Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Real Jewish Brides: Lindsay’s Savoring Her Last Weeks as a Bride-to-Be

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Lindsay, a member of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club, will be marrying Dan on 25th August 2019 at Kochav Hayam in Caesarea, Israel. Click here to read all Lindsay’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Lindsay and Dan were set up by Lindsay’s cousin! (2) They are planning an English-style destination wedding with a few modern twists in Caesarea, Israel. (3) Even though they are both Jewish, Lindsay is more interested in the religious element of the day than Dan, so they are working to balance tradition with their personal style – our favorite!


4 weeks to go – yay!

So this is my last post before I get married! At the time of writing this, we’re six weeks out. We got engaged in March 2018, so we’ve had a fairly long engagement and it took so long to get to 6 months and now all of a sudden it’s 4 weeks to go. Time has literally disappeared! 

What I’ve found in these last few weeks is how much people love giving a bride attention. It’s just the best, and every bride should 100% take full advantage of it.  

I had my hen weekend a few weeks ago which was a weekend full of Prosecco, dancing and a very attractive half naked gentleman (who left very little to the imagination). The girls who planned it did an excellent job and it really gave me a taste of how it feels being centre of attention.

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A Zeta Bridal Bride for an Italy-meets-Israel Jewish Wedding at Ahuvat ha Sapan, Ashdod, Israel

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You’re dreaming of a destination Jewish wedding, but circumstances mean it makes sense to stay close to home. Sound familiar? That’s what Israeli couple Anastasia and Evgeny found themselves up against when they fell hard for southern Italy – the colors, the blue tiles, the lemons, all of it! – but needed to keep their big day in their home country.

The resourceful duo saw this challenge merely as an opportunity to bring the spirit of Capri to the beaches of Ashdod (their venue happens to be located on the same beach where they met – awwww!), going all out with the lemons and bougainvillea and even hiring in Italian opera singer to set the tone!

And we could easily believe some of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si’s wonderful photos were taken in the hills of Tuscany. As Anastasia says, he somehow managed to find just the right angles to turn every photo into a true work of art – while also managing to stay ever-so-perfectly on theme with the Italian vibes of the day. Videographer Happy Days captured all the gorgeous vibrancy of the day beautifully, too. 

 We’ll let the beautiful bride – who looked totally stunning in her floral gown by Zeta Bridal – fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Anastasia, the bride: Sounds like a cliché, but it was love at first sight.We met in a pub not far from where the wedding took place on Ashdod beach. The pub was called “It” and indeed surprisingly it was it. I remember it like yesterday, we were both dancing and then suddenly my gaze fell on a guy at the other side of the dance floor who was looking at me, our eyes crossed, and it was a really long and exciting moment. I really liked his looks, my heart started beating fast, and the rest is history.

The ring came after three years together and in the most surprising and spontaneous way.

We did not talk about it and he surprised me on our Christmas trip to Moscow. The atmosphere was magical, he brought me to a frozen lake in some Queen’s palace outside the city, and while he was skating, he kneeled for the proposal! In retrospect it turned out that Evgeny had purchased the ring a few minutes before our flight in Hstern at Duty Free and that was why he was almost late for the flight!

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Win the World’s Most Lavish Kosher Dessert Display from Luxury Cake Purveyors GC Couture

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GC Couture’s kosher Indulgence Bar® 

I’m SO excited to offer you the chance to win the hottest new innovation on the kosher catering market for your very own wedding – an ultra-Instagrammable Indulgence Bar® from international luxury cake purveyors GC Couture. Say what?!!! I know! What a show-stopping (not to mention off-the-scale delicious) detail to add to your big day that EVERYONE will be talking about!


Introducing the Indulgence Bar® 

A new design concept created by GC Couture, an Indulgence Bar® is the perfect way to bring some serious wow factor to your wedding. An assortment of luxe sweet treats from cookies to cake pops to macarons to brownie bites to cupcakes (and so much more) – not to mention an exquisite centerpiece cake or macaron tower – catered to serve anywhere from 30 to 500 guests (and beyond), an Indulgence Bar® is truly a sight to behold.



