We are beyond thrilled to be featuring the incredibly gorgeous wedding of our beloved Brides Club member Ashley to Jeff! These two nature loving attorneys dreamed of making it official in the middle of a forest – and they found the perfect spot in San Moritz Lodge, two hours east of their home in Los Angeles. 

Then came the pandemic. Ashley and Jeff knew they wanted to get married on their original date, whatever it took, and while the wedding they had looked very different from the one they’d planned initially – they had to cut their indoor reception and catering, in addition to a vastly reduced guest list – it was totally and completely exquisite nonetheless. Karissa Breann Photography’s dreamy images absolutely blow us away.

We’re so touched to hear that that this wedding’s success was in part due to the incredible support and inspiration Ashley received as a member of Smashing the Glass’s Brides Club, which she joined just a month before her big day hoping for help dealing with the stress of planning a wedding during the pandemic. And, in her words,

Once I experienced the overwhelming support of the community and took advantage of the resources, I wondered why I had not joined sooner. Using the plethora of helpful guides and checklists and seeing how other brides were navigating this time made such a difference for me. The brides in Brides Club found so many creative ways to make their weddings safe, unique, and absolutely gorgeous during the pandemic. 

One fab idea Ashley picked up from the group was writing each guest a personalized thank you card for making the effort to attend the wedding in the middle of a pandemic – as suggested by none other than Karen Cinnamon gave during one of Brides Club’s monthly Wedding Planning Solved Zoom chats.

Ashley and Jeff worked with wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent to create the custom ketubah of their dreams, incorporating an image of a couple painted by Chagall, an artist who holds special meaning for the pair. We’re totally in love with how Adriana of Ink with Intent put it all together!

We also love how these two adapted the pre-ceremony tradition of kabbalat panim (“welcoming of the faces”), where the bride sits, surrounded by her mother and soon-to-be mother-in-law, as guests line up to approach her for an individual chat and a wedding day blessing, for the COVID era. Traditionally, only female guests participate, but Ashley and Jeff opened their kabbalat panim up to everyone – and since every household came up to speak with Ashley individually, it was the perfect pandemic-safe way to socialize.

There’s so much more we could say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll leave it to Ashley to fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Ashley, the bride: We met on JSwipe the very same night my stepdad suggested I expand my geographical search radius for matches.  My mom and stepdad were interested in learning how JSwipe worked, so I walked them through the process as we all looked at the screen together.

I previously had my search radius at 15 miles, but my stepdad suggested I increase it to 50 miles.  (When he and my mom were dating, the two lived 100 miles apart, and he drove to see her every weekend!)  Right after I changed my filter from 15 miles to 50 miles, a picture of a curly-haired cutie feeding a chipmunk popped up.  He lived 22 miles away.  We seemed to have similar interests, so I swiped yes on him. Continue Reading