Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Real Jewish Brides – Amanda: My New Perspective

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Amanda will be marrying Adam on 25th March 2018 in a Jewish wedding at Braxted Park, UK.

THREE FACTS: (1) Amanda & Adam met outside in a bar in Tel Aviv (2) Adam has a ridiculous sense of humor (as described by Amanda!) and we love him all the more for it (3) Amanda & Adam’s wedding is 100% focused on all the people and things that mean the most to them. You can click here to read all Amanda’s planning posts to date.


Eight weddings in 15 months…

It most certainly is wedding season in the Yaffe-Parker household. In the 15 months between our engagement and our wedding, Adam and I will have attended no fewer than 8 weddings and, one manic week in September. We actually attended 3 weddings in 3 different cities, across 2 different countries.

So it really is fortunate that we love attending weddings. There’s something about celebrating the marriage of close friends through song, dance and food that never gets old. In fact, I’d bet that if you watched the highlights of any weddings we’ve been to, you’ll see Adam and I throwing shapes like madmen.

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Image: Adam Van Bunnens

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A Julie Vino Bride for a Super Luxe Jewish Wedding with a Breathtaking Floral Chuppah at Current at Chelsea Piers, New York City, USA

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Jewish wedding at Current at Chelsea Piers, New York City, USA
STOP EVERYTHING! Have you stopped? Are you paying attention? Good. Because that chuppah deserves to have ALL eyes on it!

That’s right, folks, get your finest pinning fingers ready, because you are not going to be able to stop yourself from saving all of this wedding pretty to boards with titles like “dream wedding, yes please” and “I’ll be having some of that, thanks.”

In fact, it was your epic reaction to a picture of this big day on our Instagram that made us feel we just HAD to blog the whole thing.

The couple’s son and total cutie, three-year-old Cayden, totally stole the show with his smashing-the-glass and chair-dancing adventures. The day was all about family, with emotional moments during the ceremony and a surprise speech by the bride’s mom. 

The dà©cor was so cohesive, without a detail out of place, that the big day looked like absolute heaven. From the cake to the stationery, provided by much-loved Recommended Vendor, Bella Figura, everything looked picture perfect and totally fashion forward.

Jeremy and Alese’s chic Jewish wedding took place in New York City, and was the epitome of old-meets-new Hollywood glamor. Alese looked totally red carpet ready in her sensational, sparkling  Julie Vino gown and soft side waves – just look at Jeremy’s face in that first-look moment, which can be seen in the stunning video provided by supremely talented photographer and videographer Susan Shek.

We’ll let Alese take center stage now with her wonderful writeup – prepare yourself for an avalanche of wedding gorgeousness that’ll make you want to totally emulate or, if you’re already married, do it all over again (don’t say we didn’t warn you).

Jewish wedding at Current at Chelsea Piers, New York City, USA

Jewish wedding Current at Chelsea Piers, New York City, USA

Jewish wedding Current at Chelsea Piers, New York City, USA

Jewish wedding Current at Chelsea Piers, New York City, USA

Jewish wedding Current at Chelsea Piers, New York City, USA
How we met

Alese, the bride: We met at a Mexican restaurant in NYC! It was downstairs from my apartment at the time and across the street from Jeremy’s. My bridesmaids threw me a Mexican bridal shower, since that’s where we met!
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A Tropical-Themed Israeli-Canadian Jewish Wedding at The Q, Kibbutz Glil Yam, Israel

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Pineapple-wedding
What do you get when you cross the laid-back Israeli attitude with a Canadian sense of ceremony? The best of both worlds, that’s what, and a simply beautiful Jewish wedding… complete with pineapples! SQUEAL!

Yes, Samara and Joe went with a terrific tropical theme, bursting with color, vibrance and fun. How super cute were all the little details? We adored the clothes-peg seating plan, and the positively popping welcome setup, complete with stunning tropical flowers.

Planning an overseas wedding can be stressful, but Samara and Joe sourced both information and vendors from none other than yours truly, Smashing The Glass. We were honored to hear that we played such a direct role in helping to bring this very special big day together. 

Samara looked sensational in her beautiful backless Truvelle gown, and her ‘something borrowed’ veil – we love, love, LOVE The story behind this. 

Photographer Ariel Aricha captured the story of the day in the beautiful spread of images below, and Samara has provided a beautiful recap of her and Joe’s big day. Over to Samara now – we bet you’ll wish you’d been there as much as we do!

