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A Carolina Herrera Bride for an Elegant Modern Jewish Wedding at Beth Torah, Aventura, FL, USA

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What a chuppah! We’re obsessed with the cool modern acrylic chuppah – complete with luxe hanging white blossoms – Samantha, a kindergarten teacher, and Justin, co-head of corporate outreach for global real estate company Tishman Speyer, chose to marry under. That elegant all-white look, complemented by the bright pops of color from the bride and bridesmaids’ bright pink bouquets – wow! We’re still picking our jaws up off the floor after scrolling through all of Emily Harris Photography’s vibrant, joyous photos.

For that matter, ALL the flowers in this gorgeous wedding were totally wow – don’t miss the incredible ombre flower wall, or the upside down hanging tulips and calla lilies that hovered over the reception ballroom! And in keeping with the bright colorful look, Samantha and Justin chose a wonderful, colorful ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Anna Abramzon, which they now display proudly in their home as a reminder of their big day and their commitment to one another.

But this wedding was about so much more than aesthetics. We love how these two incorporated their beloved late grandparents into their ceremony, with Samantha’s grandfather’s tallit used in the chuppah canopy, a kiddush cup belonging one of her grandmothers used during the ceremony, and the bride’s bouquet wrapped in lace from her other grandmother’s veil.

Now over to the bride, who looks so elegant in her Carolina Herrera gown…

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How we met

Samantha, the bride: My dad and Justin’s grandpa set us up. We were both students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Justin was a senior and I was a freshman. We went out one night and had mutual friends and started talking. We dated for the second semester of his senior year and my freshman year. He was moving to New York after college, and I got back together with my ex-boyfriend. We didn’t communicate for three years.

Towards the end of my senior year at Madison, I started to think of Justin again. He posted a picture on Instagram one night and I messaged him on Facebook because I lost his number. We started talking a little and the next month after I graduated college I was in New York for a weekend visiting my sister. Justin took me out on a date that Friday night May 23rd, 2014 and we’ve been together ever since. For us, timing was truly everything.

I was in the middle of my masters program when we got married and I was working at a school. To say I was busy going to school, working and planning a wedding was an understatement.

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An Eisen Stein Bride for an Equality-Minded Jewish Wedding at Avigdor 22 in Tel Aviv, Israel

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We love it when a couple puts their values first when planning their Jewish wedding. That’s exactly what today’s gorgeous Israeli couple, Talia and Shawn, did. The pair didn’t feel comfortable marrying through Israel’s rabbanut, in light of the lack of marriage equality in the country, so they worked to craft an alternative that was in keeping with their values yet still incorporated Jewish tradition in a way that was meaningful to them.

Talia and Shawn opted to make things official via a City Hall wedding while on holiday in NYC (so fun!), and then back home in Tel Aviv worked with a secular rabbi to plan their Jewish celebration, which combined tradition – smashing the glass, a gorgeous chuppah that’s been passed down through the groom’s family ever since his grandparents made it for his parents’ wedding – with personal touches, like the vows the couple made to each other and the tailor-made blessings they received from their family and friends in place of the traditional seven blessings. We also love that they wrote their ketubah text themselves!

We’re obsessed with the couple’s incredibly cool, contemporary photography from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ben Kelmer – the way he captures emotion and authentic moments while also somehow producing images that wouldn’t look out of place in a glam glossy magazine is really something.

Now over to the bride, who looked effortlessly elegant in her gown by Eisen Stein and party dress from Nili Lotan…

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How we met

Talia, the bride: We have been together for 9 years. I am a dentist and Shawn is a lawyer… We met through a good friend of mine from the army who went out with Shawn’s friend. They didn’t work out as a couple, but we’re still together! We asked both of them to greet us together (as part of the 7 blessings) as a token to their brief relationship that led us to meet and eventually get married.

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An Enzoani Bride for an Italian Vineyard-Style Interfaith Jewish Wedding at Studio Spaces, London, UK

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We never fail to be blown away at how a truly talented florist can transform a space. Take the interfaith Jewish wedding of Natalie, a senior digital project manager, Sam, a solutions consultant for Adobe, who married at the spare, modern Studio Spaces, a photography studio/event space in East London. The couple loved their venue’s urban vibe, but while emphasizing the space’s coolness they also wanted to bring in a hint of Italian vineyard style.

Enter the amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended VendorLiz of Blue Sky Flowers. Being that she did the wonderful flowers for the bride’s older sister’s wedding, the couple trusted her implicitly to make their dreams a reality. And did she ever come through, using lots of fairy lights, greenery, fresh pots of herbs, and candles to create a magical Midsummer Night’s Dream vibe,  and a truly epic hanging flower display that served as the most incredible photo backdrop. We’re in love with the look Liz created – do check out the pics from Rebecca Louise Photography and trailer by Hanh Made Films  to see just how special it really was.

