Inspired Jewish Weddings
Two words: Kate Spade. I think we all understand each other. But, just in case, I should elaborate:
( 1) We adore this Mr & Mrs balloon set– perfect for pictures and proud place settings for the top table.
(2) These adorable wine tags would make for some seriously sweet dà©cor details. Absolutely irresistible!
(3) If you’re going to drop shameless honeymoon upgrade hints, then do it in style with this stunner of a post-wedding tote bag for your carry on.
I am so excited for this month’s Facebook Live show! Wedding music questions are ALWAYS coming up in our private Facebook group for Jewish (and Jew-ish) brides and grooms (and if you’re not a member yet, you should be – just click here to request to join!).
I often get asked:
So I decided that all these questions (and more!) should be addressed in our April Facebook Live show tomorrow, Wednesday 26 April at 8pm GMT (that’s 3pm EST, 12pm PST, 9pm in Europe, and 10pm in Israel) at facebook.com/smashingtheglass.
And my special guest for the evening is none other than DJ Kwamà© Knight who provided all the music (and a rocking atmosphere!) at my own Jewish wedding. Woop woop!
Kwamà© and I will be chatting in real time, so you can ask us anything you want during our live broadcast, or you can submit a question in advance by emailing karen@smashingtheglass.com
In addition, as I do with all the monthly shows, I’ll be giving you the lowdown on what’s been going on behind the scenes at Smashing The Glass, and let you in on the latest news and gossip from the world of Jewish weddings!
This is the fourth episode of our exciting monthly Facebook Live show especially for the STG worldwide community. The show airs on the last Wednesday of each month on the Smashing The Glass Facebook page at 8pm GMT to coincide with #WeddingWednesday.
Creative couples – listen up! Today’s real Jewish wedding is a detail-heavy big day that you’re going to want to absolutely devour.
Lucy and Michael wanted every element of their big day to be 100% ‘them’, and they achieved it by the truckload. Every detail of their urban, Shoreditch celebration was personalised to perfection, from the flowers to the favours (make sure you keep reading to the end for the story of the Tequila Sunday tattoo favours – an absolute hoot). All of the quirky, homemade decor choices were captured by the highly rated Miki Studios, who the couple simply raved about.
There are so many brilliant ideas to borrow from this fun-loving pair, including a GIF machine!! A GIF MACHINE!! (Note to selves, do not let the Smashing Team anywhere near a GIF machine, we may never emerge and have to live in GIFland for all eternity).
Beautiful bride, Lucy, looked outstandingly amazing in her Anna Campbell gown – a serendipitous bargain find that had just been waiting for her to come along. Her Gatsby-inspired bridesmaids were the perfect accompaniment.
There were also so many moving stories and touches. As Lucy’s father had sadly passed away, he was commemorated with his tallis forming the basis of a simply beautiful Chuppah. So many of Lucy and Michael’s friends and family came together to lend their skills, expertise, love and care to make the day happen – the mark of a truly loved couple.
Lucy describes the day with aplomb, so we’ll pass you over to her now for the full picture. Take it away, Lucy!
Lucy, the bride: I do acquisitions for a property company and Michael is an actor. I, however, have only done this for a year, and, before that, was also ‘actorising’ around the place. We met doing corporate kids’ parties for big banks for their Christmas season. A very strange experience, but we became very close friends (we both fancied each other but was convinced the other one didn’t) and, after a month or so of this, gave into the feelings and the rest is history!
There’s something so special about Jew-ish weddings. Each one symbolises not only a relatively rare coming together of cultures, but a totally unique interpretation of what that combination looks like in practice. We have yet to see two Jew-ish weddings that are the same – there’s no blueprint and the couple has total license to imprint their own ideas, personalities and elements of their relationship into the proceedings.
Jackie and Jon’s Chinese-Jewish (Chewish) wedding was a delightful cultural fusion, taking the most meaningful, colourful and exciting traditions from both the bride and the groom’s respective backgrounds and merging them into one heartfelt super-celebration.
Bride, Jackie, stole the show in her red-carpet worthy gown from Vera Wang‘s White Collection, which is an impressive feat in a botanical paradise venue like Kew Gardens.
All the details, including a full stationery suite, created by the talented bride herself, were captured with nothing less than expert skill by the phenomenal York Place Studios. A family business, York Place Studio is a cherished Smashing Supplier and responsible for not only the images in today’s post, but also the divinely emotional wedding video at the bottom of this post (SO worth a watch).
The Smashing family was out in full force at Jackie and Jon’s big day. Sensational Smashing Supplier, Shir, one of the UK’s most sought-after klezmer wedding bands, also made a much-acclaimed appearance, before Creation Show Band also performed a roof-raising set. We have it on good authority that Anna Phoebe’s back-bending dancefloor electric violin solo was also an unmissable experience!
We’ll pass you on to Jackie now who has written up all the exceptionally borrow-able and emotional details of her and Jon’s big day. Enjoy!
Jackie, the bride: Jon is a management consultant and I’m a designer. We were introduced on a netball court in New York City, when we both lived there six years ago. While I had been there for seven years, Jon was on a work/study program with 300 other Brits for a year. The week Jon left for England for good, coincidentally, my work sent me to London. We then spent a phenomenal amount of money flying across the Atlantic to visit each other for the following eight months, before Jon persuaded me to move over to London.
Hello and a very happy Easter Monday to our non-Jewish and Jewish readers alike. It’s a holiday here in the UK, and hopefully you’ve all got some fabulous plans to enjoy. If, for some reason, you can’t get out today, never fear – you can experience the great outdoors vicariously through Hannah and Harrison’s earthy and sublime real wedding.
There’s an extraordinary amount to feast your eyes, and heart, on. We were blown away by all of the rustic little touches, the phenomenal attention to detail, the lush green hues and foliage accented with pops of rich burgundy and woody tones. The venue was lit with bulb lights in the evening – positively magical!
The outdoor wedding symbolised everything that Hannah and Harrison hold dear as a couple, including the way that they met (spoiler alert: SO romantic) and a heartfelt Jewish ceremony conducted by a rabbi who had known Hannah since she was a child.
Hannah looked positively radiant in her stunning gown, with flowers in her hair – a perfect picture of a bride on the happiest day of her life. Photographer Jill Schwarzkopf of Realities Photography expertly captured all of the emotionally charged, important moments of the day.
We also love Hannah and Harrison’s beautifully steal-able idea of taking the wedding morning to do your favourite, most relaxing thing. Why not start such an important occasion in a way that will make you the most happy?
Well we’ve done just about all the gushing, time to pass you over to beautiful bride, Hannah, for a full recap of the big day.
Hannah, the bride: Harrison and I met at summer camp and started dating a few years later when we went back to work as staff. We stayed together through four years of long, and very very long, distance and now live together in Athens, Georgia. I’m a graduate student at the University of Georgia and he works for his parents’ software company for wine and spirits wholesalers.
