Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

An Elegant Jewish Wedding in White at Finca La Concepcion, Spain

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There’s something about a black-and-white wedding. So crisp, so glam, so timeless.

Kat, a buyer for JD Sports, and Austin, who owns a car hire company and taxi firm in North Manchester, worked with amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Fiesta Sol to make the wedding of their dreams a reality while planning from overseas, and we think they totally nailed it.

The couple’s big day is a total fantasy in crisp whites and sharp blacks amidst a backdrop of lush greens – and don’t even get us started on that exquisitely elegant chuppah. We also love that the bride made the slightly unconventional choice to dress her bridesmaids in white gowns with black sashes tied in bows – such a timeless, classic look.

Despite a few mishaps, from the comical (the groom’s pants split!) to the not-so-comical (a hora mishap left the bride with whiplash – but don’t worry, it all ended well), this day really was just about perfect. We’re in love with Pedro Bellido’s incredible, authentic photos, and he sure knows how to capture an action shot.

Over to the bride…

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How we met

Kat, the bride: We met in a bar in Manchester through a mutual friend on my husband’s birthday – he still comments how I was the best birthday present!

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A Berta Bride for a Sunset Jewish Wedding with a Very Special Chuppah at Kochav Hayam in Caesarea, Israel

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We love a gorgeous chuppah. We love a meaningful family heirloom. When you put those two things together? A totally unforgettable Jewish wedding.

There’s so much to love about the joyous union of Lee, a fitness studio manager who is also working on her bachelor’s in business management and sports, and Roy, who recently retired from the IDF, where he had been serving as a frontline soldier.

But our favorite part is the story behind their chuppah. Obviously it’s gorgeous – the bamboo poles, sweet floral accents, and billowy white fabric are the perfect complement to the seaside setting – but what we really love is the canopy. It was made by Roy’s cousin years ago, and since then it’s been passed around his family from couple to couple as cousins marry. When a new couple marries under the chuppah, they get their name embroidered on it. What a beautiful family heirloom!

We’re also obsessed with the gorgeous sundrenched photos from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Noam Salach. He captured all the emotion of the day – not to mention all the fantastic details – so perfectly, and the couple adored having him around on their big day, too.

Now over to Lee, who looked stunning in Berta…

 


How we met

Lee, the bride: While I was posting my “flat belly challenge” on Facebook, Roy messaged me. To be honest I usually don’t reply to these kind of messages, but something in Roy interested me.
 
The first thing he said to me was “I think a 10K run would be a great ice breaker for us” and that’s what we did, 2 weeks later we met at 6am on the beach for a “sunrise run”, we  clicked instantly.
 
After 1 year together, Roy ask me to marry him while we were on holiday at hotel Bereshit in the South. We celebrated 2 years together the same day as our wedding day.

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Top Honeymoon Destinations for 2020/2021 {with Abby Taubman}

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Photo courtesy of Gili Lankanfushi
This is a guest post by Abby Taubman of Colletts Travel.

The Honeymoon

A once in a lifetime holiday or a short break to unwind after the big day. Wherever you choose to go you want it to be romantic, memorable and special. When the world really is your oyster it is hard to pinpoint where you both want to go that will fit with your budget, time frame and that perfect mixture of two people’s ideal holiday.

Photo courtesy of St Regis Mauritius Resort

I have compiled a small, yet perfectly formed list of some my top destinations that may help you narrow down those ever-growing honeymoon destination lists appearing in your google searches. My list will cover long haul to short haul, beaches to cities and everything in between. So sit back, relax and let the honeymoon bucket list dreaming commence…

Photo courtesy of Niyama Private Island, Maldives

India & Maldives

India – a classic honeymoon destination. From the vibrant and buzzing cities of the Golden Triangle in the North to the calm and relaxing countryside of the South where a journey on the backwaters is an absolute must; India is a country that really offers it all and a country I instantly fell in love with the first time I visited.

Northern itineraries include cities such as Delhi, Agra where the famed Taj Mahal is, Jaipur and Udaipur. Before ending in Mumbai. Those itineraries exploring the South include Munnar, Alleppey, Pune Kumarakom and of course Cochin.

