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Happy Hanukkah + TWO gifts for every bride-to-be!

02/12/2018 by Karen


It’s a very happy Sunday! Hannukah is here, I have gifts for you, AND I’m in today’s New York Times talking all things chuppahs (naturally!) and how they’ve become a style statement of their own.

So Hanukkah is here! That means eight nights of lighting the menorah, eating fried foods, and everybody’s favorite thing… presents!!!

And what would Hanukkah be without a present or two from me as well?!

So I have TWO gifts for brides-to-be joining Smashing The Glass’s members-only Club for Jewish and Jew-ish Brides during Hannukah (starting now!)

First up, if you join with the annual subscription you’ll receive a 1 hour 1:1 Skype wedding consultancy session (value $500) with me (or if you prefer, 2 x 30 min sessions, spread throughout your wedding planning)


“Recommendations I might never have found”

Here’s what bride-to-be, Clare Robinson, had to say about her 1:1 wedding session with me:

“Karen and I discussed everything from my wedding dress fears to stationery vendors to adding really personal touches to the day. She has such a wealth of experience and so many recommendations I might never have found.
 
I finished our session feeling so excited and positive and like I knew now what was most important for the day. Most of all I felt a new found sense of confidence that this was our day and that actually I could pretty much do it however I wanted (thank goodness for my wonderfully laid back fiancà©!).”

You have the whole of Hannukah to claim your 1:1 gift , but there are limited spaces for the 1:1 sessions, so join Brides Club ASAP if you’re interested, as I expect them to go like hot cakes latkes.


“Karen’s recommendations and ideas were excellent”

Here’s what newlywed, Caroline Porter had to say about her 1:1 session with me:

“My session with Karen assisted me in finding my perfect venue (before the session I had searched high and low and never found this one on my own!) and our perfect Rabbi (not straightforward as my now-husband is not Jewish but we wanted to have a fully Jewish ceremony) and inspired us with creative ideas.
 
Karen helped me look at the bigger picture to form ideas of what I wanted my wedding to look and feel like, from the wedding ceremony to the vibe of the party to the details, encouraging us to personalise it as much as possible.
 
This is what led me to later make decisions on vendors and other details, many of which were Karen’s contacts who were all fabulous. Karen’s taste is cool, modern and elegant so needless to say her recommendations and ideas were excellent.”

From Jewish wedding checklists to music playlists, to amazing vendor discounts, to action-plans, personal advice, and SO much more, you’ll also get every benefit of being a member of Brides Club – my secret community for planning your perfect Jewish or Jew-ish wedding — as well as your 1:1 session.

Plus a free smash glass pouch for under the chuppah too!

And there’s more: My 2nd Hannukah bonus gift to you is a ‘SMASHED IT” smash glass pouch for under the chuppah!

Yes, if you choose to join Brides Club for $25 per month during the 8 days of Hannukah (starting now) you’ll receive the ultimate designer pouch (below) for the glass for FREE (retails at $28).

We’ll even pay for postage + packing to wherever you are in the world — it’s all on us!

And of course annual subscribers will get the pouch — as well as your 1:1 session.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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Smashing The Glass Featured in Today’s New York Times!

02/12/2018 by Karen

Karen Cinnamon
What an exciting day! I have been published in the New York Times — a publication with global influence and readership that I hold in very high regard.

The New York Times journalist, Hilary Sheinbaum, first got in touch with me about the story a few months ago and to see it finally in print today is a dream come true!

If you’re reading this in the USA you can read all about it in today’s New York Times ‘Sunday Styles’ section. If you’re not, click here to see the online version, and find out what I have to say about chuppahs, getting creative with yours, and how budget has absolutely nothing to do with it.

The chuppah symbolises the home you and your partner will build together during your marriage, but as well as using the chuppah to symbolize your home, I’m a big advocate of letting your personality shine through too!

Today The New York Times; tomorrow, the world!

Love,

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A Lee Petra Grebenau Bride for a Destination Jewish Wedding with a Dreamy Floral Chuppah at Boca Raton Resort and Club, Florida, USA

30/11/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

‘Jewish wedding Boca Raton Resort and Club Florida USA_0038
Why hello, floral chuppah of our dreams. It was absolutely roses for daaaaays at the Florida-perfect destination Jewish wedding of Sara, a real estate broker (and Smashing The Glass Brides Club member!), and Eric, an immigration attorney — is it just us, or are those blooms a perfect match for Boca Raton Resort and Club’s trademark pink building?

We’re pretty sure you’ll agree that STGd Vendor Carlos Marquez of Boca by Design really outdid himself on this one (not to mention the cascading florals from the chandelier in the reception space!).

Photographer Susan Shek captured the day SO perfectly, from all the gorgeous details (and there are lots) to the ultra-emotional chuppah — seriously, this is one sequence you don’t want to miss. Sara raves that Susan “knows how to get the right photos, the right angles, and more than that, she became a friend in the process” — pretty much all you could ever ask for, right?!

