Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Real Jewish Brides: Erin on Her Wedding Day!

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Erin married Josh on 1st November 2020 in Charlottesville, VA, USA. Click here to read all Erin’ planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Erin and Josh planned an outdoorsy fall wedding on a budget in Virginia’s Shenandoah mountains. (2) Erin recently completed her conversion to Judaism, and she and Josh are looking forward to filling their big day with Jewish traditions while keeping it enjoyable and understandable to friends and family from all backgrounds. (3) Erin is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!


When DIY-ing is more “doing-it-yourselves” than “doing-it-yourself”

As many brides are, I was working on a strict budget for my wedding, and I really couldn’t afford to pay fabulous artists and creators to make various aspects of my wedding day.

Luckily, Judaism has this notion called “hiddur mitzvah,” which can be interpreted as bringing beauty to ritual objects. I kind of took this notion and applied it to as many parts of my wedding as I could.

I have always loved vintage park posters, and since living so close to Shenandoah National Park means that Josh and I spend a lot of time hiking and driving through the gorgeous Blue Ridge mountains, I decided to try to incorporate their aesthetics into our save the dates. About a year into our relationship, Josh had gotten really into astrophotography, and wanted to start trying to take photos of the Milky Way, and he really took to it.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Brides: Orli on Her Yoga Training Journey

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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!


It’s been a couple of months since my last post and whilst I have nothing to report on, wedding related. My last few months have absolutely flown by and I seem to be keeping busy. At the beginning of 2020, I had a plan for my whole year starting with the second weekend of January when I had my first yoga teacher training weekend. It was the best three days that I had had in a long time and I was so happy that I was starting my journey as a yoga teacher, a dream of mine that I had since I finished university. 

The first weekend was incredible and it opened my eyes to a totally new journey, I dived straight in embracing myself with the philosophy, the journaling, the breath, the practice and the anatomy. 

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A David’s Bride for a Winter Jewish Wedding with an Epic Dessert Indulgence Bar at The Grove, Watford, UK

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We’re so excited to be sharing the gorgeous winter wonderland Jewish wedding of Dorothy, who’s not only a beloved Brides Club member but also happens to be the winner of a very special competition we ran last year with luxury sweet purveyors GC Couture.

Dorothy and Dan were the lucky winners of an amazing kosher Indulgence Bar® by GC Couture, an assortment of luxe sweet treats from cookies to cake pops to macarons to brownie bites to cupcakes plus a fabulous centerpiece wedding cake. The pair can’t stop raving about their tasting at GC Couture‘s Mayfair offices, where they settled on red velvet as their cake flavor – along with intricately decorated biscuits, cake pops, cakes, and macaroons matching the couple’s winter white color scheme. Everything looks SO mouthwateringly delicious – don’t miss this epic spread in Chiko Photography’s images and Yoni Cohen’s trailer!

Lest you think the party ended there, Dorothy and Dan also booked phenomenal Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Function Band, who, true to form, kept guests on the dancefloor all night with their incredible energy and played something for everyone. The couple also worked with the wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Toastmaster Jango, who kept everything in check and ensured things ran smoothly on the day.

Before we turn you over to Dorothy, we just have to share some of her kind words about her experience as a member of Brides Club: “During the lead up to the wedding my biggest saviour were the girls in Brides Club! Any question you ask, no matter how silly you might think you are for asking, anything that’s on your mind they’re there within seconds to help you!” We couldn’t agree more!

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Cosy Meets Luxe

Dorothy, the bride: We got married at the Grove in Watford. Set within the most beautiful grounds, it’s the perfect mix of cosy and comfortable with luxury hotel all rolled into one. 

I fell in love with it after a family visit over 10 years ago and knew then I wanted to get married there one day. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Outfit Your Home for Hanukkah 2020

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Hanukkah Garland by SheepFarmFelt via Etsy

Chances are, you’re spending a lot more time at home this year than usual. And while the reasons for that are obviously not so happy, it doesn’t mean some of the outcomes can’t be – like the fact that in 2020 more people than ever seem to be decorating for the holidays. 

And there’s no reason that can’t include Hanukkah – in fact, here at Team STG we feel strongly that it should! We know Hanukkah’s not traditionally a big decorating holiday, but there’s nothing like some joyous reminders of the upcoming Festival of Lights to inject some cheer into your living space – something just about all of us could use right now.

And lest you think Hanukkah decor’s just for kids, think again: these days, there are so many beautiful, sophisticated, not-at-all -cheesy pieces to choose from, whether your preferred style skews contemporary, rustic, vintage, or boho. Read on for some of our top picks.

Star of David Botanical Hanukkah Decoration from Peace Love Light
(10% discount for Smashing Life members)

We are loving the rustic vibes of these Star of David botanical hanging decorations!

Mini Hanukkah Garland from the Kitcut via ModernTribe
(10% discount for Smashing Life members)

This cute mini Hanukkah garland is just the right size for perking up your work-from-home office digs!

Lights of Hanukkah Plate Set from The Jewish Museum Shop

Fun fact: latkes and sufganiyot taste better when you eat them off these festive dessert plates featuring four different Hanukkah lamps from the collections of the Jewish Museum in New York City.

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A Picture-Perfect 25-Person Backyard Jewish Micro Wedding at an Airbnb in Connecticut, USA

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We are consistently so, SO impressed with the gorgeous Jewish micro weddings flooding our inbox these days. We know not too many 2020 couples planned on getting married in a backyard with a guest count that, in some cases, barely climbs above the single digits – and yet you’re all totally rocking it.

Take Rebecca, a consultant, and Yosef, a third-year law student. These two had originally planned a big wedding near the bride’s home of Potomac, Maryland, but when the pandemic struck they had to go back to the drawing board to come up with a COVID-safe outdoor affair for 25.

The couple, who live in the New York area, found the perfect solution in a Connecticut Airbnb that happened to have not only a stunning backyard, where the festivities were held, but also super considerate owners who went above and beyond to make Rebecca and Yosef feel at home on their big day.

Rebecca’s dad, who happens to be a rabbi, not only married the couple but also built their chuppah, Rebecca did her own makeup and found the perfect simple white dress to wear in lieu of her gown – which she’s planning on saving for the bigger celebration she and Yosef hope to have when it’s safe to do so – and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor C. Schvarcz photographed the day SO beautifully. Initially, Rebecca and Yosef were considering skipping pro photography altogether, given the tight limit on the number of people who could be present, but now, looking back, they are unreservedly delighted that they opted to work with Chaim. In Rebecca’s words, “Having the photos to look back on feels like the only sense of normalcy from the entire event.”

Relatedly, we love Rebecca’s advice that, even though a micro wedding will likely feel very different than the wedding you had originally hoped for, it’s still absolutely worth treating it like the real thing! Whether or not you plan to have a big celebration later on, don’t skimp on the touches that will make your small wedding special – whether that’s hiring an amazing photographer like C. Schvarcz, wearing something that makes you feel amazing, having an epic cake, or anything else.

Now over to the bride…

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How we Met

Rebecca, the bride: We met 3 years ago at a Simchat Torah party, we actually lived a block away from each other so he offered to walk me home, and then we ended up seeing each other a lot after that and naturally drew closer to each other.

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