Photo courtesy of Vakkaru, Maldives

Because of the wonderful location of India, you can combine your amazing adventure with a beautiful beach where you can sit back, relax and reflect on everything that has just happened. My recommendation would be the pristine beaches and crystal-clear waters of the Maldives – a location that is at the heart of the saying ‘sit back, relax and unwind.’ A choice of islands, board options and budget allows all travellers that little slice of heaven.

Photo courtesy of Auberge du Soleil

California & Hawaii

The best way to describe any honeymoon here is romance, sunsets and wine. Your choice of cities and locations allows you to mix and match all three.

Picture this: you and your partner cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible car, the wind blowing in your hair with only the Sat Nav directions to argue about. Together you can explore the beautiful scenery down the Highway 1 and stop in places such as San Francisco, The Big Sur, Carmel, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. And for those of you who fancy a little detour why not add in Napa Valley and Yosemite National Park.

Photo courtesy of Montage Laguna Beach

Combine your California road trip with the tropical state of Hawaii. Hawaii is a true bucket list location. Your days could be spent zip lining, snorkelling or hiking in the morning followed by relaxing afternoons on the beach and romantic dinners watching the sunset. A winning honeymoon combination all round.

Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Kyoto

Japan

Japan allows you to tick off your honeymoon bucketlist whilst also visiting THE hot travel destination right now. With the 2020 Olympics coming up this country is full steam ahead in giving tourists an amazing holiday.

There are only a few beaches but that doesn’t mean it can’t make for a perfect honeymoon. Take the speedy bullet train between cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakone and Osaka to really explore the whole country. Famous for its cherry blossom, the crazy lights of Tokyo and of course its food, Japan will give you a non-stop action packed honeymoon that will leave you wanting to return!

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A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Modern Classic Jewish Wedding at Cipriani 25 Broadway, NYC, New York, USA

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Every so often, we come across a wedding trailer that truly moves us – one that captures all the emotion and beauty of the day so well, we feel as if we’d been there ourselves.

That’s certainly true of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kiss the Bride Films’ beautiful coverage of the Jewish wedding of Jess and Brett. The couple emphasize how important it was for them to pick vendors they enjoyed spending time with, and we’re not at all surprised that working with Kiss the Bride was “a dream come true” for the pair, or that their comfort with and confidence in their video team helped them enjoy their big day stress-free.

Photographer Roey Yohai was equally fabulous – Jess and Brett say he’s known for bringing out the realest smiles in his couples, and judging from theirs that certainly seems like an accurate statement!

One thing’s for sure: there was plenty for the photo and video teams to capture, from the majestic venue – an Italian neo-Renaissance masterpiece with 65-foot ceilings – to the breathtaking white orchid chuppah. We love how the couple picked transparent lucite poles to represent “the openness and transparency of our future home, our relationship and our hearts.” Awwwww! (And if that didn’t already put you into cuteness overload, did we mention that Jess and Brett even got their sweet puppy Jojo in on the action?)

There’s so much more to say about this exquisite wedding, but we’ll let Jess – who looked radiant in Monique Lhuillier – fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Jess, the bride: We first crossed paths in October 2010 at an AEPhi and APES mixer during our sophomore and senior years at Emory University. We made an instant connection and soon started dating. When we met up over winter break that year, our families suspected we were a perfect match – as our date involved shopping at Bloomingdale’s!

Brett graduated in 2011 and moved to NYC and two years later was reunited with Jess when she graduated from Emory and started dental school at NYU. 24 hours prior to their joint commencement, as Brett graduated with a master’s from NYU on the same day as Jess, Brett popped the question atop Bow Bridge in Central Park much to the surprise and excitement of Jess.

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Real Jewish Brides: For Lindsay It’s All About The Ceremony

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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!


Ceremony is the most important thing to me

Whilst the most important aspect of the wedding for Dan is music, for me it’s the ceremony. It’s safe to say I’m slightly more in touch with my religious side than Dan is (he’s only just agreed to go prawn-less post-wedding), so when it came to choosing a rabbi it was so important we found someone with a connection to us – if anything just to keep Dan awake during the ceremony!


Image by Andreas Markakis from Nitsan and Oren‘s wedding

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