Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Pronovias Bride for an Elegant Pandemic Jewish Wedding at the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand, Paris, France

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We’re absolutely obsessed with the uber-chic Jewish wedding of Parisian couple Lauren, a resident in medical oncology, and Eitan, a dental surgeon. These two planned such a perfectly elegant celebration in the luxe ballroom of the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand, if not for the masks in their photos we’d never have guessed they wed during the pandemic.

Though the pair did have to postpone from July to September, they were fortunate in being able to stick with their original venue – at the time of their wedding, France’s only restrictions on gatherings were that masks and social distancing were required, and by cutting their original guest list in half Lauren and Eitan were able to make the Intercontinental’s ballroom work by spacing tables far apart and keeping the crowd at 1/3 the space’s full capacity. And we’re so glad they did, because this venue is really something special – don’t miss it in all its glory in Sprod Events’ gorgeous photos!

Because of the need for social distancing, not much dancing was possible – and so Lauren and Eitan had the clever idea to have a light show to keep everyone entertained! We also can’t get over the fact that their venue hired a security guard to walk around and make sure all the guests were wearing their masks properly throughout the wedding – and Lauren reports that to this day, guests are still joking about the “Mossad agent” they had at their wedding!

We can’t turn you over to Lauren without mentioning that she is a beloved member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club, and we’re so touched to hear how much she valued the group during her wedding planning – so much so that, in her words, “joining the club is my first advice to other brides!”

Take it away, Lauren!

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How we Met

Lauren, the bride: We met through mutual friends, during a Birthright trip to Israel in summer 2015.

I did this trip with my best friend, who brought her sister, and the sister brought some of her friends. One of them was Eitan. We got to know each other during the trip, then we kept in touch, and became good friends. Two months and a half later we were finally dating. 4 years later we were engaged, and 11 months later, we are married !

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Real Jewish Brides: Orli on Her Upcoming Wedding

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Orli will be marrying Ben on 30th May 2021 at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK. Click here to read all Orli’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Orli and Ben met on Jswipe. (2) Although their venue, the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, couldn’t be more quintessentially London, Orli and Ben are going for a countryside feel. (3) Orli is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!


When we first decided we were going to postpone in June of 2020, we had thought that by our new date 30 May 2021 everything would look normal and we would be able to have our planned wedding with 220 guests. We thought we would be able to get married with all of our family and friends around us and it would be at our original venue St Pancras Renaissance. However, the closer we got to our original date of 6 September 2020, the more we realised that things wouldn’t be back to what we used to think was a ‘normal wedding’. By November, we had postponed our honeymoon to South Africa and I had cancelled my hen. 

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A Last-Minute Jewish Micro Wedding in the Forest, Eshta’ol, Israel

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Today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding took place right at the start of the pandemic last year (hard to believe it’s been a year, right?), when we were just starting to hear about micro wedding and minimonies. But Mayan, a student in dance and movement therapy, and Mola, an animation student, pulled off their intimate celebration so expertly you’d never guess they were COVID wedding pioneers.

The Israeli couple had initially planned a big wedding in Jerusalem for May 2020, but as the situation started getting more serious they realized their Plan A was unlikely to work. Instead of waiting it out, Mayan and Mola decided to bump their wedding up, so they could make things official before Israel’s first lockdown began.

With just a few days’ notice, the pair planned a whole new wedding for an intimate crowd of 18, set outdoors in a beautiful forest near Jerusalem. Since their surroundings were so naturally gorgeous, they didn’t need to do much – the groom set up a little décor the morning of, and the couple opted for a simple chuppah with white cloth atop wooden poles, held by Mola’s brothers and cousin. Luckily, the couple’s amazing photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si, was able to make it – and we are absolutely in love with his dreamy photos of the day.

Being such a last-minute affair, there were a few challenges along the way – the groom’s suit wasn’t ready in time, and the bride’s got an amazing only-in-Israel story about how she sourced her wedding shoes on short notice when most shops had already closed due to COVID. But in the end, Mayan and Mola say they wouldn’t have had their wedding any other way. In the bride’s words, “I am glad that our wedding ended up being very simple and modest. Sometimes the stress of planning a large event takes out the fun and excitement of just getting married!”

We’ll let her take it from here…

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How We Met

Mayan, the bride: We were introduced to each other through a mutual friend who Mola met travelling in India and I met in a group with which I studied in “Nefesh Yehudi” in the campus of the Hebrew University. Gali and Adi who were in my group thought of the ‘Shiduch’ together, and that’s how we started dating.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Stella York Bride for a Jewish Shift Wedding at the Inn at the Forks, Winnipeg, Canada

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Just two weeks before their wedding day, Faye-Rae and Aaron had to completely rethink their plans when their city’s COVID restrictions limited gatherings to just ten people. Despite having to change venues and reorganize the whole day on very short notice, in the end their Jewish wedding turned out to be nothing short of fabulous.

In order to include as many people in their celebration as possible, the couple opted for a shift wedding, where separate groups of guests attended for a couple of hours at a time. Since the cap on how many guests could be present at one time was so low, Faye-Rae and Aaron had two ceremonies – one for the bride’s family and one for the groom’s – and three mini cocktail hours, rotating family and friends throughout the day. This way, they were able to include more of their loved ones while sticking to the local regulations – and for those who couldn’t participate in person, the duo livestreamed their ceremony.

We’re in love with Black and Gold Photography’s luminous images of the day – not to mention the couple’s beautiful tree of life ketubah by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Nava Shoham!

Now over to the bride, who looked so elegant in Stella York…

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How we met

Faye-Rae, the bride: We both work in the insurance industry and met at our company’s Christmas party.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Brides: Jenna on Postponing for the Third Time

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Jenna will be marrying Mat in November 2021 at The Lodge at Ventana Canyon in Tucson, Arizona. Click here to read all Jenna’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Jenna + Mat have known each other all their lives – they met when they were both one-year-old at a baby class! (2) Their relationship began at the University of Arizona in March 2012 (3) Mat proposed at Jenna’s parents house in December 2018


Things have been quite crazy these past few weeks! We packed up our apartment in Brooklyn & started a cross-country drive to move back home to Tucson, AZ. So thankful for pods-style moving services that let you pack up, then they ship the moving pods, & deliver when you’re ready!

We already have our hands full driving with a cat, I’m glad we don’t have to be driving a Uhaul. Can’t wait to be fully moved into our large, less expensive than our one-bedroom-NYC-apartment house! Our drive will have taken us through 12 states total & with 2 stops along the way to see people: one with a friend from college & a 2nd stop with my brother, sister-in-law, & nephews, just in time for Purim!

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