Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A David’s Bride for a Nature Lovers’ Jewish Wedding at Ramat Rachel, Jerusalem, Israel

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There’s nothing like an Israeli wedding. And we’re especially in love with the beautiful Jewish wedding of Cassie, a social media manager, and Yona, who works in construction, who met while working together in Jerusalem’s Old City. Both nature lovers, we’re obsessed with the way the pair brought their enthusiasm for the outdoors into their big day.  

They opted to wed at Ramat Rachel, a kibbutz in the outskirts of Jerusalem full of wild greenery, with a verdant ketubah strewn with pink and white flowers to match.They even opted for a gorgeous nature-inspired ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush. We’re crazy about the exquisite, joyous photos from Jonny Finkel Photography and videography by Shlomi Tzur.

Music also played a big role in Cassie and Yona’s wedding, with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor DJ Naor keeping the guests on the dance floor until the end of the night, and the bride’s family surprising her with an original song! The bridesmaids and groomsmen got in on the action too, secretly working with the groom to choreograph a dance they all did together to surprise the bride. Aww!

Now over to Cassie, who looked like an absolute princess in her David’s Bridal gown and rose gold glitter sneakers by Keds – Kate Spade…

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Natural Vibes

We got married at Ramat Rachel which is a kibbutz in the outskirts of Jerusalem. We fell in love with all the nature when we went to visit the venue for the first time and we were sold. 

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A Spiritual, Magical Florida Backyard Jewish Wedding Reimagined Due to COVID-19

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Today’s Jewish wedding is so unbelievably, jaw-droppingly, breathtakingly gorgeous, it’s hard to believe it wasn’t the couple’s Plan A all along. But believe it or not, bride Ganga, whose work combines counseling, astrology, ritual, and ecological design to support clients through change and loss, and Seth, a strength and conditioning coach who draws on a similarly interdisciplinary background, pulled together this intimate, impromptu wedding in the bride’s mother’s back garden after their original plans were waylaid by coronavirus.

These two had a bigger wedding at an eco-retreat all lined up – and they still plan to hold that bash, with their original lineup of vendors, next year – but when the pandemic hit, they changed their plans to this pared-down backyard celebration with a focus on spirituality.

The couple, who are both training to be inter-spiritual ministers, poured themselves into developing a ceremony that felt deeply authentic to them both, from their circling around each other to the Adon Olam, to adapting the seven blessings to reflect poems and blessings from many traditions to reciting their own vows.

We also love the thought they put into selecting their gorgeous Gingko Spiral ketubah by Temma Gentles from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com: the ginkgo has been around for over 300 million years, meaning it’s a true adaptor and survivor – just what we all need to be in these uncertain times.

And would you believe these exquisite photos were shot by a first-time wedding photographer? Ganga’s bridesmaid – the only one who was able to make it in the end – just happens to be mega-talented photographer Thais Aquino, who’s clearly a natural at weddings!

Now over to Ganga, the bride…

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How we met

Ganga, the bride: We met through my best friend who had been one of Seth’s students, on New Year’s Eve 2016. The first thing I remember asking Seth was what his intention for 2017 was, to which he replied, “just to be love.” That immediately told me we were on the same page in our approach to life, and within a few weeks we were learning how to be love, together.

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Can You Postpone a Jewish Wedding Because of Coronavirus?

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Rabbi Paul Glantz officiating Laura and Gio’s wedding

We’ve been hearing that some of our STG Brides Club members have been getting pushback from friends and family when discussing the hard decision to postpone their Jewish wedding due to COVID-19.

You may even be getting messages from well-intentioned loved ones that it’s forbidden by Jewish law to push back your wedding date. But chances are, the people giving you flack about postponing are struggling to give you a solid reason for their objections.

So we wanted to clear things up for you once and for all. We chatted with our resident expert in all things Jewish law, Rabbi Paul Glantz (who has officiated many beautiful STG real weddings),  and he says it’s 100% fine to postpone a Jewish wedding.

