Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Virtual Bridal Fashion Week: Coronavirus Lockdown Edition

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Photo courtesy of Pronovias, stocked at Mirror Mirror London 

Ordinarily, this time of year I’d be reporting back to you with all my hot takes from New York Bridal Market, bringing you the best of the best of the latest bridal fashions. The wedding industry’s answer to Fashion Week, Bridal Market is one of my favorites times of the year (or actually, two of them – like Fashion Week, it happens every April and October). 

Photo courtesy of Katya Katya London

It didn’t happen this year. Obivously. As with so many, many eagerly anticipated events, Bridal Market fell victim to COVID-19. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some fab new collections to ogle: even though we couldn’t check them out in person, we’re actually totally obsessed with what we’ve seen of the latest collections. 

Photo courtesy of Joyce Young

We weren’t able to feature as wide a lineup of designers and boutiques as we would normally, since a lot is still up in the air right now. But we’re grateful that a handful of our favorite boutiques and designers were in a position to share what they’re excited about for going forward. Top London bridal boutiques Mirror Mirror London and Morgan Davies Bridal, along with designers Katya Katya, based in London and Latvia, and Joyce Young, based in London and Glasgow, shared some absolutely swoonworthy styles I’m pretty sure you’ll fall in love with.

Photo courtesy of Jesus Peiro, stocked at Morgan Davies Bridal

Majestic Minimalism 

How perfect is this Jesus Peiro number (style number 208, to be precise), soon to be stocked by Morgan Davies Bridal?! It also happens to be made of a new eco fabric made from recycled bottles, but more about that later!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

What to Know If You’re Planning a Jewish Wedding During the Coronavirus Outbreak

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Karen Cinnamon Smashing The GlassWhen you’re planning an event of a lifetime you never dream of doing it in the context of a global pandemic. My heart goes out to you – it’s a challenge – but the bottom line is, Coronavirus or no, you’re going to have an amazing wedding – even if it may look a little different than it did prior to the pandemic. And I’m here to help ensure that happens.

I’ve just updated our free guide with step-by-step actions for what to do depending on your wedding date.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE: Coronavirus and your wedding – what to do if you have a wedding booked in 2020 free guide.

The guide is split into five parts:

  1. What to do if your wedding is planned in the next 8 weeks.
  2. What to do if your wedding is planned from July 2020 to December 2020.
  3. What to do if you are planning a wedding internationally in 2020
  4. The steps to take if you need to postpone your wedding
  5. How to have a Zoom wedding
  6. Can You Get Your Deposits Back?

I’m here for you, and can’t wait to guide you on your journey towards the chuppah. 

Keep planning and keep upbeat and positive! As challenging as this period is it can re-orientate us and refocus us to create a wedding that’s even more meaningful and more romantic.
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Real Jewish Brides: Jos on Support for Wedding Vendors

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Jos will be marrying Daniel on 1st November 2020 at Hackney Town Hall, London, UK. Click here to read all Jos’ planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Before meeting Daniel, Jos was known for her torrid dating tales – so much so that her friends used to call her Bridget Jonestein! (2) Daniel proposed to Jos in the Greek island of Naxos! (3) Jos is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!


Let’s hear it for our vendors

Like for many other people, the last few weeks have been a devastating whirlwind for me and my family. We have watched, horrified, as this horrible situation has escalated out of control, threatening the lives of our loved ones, our financial stability and, sadly, rendered us unsure of whether our weddings will go ahead on the dates we’d planned them for.

Two weeks ago, we quickly hustled and put in place a contingency date for our wedding, thanks to the advice of Karen during a Live in the Brides Club! We were lucky that we were able to align all of our amazing suppliers to move our wedding to November, if the situation didn’t look like it was going to clear up and they all agreed. Speaking honestly, I found this process extremely difficult.

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An Irena Burshtein Bride for a Surprise Jewish Wedding at Olmaya, Jerusalem, Israel

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So we’ve seen surprise Jewish weddings where the bride and groom spring their plans on unsuspecting guests day of. But we’re pretty sure this is the first ever wedding we’ve seen planned entirely by the groom, as a surprise for the bride!

When South African couple Gemma, a PhD student in virology, and David, who has his own business developing properties, set off on their trip to Israel, the bride had no idea what her soon-to-be groom had in store for her. Gemma thought she was just off on holiday, but turns out David had actually spent the past 11 months secretly planning a whirlwind engagement (at the Kotel!) and wedding!

Unbeknownst to Gemma, David even coordinated with the couple’s friends and family from around the world, who all flew in for their surprise bash. We’re obsessed with David’s venue pick of Olmaya, with its jawdroppingly epic views of Jerusalem’s Old City, and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Luz Weddings Photography captured it all so exquisitely – we’re in love with their gorgeous shots of the breathtaking outdoor chuppah!

Gemma looked so ravishing in her Irena Burshtein gown, you’d never guess she had only one day to choose it – between her whirlwind engagement and wedding! The amazing team even managed to turn around her alterations in three days.

This is one unique wedding, and we’re so excited to let Gemma fill you in on all the details…

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HOW WE MET

Gemma, the bride: We met in 2013 after being set up on a blind date by our mothers. Not the most romantic story, but quite a funny one. Moms do know best!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Outdoor Jewish Wedding at Texas Discovery Gardens and Butterfly House, Dallas, Texas, USA

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Mica-Gabriel-Texas-Discovery-Gardens-and-Butterfly-House
We always love featuring the weddings of our beloved STG Brides Club members, and the beautiful outdoor Jewish wedding of Mica, an otolaryngologist, and Gabriel, a general surgeon, is no exception.

And we’re so touched to hear that Mica found Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club a huge help in planning her big day, appreciating the supportive community and the ability to bounce ideas off other brides going through the same thing without having to bother her non-bride friends about wedding minutia!

If you want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club too, you can do so here. It’s the place to be for Jewish and Jew-ish brides-to-be!

And onto Mica’s wedding, there’s not much that sounds more romantic than a wedding in a  butterfly garden, and Mica and Gabriel’s gorgeous wedding doesn’t disappoint. Their venue provided such a stunning setting, especially for the glorious outdoor chuppah, and we love how the couple works butterflies in as a motif for their day, with everything from butterfly-shaped paper napkin ring holders to laser cut butterfly table cards. Maegan Rachelle Photography captured everything so perfectly!

Now over to the bride, who looked ever so romantic in Winnie Couture…

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HOW WE MET

Mica, the bride: We met almost 11 years ago on March of the Living (MOL). I am originally from Dallas and Gabriel is originally from Boca Raton. We were grouped together for MOL as the Southern region of the United States. We started dating near to the start of college though Gabriel was in college at Florida State University and I was in California at Stanford.

We both continued on to medical school – still long distance between New York and Florida. Finally for surgical residency, we both made it to Houston- the city that finally brought us together!

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