Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog - Page 123 of 408

A Madi Lane Bride for an Intimate Jewish Wedding at Norrice Lea Synagogue, London, UK

19/03/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Like so many 2020 couples, London couple Anna, a paralegal, and Simon, an English teacher, had to rethink their Jewish wedding plans when the pandemic hit. The pair had originally planned a 300-guest destination wedding in Israel for May 2020, but given the uncertainty of the situation they opted to shift things closer to home with an intimate synagogue wedding in London in September 2020, with a bigger celebration in Israel to follow when possible.

Anna and Simon chose Norrice Lea Synagogue as their new venue, and they were able to hold the wedding in two separate shifts – one for the chuppah and lunch afterward, attended by 30 members of the couple’s immediate families – and a second dinner shift just for 30 close friends who hadn’t attended the first half of the day.

As always, we’re absolutely in love with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel’s dreamy photos of the day – and we’re totally unsurprised to hear that the couple found Claudine an absolute joy to work with on the big day.

We’ll let Anna take it from here…

How we Met

Anna, the bride and Simon, the groom: We were introduced by a mutual friend of our parents; she told us very little about each other. We added each other on Facebook and messaged briefly before going on a ‘blind date’. Things flourished from there – it was an old fashioned introduction.Continue Reading

Free 7-Day Passover Prep Party – We Start Tomorrow!

17/03/2021 by Karen

Image: Fashionable Hostess

Happy Wednesday! Just a quick one to say that we start our Smashing The Glass Passover Prep Party tomorrow!

With the Holidays coming up, how about making some new Jewish friends inside the Passover Prep Party community?

Whether you’re Jewish or Jew-ish, married, engaged or single, you’ll meet new people, and go from feeling unsure to excited and prepared and part of a warm, inclusive community.

FUN PRIZES!

I’m also giving away Amazon vouchers, a Pesach Box from Israeli Box and a mystery grand prize!

So whether you’re able to get together with family or not, come and join our warm and inclusive Passover community and have fun, win prizes, and have an even more authentic and beautiful Seder than you ever thought possible.

Real Jewish Brides: Chris on working on their Ketubah

17/03/2021 by Smashing The Glass

Chris will be marrying Ariel on 6th June 2021 in Chris’ Aunt and Uncle’s front yard. Click here to read all of Chris’ planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Ariel proposed to Chris in November 2020 (2) Chris swiped right on Ariel and the rest is history! (3) Chris + Ariel will be having an intimate 10-person wedding.

When I told my mother (a hippie Jew who married an Irish Catholic community organizer) we were working on our Ketubah, she told me that the thought of a document proving she had been sold to a man did not fit in with her feminist sensibilities. For this reason, they did not have one for their interfaith marriage in 1982. I explained to her that although I see where she is coming from, it is traditional to fight in front of your Ketubah. Writing it together is a way to craft a reminder of what is important to us when we don’t like each other very much or when the road ahead seems too hard to bear.

My mom thought this reframing was beautiful. With that lofty goal weighing heavily on our shoulders, during a weekend away on the Cape, in the dead of winter, looking out onto a frozen lake, we began to craft this sacred document: part love letter, part promise, part aspiration, part reminder.

Free 7-Day Passover Prep Party with Smashing The Glass (Starts in 48 hours!)

16/03/2021 by Karen

It’s hard to believe that for most of us, it’s going to be another lockdown Passover. I think we were all really hoping the pandemic would’ve wound down by now. But as far as making the holiday special goes, we’ve got you!

I’m hosting free online gathering with sessions on how to host a Seder + Passover recipes + live music + Haggadah ideas + cook-a-longs + prizes + more – all inside a pop-up Facebook group.

In a year when we need community more than ever, we’ll be making chocolate caramel matzah crunch (and other how-to sessions). We’ll listen to live music, and get ready for Seder (whether it’s your first or you’re a regular), all whilst chatting about the symbolism of it all.

You’ll meet like-minded Jewish women from not just your local area, but all over the world #squadgoals.

I’ll be going live every day inside the Passover Prep Party pop-up Facebook group to talk about a different element of Pesach and everyone who takes part will get a ‘Passover Prep Party bingo card too!

Each square will have something different on it ranging from very basic things like ‘buy your Matzah’ to making table decor to more meaningful squares about breaking free from things that are holding us back etc. We’ll all have fun trying to get a line on the bingo card – or even a full house…. and there will be PRIZES too!

On yes – prizes like Amazon vouchers, a Pesach Box from Israeli Box and a mystery grand prize that I will reveal during the Challenge!

And did I mention it’s 100% FREE?!

The challenge starts on Thursday and it’s for everyone whether you’re Jewish, Jew-ish, married, engaged or single… come on in!

An Anne Barge Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding at Gotham Hall, NYC, New York, USA

15/03/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Remember when weddings could be inside? And have triple-digit guest counts? Hopefully the day when weddings no longer have to be socially distanced will come sooner rather than later… but until then, feast your eyes on the gorgeous pre-pandemic Jewish wedding of Caroline, who runs operations at a diagnostics start-up, and Alex, a chemist-turned-management consultant.

These two worked withwedding planner Susie Blumenfeld of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Pink House Productions to craft their perfect Manhattan glam celebration – complete with the perfect grand midtown venue, Gotham Hall; classic letterpress invitations designed by the multi-talented Susie Blumenfeld of Pink House Productions; and an elegant Anne Barge gown purchased from none other than Kleinfeld! And, in one of those quintessential only-in-New-York moves, at the end of the night the couple capped things off with a 3 AM visit to a Korean restaurant for a late night snack – still wearing their wedding clothes. Don’t miss Rebecca Weiss Photography’s images of the whole NYC-perfect day.

We also love that Caroline and Alex each had their own tisch before the ceremony, where they could gather with their friends and family to get the celebration started. Alex didn’t have a ton of demands for the big day, but the one thing he was set on was having at least three types of herring at his tisch – and in the end, the venue (who also handled catering) supplied eight!

We’re also obsessed with the couple’s minimalist ketubah by the wonderful Stephanie Caplan of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Ketubah. Featuringa simple circular design with coppery-gold detail, it bears a quote from the Book of Ruth across the top: “Ki el asher telchi eilech,” “Wherever you go, I will go” – the same quote that’s inscribed on the inside of Alex’s ring.

We’ll leave it to the bride to fill you in on the rest…