Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Meaningful Family-Forward Jewish Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, Santa Susana, California, USA

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What a treat to be blogging a beautiful Jewish wedding at one of our very favorite venues: SoCal’s stunning, Spanish-style Hummingbird Nest Ranch.

We’re obviously smitten with the lovely visuals Jessica, who works in entertainment marketing, and Michael, a high school statistics teacher, pulled together to make their big day pop – see the exquisite photos from One Love Photography and video from Fancy Fox for evidence -but we’re even more in love with all the wonderful meaning they brought to their wedding.

First off, the ketubah: sure, these two chose a gorgeous, fresh floral design from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink With Intent. But that’s just the beginning – to make the ketubah ultra-meaningful, the couple decided to write their own personal vows into their custom text (which they translated into Hebrew with some help from their families). Then, under the chuppah, Jessica and Michael read their own ketubah aloud together – isn’t that beautiful?!

We also love that – inspired by the memories of their late grandparents – the bride and groom worked with charity Petals for Patients to donate their wedding flowers to a local hospice at the end of the day. Such a wonderful way to make your wedding give back!

Jessica will fill you in on the rest of the details of this fab day…

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How we met

Jessica, the bride: We probably met way back in 2009 at a youth group convention that we both attended. Of course, there are pictures of Jessica with Michael’s friends and Michael with Jessica’s friends, but unfortunately none of us together. High school Jessica and Michael must not have made a good enough impression on each other but luckily, the universe had other plans and decided to give us one more shot at getting to know each other.

We reconnected online in 2013, after Jessica graduated from UCLA and Michael from the University of Michigan. Michael took Jessica out on their first date on December 5th, 2013 where we really hit it off. A few amazing dates, and less than a month later, we decided to kick off 2014 as an official couple.

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Real Jewish Brides: Gaby And Her 7-Week Countdown

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Gaby will be marrying David on 26th May 2019 at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, UK. Click here to read all Gaby’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Gaby and David met at work at an advertising agency in London (2) Gaby is Jewish and David is Christian, and they are planning an inclusive ceremony and party that will embrace both of their cultures (3) They are planning an urban luxe wedding in a converted London lighthouse – we LOVE the sound of this!


The 7-week countdown

We’ve reached April (and spring, Hurrah!), which means it is the penultimate month before my wedding, MADNESS! Since January came, it really has been full steam ahead. Time really has flown by.

Juggling a busy work schedule and planning a wedding has presented challenges, which I am sure all brides can relate to this. It is the mental exhaustion of never switching off. After a long day of work, the last thing you want to do is re-open your laptop and mull through multiple spreadsheets. Nevertheless, with a positive mental attitude and the end goal in sight, I have made my way through so many tasks that it has put my fiancé and in a fairly good place.


Image by Mireia Cordomi from Ruthie and Dan’s wedding

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A Limor Rosen Bride for a Jewish-Scottish Wedding at Winter Gardens Botanical Gardens and West Brewery, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

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When Tel Aviv chic meets Scottish tradition… We’re crazy about the way STG Brides Club member, Arden and Steven brought modern Tel Avivian colors and geometrics into their very Scottish venues, and we can’t get enough of PJ Phillips’ wonderful photos and videographer Sandy Butler’s gorgeous trailer.

Arden, a writer originally from Florida, and Steven, a Scottish developer, both work in tech in Tel Aviv, but they opted to marry in the groom’s hometown of Glasgow.

We love how they incorporated both Jewish and Scottish customs into their humanist ceremony – the traditional handfasting is really not to be missed! And neither is the gorgeous ketubah from wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubata.

And how perfect were their favors: mini bottles of oh-so-Scottish whiskey and gin from Tel Aviv’s own Milk & Honey Whisky Distillery?!

Arden, who looked stunning in Limor Rosen, will fill you in on the rest…


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How we met

Arden, the bride: We actually met at AM:PM (convenience store) in the neighborhood we used to live in! Not long after meeting, a friend connected us on Facebook and we started dating shortly after.

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A David’s Bridal Bride for a Jewish Wedding with a Mega-Meaningful Chuppah at Twin Oaks Golf Course in San Marcos, California, USA

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When the bride is a wedding planner, you know you’re in for something good. And Courtney and Saul’s gorgeous California Jewish wedding does not disappoint – seriously, don’t miss the gorgeous shots by Michelle Scolman of Vivienne Tyler Photography!

This wedding is chock full of fun creative ideas, from a build-your-own ice cream sandwich bar (1) to a sweet photo guestbook, where guests added notes to polaroids they took themselves before sticking them in the book for safekeeping.

But our very favorite thing about it is the very special chuppah Courtney, who runs her own event planning business in addition to working in marketing at a university, and Saul, in IT consulting, were married beneath.

When the couple couldn’t find the kind of chuppah they envisioned to rent, the bride’s grandfather offered to build a custom version just for them. Sadly, he passed away during their engagement, but Courtney’s father stepped in to finish the job – in her grandfather’s workshop. What a beautiful way to honor a special loved one, right?! Even better is that after the wedding, the pair donated the chuppah to their synagogue to share the love with future couples – awwww!

Now over to the bride, who looked so beautiful in her gown from David’s Bridal…

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How we met

Courtney, the bride: We met on the app Coffee Meets Bagel!

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A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Taco-Fueled Destination Jewish Wedding at Ex-Convento San Hipolito, Mexico City, Mexico

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Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Luz Weddings does it again. We’re totally obsessed with their fab captures of this epic destination Jewish wedding, from the artsy minimalist couples’ shoot to the fantastic emotion of Lian and Amir’s big day.

The LA-based couple wanted something different, and did they ever find it in Mexico City! Their venue, former 17th-century convent called Ex-Convento San Hipolito, is not only totally breathtaking, it also has a secret, ultra-meaningful Jewish history that the couple’s rabbi revealed to them on the day.

We’re experiencing some serious FOMO drooling over Lian and Amir’s incredible kosher Mexican catering menu – we’re talking ribeye tacos, quesadillas, churros, and even an LA-style fruit cart! (Fittingly enough, the groom wore taco socks.)

Oh, and did we mention there’s an exquisite papercut ketubah by Israeli artist Enya Keshet, purchased from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com?

Now over to Lian, who looked so elegant in both of her gorgeous Maggie Sottero gowns…

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How we met

Lian, the bride: Amir and I went to the same high school and had seen each other here and there, but never really spoke or hung out. Fast forward 15 years, my mom’s cousin was having a big party at his house, which I wasn’t planning on going to since my birthday was the day before and I wanted to go out with friends.

The moment I walked in the party and saw Amir, something inside me screamed ‘Yes’! When we said ‘hi’ to one other, it was more of like, ‘oh hey long time no see what was your name again?’ We hit it off right away and spoke all night, with both our families’ eyes watching us – which was so funny. It was great and he turned out to be the best birthday present ever.

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