Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Real Blogging Brides: Leah – What do you register for when you’ve lived together before the wedding?

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Leah  will be marrying Zak in a Jewish wedding on 1st June 2018 at Masia Notari in Spain. Click here to read all Leah’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Leah knew she wanted to convert to Judaism long before she met Zak. She feels that having a Jewish wedding is another milestone in her Jewish identity and is an opportunity for some of her family to experience new traditions. (2) Leah & Zak met on JDate (3) Leah and Zak are planning a beautiful black tie destination wedding in Barcelona, Spain


What do you register for when you’ve lived together before the wedding? We found ourselves asking this very question as we faced the prospect of a registry. To make matters harder, I love home goods (and HomeGoods!) and already have many of the items most people typically add to their list. With more and more couples getting married at an older age, many of us are more likely to have the standard blender or crockpot that end up on a typical registry.

Here’s how we attacked the odd concept of picking items we wanted other people to buy us.


Image: The Wedding Shop

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Industrial-Boho-Chic Jewish Wedding at Ambient + Studio, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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Jewish-wedding-Ambient-Studio-In-Atlanta-Georgia-USA
SQUEE! Sorry, we tried to play it cool, but… EEEE LOOK! Some weddings just ooze effortless chic – and Rachael and Ryan’s Jewish wedding day was definitely one of those weddings! Their industrial-boho theme was so perfectly executed that it looks lifted from the pages of Pinterest. In fact, that’s exactly where it belongs (you know what to do, folks).

The blank-canvas Atlanta venue, Ambient + Studio, was the perfect setting for the succulent-laden dà©cor, with its white exposed brick walls and gorgeous natural light. 

The happy couple clearly have an eye for design, because every detail was just perfect, from the hanging terrariums (so on trend) to the beautiful color gradient of bridesmaids’ gowns, the mouth-watering naked cake to the show-stopping wooden chuppah from Annie’s Creek. Let’s not forget that the couple planned this wedding themselves, with a little help from their friends!

Bride Rachael looked like a boho woodland princess in her lush lace Dreamers and Lovers dress and fashion-forward half-up, half-down ‘do – she absolutely stole the show.

Photographer, Simply Violet Photography, created a sensational spread of images that really tell the story of the day – we’re totally in love. The couple also enlisted a dear friend, Jarell P. Wall, to provide the oh-so-sweet wedding video below.

There’s so much to love about this big day: the surprise serenade, the sparkler-lit exit, but we’ll let Rachael tell you all about it in her own words. Take it away, Rachael!

Jewish-wedding-Ambient-Studio-In-Atlanta-Georgia-USA

Jewish-wedding-Ambient-Studio-In-Atlanta-Georgia-USA

Jewish-wedding-Ambient-Studio-In-Atlanta-Georgia-USA

Jewish-wedding-Ambient-Studio-In-Atlanta-Georgia-USA

Jewish-wedding-Ambient-Studio-In-Atlanta-Georgia-USA

A blank-canvas industrial venue

Rachael, the bride: We got married in Ambient + Studio in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a 10,000 sq^2 foot blank canvas with high ceiling and wooden floor.

It has a unique industrial setting to it, with old blueprints of machinery and pieces of equipment, such as a scale, in the building. Also The Walking Dead was filmed around the area! Jason from Ambient + Studio was very helpful, along with the whole team. 

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A Meital Zano Bride for a Jewish Gender-Equal Wedding at Kibbutz Ruhama, Israel

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We are totally and utterly obsessed with today’s double smashing of the glass – seriously how cool are Limor and Tom above?  They both participated in all the rituals, and both smashed the glass. We highly approve! 

Israelis are notoriously chilled out about their weddings, and everything still comes together absolutely beautifully. We’re sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere! Limor and Tom’s personalized Jewish wedding was no exception, conducted on the lawns of the kibbutz they call home.

Chic, understated and oh so cool, the wedding was a real stunner, with the gorgeous natural surroundings setting the stage for the carefully selected dà©cor details, including a ‘something borrowed’ chuppah and a flower station, so that guests became walking decorations.

Lovely bride, Limor, looked a vision in her Meital Zano fashion-forward dress and shawl, with groom Tom kitted out with a chic smart-casual combo from Zara. 

