Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

An Avital Saporta Bride for a Summer-Themed Galilee Jewish Secular Wedding at Halomot Naftali Hotel, Sde Eliezer, Israel

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Happy Friday! We’re taking a trip to the sensational, swooping landscape of the gorgeous Galilee region of Israel to celebrate the secular Jewish wedding ceremony of Liron and Shlomi.

Renowned for its stunning views and ruggedly handsome visage (that really is the only way to describe it) the north of Israel is the perfect backdrop for a summer celebration, and Liron and Shlomi decided, wisely, to make a full weekend of it, and to make good use of the hotel’s pool. We definitely don’t blame them!

With a bright, summery color scheme of whites, yellows and purples, the gorgeous day was full of everything we adore about Israeli weddings. 

Bride Liron looked incredible in her lacey, light and Avital Saporta gown, showcasing once again why we’re such big fans of Israeli designers and their bold, sexy and flattering looks. 

The emotions and details of the day were captured by photographer, Lior Rotstein, and we’ll pass you over to bride, Liron for all of the behind-the-scenes info on how the wedding came together. 

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Jewish wedding Halomot Naftali Hotel Sde Eliezer Israel_0084

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How we met

Liron, the bride: We are both industrial engineers. We met at university while studying for our first degrees. We have been together for seven years.

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5 Minutes with… Ron Ben Israel – One Of The Best Wedding Cake Designers in the World

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Ron Ben Israel Wedding Cakes
Today is beyond exciting for the team here at Smashing The Glass, as not only are we kicking off our exciting new “Five Minutes with…” series where the Jewish wedding industry’s top movers and shakers answer quick-fire questions, but we’re starting the series with a BANG (which is the understatement of the year!).

First up in our STG hot seat is none other than the Ron Ben Israel, arguably the finest wedding and special occasion cake designer in the world.

Not only is he the chief-owner of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes in New York City, but from 2011 – 2013, he also hosted the cooking competition TV show Sweet Genius, and he is currently a judge on Food Network’s Cake Wars.

Ron was born in Israel, before making the Big Apple his home. Having changed paths after a fifteen-year professional modern dance career (uh… is there anything he can’t do?), he was led to the Big Apple, where, in 1996, his cakes were discovered while on display in the windows of Mikimoto on Fifth Avenue and commissions quickly followed from Villeroy & Boch, Baccarat, DeBeers, Bloomingdales and Bergdorf Goodman.


In addition to his cakes gracing many of New York City’s most fabulous hotels and venues, they have also have been featured in The New York Times, In Style, Vogue Magazine and Martha Stewart Weddings, with which Ron has collaborated extensively for over 20 years.

Oh, and his epic successes have been chronicled on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Top Chef, Just Desserts, The Late Show with David Letterman and The Martha Stewart Show.

We could talk all day about Ron’s incredible career, but we’re quite sure at this point that you’d rather hear from him! All we’ll say is we are extremely fortunate and honored to host Ron on the STG pages, we’re in LOVE with his epic, sugar-paste flower adorned designs (get your fingers on that Pinning button, guys) and we’re very sure you’ll all enjoy reading his quick-fire interview as much as we did!

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A Vivienne Westwood Bride for a Super Luxe Jewish Wedding featuring Jack Savoretti, at Four Seasons Hampshire, UK

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Oh MY! Jessica and Philip! Where to start?

Their classically elegant and super luxe (and, might we add, dog-friendly) Jewish wedding was hosted at Four Seasons Hampshire, and was planned with expert precision by Just Seventy.

Jessica and Philip’s beautiful outdoor Jewish ceremony was adorned with epic floral arrangements, provided by renowned florist, Paula Rooney. Guests were cushioned in a sea of incredible blooms, leading to the absolutely breathtaking chuppah, which looked like an explosion of floral fireworks, framing the gorgeous couple.

