Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

An International Egalitarian Waterfront Jewish Wedding at Two Rivers Country Club, Williamsburg, VA, USA

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Chag sameach, smashing readers! We hope you’re having a wonderful Rosh Hashanah, however you choose to celebrate – to paraphrase our tag line, your Rosh Hashanah, your way!

Speaking of which – we just love it when a couple merges their backgrounds into a Jewish wedding that’s so perfectly them it couldn’t possibly be anyone else’s. Like Lauren and Josh. American bride Lauren, who works in communications, and English groom Josh, can accountant, wed in the most beautiful waterfront spot in Lauren’s home state of Virginia.

Combining the bride’s Reform Ashkenazi background with the groom’s Sephardi Orthodox upbringing was paramount for these two – as was crafting a fully egalitarian ceremony – and we think they did a fantastic job working both of their traditions plus their shared modern values into their beautiful ceremony. For instance, their gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com displays the traditional text with the Liebermann clause included, alongside an English translation of the couple’s choosing. And while mostly keeping the ceremony traditional, the pair opted to exchange rings and to skip out on circling. We’re obsessed with Maria  Grace Photography’s joyous, emotional shots of  the chuppah – and the whole fantastic day.

And how sweet is it that Lauren’s father built the couple’s simple birch chuppah, which Lauren and Josh covered with both of their tallitot from growing up!

We can’t let you go without mentioning how much we love that Lauren found her fab dusty rose bridesmaids’ dresses right here on STG – we’ll let her take it from here…

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How we met

Lauren, the bride: We met one summer during university; Josh decided to do a summer work program in America and somehow ended up working as a lifeguard at a water park in Virginia. We became friends later in the summer and decided to go traveling together the following year once we finished uni. We ended up dating shortly after the start of our travels and spent our first year of dating traveling around Europe, Australia and the US.

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An Alon Livne Bride for a Resort-Style Jewish Wedding at 5.91, Netanya, Israel

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LUZ Weddings does it again. We can never get enough of the edgy, stylish, architecturally inspired wedding photos and video from this beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, and Mor and Yotam’s gorgeous Israeli seaside wedding is no exception – if the idea of wedding photos that don’t feel like wedding photos appeals to you, scroll on to see what we’re talking about.

Granted, the LUZ team had great material to work with. Mor, an import coordinator at a business importing luxury brands to Israel, and Yotam, a customer success manager at an advertising startup, both have a thing about the sea, and so it was only natural that they chose a venue that made the most of Israel’s stunning coastline. To maximize the experience, they went for a resort theme for the whole day, sticking with a palette of oceanic blues, tropical greens, and sandy beige and white.

We also love that, to add a personal touch to their ceremony, these two decided they’d each write a note to the other, to be read for the first time – aloud for all the guests to hear – under the chuppah. What a sweet, memorable touch – whether you go the sentimental route, like Yotam, or take more of a comic turn, as Mor did in hers.

There’s so much more to see about this fab wedding, but we’ll let the bride – who looked ravishing in Alon Livne– fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Mor, the bride: Yotam started communicating at the end of the first semester of university, and I didn’t really understand why… It was only by the end of the first year that we started dating, and the rest is a true love story.

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Top Mother-of-the-Bride Shopping Tips from Designer Joyce Young

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This is a guest post by Joyce Young of Joyce Young Design Studios. Photo by Janelle Brooke Photography from Julia and ChiChi’s wedding. 

We’re so excited to share some top mother-of-the-bride (or groom) shopping tips from Joyce Young, a renowned UK-based designer at the very top of the game. If you think your mum could use a little encouragement to get her shopping mojo on, send her right here to take in Joyce’s wise words!

Photo courtesy of Joyce Young

The Engagement

Congratulations! Your darling son or daughter has announced that he/she is to get married to their soul mate.  This is a joyous time, with all the excitement to come of planning a wedding.

Most mothers like to be involved but depending on the couple your involvement can vary considerably. It can and should be a time of quality bonding as you plan and discuss all the aspects of the wedding, but it can also be a frustrating time with a lot of biting the tongue to avoid conflict!

Photo by The Love Hunters from Georgia and Joel’s wedding

Couples are now getting married older and tend to know their own minds and may not ask the opinions of parents. Sometimes this can be hurtful. When my own daughter got married I quickly learned that when she sought my opinion is was only OK when I happened to agree with hers. I learned to become very tactful! 

We have been in business for 26 years dressing mothers of the bride and brides and we hear so many stories some very funny and others quite sad and we know it’s hard to please all of the people all of the time!

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Real Jewish Brides: Jaime’s Final Countdown

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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!


1 month to go!

Here we are – the final sprint until the big day!

September 1 we had my bridal shower and it was so much fun to be with my family and spend the time. My mom and my aunts threw me the most beautiful shower – where I told her I wanted it to be “all things sparkly, colorful and rainbow” aka ungapatchka, lol!

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A Carolina Herrera Bride for an Elegant Modern Jewish Wedding at Beth Torah, Aventura, FL, USA

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What a chuppah! We’re obsessed with the cool modern acrylic chuppah – complete with luxe hanging white blossoms – Samantha, a kindergarten teacher, and Justin, co-head of corporate outreach for global real estate company Tishman Speyer, chose to marry under. That elegant all-white look, complemented by the bright pops of color from the bride and bridesmaids’ bright pink bouquets – wow! We’re still picking our jaws up off the floor after scrolling through all of Emily Harris Photography’s vibrant, joyous photos.

For that matter, ALL the flowers in this gorgeous wedding were totally wow – don’t miss the incredible ombre flower wall, or the upside down hanging tulips and calla lilies that hovered over the reception ballroom! And in keeping with the bright colorful look, Samantha and Justin chose a wonderful, colorful ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Anna Abramzon, which they now display proudly in their home as a reminder of their big day and their commitment to one another.

But this wedding was about so much more than aesthetics. We love how these two incorporated their beloved late grandparents into their ceremony, with Samantha’s grandfather’s tallit used in the chuppah canopy, a kiddush cup belonging one of her grandmothers used during the ceremony, and the bride’s bouquet wrapped in lace from her other grandmother’s veil.

Now over to the bride, who looks so elegant in her Carolina Herrera gown…

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How we met

Samantha, the bride: My dad and Justin’s grandpa set us up. We were both students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Justin was a senior and I was a freshman. We went out one night and had mutual friends and started talking. We dated for the second semester of his senior year and my freshman year. He was moving to New York after college, and I got back together with my ex-boyfriend. We didn’t communicate for three years.

Towards the end of my senior year at Madison, I started to think of Justin again. He posted a picture on Instagram one night and I messaged him on Facebook because I lost his number. We started talking a little and the next month after I graduated college I was in New York for a weekend visiting my sister. Justin took me out on a date that Friday night May 23rd, 2014 and we’ve been together ever since. For us, timing was truly everything.

I was in the middle of my masters program when we got married and I was working at a school. To say I was busy going to school, working and planning a wedding was an understatement.

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