Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Gemy Maalouf Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding at Plaisterers’ Hall, One London Wall, London, UK

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It’s no secret that it gets us pretty excited to hear how couples have used Smashing The Glass to help them plan their own Jewish (or Jew-ish weddings). So you can only imagine the warm and fuzzies it gave us to read these lovely words from today’s beautiful bride (and member of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club!) Aimee:

“We really wouldn’t have known where to start planning our wedding without Karen and Smashing The Glass. We used lots of STG Recommended Vendors and they were all incredible!”

Aww, we think you’re incredible too, Aimee! She and Ross planned the most fantastic day, and we’re so touched to have been a part of it. From the bride’s totally exquisite lace Gemy Maalouf gown from much beloved STG Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror London — it’s really unlike any other we’ve seen — to the lovely flowers (including succulents — how cool!) from STG Recommended Vendor The Country Flower Company to the elegant wedding stationery, complete with personalized wax seal, from STG Recommended Vendor Dimitria Jordan.

We’re always excited when a wedding with STG Recommended Vendor XS Showband crosses our path, and today’s is no exception. We’re delighted (but not surprised) to hear that they were incredibly helpful to Aimee and Ross throughout the planning, and we LOVE that the couple had one of the band members sing the prayers during their ceremony.

Even more STG-sourced vendors captured the day in all its glory: STG Recommended Vendor David Morgan took the coolest photos — we can’t get enough of his modern style — and STG Recommended Vendor Denee Motion’s wedding trailer is pure cinematic splendor, as always!

Okay, now we’ll hand you over to our new BFF Aimee…

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How we met

Aimee, the bride: We first met on the same family holiday. We were both on the same cruise with our families and were introduced. However, I was quite shy and we didn’t talk too much!

Once back it turned out that I was joining Ross’ sixth form and we ended up in many of the same classes. In our second year we started dating and have been together ever since. 9 years later Ross proposed in our flat and here we are 11 months later… MARRIED!

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An Eliza Jane Howell Bride for a Cabana Chic Jewish Wedding with a Mirrored Chuppah at the Park Hyatt, Mallorca, Spain

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OMG HOW dreamy is Jade and Andy’s destination Jewish wedding in marvelous Mallorca?! Their venue, Park Hyatt Mallorca, is just BEYOND — it may be a hotel, but it feels like an ultra-glam villa. Of course, the stunning natural surroundings — mountains AND oceans — don’t hurt, and neither does the fact that beautiful bride Jade is a pro wedding planner herself at Fantastique London (she also has a fab lifestyle blog!).

Unsurprisingly, she made some AMAZING design choices – we’re obsessed with the super cool mirrored silver chuppah — cleverly set up to reflect the gorgeous grove of olive trees in the sunken garden surrounding the ceremony space!

We also love how Jade and Andy opted to seat their guests in a square formation on all sides of the chuppah, to enhance the intimate feel of the day — such a nice idea, especially if you’re having a smaller wedding like these two did.

Weddings don’t come much more photogenic than this one, and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion absolutely made the most of the cinematic surroundings — the aerial shot that opens his epic trailer is unforgettable — as did Signe Dzile Photography in her beautiful images.

Gorgeous Jade looked totally smashing in her Eliza Jane Howell dress from STG Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror in London, and we’re not at all surprised to read her rave review of the “amazing” personalized experience. Jade, over to you…

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A Destination Wedding in Mallorca

Jade, the bride: We frequently go to Mallorca but had never visited this side of the island and wanted something different from the center of Palma. Being an event planner, I didn’t want a typical hotel look.

Park Hyatt Mallorca has been open for 2 years and has been built like a Mallorcan town. The resort has stunning mountain views and sea views of Canyamel beach. It offers 5* luxury but without that typical hotel feel.

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A Martina Liana Bride for a Modern Romantic Jewish Wedding by the Ocean with a Willow Chuppah at Eau Palm Beach, Florida, USA

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Close your eyes. You’re on a beach. You can hear the waves crashing, in and out…

For Leigh and Chad (#HappiLeighEverCassett), this wasn’t just a soothing meditation. It was their ACTUAL wedding. The sound of waves crashing was the soundtrack to their dreamy ceremony took place on a terrace overlooking the Atlantic (Palm Beach, no less), and the scenery… well, we’ll let Emily Harris’s photos and Senderey Video’s trailer speak for themselves.

As if that weren’t enough, the couple also had a totally gorgeous chuppah made of willow branches and dragonwood (see, it even SOUNDS magical), adorned with flowers — just the thing to complement the natural surroundings.

Oh, and can we talk about how AMAZING Leigh looked in her fitted trumpet gown from Martina Liana? It looks like it was absolutely designed with her in mind… pure perfection.

She’ll fill you in on the rest of the details — like the surprise confetti blast during we had a confetti blast during the hora!

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Modern Elegance

Leigh, the bride: We got married at the Eau Palm Beach. We picked this venue as we wanted to get married overlooking the ocean and the Eau has an amazing terrace overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

We both grew up in South Florida, and Palm Beach was far enough away for even in-town guests to make a weekend of the event. In addition, the hotel is a 5-star resort, yet is quaint and inviting, and the lobby feels like your living room.

The hotel was formerly a Ritz Carlton, and the style is pure  Ritz elegance. Our theme throughout the weekend was modern elegance and the Eau captured that perfectly. The service, food, and staff were top notch!

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Real Jewish Brides: Gaby Talks Shoes And Bridesmaids Dresses

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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!


Six Month Countdown

I can’t believe I’m in the run up to the 6 month countdown! Considering I’ve already been engaged for over a year, the time is seriously flying by! People tell me I’ve got plenty of time which is true, but considering how quickly time is going, I know I need to use this time wisely to plan, prep and organise!

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Image by Fred Marcus from Vlada and Joshua‘s wedding

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A Pronovias Bride for a Glam Garden Party Jewish-inspired Wedding at Laura Ashley The Manor in Elstree, Hertfordshire, UK

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Squeal! Proud mom moment… yes, another one of my beautiful blogging brides is married! I’m so sad to say goodbye to lovely Clare, but also delighted to share her GORGEOUS Jew-ish wedding with you today…. and my goodness doesn’t she look gorgeous?!

Clare, a nursery school teacher, and Chris, a planning manager for a property developer in London (#onclouddeeks), started off their Smashing The Glass journey with a session with me as part of my wedding consultancy service. We worked together to to help bring her vision to life for what would eventually become her spring garden-themed day, and Clare reports that gained some incredible vendor recommendations from this session too — awww – that’s the best news!

Neither Clare nor Chris is Jewish, but the couple have Jewish family and opted to incorporate some traditions they found especially meaningful. I love the modernized, personal rewriting of the seven blessings their friends and family read to them (some of the blessings guests came up with are pretty hilarious!) and, of course, the magical birch chuppah with lanterns and candles strewn around the base.

Speaking of candles… the couple made liberal use of luxe scented candles throughout the day, which not only made their venue smell amazing but also made for wonderful memories: Clare reports that every time she smells, say, Jo Malone’s ‘wild fig and cassis’ (one of her picks), it immediately brings her back to the big day. Such a clever idea!

Photographer Catherine Carter and videographer Jeff Woods captured all the emotion — not to mention the fab creative touches — to perfection, and Clare looked beyond stunning in the exquisitely beaded fishtail-style Pronovias dress she purchased from STG Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club in South Kensington (where she had “the most amazing experience” — not that we’re surprised).

Okay, enough from us… take it away, Clare!

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How We Met

Clare, the bride: We met in 2014 by swiping right!

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