Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Jadore Bride for a Sundrenched Destination Jewish Wedding in Santorini, Greece

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In the five fabulous years since Smashing The Glass’s inception, having lovingly blogged hundreds of incredible real Jewish weddings, we have always ALWAYS wanted to blog a Jewish wedding from Santorini (surely one of the most magical places on earth) and today the day has finally come. and seriously guys… this wedding is EVERYTHING.

It’s a destination Jewish wedding that has us absolutely picking our jaws off the floor. Australian couple Katie, who works in PR, and Aaron, a commercial airline pilot for Virgin Australia, wanted a spectacular backdrop for their once-in-a-lifetime day, and so they chose to marry on the sun-drenched Greek island of Santorini. And did it ever deliver! HannaMonika Wedding Photography’s images from the day are just beyond.

Every photo is its own little work of art — and a whole bunch of them could’ve easily been plucked from the pages of a super-glam travel magazine. Take a scroll through, and we guarantee you’ll be fighting the urge to book yourself a ticket on the next flight to Greece. And don’t even get us started on Orriss Films‘ Hollywood-perfect trailer – seriously, Katie and Aaron look like absolute movie stars, and every scene is shot so exquisitely.

We just can’t get enough of photographers Hanna and Slavomir’s style: bright and crisp, romantic and modern. They could not have done a better job of capturing the amazing light and colors of Santorini. The blue skies, the whitewashed houses, the lush greenery of the chuppah… yep, we’re smitten with this one.

Oh, and did we mention that beautiful Katie — who looked so effortlessly summer chic in her Jadore dress — was an avid Smashing The Glass reader in the lead up to her wedding? She reports that she found the blog especially useful for Jewish music inspo for the horas and the procession. So glad we could help, Katie! Now over to the bride…

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How we met

Katie, the bride: We met at a pub in Sydney. Aaron saw me with a girlfriend sitting at a table and wanted to introduce himself without being sleazy, so he and a friend asked if we minded if they shared a table with us while they ate their dinner.
We said fine, not realizing he had actually already had dinner but ordered a second meal so that he could sit at the table. Slowly they worked their way into our conversations, and soon after he was telling me about his friend that he thought I might like. He handed me a card for his friend if I was interested and that’s when I saw “Aaron” on the card and realised he was telling me about himself, haha.
Needless to say I ended up texting him later in the night after a couple of glasses of wine. It took us about a month to finally catch up after that initial meeting because I was being difficult (sorry hubby!), but the rest is history. I never would have thought that night I was going to meet my future husband.

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A Paloma Blanca Bride for a Beachside Destination Jewish-Scottish Wedding at Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel

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Destination Jewish wedding Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel
Today’s destination Jewish wedding is serious #chuppahgoals. UK couple Natasha, who is a head of sales, and Adam, an investment banker, opted for a destination wedding at gorgeous Al Hayam in Caesarea, Israel.

The pair wanted a statement chuppah, but at the same time didn’t want anything to overshadow the jaw-dropping ocean view from their venue — take a look through their photos by STG Fave Ronen Boidek and you’ll see why!

What they ended up with hits just the right balance between luxe and simple: four narrow poles covered in greenery and white and cream flowers, all under a canopy of delicate lace. It’s just so elegant, yet exquisitely delicate at the same time.

Bride Natasha said she wanted flowers on her chuppah (not only because, well, why would you not?) but also because of all the beautiful things they represent: “life, a new start, and all things alive and living” — all the right notes to hit at the start of your marriage.

Though Natasha and Adam went for an elegant classic style, they did bring some quirky touches to their day. Our favorite: a Scottish whisky bar, in honor of the groom’s Scottish origins, with different types of whisky for guests to sample. Oh yeah, and there was also a bagpiper in attendance too!

Speaking of music, these two picked our latest and greatest STG Recommended Vendor, Teta Band to set their wedding atmosphere on fire! Teta played live all night, from jazz to pop to Israeli to even French, Portuguese, and Motown live music all night, and in Natasha’s words, “phenomenal doesn’t even describe it… Teta had the guests all up on their feet all night long!”