It’s absolutely fine to postpone a Jewish wedding for Covid-19

Although it’s true that there’s a strong custom not to postpone under normal circumstances, it’s just that: a custom. There’s absolutely nothing in halacha (Jewish law) prohibiting it. While some very strict rabbis are taking the stance that, even amidst the pandemic, Jewish weddings shouldn’t be postponed, it’s important to know that that’s a very strict interpretation. 

Rabbis who are advising couples to avoid postponing may be relying on the tradition of not delaying joyous events – which, while a strong theme in Jewish law, absolutely does not override the stronger principle of pikuach nefesh, the idea that the preservation of human life takes priority over just about all other Jewish laws and customs. Given the danger of gatherings at this time, it’s pretty clear that by waiting to hold your wedding until the pandemic has receded, you are honoring pikuach nefesh – and there’s not much more Jewish than that!

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Real Jewish Brides: Alexandra On Postponing her Wedding

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Alexandra will be marrying Ian in May 2021 at La Corte Dei Messapi in Ostuni, Puglia, Italy. Click here to read all Alexandra’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: THREE FACTS: (1) Alexandra and Ian are planning an intimate black-tie destination wedding for 60 of their nearest and dearest in Puglia, Italy. (2) Alexandra is Jewish, and Ian is in the process of converting to Judaism. (3) Alexandra is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

In a turn of events that will surprise no one due to what the last month has looked like under quarantine, we had to postpone our wedding that was to be on 5-10-20. It was the perfect date but it was not meant to be. Everything was ready to go. We just had to do a few more small things like write our wedding vows, buy gifts for the parents and the bridesmaids, get my wedding dress fitted, and accessorize Ian’s tuxedo.

While it’s very disappointing to have to pull the brakes, we have been trying to focus on the bright sides. What’s nice about being so far along in the process is that we are way ahead of the game for next year. It also gives us time to think of new fun details to add to the wedding. 

  

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A Noa and Ayelet Bride for a Masquerade Jewish Wedding at Beit Shmuel, Jerusalem

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In need of a little vacation from reality? We’ve got just the thing, in the form of the fantastic masquerade-themed Jewish wedding of Devorah, who (fittingly) works in theater, and Yitzchak, who works for GoDaddy and blogs on the side – where you can read his take on the wedding.  

Because they got married on Rosh Chodesh Adar – the first day of the month of Purim, they decided their theme would be masquerade. With masks as favors and candelabras wrapped in roses on every table, this wedding could not have been more atmospheric – and how great that the guests totally got into the spirit, attending in masks and dress-up items of their own. The photos and video from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor aya-avi – a husband and wife duo, with Aya on photography and Avi on videography – are truly breathtaking, and we’re not at all surprised to hear the couple have been receiving an endless stream of compliments on them.

We’re also obsessed with Devorah and Yitzchak’s chuppah – and not just because of the stunning views overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City. Devorah crafted the chuppah herself, using her beloved late grandfather’s tallit for the canopy, draped over wooden poles wrapped in roses. So simple, and so perfect.

We love that the couple, who are Orthodox and had a traditional ceremony, went out of their way to make sure some of their female guests could participate in the ceremony, with four women who’d played important roles in Devorah and Yitzchak’s relationship holding the poles of the chuppah, and a close friend serving as MC. And both bride and groom spoke under the chuppah – just goes to show that even the most traditional of ceremonies hold plenty of space for personalization.

And how awesome is it that these two crafted their ketubah together, with the groom taking charge of the calligraphy and the bride handling the artwork?

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll let the bride – who looked stunning in her Noa and Ayelet dress – take it from here…

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HOW WE MET

Devorah, the bride: We met at a Shabbat meal of a mutual friend. I tried to get him to come see me perform, hoping I’d impress him and that would get the ball rolling. He never came to that run of the show. A few weeks later I invited him for a Shabbat meal I was hosting and we haven’t stopped talking since. He did make up for not showing up to my show. We did another run of the show a few months later and he proposed at the end of one of them!

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