Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

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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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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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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Real Jewish Brides – Mel: An Interview with my Fiancà©!

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Mel  will be marrying Mitch on Sunday 18 March 2018, in a Jewish wedding at Warren Weir at Luton Hoo, UK.

THREE FACTS: (1) Mel and Mitch met online on JDate (2) Their Jewish wedding will be classy and traditional with plenty of modern touches  (3) Mel is a member of Smashing The Glass’s private Jewish & Jew-ish Brides Facebook Group. Not yet a member? Come join us here!


The Groom’s Perspective

Every post I have written so far is about my thoughts and experiences to planning the wedding so I thought it was about time to have a role reversal. This is all about Mitch and his perspective on planning our wedding.

Picture the scene, Mitch and I sat comfortably on our L-shaped sofa in our lounge. Me wrapped in my blanket with a cup of green tea. And Mitch in his grandpa slippers trying not to laugh at my attempt at being a chat show host. I wanted to ease us both in to this ‘role play’ so I started with an easy question…

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An Alon Livné Bride for a Super Luxe Boho Beautiful Jewish Wedding at Four Seasons Westlake Village, California, USA

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Say WHAAAAT? That was our first, and very understandable, reaction to this sensational spread of images from Jasmin and Eliot’s absolutely ah-mazing Jewish wedding day.

After we were done rubbing our eyes in disbelief like cartoon characters, we managed to take in the divine details that made this big day so special. First of all, the unfathomably beautiful venue,  Four Seasons Westlake Village, which came with its own waterfall, the perfect setting for a shabbat pre-wedding celebration. No wonder they made a weekend out of it! 

The waterfall was matched only by the epic, cascading floral arrangements, tumbling from tables, adorning the tipi-inspired chuppah – we’ve never seen anything quite like it, so you’d be forgiven for Pinning so fast your fingers start smoking a little. 

Everything about this boho-beautiful big day was perfectly matched with the theme – the naked cake, the sweet, contemporary stationery, the aisle made from layered vintage rugs. There was not a dà©cor item out of place. 

Beautiful bride, Jasmin, looked ridiculously incredible in her truly unique, showstopping Alon Livné beaded dress, and in her first-look gown, a really original photoshoot idea that we simply adore. 

Speaking of photography, this stunner of a wedding was shot by an absolute photography legend, Jessica Claire, whose work we are thrilled and honored to feature on the blog. A wedding this luxe deserves nothing less than a photographer who can do it justice, and Jessica Claire did it justice and then some. We are in love!

We’ll hand you over to Jasmin for all of the details about how her and Eliot’s special day came together. Prepare yourselves for incoming wedding pretty – it’s a little overwhelming!

jewish wedding Four Seasons Westlake Village, California, USA

jewish wedding Four Seasons Westlake Village, California, USA

jewish wedding Four Seasons Westlake Village, California, USA

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A shabbat dinner by the waterfall

Jasmin, the bride: We got married at the Four Seasons Westlake Village. It was the first place we visited, and the last place we circled back to after looking at over 10 venues.

I am from New York, and Eliot is from Orange Country, so we wanted a destination that was comfortable for our guests for the entire weekend. We threw a big shabbat dinner inside/outside by the waterfall, and Sunday brunch at the venue outside by the garden terrace.  

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A Pronovias Bride for a Family-Oriented Jewish Wedding at The Foundry in Buffalo, NY, USA

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Leah and Dave are just the cutest. They met on JDate and quickly discovered they already had mutual connections and were absolutely meant to be.

We LOVE how much of a family affair their wedding was: Leah’s father  built the chuppah under which the gorgeous couple conducted their ceremony, while Dave’s mom crocheted kippot for everyone in their wedding colors – so adorbs! Each had a different design and a tag on the inside with the bride and groom’s names and the wedding date. The project took an entire year and we love the bride’s mom so much for it!

Beautiful bride, Leah, chose to pair her elegant glasses with a stunning Pronovias gown and looks beyond gorgeous.

The sweet-toothed couple, who both work with food, decided against a tiered cake, and opted, instead, for a sweet buffet complete with a heart-shaped donut wall. Yes please! 

Oh… and wait until you set eyes upon their guest book / one-of-a-kind artwork – an absolute must-steal!

All of the joy, love and laughter was captured by Ayres Photography, and the wonderful writeup was provided by Leah. We’re sure you’ll love reading every moment of her and Dave’s big day.

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How we met

Leah, the bride: We met on JDate. Dave had messaged me, but I ignored it because he had a girl in his profile picture with him! Eventually I caved and accepted the message and we wrote back and forth for a few days before meeting. We met and had a great time, but I had a date planned with another guy a few nights later so I was keeping an open mind. Fortunately, the date ended up being horrible, and I called Dave as soon as I left and met him out. We’ve pretty much been together ever since. As we got to know each other, we found out that even with him being from Long Island and me from Buffalo, we had some crazy connections…

When I moved to Florida at 21, I became friends with a girl from Long Island and had since stayed in touch with her. It turns out Dave’s sister worked at Red Lobster with her in high school, and at the time his best friend was valet parking at the same restaurant she was working at! Dave had also done an internship with someone on Long Island who is an aunt to one of my friend’s husbands – a bit of a reach, but still a connection! It always seemed like we were met to be together right from the start.
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12 Cute Phrases for the Inside of your Wedding Kippot

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Kippah by Hebrewear (Get 10% discount from Hebrewear as a member of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club)

Let’s face it, ordering a batch of kippot / yarmulkes / cupples for your guests is an absolute must for any Jewish wedding. While it’s totally fine to leave them blank, it can also be a lovely ‘kipp-sake’ (sorry) for your guests to provide a fun slogan, perhaps even with your wedding date and names embroidered or printed into the kippah.

In other words, you can ‘cupple’ them (aaargh!) with something personal and make them your wedding favors.

Do have a look at our cool kippot Pinterest board with some of our favorite kippah designs, and make sure you check out our fabulous Recommended Vendor, Hebrewear (wedding kippah specialists) who can create any kippah idea you have in mind! In the meantime, here are our 12 fun phrases for the inside of your kippot.

1. Your names and wedding date

It’s simple, it’s effective, and people will always remember your big day when they wear their kippah.

2. Your favourite line from your vows or ketubah

If you have a particularly poignant line or phrase from your wedding vows or ketubah, why not have it in your kippot?

3. Please G-d by you

Save your elderly relatives a bit of work, and let your kippot do the talking.

4. Fun facts about the couple

To make it even more fun for your guests, perhaps include a few little facts about the two of you. You could have a few different designs printed, making your kippot collectors items!

5. He’s a kippah / she’s a kippah

OK, it doesn’t quite scan both ways, but as far as cute puns go, we’re pretty proud of it.Continue ReadingContinue Reading