Real Jewish Weddings Archives - Page 179 of 231 - Smashing the Glass

A gold New Year’s Eve-themed Jewish wedding at Hyatt Regency New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

05/05/2017 by Karen

HAPPY NEW YEAR! OK, maybe that’s a little premature, but we love the idea of sneaking in an extra New Year’s Eve,for one night only, and that’s exactly what Amanda and Harry did with their gold, NYE-themed big day.

Amanda and Harry first met as children, and they share so much in their upbringing and communities. But it wasn’t until adulthood that they were reunited, and this time, it was love! In fact, they celebrated their shared history by having their ceremony at the synagogue they both grew up in.

The larger-than-life couple poured their personalities into their big day, with everything from giant ‘Amanda & Harry heads’ to a table dedicated to past family weddings.

Everything was kept in the circle of family and friends, including Harry’s mother singing Amanda down the aisle and the hair and makeup.

The day was captured by dynamic photography duo, Nick and Kelly Photography, and the epic wedding video, just below, is the work of Delia Studios.

Over to the happy couple, now, to tell you all about their big day details! Take it away, Amanda and Harry.

How we met

Amanda, the bride and Harry, the groom: We knew each other as children. We went to Solomon Schechter Day School of Rarity Valley from age five Along the way, we were also members of the same synagogue, Congregation B’nai Tikvah.

During those years at SSDSRV and B’nai Tikvah, our paths didn’t really cross, but they did in the summer of 2009 at The Knight Club in New Brunswick, NJ. Harry was out celebrating his last law school final, and Amanda was out with a girlfriend.

Amanda recognised Harry from across the bar, and since he was staring back, she thought he recognised her, too. She approached him only to find out the staring was simply because he thought she was pretty (but don’t worry, she embarrassed herself by knowing his entire name, while he had barely any clue who she was!) It all worked out, though!

A Rosh Hashanah-themed Jewish wedding with a Suzanne Neville bride at Braxted Park, Essex, UK

01/05/2017 by Karen

Anyone else have goosebumps? Scroll down. How about now? The sensation you’re experiencing is a result of extreme wedding prettiness combined with the unparalleled artistic prowess of much-loved STG Recommended Vendor and photographer extraordinaire, Blake Ezra.

In fact, Tash & Jason’s magical secret garden-inspired wedding was a total STG Recommended Vendor-fest, with an appearance from fabulous makeup artist Philippa Louise. The couple also won their photo booth with Mega Booth in a Smashing the Glass competition.

Now that we’re done blowing our own horn, let’s talk about the wedding horn (shofar) which was also blown (yes, smooth segue, we know). The wedding was Rosh Hashanah themed, with beautiful fresh fruits incorporated into the wildflower floral arrangements, honey pot and honey cake recipe favours and the blowing of the shofar during the ceremony.

Gorgeous bride, Tash, is an art director and, as such, was delighted to be let loose on a wedding theme – and boy, does it show. Tash’s expert eye and attention to detail created a cohesive, overwhelmingly beautiful (and delightfully purple) theme that looks outstanding in photographs. And that wildflower-adorned Chuppah – a masterpiece! Bravo, Tash! If you fall in love with the images below and simply can’t get enough, check out her Instagram!

We also adore Tash’s customised Suzanne Neville gown, with little embellishments to bring in her own personality and tastes.

Tash and Jason’s Badeken and ceremony were full of heart and meaning, especially as the couple hadn’t seen or spoken to each other in a whole week! What willpower! We also adore the couple’s joint words of wisdom at the end of this post – so much fantastic advice.

We’ll let Tash take over now to tell you all about how her and Jason’s big day came together. Tash – the stage is yours!

How we met

Tash, the bride: Despite having huge amounts of friends in common, and probably attending the same parties during our university days, we didnt meet until after uni, at a mutual friend’s birthday party, where else but Camden?

We were in a Blues Bar and got chatting. The instant Jason heard that I love to bake, and did gluten-free cupcakes (he was GF at the time) the match was made, and we set our first date after partying the night away! Our relationship hasn’t really changed. I still bake for him, and our worlds pretty much centre around food, family and friends.

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A floral-fabulous, Jerusalem-themed Jewish wedding at Ein Hemed in the Judea Mountains, Israel

28/04/2017 by Karen

Some couples feel such a strong, heartfelt connection to Israel, that it comes across in every moment of their wedding day. Dorit and Eli certainly fall into that category.

Having met in Jerusalem, the pair decided to theme their wedding around the city, while embracing the breathtaking natural surroundings of their mountainous Israeli venue.

Stunning bride, Dorit, ran with her creative impulses, creating a floral Eden, with a gorgeous petal-strewn aisle, a Chuppah lined with beautiful blooms and table centrepieces that her guests are still talking about to this day.

She even took her love of flowers to the next level and had a flower station – an outstanding idea that has come up in Israeli weddings before (we’re calling it – trend alert) that we think would be almost criminal not to steal.