Props to Sara’s mom for a cool, totally unexpected favor idea: she brought challah covers back from Israel for all the guests! We’re not surprised to hear that people loved them — and it’s a great reminder that the sky’s the limit when it comes to favors; it’s fine (actually, awesome!) to go off the beaten path with something unique.

Now over to the bride herself, who looked simply smashing in her gorgeous beaded dress from super cool Israeli designer Lee Petra Grebenau…

Jewish wedding Boca Raton Resort and Club Florida USA_0001 Jewish wedding Boca Raton Resort and Club Florida USA_0001 Jewish wedding Boca Raton Resort and Club Florida USA_0001Jewish wedding Boca Raton Resort and Club Florida USA_0001
A Wedding in Boca

Sara, the bride: We got married at Boca Raton Resort and Club. We wanted to get married somewhere that was relatively easy for everyone to get to (Texas, Paris, Israel, NYC, Costa Rica etc) and warm. I wasn’t, and still am not, too familiar with Boca, but when I went to visit the venue with my mom and sister, we all fell in love with the pink building, the outdoor space, and the cathedral ballroom.

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A Jewish-Cuban-Italian Same-Sex Destination Wedding at La Chiusa, Montefollonico, Siena, Tuscany, Italy

28/11/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Destination Lesbian Jew-ish wedding La Chiusa, Montefollonico, Siena, Tuscany, Italy_0054
“GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION to have the wedding of your dreams. Whatever it is.”

Amen to that, Risa! Our couples always have so much Jewish and Jew-ish wedding wisdom to pass on, but it’s not every day we get offered up advice that so perfectly describes our mission here at Smashing The Glass.  

Risa, who owns a boutique casting house in NYC, and Anna, a lead analyst for a creative agency, certainly had the wedding of their dreams, and it just might turn out to be the wedding of your dreams too.  Do have a scroll through Beatrice Moricci’s majestic photos! You can really see why Risa says this awesome photographer was the “best decision we’ve ever made – apart from choosing one another!”

Between the totally swoon-worthy Tuscan setting (that also served to honor Risa’s late Italian father), a hora played by an authentic Cuban band, Michelin-starred catering using ingredients picked out of an on-site garden the morning of the wedding, a sweet floral chuppah, and a gelato card, we’re pretty much sold on this one.

The brides did SUCH a fab job of combining Risa’s Jewish and Italian heritage with Anna’s Cuban background, plus their own sensibilities as a 21st-century couple, and we adore the fact that they decided to BOTH break a glass at the end of the ceremony.

It doesn’t hurt that these two are a seriously stylish duo, either — Risa’s non-traditional blush floral gown from Rara Avis is truly a sight to behold, and Anna’s custom blue tux from Bindle & Keep was super dapper.

Now we’ll hand you over to Risa whose writeup of this exceptional day is truly memorable…

Destination Lesbian Jew-ish wedding La Chiusa, Montefollonico, Siena, Tuscany, Italy_0004

Destination Lesbian Jew-ish wedding La Chiusa, Montefollonico, Siena, Tuscany, Italy_0054

Destination Lesbian Jew-ish wedding La Chiusa, Montefollonico, Siena, Tuscany, Italy_0052

Destination Lesbian Jew-ish wedding La Chiusa, Montefollonico, Siena, Tuscany, Italy_0009

 Destination Lesbian Jew-ish wedding La Chiusa, Montefollonico, Siena, Tuscany, Italy_0042Destination Lesbian Jew-ish wedding La Chiusa, Montefollonico, Siena, Tuscany, Italy_0009Destination Lesbian Jew-ish wedding La Chiusa, Montefollonico, Siena, Tuscany, Italy_0009
How We Met

Risa: We met through mutual friends and have been together for six years, with a two-year gap in the middle!

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2019 Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Alexandra + Jordan: How They Met To The Present Day…

27/11/2018 by Smashing The Glass

Today on the blog we’re introducing our 1st gorgeous bride from our crop of 2019 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Alexandra, who will be marrying Jordan on 26th May 2019 at The Grove in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.

THREE FACTS: (1) Alexandra and Jordan met in college and have been together ever since. (2) They are planning a romantic fairy tale garden wedding inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream – LOVE! (3) Alexandra’s wearing Galia Lahav for the big day – one of our absolute fave Israeli designers!


Our Story

We met at a party in college — he was the social chair of his fraternity who wanted to develop a relationship with my sorority, and I was the vice president of my sorority who was hungry for a change of social scenery!

We developed a close friendship that quickly blossomed into true love, and spent our junior and senior year as a couple. We were long distance the year following graduation, gaining firsthand experience behind the phrase “absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

I then moved from New Jersey to Boston to be with Jordan and we have happily lived together for over three years!

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