Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Vera Wang Bride for a Brooklyn Meets Tropical Paradise Jewish Wedding at 501 Union, Brooklyn, New York, USA

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There’s nothing like a little hometown pride – and what better to serve as inspiration for your Jewish wedding? Today’s bride and groom, Rebecca and Brandon, are both passionate Brooklynites – and they used their love of their home borough as inspiration for their big day.

Their venue, 501 Union, in Brooklyn neighborhood Gowanus, is SO industrial chic, and the couple complemented it with fun touches like a personalized map of Brooklyn on the back of their invitations (with key spots in the couple’s lives marked), mini Junior’s cheesecakes as favors, a Brooklyn-fabulous cocktail hour menu including lox on everything bagel chips, pastrami bites, and Coney Island hot dogs, and even a Coolhaus ice cream sandwich truck!

We’re also digging the urban jungle vibes Rebecca and Brandon went with for their florals – how fun is their chuppah?! Don’t miss it in Billye Donya Photography’s wonderful pics.

We’ll leave it to the bride, who looked utterly urban chic in Vera Wang…


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How we met

Rebecca, the bride: We swiped right on Tinder, so obviously didn’t know much about each other before we met. For our first date, he suggested we meet after work near the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park, since it was right in between our apartments, and grab a drink from there.

I had certain hesitations about meeting a random internet man at the park at dusk so I told a good handful of friends about the date, so they’d know what to tell the authorities if I never came back… Anyway, once I saw Brandon in his Canadian tuxedo (denim on denim, baby!), I knew I had nothing to worry about (;

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The Ultimate 2020 Hanukkah Gifting Guide

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With Hanukkah just weeks away we’re rounding up our favorite Hanukkah gifts below. And have you downloaded our free Hanukkah guide packed with everything you need for a lit Hanukkah? It’s packed with easy recipe and decor ideas, songs, gift ideas, blessings, symbolism, and how to feel part of a community – even when it’s 2020. Download it here.

The Ultimate Chanukah Sweater by Sefira Lightstone

We’re obsessed with this totally gorgeous and 100% non-cheesy Hanukkah sweatshirt from artist and illustrator Sefira Lightstone. Featuring the skyline of ancient Jerusalem, a 7-branch menorah (the kind in the temple in Jerusalem that was miraculously kept burning for 8 days in the holiday’s origin story), and Hebrew text reading “A Great Miracle Happened There,” this is one holiday sweatshirt we’d be more than happy to wear year-round.

Marzipan Sufganiyot by Marzipops from ModernTribe
(10% discount for Smashing Life members)

It’s sufganiyot! No, it’s marzipan! Wait, it’s… marzipan sufganiyot! If you’re into foods that look like other foods, this sweet kosher-certified box of assorted Hanukkah doughnuts (that are actually almond paste) is going to be RIGHT up your alley. Bonus: it’ll stay fresh a whole lot longer than a box of actual sufganiyot.

Flora Petite Keepsake Gift Box by New York & Narrative
(10% discount for Smashing Life members)

Jewish-owned small business New York & Narrative puts together some of the most stylish gift boxes we’ve ever seen – and Flora, which comes packed goodies including a dark chocolate bar, a botanical facial steam, a soy travel candle scented with cedar, amber, and bay leaves, and a bundle of hand-dried florals –  is perfect for anyone in your life who deserves some serious pampering this Hanukkah.

Hanukkah Candy from See’s Candies

How cute would a bowl full of these little berry-flavored Star of David hard candies look on your Hanukkah table?Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Asaf Dadush Bride for an Ultra-Personal Summer Jewish Wedding at Luca, Israel

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Can’t you just feel the love seeping out of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si’s photos of bride Stav, an M.Sc student in biomedical engineering, and groom Ran, a CPA?

This beautiful Israeli Jewish wedding was SO full of emotion, and we are here for it! We love that Stav and Ran read letters they’d written to each other aloud during their ceremony – and how sweet is it that the couple’s families and friends wrote new lyrics to a favorite song all about the pair’s relationship, along with a cute video?! Possibly even more adorable, Stav’s father wrote new lyrics to‘What a Wonderful World,’a song they’d often danced to together when Stav was little, and which turned into the soundtrack to their father-daughter dance – awwwww!

Back to those incredible photos by mega-talentedSmashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si – it’s worth saying again that we just can’t get over how dreamy these pics are. And we’re not at all surprised to hear that on the day, Jossef was a calming presence who made the camera-shy couple feel totally comfortable.

Now over to Stav, who looked ravishing in her Asaf Dadush gown…


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How we Met

Stav, the bride: We have been dating for the past 5 years, but we know each other from before. It all started ten years ago, in 2010. Ran had just resigned the army and I was a senior in high-school, we met at the beach in Eilat city, where we both went on vacation with friends. Ran played the guitar and sang funny songs with his friends, and we all bonded. Since then, I had my eye on him, and tried to start a little conversation afterwards on Facebook but it didn’t go well.

A year after I decided to do the SAT test before joining the army, and Ran took the same course at the very same time. We met again, started learning together, had a very good time (very platonic I must say) and when I joined the army the connection faded. 5 year later when I came back from my after-army trip around the world and Ran was a CPA student, he sent me a message, we went out and from that point on it’s all history.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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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