Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Delila Fox Bride for a Modern Tropical Jewish Wedding at Villa Ban Suriya, Koh Samui, Thailand

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Tropical weddings are sure having a moment right now – whether in London or the actual tropics, Jewish brides and grooms are going wild for bright colours, laid-back vibes, and palms aplenty, and we’re here for it.

If tropical is your vibe, you can’t do much better than to marry in the tropical island paradise of Koh Samui, and that’s exactly what Bianca, an Australian Pilates instructor, and Ruben, a site manager/builder and carpenter hailing from France, did.

They put together the perfect modern tropical Jewish wedding on the beach, with a simple yet statement-making chuppah covered in tropical leaves. Photographer Toa of Weerayu Janthai and videographer Nok of Janthai Photography captured all the magic of this gorgeous day so perfectly.

Now we’ll hand you over to the bride, who looked simply smashing in Delila Fox (love that bow at the back), which she paired with adorable Marc Jacobs Daisy sneakers – fun and practical!

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How we met

Bianca, the bride: We met in Bondi at one of my favourite bar/restaurants called The Bucket List one sunny summery Sunday in December. I was with a few of my friends and Ruben and his friend joined our table. He noticed we were drinking French Rose so brought over a bottle for us all to enjoy. From then on it was go time!

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Real Jewish Brides: Nargiz’s #NoRegrets Bachelorette Party in Vegas

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Nargiz will be marrying Ryan on 9th November 2019 at Farmington Hills Manor, in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA. Click here to read all Nargiz’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Nargiz was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the wedding will combine her family’s traditions – they are Mountain Jews, or Gorski, and their culture is a mix of Persian and Middle Eastern influences – and Ryan’s American Ashkenazi background. (2) Nargiz’s mother tragically passed away last summer, so she has been facing wedding planning without her mom by her side. (3) Nargiz is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club! 

Final Check Off

We’ve been engaged for a year now and we have less than 4 months to go.  So far throughout the wedding planning process, I never felt rushed or stressed because we have had so much time. It has been really nice to have the time to pick and choose vendors, to take the time to make calls and meet with people.
 
I met with my wedding planner June from A June Event last week. We went over a rough timeline of the wedding day and he gave me a list of things I still need to complete. So now that it is getting closer to the wedding day, I need to cross off more and more things off our to do list. Last week was a super productive week thanks to my planner who pushed me to do more like booking valet, party bus, shuttle service for the out of town guests, challah bread, our ketubah, etc.
 

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A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Neon Jungle Jewish Wedding at the Mandarin Oriental, New York, New York, USA

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We are totally obsessed with the neon jungle theme Jessica and Brant chose for their Jewish wedding – it was just the most perfect way to bring the vibe of the tropical destination wedding the couple initially hoped for to their hometown of New York City, where they ended up marrying to keep the big day accessible to their friends and family.

Bride Jessica says she knew from the moment she got engaged she wanted her wedding to be unique, and did she ever pull it off! With bright colors galore, plenty of palms, a tequila bar, neon signs, and so many more Instagramable touches than we even have room to list here, it’s safe to say she achieved her goal of making her guests feel as if they were transported to the chicest jungle. Don’t miss the photos from The Day by Nathan Smith.

Obviously their stunning chuppah was the pinnacle of jungle chic, and we love that, wanting to get the maximum enjoyment out of it, Jessica and Brant opted to repurpose it for the party, displaying their gorgeous cake and a cool neon sign under it.

But don’t let the fab aesthetics make you think these two skimped on the ceremony – far from it. They made it a priority to honor their late grandparents – they used Brant’s grandfather’s tallit under the chuppah, and Jessica’s wedding band originally belonged to her great-great-grandmother (and has been used by all of the women in her family ever since!) – and even got their dog involved with a walk down the aisle. They made it a priority to find a beautiful ketubah that could serve as a cherished piece of art in their home, and opted for a totally stunning paper cut design from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay.

We’ll let Jessica – who looked stunning in Monique Lhuillier – fill you in on the rest…


A New York Wedding

Jessica, the bride: We got married at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. Brant and I always thought about having a warm climate destination wedding, and we looked almost everywhere. However, after a few months of looking, and keeping friends and family in mind, we thought Manhattan (our hometown) would be the best and easiest. Me being born and bred in Manhattan, and Brant growing up on Long Island, the city was our perfect destination. When we walked into the Mandarin ballroom for the first time and looked out those huge windows to see Central Park and the city skyline, it took our breath away.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Bright and Fresh Outdoor Jewish Wedding at Villa Grabau, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

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Planning a destination wedding from abroad is no easy feat. Just ask Jessica, who runs her family’s restaurant, and Jared, a lawyer. Luckily they had an awesome planner on site, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Luccaorganizza, to help them work out the details of their dreamy Jewish wedding in Tuscany.

Planners Benedetta and Simona directed them toward their incredible venue, Villa Grabau, and it’s easy to see from Foto Cortopassi‘s pics why the couple fell hard for it. It’s exactly the sort of dreamy spot you probably imagine when you think of Tuscany. Jessica and Jared wanted to keep things light and fresh, and the team at Luccaorganizza did the perfect job bringing their vision to life.

We love that the pair crafted a Jewish ceremony that was personal and meaningful to them, zooming in on elements that were meaningful to them – like a ketubah decorated by the bride’s best friend – and skipped ones that didn’t – they opted out of having a chuppah.

Now over to the bride…

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How we met

Jessica, the bride: We met at  my best friend’s birthday party, when I was 25.

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Real Jewish Brides: Jaime’s Putting the Finishing Touches on Her Hindu-Jewish Wedding

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Jaime will be marrying Varun on 26th October 2019 at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA. Click here to read all Jaime’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Jaime and Varun will be having a Jewish ceremony AND a Hindu ceremony – on the same day! (2) They’re planning a swanky but not stuffy wedding at one of our fave California venues, Hummingbird Nest Ranch! (3) Jaime is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!


3 months to go

Hi everyone! I’m excited to update you all on what we’ve been up to the last several weeks! It feels like all of a sudden things are happening so fast. We have just over 3 months to go and so much has to happen before then! Now, more than ever I am so grateful that we invested in such a high quality wedding planner to keep us on track. I have no idea where I’d be without her guidance!


Image by Fletch Photography

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