Photographer Sahar Hai Ahava, captured all of the adorable details and the emotion of the day, with some classic, Israeli cool shots thrown in for good measure. It’s time to hand you over to Limor for the full writeup. Be warned – there’s a LOT of pretty to look at – we urge you all to get Pinning.

Jewish wedding Kibbutz Ruhama, Israel Jewish wedding Kibbutz Ruhama, IsraelJewish wedding Kibbutz Ruhama, Israel

Jewish wedding Kibbutz Ruhama, Israel
Home is where the heart is

Limor, the bride: We got married in the gardens of kibbutz Ruhama, our home. We live in southern Israel and the kibbutz is located in a beautiful nature reserve. We chose to invite our family and best friends to the place we love the most.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

‘How To Plan Your Wedding on Instagram’ – live from Claridges with Smashing The Glass + Jemma-Jade Events

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Facebook-Live-Smashing-The-Glass
WE love Facebook Lives, YOU love Facebook Lives, and my goodness, have we got a fabulous one in store for you next Wednesday 8th November!

We’ll be live streaming from Claridges, one of the most Instagram-worthy venues on the planet (there are 46,500 #claridges tags and counting!) with one of my favorite wedding planners – the amazing and super talented Jemma-Jade William, founder of Jemma-Jade Events.

Jemma-Jade is an absolute rockstar wedding planner and much-loved Recommended Vendor, and she also happens to be bride-to-be too (Big Mazals from all of us at STG!) so as well as showing you all about how to best plan your wedding on Instagram, you’ll be able to ask Jemma Jade and I all your wedding planning questions. Nothing is off the table – you can literally ask us ANYTHING! 

Claridges-hotel-London
The topic of planning your wedding on Instagram is a hot one. The social network has officially overtaken Pinterest to become the most popular place to score design inspiration for your wedding. From the latest swoon-worthy chuppahs to dream dresses and to-die-for tablescapes , Instagram is dripping with gorgeous ideas, but how exactly do you get the best out of the app when it comes to planning your big day?

We’ll be delving into the best hashtags for exploring wedspo, the secret tools inside Instagram that ensure you keep everything in order (you do not want to be clogging up your phone with screenshots!), the best way to discover a dream team of vendors, and many more unmissable tips and tricks.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Magical Woodland Jewish-French Wedding Bursting with Love at Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, Canada

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Jewish wedding Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, Canada
Guys, get the tissues ready – this is not a drill. Repeat, this is NOT a drill. This loved-up pair will definitely give you the weepies. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Sari and Jason’s magical forest Jewish-French wedding was not only absolutely whimsical and captivating to look at, but was a moving, heartfelt affair. The adoration these two lovebirds have for one another shone through every moment of the day and every word they uttered to one another.

The wedding’s aesthetic is so divine that we’re not sure where to start, other than, upon seeing it, one of our STG team members (we’re looking at you, Sara!) gushed that this was the wedding they would have today if they could do it all again.

Nestled among the trees was the stunning birch wood chuppah, built by groom Jason and his dad, was such a hit (even though the two of them had never been to a Jewish ceremony ) that Jason now rents it out as part of his small business, Dundas Valley Chuppah. In fact, Dundas Valley Chuppah has made an appearance on Smashing The Glass before, providing the silk peonies for this beauty.  

Gorgeous bride Sari absolutely stunned in a breathtaking blush gown, assembled from a variety of sources to create the dream dress. She looked like a fairy princess swishing around the woods in her dreamy tulle skirt – absolutely divine!

There’s so much more to say, and we could go on forever about everything from the fabulous flowers, to the fact that the couple started rehearsing their first dance a whole year in advance of the wedding! But it’s time to now hand you over to Sari’s writeup, accompanied by a stunning spread of images by E. Baker Photography and the tear-jerking, romantic video below by Dave Tebutt Wedding Films. Get ready to fall in love…

Jewish wedding Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, Canada Jewish wedding Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, CanadaJewish wedding Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, Canada Jewish wedding Kortright Conservation Area, Vaughan, Canada
How we met

Sari, the bride: We met online! Funny enough, Jay had logged on and was trying to find out how to deactivate his account. As he was searching online, I popped up and had sent him a message. There hasn’t been a day since then that we haven’t talked.

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