Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Facebook Live Catch Up: Ines Di Santo’s latest Collection + Wedding Dress Q&A – live from Browns Bride

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WOW! What a Facebook Live we had last Thursday, live from central London’s most prestigious wedding dress store, Browns Bride.

I spent most of it open-mouthed, taking in the breathtaking bridal gowns from one of the most sought-after wedding dress designers in the world, the imitable Ines Di Santo… and I had to pinch myself that Ines herself was actually standing right there next to me! #starstruckmoment

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Yes – that’s right, Ines Di Santo herself flew into London to be interviewed by Smashing The Glass and she could not have been more delightful. It was a true honor and pleasure to be in her company and to talk to her about her sensational work, inspiration and processes.

We were also treated to Caroline Burstein (above) former Creative Director of Mayfair’s Browns, and founder of the legendary Browns Bride, live on air with us. Caroline’s wealth of knowledge and insightful tips and advice were so appreciated by our live audience around the globe. Another huge thrill for Smashing The Glass to interview her live on air!

Ines Di Santo 2018

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A Melissa Sweet Bride for a Chic LA Jewish Interfaith Wedding at La Cañada Flintridge Country Club, California

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Today’s real Jew-ish wedding is a very special one for all of us here at STG – not just because it’s an absolute stunner, but because the bride, Lacey, is a much-loved, active and hugely supportive member of our Smashing The Glass Brides Club Facebook group.

It’s an absolute pleasure to finally be able to celebrate her and Brandon’s fabulous wedding day – and if you haven’t joined Brides Club yet, what are you waiting for?!

The fabulous event took place at La Cañada Flintridge Country Club, with spectacular views of downtown LA, and there were so many sweet and sentimental touches to the day.

The simply beautiful chuppah was the couple’s ‘something borrowed’ item, with several friends getting married underneath it. Lacey and Brandon were married by the same judge who married her parents, in a Jew-ish ceremony that incorporated all the important elements.

Style-savvy Lacey opted for a bold color scheme of navy blue with bright pops of orange, which looked absolutely wonderful and carried consistently throughout the floristry, decorations and wedding party outfits, along with a monogram motif, which we just LOVE. 

Lacey looked like an A-list dream in her gorgeous Melissa Sweet gown, which she bought at David’s Bridal, along with her veil and beautiful, navy blue bridesmaids’ dresses. 

The details and emotion of the day were captured by photographer, Jennifer Jasso Photography, tying everything together to perfection.

It’s now Lacey’s long-awaited moment to shine, after helping so many other of our brides with their big-day plans, so we’ll hand the blog over to her for the full writeup. Take it away, Lacey!

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A classic, timeless theme and bold color scheme

Lacey, the bride: We got married atLa Cañada Flintridge Country Club (LCFCC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. We wanted a venue that was close to where we and our families live.

We also wanted a venue that would provide “one-stop shopping,” such as providing the tables, chairs, linens, etc. as well as the catering and beverages. Our ceremony was at the same place.

We picked LCFCC because their pricing was very reasonable for the buffet options we wanted, they were willing to negotiate on some of the prices, and the club has amazing views from the ballroom.

It is located in the foothills of the Angeles National Forest and, in addition to the wraparound patio with views all the way to Downtown Los Angeles, the ballroom featured floor-to-ceiling windows going all the way around.

We knew the views would be spectacular for our guests and that we would not have to do a lot of decorating. The clubhouse is designed in a mid-century modern style that we both loved.

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Real Jewish Brides – Charlotte: Designing Our Wedding Stationery

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Charlotte will be marrying James on 26th August 2018 at The Brewery, in London, UK.

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 !


Choosing our wedding stationery

In September 2016 I had been to the bridal show with one of my bridesmaids, looking for invitation inspiration. I think it is a good way to speak to vendors and get sample packs, and also to look at what the brands are specialist in, there are so many different categories and styles available on offer, and I found it really good to see the stationery in real life. 

I had already used Papier for our engagement party invitations. Which were great quality and also allow you to do a mix of printed and online. They offer such a huge variety of styles, and you can personalise them to suit you. They are also really affordable! They suited the need for our engagement party but we decided against them for the wedding, as we wanted to go for something bespoke for our wedding stationery.

