Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

5 Minutes with… Duke Khodaverdian, International Wedding Photographer and Founder of Duke Photography

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Duke-Images-Duke-Khodaverdian_0533In case you haven’t heard (we’ve been shouting it from the rooftops!) our fabulous ‘Your Wedding Your Way’ Smashing Summit is tomorrow, 31st January, and to celebrate, and get you in the mood, we thought we’d treat you to a very special edition of ‘Five Minutes With…’ !

This is a feature where we spend five minutes in the hot seat with one of the wedding industry’s top-ranking movers and shakers, and if you haven’t caught up with the last two editions, featuring the phenomenal Ron Ben-Israel and Mindy Weiss respectively (both headline speakers tomorrow night too, along with Monique Lhuillier and Galia Lahav’s chief designer, Sharon Sever, amongst many others), go check them out after you’ve relished today’s fabulous interview!

So today, we’re honoring one of the industry’s most incredible photographers, and another of the headline speakers tomorrow night. Ladies and gentlemen, please lose your minds for the one and only Duke Khodaverdian!

Duke is the founder of Duke Images, an international wedding photographer at the top of his game and an absolute photography genius! Don’t take our word for it, check out his incredible work on his website and Instagram.

Duke Images WeddingDuke is, without a doubt, one of the greats. He has been an international wedding photographer for over seventeen years, combining his technical expertise, innovation, and fine art, to create images that have set trends for weddings the world over.

We adore how he brings his eye for fashion photography into the mix, combining it with a second-to-none understand of lighting, composition and a photojournalistic approach. Most importantly, Duke is a big believer in the essential nature of the relationship between client and photographer, and we couldn’t agree more.

We love how invested Duke is in every couple’s special day, and how he takes the time to build an excellent rapport with each client and their families.

Oh, and he has also earned countless accolades and features in leading print and online publications, including Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, Style Me Pretty, Strictly Weddings, People Magazine, Inside Weddings, and The Knot – what a career!

We’re crazy about Duke’s answers. We’re equally obsessed with The Crown and the small SUV for his chocolate lab is beyond! We know you’ll also fall in love with Duke and his work, so don’t forget to tune in to hear him speak tomorrow at 1pm PST / 4pm EST / and 9pm GMT. See you then!

Duke Khodaverdian

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A Galia Lahav Bride for a Super Luxe White and Gold Jewish Wedding at The Four Seasons Westlake Village, California, USA

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Wow, wow, WOW! That’s our unfiltered reaction to Sepi and Omid’s absolutely breathtaking, super luxe Jewish wedding.

Everything about this divine big day is eye-poppingly gorgeous. Dramatic dà©cor details, fashion-forward choices, a perspex and floral showstopper of a chuppah – there is SO much to love about Sepi and Omid’s white and gold-themed wedding that we barely know where to start!

The wedding was held at the very glamorous Four Seasons Westlake Village. A classic venue with such diverse areas — all perfect photography backdrops. The awe-inspiring ballroom with its chandeliers lent itself perfectly to the elegant theme, created by phenomenal wedding planner, Maryam at Delicate Details, who brought the couple’s vision to life with expert skill, and provided the writeup below. We’ve featured Maryam’s work on the blog in the past and we never fail to be blown away by what she does. Absolutely second to none. 

We NEED to talk about bride Sepi’s mesmerisingly beautiful Galia Lahav gown. Those beads – that train!! Sepi genuinely looked like a million bucks – just a vision of bridal beauty.

We are HUGE Galia Lahav fans and we’re delighted to have chief designer, Sharon Sever, as one of the headline speakers at our incredible Smashing Summit this Wednesday 31st January. OMG — save your (free!) seat here! 

It’s also not often we obsess over the groom’s shoes, but check out Omid’s amazing Christian Louboutin shoes – if you’re going to smash a glass, do it in style. 

The ridiculously great photography was provided by another of our Smashing Summit headline speakers (we can’t overemphasise how excited we are about this lineup!) — Duke Photography. We could gush about his work for days, but really the pictures speak for themselves – we know you’ll just fall in love with them.

We’ll pass you over to Maryam now for her writeup of Sepi and Omid’s gorgeous celebration. Prepare yourselves – this one will really take your breath away… adnd enjoy the wonderful film by Wind Productions below too!

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A venue to fall in love with 

Maryam, the wedding planner: The Four Seasons Westlake Village offered the most glamorous setting. They fell in love the with waterfall backdrop for the ceremony and the gorgeous crystal chandeliers in the ballroom.

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A Pnina Tornai Bride for a Family-Oriented Jewish Wedding with a Stunning Chuppah at Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel

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Brothers Alexander and Jason chose to have their weddings back to back in Israel, so it was only fitting that we should feature their weddings back to back on Smashing The Glass! Jason and Nicole’s big day went live on Wednesday – and Melissa and Alexander’s is featured right now – today!

The decision was made to have the two Jewish weddings in quick succession as the brothers shared many guests and wanted to ensure that they didn’t have to fly to Israel twice. We love that the two brothers shared in each other’s joy in that way – for Jason and Alexander, it really as all about family.