Beautiful Natasha, looking absolutely radiant in her ivory lace gown from Paloma Blanca, will fill you in on all the rest of the juicy details… Happy Fri-yay!

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Destination Jewish wedding Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel

Destination Jewish wedding Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel

Destination Jewish wedding Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel_0071
A Venue with an Ocean View

Natasha, the bride: We got married at Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel. We picked this venue due to the open nature of the venue, yet somehow it felt like there was a sense of intimacy. The gorgeous view overlooking the ocean was the winner for us!

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13 of the Best New York City Venues for Jewish Weddings

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book-themed wedding at the New York Public Library

Image by Dave Robbins from Jessie and Craig’s wedding

Hey all, Emily here! As Smashing The Glass’s resident New Yorker, I’m constantly on the lookout for great venues for Jewish (and Jew-ish) weddings here in NYC.

One of the best things about living in the city is the variety, and wedding venues are no exception. But there’s such a wealth of options to suit any style of wedding, from classic to quirky, that it can be overwhelming to sort through them to find the one that’s right for you.

So today, I want to highlight some options beyond your standard hotels and wedding halls (though we’ve got plenty of those, too!). In NYC, you can get married anywhere from a bookshop to a zoo to a historic synagogue to a working winery — and that’s just for starters.

I hope you New York-area readers find some quality inspo here — and even if you’re getting married on another continent, there’s still some quality eye candy to be found below. I know I’ll be bookmarking some of these gems for my own (potential, someday) wedding!

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A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Texan Jewish Wedding with a Beer Bar at the Driskill Hotel, Austin, Texas, USA

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Happy Wednesday, y’all! Today we’re headed to super cool Austin, where Meredith and Phillip held a Texas-themed wedding for the records. Marrying at the iconic, historic Driskill Hotel in the city center, the couple had one objective: to make their day “as Texas as possible.”

They incorporated their fab theme in so many ways, but our favorite has got to be the beer bar! They had 6 local Texas beers on tap for guests to sample — no generic alcohol for this pair! And as a surprise, Meredith’s parents had customized glasses made as wedding favors for the guests, with the couple’s names and wedding date as well as following text: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something brewed” How clever?!

Neither Meredith nor Phillip being huge cake fans, they decided to buck tradition and serve pie for their dessert instead — so on-theme, too! They had four luscious-sounding flavors: blueberry, strawberry rhubarb, chocolate, and pecan. We’d like a slice of each, please! And they still did a traditional cutting picture — just with pie.

Cory Ryan Photography captured all the details of the day beautifully. Now we’ll turn you over to Meredith, who looked gorgeous in her classic lace Monique Lhuillier gown…

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Jewish Wedding Driskill Hotel Austin Texas USA_0007

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How we met

Meredith, the bride: We met in college at the University of Richmond, at a Hillel event. We were together for nine years and three cities before tying the knot.

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Real Jewish Brides – Charlotte: Our Wedding Gift List With Prezola

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Charlotte will be marrying James on 26th August 2018 at The Brewery, in London, UK. Click here to read all Charlotte’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) James proposed to Charlotte in Florence… on her parent’s 36th wedding anniversary (aaaah – we love that!)  (2) They are planning a Jewish urban-rustic wedding in East London (3) They have already decided on their wedding hashtags — it’s #dropitlikeitshart !


Planning a wedding gift list is probably one of the most fun parts of the wedding. And even better — it’s the one part of planning where you don’t need to worry about blowing the budget! There is a lot of choice out there when it comes to gift lists now.

But firstly, why have a wedding gift list? It makes things a lot easier for your wedding guests and saves them the stress of deciding what to give you. Your guests won’t waste their money on gifts you don’t need (or even don’t like!). People who are going to your wedding are going to want to give you a gift for your special day, but they might not have a clear idea of what they want to get you. A gift list just simplifies it for them.

The more choice the better, unless you plan to spend your married life enjoying the 5 kettles and 4 cake knives that no gift list can leave you with!

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