Knowing that I wanted the calligraphy feel, I actually designed our save the dates myself. I downloaded a lot of calligraphy and handwriting fonts on dafont.com. And created them in a Word document and got them printed with Vistaprint. I was lucky that I tested them out before ordering nearly 200 copies, as they originally came out blurred (!). Which then followed with me on a live chat with Vistaprint for over two hours to try and remedy this, luckily they refunded my original order, and actually sent my complete order out for free! It sometimes pays to complain!

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A Whimsical, Laid-Back Jewish Wedding Day Bursting with Color at Collingwood, Ontario, Canada

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Today’s real wedding had us wondering – how can a big day this laid back be SO pretty?? There’s something to be learned from letting go of worry and doing things exactly as you want to do them – it will work out perfectly on its own, because it will be everything you truly want.

Asha and Matt’s four-day Jewish wedding camping extravaganza took place in Ontario Canada. Bursting with color, life and what looks like an extraordinary amount of fun, the couple and their guests shed their shoes for a chilled-out extended celebration. 

With dreamy, romantic floristry and a whimsical, bohemian look (including a wow-factor wooden chuppah, adorned with floral arrangements) the whole day looked like something from the pages of a Midsummer Night’s Dream!

Gorgeous bride, Asha, found her perfect dress by Dress The Population at Nordstrom, and finished it off with a beautiful bespoke sari veil and a fabulous flower crown. She looked like a fairy princess – and a ridiculously happy one at that.

Guests lay on blankets for storytime speeches, and were treated to an ice cream van mid-afternoon. The whole thing sounded so wonderfully relaxing, we wish we’d been there!

Outstanding Recommended Vendor, Niv Shimshon, made the most of the stunning scenery, capturing some truly epic images that we just CANNOT stop staring at! And Keren Rosenberg‘s film below is SO beautiful. An absolute must-watch…

It’s Asha’s turn to take over the blog for the full writeup of her and Matt’s fun-loving Jewish wedding day. We’re pretty sure you’re going to want to steal every last detail, so don’t say we didn’t warn you, and enjoy! 

Jewish wedding Collingwood, Ontario, Canada

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How we met

Asha, the bride: How we met is a favourite story of mine! Matt is the best friend of one of my cousins. I used to come to Toronto every summer (from when I was about nine) for a family camping trip.

When I was 17 and Matt was 19, he came over to hang out with my cousin, and we met for the first time. That day, Matt loudly announced in front of everyone that he would marry me one day. We remained friends for years, always chatting through instant messenger apps every few months, and always hanging out at my family’s house when I visited Toronto.

Seven years later, we started speaking more seriously and lo and behold, I moved to Toronto. We were engaged and had bought a home together within six months… when you know, you know.
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A Rockstar Jewish Wedding with a ‘Sunset in the Garden’ Theme at New York Botanic Gardens, NYC

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Get your lighters out and get ready to turn the volume right up, because Andrea and Mark are, without a doubt, the rockiest couple we’ve ever featured on STG! 

Their Jewish wedding took place in the ultimate rockstar city, New York, at the beautiful New York Botanical Garden, with a ‘sunset in the garden’ theme that ran through the dà©cor and color scheme. The flowers were in auburn colors and gradients of red, and looked absolutely sublime.

The couple first met through their shared love of music, and are in a band together, along with bride Andrea’s sister. In fact, their band, MANCIE, gave a surprise performance at the wedding. The idea was to demonstrate how the pair communicates through their music, which we think is just wonderful. What an incredible and very special extra element to have in a relationship! Watching the brilliant wedding trailer by Nicholas Oliver, you can really see them in the zone! 

When they weren’t bringing the house down with their own music, the creative couple entrusted their entertainment to none other than Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, the fabulous Hank Lane Band! High praise indeed, to be booked by two musicians. 

Andrea is also a professional photographer, and so two of her colleagues,  Cory Goldberg and Kurt Sneddon were entrusted with capturing the story of the day – and didn’t they do a magnificent job?>

We’re just the warmup act, so we’ll pass you over to Andrea for the lowdown on her and Mark’s Jewish wedding – everybody make some noise for Andrea!

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How we met

Andrea, the bride: We met through music, as we are both musicians as well as entrepreneurs, so music and a great party were very important to us. There is more info about how we met here.

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