Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Home > Real Jewish Weddings > Page 203

Rachel & Nikki | Jewish lesbian wedding with a nature-inspired theme, at Temple Emanuel in Kensington, Maryland, USA

by

Jewish-lesbian-wedding
Rachel and Nikki put together a Jewish wedding full of warmth and love with a very personal vibe. Their day was all about sharing, loving and being together, and they designed their entire ceremony so that every part of it was intentional and meaningful.  It was based on a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony, with adaptations for their progressive values and the fact that they were two women.

One element I particularly love is that their processional to the chuppah was led by Nikki’s and Rachel’s 97-year-old and 87-year-old (respectively) grandmothers walking hand in hand down the aisle. Apparently there wasn’t a dry eye in the room from that moment on.

Sustainability was also central theme of their big day. For the centrepieces they chose bamboo, orchids, bonsai trees and succulents planted in driftwood. Guests were able to take these home with them and Nikki and Rachel said how wonderful it has since been to visit family and friends after the wedding and see the plants in people’s homes.

Rachel and Nikki are here to tell you more about their special day, along with images from Michael Temchine.

Temple Emanuel wedding
Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Anna & Jon | City chic Jewish wedding full of personal touches, at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, King’s Cross, London, UK

by

st-pancras-renaissance-wedding
Anna and Jon’s inspired Jewish wedding  at London’s St Pancras Renaissance Hotel  is super special, but before I tell you  all about it I quickly want to remind you  that  you only have until Thursday night  to enter STG’s amazing competition to win a luxurious overnight stay for two at this ravishing  venue.

The prize includes champagne and strawberries, dinner for two, butler service, an in-room bath ritual, a history tour of this magnificent building, as well as  breakfast the following morning, so don’t delay…  enter the competition right here!

Now, back to Anna and Jon.

Nineteen years after the Spice Girls belted out Wannabe on the iconic staircase of the St Pancras hotel, Anna and Jon put their own quirky stamp on this treasured central London landmark.

Theirs really was a STG type of wedding — creative, brimming with personality and totally idiosyncratic.

Not many weddings include a running theme of monkeys and robots — yes, really — or have a 10.30pm fried chicken break to fuel their guests.   And most couples would have to end the night when they reach the music curfew set by the venue, but not Anna and Jon, who simply, but brilliantly just switched to a silent disco.   Inspired.

Their big day was infused with the bride and groom’s personality and charm and this was most evident with the Jewish ceremony itself which they personalised in such a thoughtful way through their choice of song and readings.   And I think this is the first time I’ve seen both the bride and groom smash the glass simultaneously.   So good they did it twice! (take a look at  James & Lianne Photography‘s  fab shot)

They also managed another individual twist when it came to the budget — they saved money on the bride and bridesmaid’s outfits, of all people.

As Anna’s dress was so exquisite, she bought a very uncomplicated head veil online, for a third of the price it would have normally cost in a wedding boutique and she saved on simple high street accessories.   Meanwhile the bridesmaids’ dresses were bought in the January sales.

And every single one of them looked impeccable.

I’ll let Anna fill you in on the rest and please do read to the end for her “how we met” story!

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel Wedding

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Ines Di Santo bride for a destination Jewish wedding in the Italian countryside at Relais Sant’Uffizio, Monferrato, Piedmont, Italy

by

Jewish-Wedding-Italy
Today we are heading to the region of Piedmont in Italy for a sunshine-soaked destination Jewish wedding. Piedmont is not only breathtakingly beautiful, it’s also  a gastronomic gem and famous for its wine production. It was therefore the perfect location for the wedding of self-proclaimed foodie couple, Jacqueline  and  Florian, who live in  New York City.

Theirs is a wedding  of pure elegance, creativity and authentic Italian touches. Those touches range from  a team of local Piedmont Flag Throwers greeting them at their recessional, to having an actual Nutella bar at the party! Yes, Piedmont is the birthplace of Nutella — the region  is full of hazelnut fields and as a tribute to this, there was an actual  Nutella bar (I die), and additionally a local bakery made the region’s famous Torta alle nocciole e brindisi con  — essentially a hazelnut-filled wedding  cake.

I adore  the “Recipe for Love” screen printed tea towel save-the-date  too — such  a great idea for a foodie couple. And I haven’t even begun to tell you about the florals (you need to see the  bouquets!), or the  fact that these two  were actually married by Italy’s first female  rabbi, Barbara Aiello.

I think what Jacqueline  and  Florian  teach us is that even if you get married abroad, it can still be a really personal affair, filled with the most important things  to you  — in their case, that’s family, friends, fantastic  food and wine, great music, and an appreciation and respect for a variety of bridged cultures and traditions.