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An incredible Israeli venue

Samara, the bride: We got married at The Q, Kibbutz Glil Yam, in the city of Herzliya, in Israel. My husband, Joe, grew up in Jerusalem, and his father, sister, and all his dear friends (high school and army) live in Israel. My father’s side of the family also all live in Israel, including my 97-year-old Safta, who is in excellent form, but would not be able to travel to Canada.

Israel was the first place we travelled to as a couple, and is a place that holds a tremendous amount of meaning for both of us. Over the past four years, we have travelled to Israel every June, first for Joe’s sister’s wedding, then his best friend, and then his next best friend.

Having experienced an Israeli wedding, and one of his best friend’s wedding at the Q, we knew that an Israeli wedding was exactly want we wanted! Montreal weather, even in the summer, is temperamental, and we knew we wanted to be outside be relaxed, breathe in that amazing air and spirit, eat the yummy food that Israel has to offer. 

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12 Awesome Ideas for Wedding Reception Entertainment

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Photo Booth from Tash & Jason’s Jewish Wedding

Today is a very exciting day indeed, because it’s our fabulous editor, Karen’s, birthday! I (feature’s writer, Sara) together with the rest of Team STG (and I’m sure all you lovely lot!) are all clamoring to say a huge MAZAL TOV and a thank you for all of the hard work she puts in every day to make this site an incredible hub of ideas, inspiration and support for Jewish and Jew-ish couples. If you’ll allow us, Karen’s right-hand gals, a soppy moment, Karen, you’re an inspiration and we absolutely love you. Have the most fantastic day! 

In the spirit of celebration, we’ve put together a list of incredible wedding entertainment ideas. Let us know if there are any ingenious ones that we’ve missed out and do tell us, in the comments, if you’re planning on booking any of the below!

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Live music from Charlotte & Dan’s Festival Jewish Wedding

Live Music

Whether you’re planning a barn dance or, of course, a hora, a live band with someone leading the action and teaching your guests new moves, is guaranteed to get everyone, even the most blushing of wallflowers, on their feet. 

Photo booth

Hours of entertainment! Hire a booth with immediately printable strips of pictures, throw in some silly props and create a whole host of memories to look back on. For added value, have duplicate prints for guests to stick into a guest book alongside their message to you.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Oscar de la Renta Bride for a Super Luxe Italian Garden-Themed Jewish Wedding at The Dorchester, Park Lane, London, UK

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Jewish-wedding-at-The-Dorchester-Park-Lane-London-UK
There’s only one appropriate word to describe Sophie and James’s Italian-style Jewish wedding day: bellissimo!

Yes, if you breathe in deeply, you can almost smell the stunning Italian-inspired herb garden this creative couple reconstructed in their London venue, you can almost taste the limoncello, the bombe desserts, the gelato station… sorry we drifted away for a minute! I think we can all agree that wedding planners, Banana Split, know a thing or two about creating an incredible, immersive experience.

Sophie and James had their ceremony (conducted by none other than THE Chief Rabbi Emeritus, Lord Jonathan Sacks) at the place their relationship began, Norrice Lea Synagogue, under an ah-maaaazing olive-tree chuppah.

The party really got started at super-luxe venue, The Dorchester, which was transformed into an Italian heaven, with ludicrously wonderful floral arrangements by Wild at Heart. Seriously, a recipe for divine decor.

Let’s take a second to swoon over beautiful bride Sophie’s stunner of an Oscar de la Renta gown, altered especially to fit her vision – and what a vision she looked! 

There’s so much to love about today’s big day, from a singing groom to a rapping dad (YES!) but we don’t want our writeup to be longer than Sophie’s! So we’ll take a minute to appreciate the absolute photography GENIUS that is our Recommended Vendor and Smashing The Glass regular, Blake Ezra Photography. We have been lucky enough to feature Blake on many, many occasions, and he has knocked it out of the park yet again with today’s sublime spread of images.

Videographer AtMotion provided the beautiful wedding film below – and if groom James’s speech doesn’t make you well up, then we don’t know what will! Enjoy, and remember, Pin your gorgeous hearts out! 

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Jewish-wedding-at-The-Dorchester-Park-Lane-London-UK
How we met

Sophie, the bride: We actually grew up around the corner from each other, but being a few school years apart, our paths never crossed. Our fathers trained as accountants together, and both our mothers went to the same hairdressers and regularly chatted.

Our fathers share a best friend, Wayne, who approached James in shul during the Kol Nidrei service and told him that he had just had an epiphany — that he had the perfect match in mind. He told James he should take me out on a date, and the rest is history.
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