Jerusalem’s big, collective, beating heart was proudly on display all over the joyful celebration, with sublime Jerusalem-inspired artwork running through the whole stationery suite, and in Dorit’s Jerusalem skyline headpiece (um, where can we get one, please?). Much-loved Smashing Supplier Herschel Gutman captured all of the dà©cor, as well as the emotion of the day with absolute gusto – the pictures really do speak for themselves.

So sit back and feast your eyes on all of this wedding pretty – we’ll let Dorit talk you through every detail of her and Eli’s dream wedding day.

How we met

Dorit, the bride: I’m a BA degree student studying political science and communications. Eli and I are both Russian speakers, and we met in Israel during a summer camp for Russian-speaking students three years ago. Last summer, we flew to Belarus for the same camp, this time as counsellors.

Urban Jew-ish wedding with an Anna Campbell bride at Shoreditch Studios in East London

24/04/2017 by Karen

Creative couples – listen up! Today’s real Jewish wedding is a detail-heavy big day that you’re going to want to absolutely devour.

Lucy and Michael wanted every element of their big day to be 100% ‘them’, and they achieved it by the truckload. Every detail of their urban, Shoreditch celebration was personalised to perfection, from the flowers to the favours (make sure you keep reading to the end for the story of the Tequila Sunday tattoo favours – an absolute hoot). All of the quirky, homemade decor choices were captured by the highly rated Miki Studios, who the couple simply raved about.

There are so many brilliant ideas to borrow from this fun-loving pair, including a GIF machine!! A GIF MACHINE!! (Note to selves, do not let the Smashing Team anywhere near a GIF machine, we may never emerge and have to live in GIFland for all eternity).

Beautiful bride, Lucy, looked outstandingly amazing in her Anna Campbell gown – a serendipitous bargain find that had just been waiting for her to come along. Her Gatsby-inspired bridesmaids were the perfect accompaniment.

There were also so many moving stories and touches. As Lucy’s father had sadly passed away, he was commemorated with his tallis forming the basis of a simply beautiful Chuppah. So many of Lucy and Michael’s friends and family came together to lend their skills, expertise, love and care to make the day happen – the mark of a truly loved couple.

Lucy describes the day with aplomb, so we’ll pass you over to her now for the full picture. Take it away, Lucy!

How We Met

Lucy, the bride: I do acquisitions for a property company and Michael is an actor. I, however, have only done this for a year, and, before that, was also ‘actorising’ around the place. We met doing corporate kids’ parties for big banks for their Christmas season. A very strange experience, but we became very close friends (we both fancied each other but was convinced the other one didn’t) and, after a month or so of this, gave into the feelings and the rest is history!

A Cultural-Fusion Chinese-Jewish (Chewish) Wedding with a Vera Wang Bride at Kew Gardens, London, UK

21/04/2017 by Karen

There’s something so special about Jew-ish weddings. Each one symbolises not only a relatively rare coming together of cultures, but a totally unique interpretation of what that combination looks like in practice. We have yet to see two Jew-ish weddings that are the same – there’s no blueprint and the couple has total license to imprint their own ideas, personalities and elements of their relationship into the proceedings.

Jackie and Jon’s Chinese-Jewish (Chewish) wedding was a delightful cultural fusion, taking the most meaningful, colourful and exciting traditions from both the bride and the groom’s respective backgrounds and merging them into one heartfelt super-celebration.

Bride, Jackie, stole the show in her red-carpet worthy gown from Vera Wang‘s White Collection, which is an impressive feat in a botanical paradise venue like Kew Gardens.

All the details, including a full stationery suite, created by the talented bride herself, were captured with nothing less than expert skill by the phenomenal York Place Studios. A family business, York Place Studio is a cherished Smashing Supplier and responsible for not only the images in today’s post, but also the divinely emotional wedding video at the bottom of this post (SO worth a watch).

The Smashing family was out in full force at Jackie and Jon’s big day. Sensational Smashing Supplier, Shir, one of the UK’s most sought-after klezmer wedding bands, also made a much-acclaimed appearance, before Creation Show Band also performed a roof-raising set. We have it on good authority that Anna Phoebe’s back-bending dancefloor electric violin solo was also an unmissable experience!

We’ll pass you on to Jackie now who has written up all the exceptionally borrow-able and emotional details of her and Jon’s big day. Enjoy!

How we met

Jackie, the bride: Jon is a management consultant and I’m a designer. We were introduced on a netball court in New York City, when we both lived there six years ago. While I had been there for seven years, Jon was on a work/study program with 300 other Brits for a year. The week Jon left for England for good, coincidentally, my work sent me to London. We then spent a phenomenal amount of money flying across the Atlantic to visit each other for the following eight months, before Jon persuaded me to move over to London.

How we met

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How we met

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How We Met

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How we met

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