The whole affair was planned lovingly and meticulously by our much loved Smashing Suppliers,  Valentina and Ernesto Troncarelli from the  Italian Wedding Company. Jacqueline has so much love for them, and rightly so.

Without further ado, I’ll let the beautiful bride  transport you to Italy with her detailed report, alongside  Gianluca and Mary Adovasio‘s  beautiful photography and  Riccardo Lavezzo‘s film.

Jewish Wedding Italy
Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Deborah & Hernà¡n | ‘Intimate & international’ Jewish wedding on a farmhouse at South Farm, Cambridgeshire, UK

by

Farmhouse Jewish Wedding
Over the past few weeks we’ve shown you real Jewish weddings on South American lakesides, Italian cliff tops, and a myriad of coastlines — but how about we take it back to the land and look at Deborah and Hernà¡n’s wedding on a glorious farm in Cambridgeshire, England.

With farmyard animals loitering outside the main reception, food and entertainment in the barn and painted gypsy caravans for the guests to sleep in — this was such an inspired choice of venue to share with their family and friends hailing from around the world.

Deborah and Argentinian-born Hernà¡n settled on stunning South Farm for their big ‘I do’ as they wanted to veer away from the traditional Jewish wedding — they wanted an international party and they certainly accomplished that, and all with such a thoughtful eye to detail.

I’m totally drawn to Deborah and Hernà¡n, not just because they’re regular visitors to Smashing The Glass or because they got married on my birthday (yay!) but because they seem such a happy, warm and inclusive couple…. And this spills out into their wedding. The love just radiates and the pictures and film by York Place Studios make me smile and well up in equal measure — everyone seems to be having the BEST time.

So how did they manage to be so inclusive for the whole international family? A few key things — as their speeches were in English and Spanish, they used a projector to translate, so all guests were in on all the jokes!

The order of service was in both English and Spanish and their Sheva Brachot were said in Hebrew, Spanish and English.

Their choice of band also showed such sensitivity to their guests needs — Storm played a mixture of Israeli, British and Argentinian music.

And even the chuppah had an international flavour — with materials bought in Argentina which were then taken back to the UK and the poles came from the North London Synagogue. I also love that the chuppah design incorporated handprints from both Deborah and Hernà¡n’s families…

With hosts like this — no wonder everyone looks so darn happy!

Jewish wedding on a farmhouse
Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Yana & Archita | Jewish-Hindu-Indian-Russian multicultural lesbian wedding at Trust, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

by

Jewish-Hindu-Wedding
Now this wedding is not just special, stylish or merely a good day out – it’s a totally spectacular cocktail of uber-chic modernism, elegant traditionalism, multi-cultural funkiness and fun, all blended and shaken to perfection.

For any of you who are wondering how to mix two completely different backgrounds into one smooth and stylish day — get ready for some serious pinning action.

Yana and Archita seamlessly melded their loves, tastes and cultures together to create a unique day at Trust — a neoclassical styled art and event space gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

An art event in itself, our two gorgeous brides amalgamated a colourful and awesome blend of Russian, Jewish, Hindu and Indian traditions against the ridiculously gorgeous, all white, architectural splendour of a soaring 10,000 square foot, turn of the century building.  Simple.  Ahem.

What could have been contrived or clunky – trying to shoe horn different traditions and styles together — is instead thoughtful and elegant.

But the simplicity really lies in their motivation — to unite two families into one, representing both cultures.  Even more, what underlined and defined the wedding was FUN. They wanted a huge, huge party and they got it, right down to the last few bars of Bohemian Rhapsody.

I’m still grinning from ear to ear at the image of the couple being raised high on chairs by friends and family, old and young — all partying together with the help of some homemade “traditional” vodka — to the Black Eyed Peas’ I Got a Feeling!

Even their choice of traditional wedding dresses had a twist… Archita wore a sari, whilst Yana wore a white wedding gown but with a sash around her waist made from the same material as Archita’s sari — a beautiful and subtle symbol to truly demonstrate the bond between the two.

All of the fantastic photography is by Michael and Melissa at M2 Photography. Now over to our beautiful brides…

Jewish-Indian-Lesbian-Wedding
How we met

Yana & Archita, the Brides: We met in undergrad at Penn at the largest party of the year called “Spring Fling”. To this day we debate about who made the first move. Chita’s friends were having a small party in a dorm room, and Yana crashed it. It was only three weeks before summer break began, so this was supposed to be just a fling… but we fell in love before the summer.

Jewish-Indian-Lesbian-Wedding
Continue ReadingContinue Reading