Wow Factor

An Indulgence Bar® is a bespoke production, designed for each couple to fit with the theme and colour scheme of their day. With four options to choose from, Bebe, Petit, Classique and De Luxe, an Indulgence Bar® is the sure-fire way to impress your guests whatever the grandeur of your occasion. They’re also perfect for corporate events, private parties, bar and bat mitzvahs, and baby showers.


Kosher Couture

GC Couture are known for their amazing designs, attention to detail, and exemplary level of service – and no request is too much for them. With ten years of experience in the luxury cake market, we’re thrilled that GC Couture have recently opened a dedicated kosher production kitchen, endorsed and under the guidance of the KLBD.

No one else is doing anything quite like their lavish Indulgence Bar® under the highest kashrut standards, so this is a really exciting innovation to the market.

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An Intimate Rustic Jewish Wedding with a Pregnant Bride at The UC Berkeley Faculty Club, Berkeley, California, USA

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Jewish wedding UC Berkeley Faculty Club USA_0013
Redwoods? Check. Sunlight? Check. Perfect Arts & Crafts architecture? Check check check. Yep, we’re just a little bit obsessed with Helena and Alex’s gorgeous venue for their Jewish wedding,the UC Berkeley Faculty Club. Everything about it captures the beauty of Northern California so perfectly.

With such special surroundings, you don’t need much embellishment – and we love that the couple chose to keep things simple, with a sweet rustic birch chuppah and subtle florals in soft, spring tones. Photographer Simone Anne’s poetic images capture the cozy aesthetics so well – not to mention all the love between the couple, and the fun they so clearly had on the day!

And we love how Helena, who was pregnant with the couple’s first child at the time of the wedding, found the perfect flowy gown to complement both her changing body AND the ever-so-slightly boho vibe of her venue – can you believe it was the first one she tried on?!

Now over to the bride…

Jewish wedding UC Berkeley Faculty Club USA_0016

Jewish wedding UC Berkeley Faculty Club USA_0016

Jewish wedding UC Berkeley Faculty Club USA_0016Jewish wedding UC Berkeley Faculty Club USA_0016
An Outdoor Wedding

Helena, the bride: we got married at the UC Berkeley Faculty Club. Having an outdoor ceremony was high on our list and with some help from the weather fairies, the sun broke through and we had a beautiful ceremony on the big lawn. We also loved the rustic, classic Berkeley feel. Elegant, cozy and a little eccentric.

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A Calla Blanche Bride for a Jewish Wedding at Al Hayam Caesarea, Israel

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Is there anything better than an outdoor Jewish wedding by the ocean in Israel? We’re betting on no… and so did Sophie, a primary school teacher, and Elliott, a financial advisor, who opted for an epic destination wedding at Caesarea’s always stunning Al Hayam. This is one seriously stunning day – you don’t want to miss the splendid photography and videography by Camellia Art (who used a drone to capture some seriously awesome landscape shots).

This is a venue that really speaks for itself, and these two let the natural beauty of the location speak for itself, timing their chuppah for sunset, and going for a beautiful green and white chuppah that made a statement yet didn’t distract from the natural splendor of the surroundings.  

We love that the couple opted to follow the tradition of doing the badeken on the aisle, honoring Elliott’s Sephardi heritage, so that the groom AND all the guests all got their first look at the beautiful bride as she walked down the aisle.

Speaking of that beautiful bride – who totally smashed it bridal style-wise in Calla Blanche – we’re going to turn you over to her now for the rest of the story…

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A Wedding in Israel

Sophie, the bride: Back in October 2016, Elliott proposed to me by the Bahai Gardens in Haifa which is his favourite place in the world. He is half Israeli and with his family living there, he would go there throughout his childhood to visit them, and so Israel is a very special place to Elliott. Getting engaged there, we knew straight away that was where we wanted get married. We got married at Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel – the minute we heard about the venue we instantly feel in love with it.

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