Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

2020 Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Erin + Josh: How They Met To The Present Day…

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Today on the blog we’re introducing our 7th gorgeous bride from our crop of 2020 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Erin, who will be marrying Josh on 1st November 2020 at Congregation Beth Israel, in Charlottesville, VA, USA.

THREE FACTS: (1) Erin and Josh are planning 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!


How you met

Like any true millennials, Josh and I met on a dating app. Because we connected over the holidays, we talked for a few months while I was visiting family in Florida and when Josh was on Birthright in Israel.

We were able to ever go on our first date on January 16, 2018 — best cup of coffee I’ve ever had. We clicked almost instantly, and have been inseparable since.

We are both huge nerds about the things we love (Josh is a brilliant musician and photographer, I love language, crafts, and Harry Potter) and we are both big on communication.

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A Laid-Back Destination Jewish Wedding with a Rugelach Tower at The Lawrence in Old Jaffa, Israel

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Is there anything better than a Jewish wedding in picturesque Old Jaffa? Between the historic architecture and the ocean views and the chill Israeli vibes, we’re pretty sure the answer is a resounding no! If you don’t believe us, just look at the incredible photos of STG Brides Club member Dianne, who is completing a surgical residency, and lawyer groom Shaya’s big day captured by mega-talented Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ronen Boidek – according to the couple, booking him was one of the very best decisions they made during wedding planning. And we couldn’t agree more!

And while you’re at it, check out the awesome trailer from videographer Vladimir Tkach.

With such a stunning setting, Dianne and Shaya knew they wanted to keep their décor simple, favoring greenery and white florals that complemented the historic space – and they found the absolute  perfect person for the job in Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Yana from Craspedia Events. We’re totally obsessed with the bouquets, centerpieces, and decorations she created.

And we’re positively drooling over the delicious menu from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Maasia Catering, who put together a delectable modern Mediterranean menu, complete with fun interactive food stations.

Oh, and we can’t turn you over to Dianne before we tell you about one more awesome touch: instead of a traditional cake, Dianne and Shaya opted for a rugelach tower. Yes, you heard that right – in honor of the groom’s favorite sweets from Jerusalem’s famed Marzipan Bakery, these two celebrated with three tiers of chocolate and cinnamon rugelach goodness – with a small cake on top, for tradition’s sake.

Ok, now over to the bride!

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How we met

Dianne, the bride: While I am from Vancouver and Shaya is from Montreal, we met in Toronto while I was doing an elective as a medical student and Shaya was there for work. We did not think we were going to see each other again after I flew home, but here we are!

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A St. Patrick Bride for a Wes Anderson-Inspired Jewish Wedding at Finca Villa Palma, Marbella, Spain

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We don’t know what we love more about today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding, the Wes Anderson-inspired dusty pink color scheme and fun touches (think churro station!), or the meaningful, personal ceremony Claudia, a solicitor, and Marc, a dental therapist and property developer (he featured on an episode of Homes Under the Hammer), put together.

It’s hard to go wrong with a quintessentially Marbella venue like Finca Villa Palma – we’re talking palm trees, ocean vibes, and mountain views galore – but these two really took it to the next level with design touches like luxe blush pink and gold foil invitations from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor EYI LOVE, one of the very best luxury design and print studios in the business. Claudia and Marc can’t stop raving about the unique design and the high quality.

And we love that these two made sure their ceremony was a true reflection of who they are as a couple – for example, instead of Claudia circling Marc seven times as is traditional, each of them circled the other three times, and then they made a final circle together. And Claudia used her grandma’s wedding ring under the chuppah – so special!

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bloomfield Photography captured all the details and emotion of this magical day so perfectly – we’re totally obsessed with their incredible photos. And they also connected the couple to their wonderful videographer, Reece Iveson.

Now over to the bride, who looked luminous in her St Patrick dress…

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How We Met

Claudia, the bride: Marc and I met while I was living in London and Marc was living in Manchester. We went to a New Year’s Eve party with some mutual friends and things just went from there. We then did long distance for 3 years before I finally moved up to Manchester around 5 years ago!

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Everything You Need to Know about Jewish Wedding Stationery {Live with Jack McGinnigal of EYI Love}

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Ever been baffled by the standard layout for a Jewish wedding invitation? Wondered how far in advance of the wedding you need to choose your stationer? Or maybe you’re just curious what’s trending in the wedding stationery world at the moment?

We know selecting your wedding stationery can be a daunting task, with so many factors to take into consideration. That’s why we’re so excited to be bringing you a live session on everything you need to know about Jewish wedding stationery with Jack McGinnigal of luxury design and print studio EYI Love.

Based in Glasgow and working with Jewish couples all over the world, EYI Love are among the best in the industry – and they’re experts when it comes to what sets Jewish wedding stationery in particular apart.

Jack will be chatting with me on our Smashing The Glass – Jewish Wedding Blog Facebook page this Monday, 25 November, all about the logistics of planning a wedding weekend. Jack will be answering all your questions live, so if there’s anything you want to know about wedding stationery, ask away!

We’ll be covering topics including:

  • How to choose your stationery style
  • When to contact a stationer, and how far in advance to order various components of your stationery suite
  • Special layouts for Jewish weddings, and working with Hebrew text
  • Current wedding stationery trends
  • How to incorporate your stationery design across your wedding, from save the dates to thank yous
  • Details to make your wedding stationery extra special

And much more!

We’ll be chatting in real time, so you can ask Jack and me anything you want during our live broadcast, or you can submit a question in advance by emailing karen@smashingtheglass.com 

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2020 Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Orli + Ben: How They Met To The Present Day…

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Today on the blog we’re introducing our 6th gorgeous bride from our crop of 2020 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Orli, who will be marrying Ben on 6th September 2020 at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK.

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!


How you met

We met on Jswipe, which seems to be a common way to meet these days. We have recently found our first Jswipe messages where I couldn’t help but laugh at his first chat up line which was ‘Birmingham University sounds fun’ to which I replied ‘I graduated three years ago!’.

After speaking for 6 weeks we met up and were pretty much inseparable from the second date where he asked me to meet his brothers and parents.

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