Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A No Holds Barred DIY Carnival Backyard Jewish Wedding in Los Angeles, California, USA

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Jewish wedding Carnival Wedding at parents’ backyard California USA_0020
We have NEVER seen a wedding like today’s one before. Fact.

Plenty of couples choose themes, and pull them off beautifully, but the level of dedication this couple put into their carnival Jewish wedding is just off the charts. We’re not just talking about a wedding that hints at a fair aesthetic; Talia and Danny actually set up a full-on carnival in the bride’s parents’ backyard. We’re talking a Ferris wheel, games (complete with life-sized stuffed animal prizes!), photo booths, claw machines, a balloon artist and a stilt walker… and that’s just the beginning!

Even more impressive is how much of the work the couple — along with Talia’s family — put in themselves, from artistic details to heavy-duty stuff like wiring. With the help of their multitalented florist, Dawn of Tularosa Flowers — who did so much more than just florals — the pair made their dream into a reality, with everything from the big stuff (that Ferris wheel!) to the smallest details (the floral centerpieces were inside popcorn containers — genius).

It doesn’t hurt that Talia has got to be one of craftiest brides we’ve encountered — so much so that this fall she’s opening an arts and crafts business where people can come and make projects of their own. After seeing the ah-mazing photo props she crafted from cardboard boxes — Zoltar’s head, a popcorn machine, and more — plus her spiffy ticket booths (also crafted from cardboard) we think you’ll agree she’s found her calling.

Photographer Shimmy Lautman and videographer Michael Newman did SUCH a fantastic job capturing all the glorious details (a drone was involved!).

We haven’t even gotten to the carnival cart food, or the Kinder Surprise Egg invitations (yes!) — but we’ll leave it to Talia to tell you the rest.

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A Backyard Wedding

Talia, the bride: We got married in my parents’ backyard. It’s the house I grew up in since I was born, and my father also grew up in the house. It meant a lot to me to get married there because it’s where all the milestones of my life happened. From taking my first step, to losing my first tooth, to graduating high school, all of my memories took place there, so it made it extra special to also have my wedding there.

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Real Jewish Brides: Roxanne’s Designing Her Own Wedding Dress

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Roxanne will be marrying Nathan on March 31st 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Click here to read all Roxanne’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: Roxanne and Nathan met in summer 2010 at a Jewish summer camp in Missouri. (2) They are having a DIY wedding and Roxanne is toying with the idea of designing and sewing her own wedding dress as she has a background in sewing and historical fashion design (3) Roxanne is converting to Judaism and the couple are planning a traditional Jewish wedding.


Like My Mom and Grandmother

When I was younger, all I imagined from a wedding dress, was the wear the dress my mom and grandmother wore. My grandmother was married in October 21st 1953 and, having been a fashion student in college, had a very en vogue dress. A lovely ice-y blue silk, with lace sleeve, a lace overlay, and covered buttons up the front. It is a dress that rivals Grace Kelly’s. My grandmother wore the skirt poofy, and a Juliet cap.

Twenty years later, in 1983, when my parents got married, my mom wore the same dress. She could not wear a crinoline, as she is taller than my grandmother, so she wore a band of flowers in her hair, for a vintage backyard wedding look.

One dress, two completely different looks.

As I grew up, I realized fairly quickly, it was unlikely I could wear their dress. I am a good 10 inches larger in the waist, and a solid 7+ inches shorter. I did not have the heart to wear it, knowing it would look so different.

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An Epic Enchanted Garden-Themed Jewish Wedding with Airplanes, Classic Cars, and a Carousel at Bicester Heritage, Bicester, UK

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Jewish wedding in an aeroplane hangar at Bicester Heritage UK
Where do we even start with today’s Jewish wedding? It’s got to be one of the most amazing we’ve seen, like… EVER. Do you see that chuppah?! We’ve honestly never come across one like it before, like an actual magical forest transported indoors (thanks to the never-ending talents of Amie Bone Flowers)– and it’s about the size of one, too.

Shier, a junior doctor, and Xander, a product designer, went BIG with everything from their venue — an actual airplane hangar that they transformed into an enchanted forest for the day — to their glorious chuppah (!!!) to Shier’s wonderfully OTT flower crown.

The pair brought a Victorian-style carousel in for the day, and post-ceremony Shier and Xander drove onto the dancefloor in one of Xander’s many classic cars, a baby blue open top from the 1960s. Seriously. Check it out in At Motion’s brilliant video of the day. Oh, and the groom flew into the wedding, landing a 1930s open-top airplane in feet away from the crowd of guests.

