Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Milla Nova Bride for a Multicultural Outdoor Jewish Wedding at Hatzer Netzer in Netser Sereni, Israel

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One of the things we love most here at Smashing the Glass is seeing the ways couples combine their cultures and traditions into their big days. It’s not always easy, whether you’re planning a Jewish wedding or a Jew-ish one, but we see couple after couple pulling it off in their own imitable style.

And today’s pair is no exception. Bronwyn, an occupational therapist and Tal, who is in sales, had two very different sets of traditions to combine: the bride is Ashkenazi and South African, while the groom is Sephardi and Israeli, with roots in India.

It was important to the bride and groom that both the ceremony and the party reflect their respective backgrounds, and we love the clever ways they made sure to give each other’s traditions equal billing on the big day.

During the ceremony, Bronwyn and Tal mixed and matched their favorite elements, holding a Sephardi chuppah with some key Ashkenazi elements: Bronwyn circled Tal seven times, and the duo took some time for themselves in a yichud room after the ceremony. At the reception, the DJ mixed South African beats with Indian tunes — plus some Israeli pop for good measure!

The other thing we adore about this wedding is Bronwyn’s dress: her long-sleeved lace gown by Milla Nova proves you don’t have to show a lot of skin to look dreamy as you walk down the aisle. We can’t get enough of this soft, romantic bridal style, and we love the way Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman captured it — and everything else about this gorgeous day, from the emotion under the chuppah to the wild dancing at the reception (and he’s an amazing guy to boot!)

Bronwyn will fill you in on the rest…

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Jewish wedding Hatzer Netzer in Netser Sereni Israel_0050

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How we met

Bronwyn, the bride: We met via Jswipe. Love at first swipe!

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A Martina Liana Bride for a Countryside Jewish Wedding at Mt Duneed Estate, Waurn Ponds, outside Melbourne, Australia

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Oh we are positively swoooooning over today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding. Everything from bride Adi’s oh-so-elegant Martina Liana gown to Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Jeremy Blode’s artful photographs of the day positively exudes that laid-back Aussie chic we just can’t get enough of….

Adi, a solicitor, and Rod, a physical therapist, placed a premium on creating a beautiful record of their day, and did it ever pay off! Just look at those portraits of the duo walking off into the sunset. *Swoon.* The Jewish dancing shots are pretty unmissable, too. Adi says Jeremy Blode “has a gift for capturing the rawest and most beautiful moments,” and we could not possibly agree more.

To round out the documentation, Adi and Rodney brought in Videoboutique as videographer and Magnet-Me to provide ultra-creative wedding favors in the form of instant photo magnets! Adi loved the idea of a photo booth but wanted to keep her guests on the dancefloor having fun, and what a perfect solution she found. Instead of guests having to queue for a photo booth, a photographer walked around during canapà©s and dancing to snap guests’ photos, which were then printed out instantaneously to be taken home at the end of the night. LOVE!

Now over to Adi…

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How we met

Adi, the bride: Funnily enough, Rod and I first met at a dingy Melbourne nightclub called Boutique. I may need prescription glasses to see almost everything in my day-to-day life; however, I managed to spot Rod (free from glasses) in the loud and dark nightclub. I pulled him out from the crowd and asked for his name and whether he was single. The rest is history.

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Real Jewish Brides: Gaby’s Guest List (and Balancing Her Family’s and In-Law’s Wants and Needs)

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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!


A tale of two families

It’s no secret that juggling a wedding when both parties have divorced parents is problematic. There are so many more factors you have to consider when planning every aspect of the big day. Least of all, the dreaded guest-list which has been a major buzzword in our respective families’ vocabulary at the moment.

Nobody briefs you on how to plan and implement a wedding. Theres no manual, no guide. Yes, you have the advice and opinions of friends and family who have or are in the process of getting married, but it’s a case by case basis depending on your family situation, finances and sanity.


Image by STG Recommended Vendor Ran Bergman from Lior and Re’em‘s wedding

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A Pnina Tornai Bride for an Uber Glam Jewish Wedding at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, Florida, USA

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This mega-chic Jewish wedding is so picture perfect, between the dreamy Palm Beach setting and the jaw-dropping florals (have you seen that chuppah?!) you’d never guess that it almost didn’t happen. Brett, a social worker, and Dakota, who works in real estate, had to cancel their original wedding date at the last minute when their venue closed due to a Category 5 hurricane. Luckily, they were able to reschedule — with ALL of their original vendors, no less. How fabulous is that?!

But this wedding is so much more than its dramatic origin story. We ADORE Brett’s guipure lace gown by Pnina Tornai, which she custom designed alongside Pnina herself at Kleinfeld. It’s sexy without going over the top, and could it fit Brett any more perfectly?!

We’re also pretty smitten with the florals, courtesy of Lane of Dalsimer Atlas. The couple gave him more or less free reign over the flowers, and it turns out that was an excellent call.

Their floral chuppah is just the dreamiest, lush and romantic as can be. And we love the ultra-creative multilevel tabletop dà©cor setup Lane came up with! Check it out for yourself in Emily Harris Photography and Senderey Video Productions’s fantastic captures of the day.


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How we met

Brett, the bride: We met in college at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Go Blue!!) and have been together very, very happily ever since!

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A Berta Bride for an Ultra-Chic Vegan Jewish Wedding at Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem, Israel

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This Jewish wedding is just SO wonderfully chic. It also happens to be 100% vegan. Sara and Ronen, animal lovers and ethical vegans, planned the whole affair with zero animal products in sight. Everything from the menu to the attire was plant-based through and through.

That’s no easy feat — especially when it comes to finding a fab gown with no silk. But Sara pulled it off and then some. We absolutely adore her sexy, ultra-feminine dress from Berta Bridal (the eponymous designer of which just so happens to be Israeli!). Ronen looks pretty snazzy in his wool-free suit, himself.

Despite the marked absence of meat from the festive meal, venue Mamilla Hotel’s plant-based food service got rave reviews from nearly all the guests — many told the couple afterward it was the best wedding food they’d ever had!

We love that Sara and Ronen weren’t afraid to stay true to themselves and their values on their big day — and love even more that it paid off!

The other awesome thing about this wedding? The view. The rooftop of the stunning Mamilla Hotel, where the couple held their breathtaking ceremony, just happens to overlook Jerusalem’s fabled Old City, and the skyline is just BEYOND.

It doesn’t get much better than this — and the setting was extra meaningful to the couple, since Ronen grew up in Jerusalem. You’ve GOT to check out Ori Carmi‘s dazzling photos and Idan Hershko’s outstanding video of the day.

Now over to Sara…

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A Jerusalem Wedding 

Sara, the bride: My husband, Ronen, and I got engaged in Tel Aviv, Israel, in May of 2017, but his original plan was to propose at the rooftop restaurant of the Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem. That plan was foiled by the US president’s visit, and we all had to leave Jerusalem. But once we were engaged, we decided to be married there.

Ronen grew up in Jerusalem and felt it was like coming full circle to be born and then married with the Old City as the backdrop. I had only been to the venue once, in the winter when the roof was enclosed. I did all the planning off of a few photos and a FaceTime walk-through with my boss, who was visiting the winter before our date.

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