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A Golden City-Themed Jewish Wedding at The Julia Morgan Ballroom at the Merchants Exchange Building, San Francisco, USA

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Anyone who’s had the good fortune to have visited San Francisco will know that it’s one mighty city, and certainly worthy of having a whole wedding theme dedicated to it. 

That’s exactly what brilliant couple Rachael, a pediatrician, and David, a scientist, did – their beautiful Jewish wedding was a total love letter to the Golden City, which is their hometown, and the beautiful backdrop to their romance.

We are all hearts for eyes over the amazing floristry, particularly the gorgeous and colorful bridal bouquet, and matching centerpieces and chuppah arrangements – simply stunning. 

Family participation was integral to the celebration, with the wedding party comprised of family members, and special family heirloom jewelry worn by the bride. In fact, family played such a crucial role that all the guests were gifted one of the bride’s mom’s famous cookies, which sound absolutely delicious. We’ll wait for ours in the post! 

We hope you’re as head over heels for the beautiful images by Nightingale Photography as we are, and that you enjoy Rachael’s wonderful, sparkling write up of her and David’s wedding day, particularly her anecdote about kiddush wine, which had us chuckling at our keyboards. 

Take it away, Rachael!

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A venue with character

Rachael, the bride: We chose to get married at the Julia Morgan Ballroom because we wanted to get married in downtown San Francisco, but we were looking for something with more character than a basic hotel ballroom.

We quickly fell in love with the beautiful design and architecture of the Julia Morgan Ballroom, and they had the date we wanted to get married available, so we snatched it up. It also didn’t hurt that the entire ceremony and reception was inside, so we didn’t have to worry about rain ruining the big day.

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A Rustic-Chic Jewish Wedding at Soho Farmhouse with an Elizabeth Fillmore Bride

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A rustic chic aesthetic, live music aplenty, adorable extras and an incredible amount of family involvement defined Charlotte and David’s divine Soho Farmhouse wedding day. 

When we say family involvement, we mean that the happy couple had an entire team of amazing helpers. The wedding was planned by the bride’s mum, the invitations designed by the groom’s sister, the jewellery provided by the groom’s mum, a dear friend of the bride sang the couple through their first dance – a perfect example of how the Jewish community comes together in times of celebration.

As Charlotte is a music manager, it went without saying that the wedding was packed with live music, including a gospel choir for the ceremony – now that’s something you don’t see at every Jewish wedding! The wedding featured two of our wonderful musical Recommended Vendors: Boutique Chupah Music (hear their amazing rendition of ‘Boi Kallah’ to the tune of ‘Hallelujah’ in the Insta-clip below), and the amazing  Wedding Smashers, who were on hand to kick the party up a notch and truly honor the venue’s ‘last man standing’ curfew policy. 

Adorable extras included a midnight munchies van outside (heaven), and the guests arriving by milk float, which the STG team has now decided to use as its exclusive mode of transport from now on. 

We’re also LIVING for Charlotte’s incredible, full-skirt Elizabeth Fillmore dress. What an absolute vision of bridal beauty! 

Right, it’s now Charlotte’s turn to take over the STG pages with her fabulous write up – enjoy! 

 

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A venue with a last-man-standing curfew

Charlotte, the bride: We got married at Soho Farmhouse. We loved going to friends’ weddings abroad. You can’t beat the laidback atmosphere of an abroad wedding. We wanted to create that in the UK without any hassle of organising a function abroad, and Farmhouse allowed us to do just that. 

We loved Soho Farmhouse from the moment we stepped foot onto the grounds, which was when it first opened, perhaps a year or so before we got married. Plus, their curfew rule is ‘last man standing’.

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A Colorful Jewish Destination Wedding with an Ellis Bridal Gown at ‘the Q’, Kibbutz Galil Yam, Herzliya, Israel

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Roxy and Adam faced a wonderful dilemma about where to tie the knot. Both with such international backgrounds, they ultimately decided it made sense to bring their loved ones to beautiful Israel for a divine destination wedding, filled with color, love and happiness.

First of all, before we get to anything else, we have to stop and take in that magnificent creation of a chuppah – what an abundantly floral beauty it was! WOW! 

We were also blown away by the sheer amount of heart – how well Roxy and Adam got to know their Rabbi before the big day, and Roxy’s beautiful way of remembering her father, who had sadly passed away.

The wedding was shot by internationally renowned photographer, and one of our beloved STG Recommended Vendors, Herschel Gutman, who did a sublime job of bringing the wedding to life. Roxy and Adam also took some time with him the following day to fit in an additional couples’ shoot.

