Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Real Jewish Brides – Charlotte: Picking our Wedding Vendors

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Charlotte will be marrying James on 26th August 2018 at The Brewery, in London, UK. Click here to read all Charlotte’s planning posts to date.

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 !


The venue is booked, now begins the search for vendors. Having been to many weddings over the past few years you get to know what you like and just isn’t your style or taste. Do your research and look at reviews, I found that vendors Instagram feeds are really useful and really show what they can do in abundance. ­

Make sure you go to each vendor with a clear idea of what you want and have your questions ready. This is your wedding and the one day in your life where you get to celebrate your marriage. Make sure you stick to what is right for you both. I’m very fortunate that James has the same vision as me for our big day, and that I have very open minded parents as well.

Tony Page Kosher Caterers
Image: Robert Shack from Georgia & Sam’s Jewish Wedding (Catering by Tony Page)
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A Justin Alexander Bride for a Desert-Chic Jewish Wedding at Chateau Lux, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

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jewish wedding Chateau Lux Phoenix Arizona USA
What we love here at Smashing The Glass, are that no two couples Jewish weddings we feature are EVER the same! Some prefer to keep things simple, some fill their weddings with ‘in’ jokes and items that have personal meaning to them, and some, like Sheila and Alex, create stunning aesthetics, with intense attention-to-detail that makes their Jewish wedding look fresh from the pages of Pinterest, or a luxury magazine.

First introduced by their best man, Sheila and Alex have been besotted with one another since they first laid eyes on each other. Their ‘desert chic’-inspired real day paid homage to their home state of Arizona, with a stunning color scheme and gorgeous, succulent (see what we did there?) dà©cor details.

The happy couple had a moving and beautiful outdoor sunset Jewish ceremony under the chuppah and the breathtaking bistro lights at their venue, Chateau Luxe. The rabbi’s touching words can be heard in the cinematic wedding film below, provided by Ryan Blake Films. 

We simply LOVE that the wedding’s sweet treats were provided by bride Sheila’s family deli – how incredible is that?

Photographer Ryan Nicole Photography captured every moment, creating a dreamy set of images that you won’t be able to stop yourself from Pinning, while bride Sheila provided the writeup with every detail of the planning process and big day itself. We’ll leave you in their capable hands. Enjoy!

jewish wedding Chateau Lux Phoenix Arizona USA

jewish wedding Chateau Lux Phoenix Arizona USA

 jewish wedding Chateau Lux Phoenix Arizona USA
How we met

Sheila, the bride: We were introduced by a mutual friend who had been trying to set us up for years. Our friend, Ari Psez, was visiting AZ staying with Alex. Ari invited me over to catch up with him. Unbeknownst to me, Ari had a ploy to have me meet Alex in hopes of setting us up. We met that night at Alex’s house, and he asked for my phone number. We went on our first date a few days later. Alex proposed in the same house we met in, and we now live there together.

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An Elegant Japanese-Jewish Wedding at Congregation Emanuel-el and Presidio Officer’s Club Ballroom, San Francisco, USA

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Congregation Emanuel-el and Presidio Officer's Club Ballroom, San Francisco USA_0025
It’s no secret that here at Smashing The Glass, we ADORE the coming together of two diverse cultures. While Kristin is Jewish, and so this is not a Jew-ish wedding, the couple combined elements of bride Kristin’s Japanese-American background with groom Bryan’s Jewish heritage, to create a warm and wonderful celebration like no other.

It’s no surprise that this worked so well. San Francisco-based Kristin is the business owner of Nourish, a lifestyle company that helps people define their cultural narrative on their own terms, and her and Bryan’s wedding was full of heart and placed huge emphasis on the importance of family.

From the home-style meal to the family-centric ceremony, incorporating elements of Japanese culture, every moment honored both families and it’s clear that they are very tight knit.

We’re amazed by the story of how the reception venue was discovered. We won’t spoil it for you, but be sure to read carefully, because it’s really something special!

We’re also huge fans of bride Kristin’s cool bridal style, opting for a T-shirt-style dress from Pronovias that totally matched her day-to-day style. It’s a great example of how to be the best version of yourself on your wedding day.

Fabulous STG Recommended Vendor Stephanie Caplan of The Ketubah provided the couple’s beautiful, personalized ketubah, and Perfect Circle Photography captured every detail, as well as all of the emotion, heart and soul of the celebration.

Take it away, Kristin!

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How we met

Kristin, the bride: We met on a street corner in Hayes Valley (our neighborhood), San Francisco, where we would often see each other on our way to the bus stop in the morning. For a while, we were just friendly neighbors, until we went on our first date. We began dating, and Bryan proposed on that same street corner where we first met, exactly four years later.
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Facebook Live Catch Up: Photography and Videography Q&A with Blake Ezra Photography and Gavsy Media

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Smashing The Glass Facebook Live
From L to R: Gavin, Karen and Blake :: Image: Blake Ezra Photography

Last Wednesday evening we went live with two of the industry’s most sought-after wedding vendors — Blake from Blake Ezra Photography and Gavin from Imaginarium for the September episode of our monthly STG show.

We went live from my apartment in London and the show was action-packed, super informative and amazing fun to boot – seriously you HAVE to watch the replay here or below, whatever stage of wedding planning you’re at!

Our monthly Smashing The Glass show airs  live on the last Wednesday of every month on the Smashing The Glass Facebook page at 8pm GMT (that’s 3pm EST, 12pm PST, and 9pm in Europe) to coincide with #WeddingWednesday.

Make sure you like the Smashing The Glass Facebook page to be notified of all future shows.

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A Meital Zano Bride for a Galilee Summer Camp-Themed Jewish Wedding at Ramot Resort, Israel

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A-Meital-Zano-Bride-for-a-Galilee-Summer-Camp-Themed-Jewish-Wedding-at-Ramot-Resort,-Israel
We ADORE a laid-back Israeli wedding, particularly when the couple in question consists of two wedding planners and a wedding-planning sibling, combining the cool Israeli attitude with a gorgeous wedding aesthetic!

Arielle and Alon — a fashion-forward couple for sure — looked incredible, from handsome groom Alon’s unique suit to beautiful bride Arielle’s Meital Zano Bridal boho-style lace dress, surrounded by bridesmaids in mismatched florals. We say it a lot on Smashing The Glass, but there’s nothing quite like an Israeli dress designer!

Arielle and Alon did things their way, incorporating their own ideas to create a bespoke Jewish ceremony they felt represented who they are as a couple. 

Fabulous photographer Idan Canfi captured the sensational spread of pictures you see below you, and Arielle wrote up all of the details below. We’ll leave you in their capable hands now. Enjoy!

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A Galilee venue

Arielle, the bride: We got married in Ramot at a beautiful hotel overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Ramot Nofesh Hotel. We searched far and wide for a location that embodied the summer camp feel that we wanted to emulate, and a place that we could host the majority of our guests for the night.

We purposely chose a location that was a bit far from Tel Aviv, which is where we and our guests mostly live, to basically force our guests to spend the night, creating the destination wedding vibe we wanted. 

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