As well as sharing guests, the pair shared an incredible photographer and DJ, but we’ll get to that….

We love the whole aesthetic of this stunning Israeli big day. From the couple’s fashion-forward and elegant outfit choices (that Pnina Tornai dress, though – serious wedding dress envy) to the magnificent floral chuppah, put together by the genius KBY Designs.

We also think the children’s choir is such a moving, and seriously adorable idea – so original and cute!

Melissa and Alexander’s impeccable taste extended, of course, to their choice of photographer Ran Bergman, who we absolutely adore, for reasons which will become obvious as you scroll through his divine set of pictures. We love this wedding!

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An Israeli destination venue

Melissa and Alexander were married at Al Hayam in Caesarea.

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Wedding Gift Lists – Yay or Nay?

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PrezolaHere at Smashing The Glass, we’re big fans of gift giving (and, if we’re honest, gift receiving), but we know that not everyone feels the same way as us.

Gift lists can feel thorny for some. Couples who have lived together for a while can find themselves stuck on what to ask for, as they already have everything they need to start a life together. Others may find gift lists a bit too traditional, or feel uncomfortable asking for things for themselves. However, we’re so strongly in favor of having a gift list, that we’ve decided to make it our personal mission to change your mind!

Because we’re such huge advocates of the idea, we thought we’d call on some true experts to help make the case for us, our dear friends at Prezola!

Prezola, the UK’s favourite wedding gift list, known for being stylish, on-trend and, great news for the wedding budget, free, are taking over the STG pages with some top tips for creating the perfect wedding gift list.


Remember that people will get you gifts regardless

Even if your invitations specify “no gifts”, it is inevitable that people will want to bring something. Many would feel uncomfortable arriving to a wedding empty handed, while others may assume that you don’t really mean it.

Whatever their reasons, well-meaning people will definitely ignore you. You may as well give them a list full of things you truly want and will cherish forever, instead of being forced to stare at that lovingly given hideous china ornament from great aunt Marion for the rest of your married life.

Get over your discomfort 

We totally get it – it can feel uncomfortable to ask guests for gifts on top of their already considerable travel or accommodation expenses, but they will have factored that in and will be really happy to have some guidance when it comes to buying you a present.

If you still feel a bit iffy about it, there’s no harm at all in making it clear in the invitation that you are not expecting anything but the pleasure of your guests’ company, but for anyone who wants some guidance, you have provided a gift list.

Reduce the risk by using a protected gift list

Using Prezola takes away all of the potential risks associated with giving wedding gifts. It prevents potential loss from guests do not turn up with envelopes of cash, or cheques, potentially made out to the wrong name. Everything is insured and 100% guaranteed to be delivered to you, so a gift list really does give you peace of mind.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Magical and Romantic Destination Jewish Wedding at Bait Al Hayam, Tel Aviv, Israel

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What would you do if, at the last minute, your ceremony venue fell through? That’s the scenario that Nicole and Jason found themselves facing. But instead of giving up, the resilient pair recreated their original choice, bringing the amphitheatre they had originally wanted to them. This resourcefulness in the face of a challenge truly shows how ready they are for anything life might throw at them.

It also shows that they had an absolute genius of a planner to bring the whole production together – KBY Designs. Honestly, we are in awe.

New York couple, Nicole and Jason chose to have their Jewish wedding day in Israel, just days away from the groom’s brother’s wedding (Melissa and Alexander’s amazing wedding will be published here on Friday!). Having the two weddings back to back meant that overlapping guests could extend their stay and save on time and money travelling back and forward. What a wonderful idea and such happy time for the family!

The two couples even shared a DJ and a photographer – and given that their photographer was none other than incredible Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, the one and only Ran Bergman. His incredible spread of images really captures the magic of the day.

There’s so much to love about this extraordinarily moving wedding – we especially adore the way that Nicole describes the ceremony. It sounded absolutely spine-chilling, and everything you would want a ceremony to be.

Bride Nicole chose a stunning Amsale gown, with features reminiscent of Kate Middleton’s iconic gown. She is also a freelance writer in her spare time, which is evident in her fabulous writeup below, so without further ado, please welcome Nicole to fill you in on her and Jason’s wedding planning story.

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How we met

Nicole, the bride: We met through a mutual friend (the groom’s stepbrother) in Miami, but a lot of people, specifically the stepfather, like to argue on who gets credit for the match.

Both born and bred in New York, Jason is from Manhattan and I grew up in Great Neck, Long Island. After Jason’s internship ended in Shanghai, he moved to Miami to continue his hospitality career while I went to pursue my Master’s degree at the University of Miami for Print Journalism.

We officially met in 2011 and started out as friends (and…co-workers, scandalous!). After a wild night in South Beach (June 25, 2012), we admitted our chemistry was undeniable. I paid a toll by sealing the night with a kiss — an inside joke for us and now, the family – the rest was history.

After a long, romantic night filled with teasing and guessing, Jason popped the question in our Miami Beach home on December 18, 2015. A week after, we celebrated our engagement on holiday in San Francisco.

After five years together, we got married in Tel Aviv on June 29, 2017 (just four days away from our dating anniversary).

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