Speaking of the gorgeous couple, could the pair of them have looked any more divine? Jessica in her spectacular couture Vivienne Westwood gown, inspired by Carrie Bradshaw’s divine Sex and the City dress, while groom Philip wore a slick Dolce & Gabbana suit. 

The entertainment included the Jack Savoretti, and talented bride, Jessica, graced her guests with a few numbers! 

Not one, but two of our much-loved Recommended Vendors helped to make this wedding extra special. The caterer on everyone’s lips (literally and figuratively), Food Story, and exceptional videographer, Imaginarium Cinematography, who provided the fantastic cinematic trailer below.

Such a luxurious and dreamy day is difficult to do justice in images, but famed photographer, Robert Shack, created a sensational set of natural lifestyle-look pictures that are an absolute delight to look through.

It’s now Jessica’s turn to take center stage once more to tell us the story of how her and Philip’s dream day came together.

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Jewish wedding Four Seasons Hampshire, UK_0011
How we met

Jessica, the bride: Philip took my sister on Jewish summer camp nine years ago, and she thought we would be a great match and told me all about him. I wasn’t sure at first, but when we bumped into each other on my first night of university, I knew there was something about him, and eight years later, the rest is history.
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Real Jewish Brides – Mel: Our Ceremony, Our Way

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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!


As I eluded to in my previous post, it’s so easy to get lost in the ‘luxuries’ of a wedding and forget about the actual marriage part!

Like most brides I got extremely excited to start planning our wedding as soon as we got engaged. The first task for us was finding a venue. We were really clear about what we wanted, and what we didn’t want. Which meant our search for a venue was proving difficult — it wasn’t as easy as I expected to find a venue outside of London that was big enough to accommodate our guests and have enough indoor space to avoid ‘changing over’ rooms between the ceremony and meal. Having a March wedding, we couldn’t rely on the weather being good enough to have an outdoor ceremony. After hours of research and many trips visiting venues all over Essex and Hertfordshire, we found our dream venue –Warren Weir… in Bedfordshire.

Our next task was finding a band. Followed by a photographer, videographer and florist.

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Jodie & Joel’s Jewish wedding at Warren Weir by Claudine Hartzel Photography

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A Destination Jewish Wedding with a Beach Chuppah and Midnight Fire Dancers at Kempinski Hotel, Marbella, Spain

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Perfect clear skies, a deep blue sea and one very happy Jewish couple form the ingredients for today’s gorgeous Marbella real wedding.

Childhood friends, Steph and John, reunited in 2014 and, in the infamous words of one of our favourite movies, Fiddler on the Roof “from such children come other children”. Together they have a gorgeous son, Joey, and their beautiful Spanish wedding consolidated that commitment. 

Their theme was a white wedding with accents of silver and blush in the floral arrangements and bridesmaids’ dresses. The white color scheme added to the serene atmosphere of the day – just look at that chuppah against the beautiful seaside backdrop!

Beautiful bride, Steph, showcased her fabulous tattoos in a stunning lace-illusion Pronovias gown, with old Hollywood hair and makeup completing the look.

The big day ended with a bang – or a blaze, with surprise midnight fire dancers! Fantastic!

Of course, like so many STG weddings, one of our brilliant Recommended Vendors was involved. outstanding photographer, Jeremy Standley, is responsible for the sensational spread of images below. And, if that wasn’t enough, it’s supplemented by an absolutely sensational, atmospheric and beautifully filmed wedding video by Antonio de Perez.

We’ll leave you in Steph’s capable hands now for all of the divine details – over to Steph!

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How we met

Steph, the bride: I’m from Manchester originally, and my mum knew John’s mum, Pauline from before we moved to Spain. They actually lived on the next road from me, and our sisters were friends!

I was up in Manchester for a wedding in 2014 with my mum and dad, and we bumped into Pauline in a shop, having lost touch for years. They suggested we should meet up for a drink sometime, and it all happened from there! Continue ReadingContinue Reading