We’re also crazy about the way Natalie, who’s Jewish, and Sam, who isn’t, crafted a personal ceremony reflecting their values and backgrounds. With Natalie’s brother officiating, seven honored guests reading English interpretations of the seven Hebrew blessings, and the bride smashing the glass, this couple’s big day was truly them.

Now over to the bride, who looked ever so elegant in Enzoani…

 

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How we met

Natalie, the bride: We met on a night out at Leeds University 9 years ago have been together ever since.

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A Lee Petra Grebenau Bride for an Exuberant Jewish Wedding at Cavalli Estate, Cape Town, South Africa

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If we had to pick one word to sum up Isa and Daniel’s Jewish wedding, it would be “exuberant!” From the bright colour palate to that gorgeous chuppah, to the abundant florals to the joyful expressions on the face of the bride and groom – not to mention the wild dancing and the spirited beachside couple’s shoot captured so beautifully in photographs by John Armstrong and on video Vision on Fire – South African couple Isa, a doctor, and Daniel, a solicitor, went all in on their big day.

We’re obsessed with their vibrant colour scheme – the couple wanted to use warm, bright shades to create an inviting atmosphere reflecting the spirit of love and celebration that embodied the day, with liberal use of the bride’s beloved bright pinks. Even Isa and Daniel’s gorgeous ketubah by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ByTessa incorporated the bright pink floral theme, and it could not be any lovelier.

And these two had a chuppah unlike any we’ve seen before – sure, there were stunning bright florals, but what really bowled us over is not the outside of this chuppah but the inside: Isa and Daniel decorated the underneath of the canopy with photos of their families through the generations, including those who couldn’t be physically present on the day – what a special way to literally envelope yourselves in the people who love you most!

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful wedding, but the time has come to turn you over to Isa, who looked nothing less than ravishing in her gown by beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Lee Petra Grebenau, working with the designer herself at her studio in Israel – we’re totally not surprised to hear Isa say that getting to work with the wonderful Lee made the dress decision a non-brainer…

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How we met

Isa and Daniel, the bride and the groom: In 2016, Isa was busy with her medical internship and Daniel was running around the court rooms with his law practice. A mutual friend sent Daniel Isa’s number. They had never crossed paths before their first date and it took Daniel an entire weekend to come up with “Hi Isa, a mutual friend sent me your number, would you like to go for a drink this week?” We eventually met on our first date and we ended up talking for hours and Isa had that smile. Daniel had to leave for Hong Kong but the talking continued. 

One year later Daniel arranged for Isa to meet him in Cape Town and they went to Babylonstoren wine farm under the false pretence that Daniel was on a media panel talking about high profile legal cases. Instead, Daniel popped the question and Isa, although a little suspicious, responded with Daniel’s favourite words “of course yes”

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An Anna Maier Bride for a NOLA-Meets-Texas Interfaith Jewish Wedding at Race & Religious, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

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There are few cities more atmospheric than New Orleans, the city that bride Jordan, the executive director of Bayou City Waterkeeper, a Houston-based environmental nonprofit that works to protect and restore the waters around the region, lived in for nearly a decade and calls her “heart home.” She moved back to her home state of Texas to be with groom Kent, the owner and manager of Whitener Ranch, one of the oldest continuously family-owned ranches in Texas, but always new she’d want to marry in NOLA.

The couple merged their love of New Orleans and their Texas roots in their breathtaking interfaith Jewish wedding at the breathtakingly eclectic Race + Religious, a breathtaking, eclectic New Orleans venue. They went for a full-on old world vibe, full of deep gem tones of burgundy, gold, indigo, and purple, lush greenery, old wood, and candle light.

Guests entered the venue through a magically wild gate, covered in vines and foliage, the couple’s atmospheric chuppah in deep autumnal shades is one for the books, and the couple’s beautiful ketubah by Enya Keshet for Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com featured exquisite papercut menorahs and detailed artistry illustrating verses from the Song of Songs. An eight-piece brass band, New Orleans jazz, Creole food, sparklers, rounded out this memorable day – we’re obsessed with the gorgeous photos from Heather Schneider of Dark Roux Photography.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll let the bride, who looked stunning in Anna Maier Couture, tell you the rest…

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How we met

Jordan and Kent, the bride and the groom: Jordan and Kent met in Austin, Texas in 2014 after literally running into one another at a downtown bar. After exchanging playful remarks, they realized they had a lot in common. Despite living a whole state away for a year – Jordan living in New Orleans and Kent in Austin – they started dating. Fortunately, Jordan traveled to Austin often for work, and Kent had no problem visiting New Orleans. In 2015, Jordan made the move to Austin and the rest is history!

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