We’ll hand you over to Roxy now for her wonderful write up – we hope you love her and Adam’s gorgeous wedding as much as we do! 

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A magical outdoor venue

Roxy, the bride: We got married at The Q, Kibbutz Glil Yam in Herzliya Israel. We knew we wanted to have a destination wedding, with both families coming from different places (mine originally South African and then Australia and my husband’s mostly from England and many overseas guests). Israel was the most logical choice for us.

Being originally from South Africa, I really wanted to get married in a natural setting rather than in a hotel or indoor space. When we saw the Q, we just loved the look and feel of it. Particularly being outside and in the open air, it just ticked all the boxes. It was truly a magical venue.

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A BHLDN Bride for a Jew-ish South American Celebration in Quito, Ecuador

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Here at Smashing the Glass, we’ve taken little virtual trips absolutely everywhere – from Paris to Tel Aviv, New York to LA – and today, to Quito, Equador, for Adina and Mauricio’s romantic Jew-ish wedding celebration.

Power couple, Adina and Mau met for the first time in Ecuador, and it was love at first sight. The pair shortly reunited in Washington D.C., where they now live. Mau is an international relations consultant at the Organization of American States whilst Adina is a non-profit immigration attorney. 

For their big event, the pair returned to Ecuador for an interfaith Jewish ceremony, conducted by a friend in both English and Spanish, with Latino influences throughout the day. Their venue overlooked the Andean mountains, where the loved-up couple first met.

Special touches that we absolutely love include a relaxing lounge area complete with a caricaturist, beautiful bulb lights to add to the magical, mystical atmosphere of the surroundings and a totally stunning, floral chuppah!

Beautiful and vivacious bride, Adina, looked sensational in her glamorous Wtoo by Watters for BHLDN gown, as you can see in these stunning images by Juan Pablo Velasco.

We’ll leave you now with Adina’s articulate and emotional words about her and Mau’s big day. Take it away, Adina!

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How we met

Adina, the bride: We met in the summer of 2012 in Quito, Ecuador through our mutual friend, Amela. I was in Ecuador for an internship working with refugees, and Mau was just coming back from living in Europe, about to move to D.C. for an internship.

One of my first nights in Quito, we met for dinner and were each impressed and amazed by each other. We talked for hours, and Mau ordered me an ice cream sundae. Every weekend, we traveled together with friends and explored beautiful places all over Ecuador.

Together, we got to experience many exotic and diverse environments in Ecuador for the very first time. We discovered indigenous markets in Otavalo, enjoyed gorgeous beaches and fresh ceviche in Montaà±ita and Manta, rode chivas and swam in waterfalls in Baà±os, and mountain biked down Cotopaxi. Knowing Mau had already planned to move to D.C. for work before we met, we never really questioned being together, even when I had to return to D.C. to start law school.

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A Jewish Outdoor Destination Wedding With a Groom in Suit Shorts at Suikerbossie, Cape Town, South Africa

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Strap in, folks, because we’re about to jet off to Cape Town for an all-inclusive trip to Barbora and Adam’s divine destination wedding. 

Chosen for its stunning outdoor offering, the pair tied the knot in a boho-casual Jewish ceremony at gorgeous Suikerbossie, Hout Bay, Cape Town. The laid-back style was set by groom, Adam, who fulfilled his dream of wearing suit shorts – we do love a groom in suit shorts!

Adam and Barbora proved that nothing is a disaster. From a bridal dress swap, just a fortnight before the wedding, to bridesmaids’ dress dramas, nothing kept these two from their dream day. 

A wedding photo booth is always an amazing thing to have, but we’re particularly enamoured with the cute caravan exterior – what an utterly steal-able idea.

The day was full of fun, heart and personality – by the end of the party, even grandma was out of her wheelchair and swearing enthusiastically into the microphone, singing along to old-school music. What a sight that must have been to behold!

Massive props to Paul Toeman Photographers, for capturing such a big, beautiful production so beautifully and sensitively, and stay tuned for groom Adam’s brilliant and entertaining writeup of his big day with his beloved Babs. Over to Adam!

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An outdoor experience

Adam, the groom: We got married at Suikerbossie, which is a wedding venue in Hout Bay, Cape Town. We loved this venue, mainly because of the location, and our plan was to try and create an outdoor experience, so this place was perfect.

The garden also had a really cool swing that Babs fell in love with from the moment she saw it! On top of that, the venue offer a Kosher menu, and also played a big role in the on-site management of all suppliers.

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