Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Your Engagement Ring, Your Way: Use 21st-Century Tech to Design the One-of-a-Kind Ring of Your Dreams with Lottie Leigh

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Hands up: who’s sneaking a peek at STG while waiting to get engaged? If that’s you, we’ve got something really special today – a brand new, 21st-century way of making the engagement ring of your dreams a reality.

The CAD Difference

When mega-talented London-based GIA-qualified jewelry designer Charlotte Leigh got engaged herself, she had a vision of what she wanted for her engagement ring – but working with a jeweler to turn her vision into reality proved trickier than she’d expected. Frustrated and feeling like there had to be a better way, she merged her tech know-how with her love for design and came up with a foolproof system using CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and 3D printing to make sure every bride ends up with the ring of her dreams – no disappointments, no surprises, just a one-of-a-kind piece you’ll never want to take off. 

But if your proposal’s already a thing of the past, don’t stop reading – Lottie Leigh also works with couples to create the wedding bands of their dreams (or any other special piece of jewlery, for that matter – necklace, bracelet, earrings, you name it), and if you’ve got any unloved heirloom jewelry tucked away in your drawers she’s got a fantastic jewelry remodeling service to turn those stones into something 100% you, using the same up-to-the-minute CAD approach to make sure your new piece turns out exactly the way you envision it.

Read on to find out exactly how Lottie Leigh works, what sets her process apart, and how you can get started on a journey to create the jewelry of your dreams!

The Forever Yours Journey

If you’re looking to create an engagement ring that’s thoroughly, completely you – whether together as a couple or as a surprise for your beloved – let Lottie Leigh take you on the journey of a lifetime.

The Forever Yours Journey is Lottie Leigh’s four-step path to your perfect engagement ring – and what really sets it apart is the fact that, before committing to your final design, you’ll get an actual 3D-printed model of your ring to try on. This ensures that it’s exactly as you imagined and gives you a chance to make any changes before the real one is made – so you can be sure the finished product will be exactly the way you want it, no disappointments! And no worries if you’re not based in London – the whole process can be done remotely.

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How to Find Your Dream Dress During Lockdown {Instagram Live with Mirror Mirror}

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Photo by Stuart Wood

Are you a bride-to-be wondering how you’re going to find the dress of your dreams while in lockdown? There’s no question that wedding dress shopping is a different experience right now than it used to be. But even without being able to go into shops, it’s still possible to shop effectively – and even have fun doing it! No one knows this better than our friends at Mirrror Mirror London, one of our very favourite luxury bridal boutiques in the UK (and a beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor).

This Monday, I’ll be going live on Instagram with Maria Yiannikaris, owner of Mirror Mirror and designer of in-house bridal line Mirror Mirror Couture, about what you should know before you begin wedding dress shopping, what you can expect, and what extra considerations you may need to keep in mind.

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Could you be our next real blogging bride?

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BLOGGING-BRIDE

Happy Tuesday! How has your week been so far? Well it’s about to get that bit better as today I’m opening the doors to becoming a real blogging bride for Smashing the Glass!

That’s right – I’m looking for one bride-to-be to join our current group of STG real blogging brides. As a blogging bride, you’ll get to blog regularly (every 8 weeks starting in April) for Smashing the Glass sharing the highs and lows of planning your Jewish (or Jew-ish) wedding. You’ll be able to share your plans with, and seek advice from, the wonderfully loyal community of STG readers from all over the world.

Then, at the end of the experience you’ll not only get to celebrate your wedding, you’ll also get to have it lovingly blogged on the pages of Smashing the Glass.

If you would like to become an STG real blogging bride, you must have already set your wedding date, and that date must fall any time from 1st August 2021, onwards. You must also have a flair for writing, and be able to commit to contributing one blog post every 8 weeks. There’ll be plenty of guidance, and a few bloggy treats sprinkled along the way too!

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A Magic Secret Garden Backyard Jewish Micro Wedding in Chappaqua, New York, USA

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Okay, HOW amazing is Samantha and Brandon’s uber-dramatic chuppah for their Jewish wedding?! These two built a raised platform above a hot tub in the groom’s parents’ backyard, where they wed, to form a dramatic perch from which they got to look out at all their guests while making it official. Samantha says they went “a little over the top,” but we think they got it just right. Don’t miss it in Mindy Briar’s epic shots!

The custom chuppah platform is also the kind of thing that would probably be hard to pull off in a traditional venue. The couple, who had originally planned a big black-tie wedding, pivoted to something much more intimate so that they could marry on their original date ofOctober 3, 2020, and we love that they took advantage of all the options afforded them by their Plan B. Gathering with just local family, and including loved ones from outside the New York area via Zoom, Samantha and Brandon shifted gears to pull off the magic secret garden-themed wedding of their dreams – and it was all inspired by their amazing custom ketubah!

These two had a clear vision of what they wanted, and they worked with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tallulah Ketubahs to bring their dream ketubah to fruition – and then some! Founder Rachel was ultra-attentive to the couple’s wishes, and, in addition to the gorgeous, colorful hand-painted florals framing the text, she incorporated ultra-personal touches, like the pair’s cats, and passports to represent their love of travel. The level of detail is just phenomenal – we bet you’ll be just as blown away as we are!

Now over to Samantha, who’ll fill you in on all the other special details of the day…


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How We Met

Samantha, the bride: Brandon and I grew up about five minutes down the street from each other and attended the same middle school and high school, but had never crossed paths. I knew who he was because he was the cute, albeit slightly obnoxious, boy in my freshman math class. When he showed up on my Tinder 15 years later I couldn’t resist swiping right. Once we started talking we just never stopped!

Brandon is a Finance and Business Operations Manager for WeWork and I am the President and Creative Director at Auburn Jewelry, a custom jewelry company based in New York. We spend our free time together cooking, baking, dancing, gardening, hanging out with our two rescue kitties and enjoying each other’s company.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Willowby by Watters Bride for an Artsy Jewish Micro Wedding at Kinloss Synagogue and The Manor Elstree, UK

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We’ve seen lots of amazing COVID celebrations coming together on short notice, but nothing beats the ultra-artistic Jewish wedding of Aimee, a graphic designer, and Max, a classical trumpet player and music teacher! After being forced to postpone their 200+ wedding originally scheduled for May 2020, the pair settled on a minimony set for November 22, with a big reception to follow whenever it’s safe.

They were full steam ahead with their Plan B when, on October 31, the government announced a new lockdown, under which no weddings would be permitted. Aimee and Max were feeling pretty down when they got a call from their rabbi, who told them he could conduct their chuppah before Lockdown 2.0 kicked in – just 3 days away! After some frantic phone calls with their vendors, the duo were able to bring everything together for November 4, squeaking in just under the wire.   

Since the guest count was limited to 15, Aimee and Max brought in Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor EventCapsule to stream their chuppah on Zoom for all the friends and family who couldn’t be there in person. They were bowled over by EventCapsule’s professional stream, complete with live editing, and their guests couldn’t believe how well put together the whole production was! Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Toastmaster Jango also brought his trademark seamless management to the day, and we can’t get over the gorgeous photographer from David Pullum.

Now over to Aimee, who looked exquisite in Willowby by Watters…

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How we Met

Aimee, the bride: We met at a flat-warming party for our mutual friend, but it turns out I had met both of Max’s brothers before him – that made meeting the family a lot easier!Continue ReadingContinue Reading