When we say this pair went big with everything, we do mean everything. Dessert-loving Shier couldn’t bear to choose just one cake, so Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Food Story put together a dessert table with literally dozens. The couple’s guests couldn’t stop raving about how delicious the food was, and many were shocked when they found out it was kosher (as is often the case with the amazing Food Story!).

Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor David Pullum did SUCH an amazing job photographing the day, capturing the drama of the setting, the emotion of the ceremony, and the fun of the party so well, we feel like we were there ourselves. We certainly wish we were — we’ve fallen head over heels for this wedding, and we’re pretty sure you will too.

Oh, and did we mention there’s a super cool story behind Shier’s fab gown (and no, it’s not a Vivienne Westwood). Read on to find out its unexpected journey — and all the other details of this most epic of weddings.

Jewish wedding in an aeroplane hangar at Bicester Heritage UK

Bicester Wedding

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Not Your Average Venue

Shier, the bride: We got married in a beautifully alternative venue, an airplane hangar within a site called Bicester Heritage. The site is a repurposed WW2 RAF bomber station now dedicated to all things relating to classic cars and motoring. My brother initially read about the site in a classic car magazine and immediately thought of Alexander (my now husband!) and me because Alexander’s biggest passion in life, apart from me of course, is his classic car collection and all things related.

I sent an email over to their event manager Tiggy Atkinson and the rest was history! Initially even Tiggy was a bit skeptical as they had never hosted a wedding before, although they do host many large-scale events such as car auctions and classic car conventions. Our families and friends were also very skeptical upon hearing we wanted to get married in what was essentially an empty 50,000ft garage, however Jess from Every Event London (our wedding planner) and my brilliantly creative mum consistently reassured us that together we could turn this monolithic empty space into a dream wedding venue.

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A Romona Keveza Bride for a Glam Multicultural Destination Jewish Wedding at Ronit Farm in Kfar Shmaryahu, Israel

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We’ve blogged a lot of gorgeous multicultural Jew-ish weddings here on STG, from Jewish-Greek to Jewish-Japanese. But every once in a while we’re reminded that even a wedding where both partners were born Jewish can be a merging of cultures in its own right.

Today’s wedding is a prime example. American bride Jillian and Israeli groom Eliad brought their backgrounds together in their bilingual ceremony — most of the bride’s guests spoke only English, while many of the groom’s spoke only Hebrew — and combined the best traditions from their both their cultures to create one stunning day.

Jillian’s side fell in love with the Israeli tradition of guests coming into the chuppah to congratulate the couple following the ceremony, rather than the couple exiting in a procession!

The pair also came up with a few great traditions of their very own. One we think it just genius: they decided to reserve toasts and speeches for the pre-wedding welcome dinner, so that they could get some quality time in with family and friends beforehand and then focus on keeping the party going on the day. Such a smart way to break things up, rather than trying to pack it all into a few hours!

Oh, and did we mention that this wedding was ultra-glam and oh-so-romantic, with twinkly lights aplenty? As if you couldn’t tell from that gorgeous rose chuppah.

Photographer Ronen Boidek and videographer Itzik Elemelich captured everything about the day so exquisitely, from the details to the emotion. Jillian — who looked SO chic in her silk ballgown from Romona Keveza (purchased from Kleinfeld) — will fill you in on the rest.

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How we met

Jillian, the bride: We met on JDate in NYC!

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Real Jewish Brides: Jennifer’s Wedding Tips From The Inside (She’s a Pro Wedding Photographer!)

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Jennifer will be marrying Charlie this coming Sunday (!) at Dartmouth House in Mayfair, London, UK. Click here to read all Jennifer’s planning posts to date. Jennifer we are SO excited for you!

THREE FACTS: (1) Jennifer and Charlie first met when they were just 17 years old! (2) They are planning an intimate elegant black tie trad(ish)ional Jewish wedding incorporating plenty of personal touches, their sense of humour, and love of all things rose gold (3) Jennifer is a wedding photographer herself so is planning her wedding as an industry insider!


Working in the Wedding Industry

When Charlie and I set the date for our wedding, I naively assumed planning the wedding would be easy.

Working as a wedding photographer within the industry, I knew exactly which suppliers I wanted on the day, so I presumed that wedding planning would be a breeze…

Well working within the wedding industry definitely has its perks. Having attended more weddings than I can count, I have been able to make a mental list of my favourite suppliers. Being able to watch different photographers, videographers, toastmasters, bands and florists doing their job to make each clients wedding day perfect for them has allowed me to know what I want for our wedding.

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