of what that looks like – a totally unique celebration that perfectly represents them as a couple (and Star Wars!!).

To celebrate bride Quan’s Chinese heritage, and groom Jesse’s Jewish background (and, of course, love of Star Wars), the couple affectionately dubbed their big day their “Chewie wedding”. How cute is that??

Splashed with bright color, just how Quan likes it, the Jew-ish wedding was held at a total dream location, Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Not only did that mean a backdrop of a breathtaking Colorado landscape, but it was also full of personal meaning to the couple, who spent much of their early relationship there.

In fact, every choice the pair made, and every last detail, had sentimental value and personal significance, creating a wedding that was just for them and their loved ones. We’re not crying, we just have something in our eye!!

Oh, and if they weren’t already inspirational enough, both Quan and Jesse have taken a break from their respective high-flying jobs to, in the spirit of their seven blessings, travel the world, in what they have creatively, and brilliantly, named their “shabbatical“.

We all make commitments that we wholly intend to keep, but then find life gets in the way. Jesse and Quan have proved that nothing can keep you from your dreams, and they have absolutely taken their commitment to treating each day like shabbat for a year seriously. In fact, you can even follow their adventures on Instagram!

There’s so much to gush over, but it’s already time to hand over to proud groom, Jesse, for the full account of the day, illustrated with a sensational spread of images by Once Like a Spark.

A venue with personal history

Jesse, the groom: We were married at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. We actually had the venue booked before we were engaged. Jesse was working with a jeweler to design the engagement ring and we both knew we wanted a short engagement and a wedding before the Colorado winter.

We started looking for venues and made a call to Red Rocks. The venue usually books more than a year in advance, so we were really surprised and lucky to find out that someone was late turning in their deposit and a September date was potentially available. Fortune was in our favor and the events manager called us two weeks later to give us the date: Sept 10^th.

Red Rocks has a lot of significance for our relationship. Immediately after our first date in February, I went home and bought tickets to summer concerts at Red Rocks. I knew that I would be taking Quan to those concerts. Some of our favorite dates were during the summer concerts we attended at Red Rocks.

We fell in love in the Colorado outdoors – not only at Red Rocks, but also hiking and ski trips in the Rocky Mountains. For us, Red Rocks was the iconic Colorado venue where we wanted to host our family and friends so that they could also take in the beauty of the great outdoors of Colorado. Continue Reading

A Legends Romona Keveza Bride for a Super Luxe Rustic-Romantic Jewish Wedding at Chateau Castellaras, Cannes, France

08/11/2017 by Karen

WOW!! We’re not in the habit of rating people’s weddings, but if we were, Hannah and Andrew’s stunning, rustic South of France Jewish wedding is clearly 1000/10!

First of all, just LOOK at what you can achieve with eucalyptus and baby’s breath – that chuppah is the stuff of dreams! Set against THAT view, it really doesn’t get more breathtaking. The region had special significance to the couple, who both spent childhood holidays in the South of France, and got engaged there just one year earlier.

Nutritionist Hannah carried the Provence herb theme throughout the wedding, decorating the tables with explosions of herbs and candles. How romantic does that sound?? And just imagine how heavenly the room smelled… ahh, we almost feel like we were there.

The happy couple partied so hard their reception was shut down by the police – what a story to tell the grandkids! That’s making the most of it and then some.

Hannah stunned in her beautiful lace-sleeve gown by Legends Romona Keveza purchased at none other than phenomenal STG Recommended Vendor, The Wedding Club.

Speaking of Recommended Vendors, the wedding was catered to perfection by another much-loved STG Vendor, kosher caterer, Dany’s Traiteur, who also catered the couple’s epic pre-wedding beach henna party.

Superstar photographer David Pullum, an epic talent and another much-loved Recommended Vendor whom we simply ADORE, captured the day with aplomb, as did videographer – Airsnap, creating the stunning highlights reel below.

It’s Hannah’s turn to take over the blog for all the juicy details of her and Andrew’s big day; we fell madly in love with the entire celebration, and we just know you will too!