Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog - Page 3 of 240

A Pronovias Bride for a Rustic Destination Jewish Wedding at Topnotch Resort, Stowe, Vermont, USA

03/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

A destination Jewish wedding doesn’t have to take place thousands of miles from home to have a seriously big impact. For evidence, see the gorgeous rustic wedding of Erica, a content manager in the pharmaceutical industry and adjunct professor in business communications, and Jared, an electrical engineer.

They knew they wanted an intimate wedding that would allow their family and friends – who hadn’t spent much time together due to living far apart – to really get to know each other. So they opted to host #GordonWeddinGetaway in Vermont’s breathtaking Green Mountains – far enough away from their home in Philadelphia to qualify as a bona fide destination while still accessible to their guests.

We love that Erica and Jared really focused on keeping everything low key and fun for their 45 guests, and never lost sight of their ultimate goal for the wedding weekend: connecting with their nearest and dearest – and allowing their family and friends a chill couple of days to connect with each other, too! And based on the wonderful photos from Jesse Schloff Photography, it seems to have gone exactly to plan.

One of our biggest goals here at STG is to make sure all brides (and grooms) to be are able to craft a wedding day (or weekend!) that’s exactly how they want it to be – and we’re so excited to be launching our first-ever FREE Jewish Wedding Planning Bootcamp, starting TODAY, Monday, June 3! It’s going to be full of tips and tools for creating the wedding of your dreams, stress-free (or just about), and it’s not too late to sign up!

Now over to the bride, who looked exquisite in her off-the-shoulder mermaid gown from Pronovias…

How we met

Erica, the bride: Like many others these days, we met online—Jdate specifically. From reading his profile, I thought we had a lot in common (we’re both from the same town). I liked that he said he liked to go mini golfing and play board games—nerdy things that I also enjoy. We also both lived in South Florida; we even went to the same high school in PA but were a year apart.

We set up our first date for October 2, 2015. We went bowling and split a pizza. I thought he was very cute and felt a connection right away. Early on, I could see Jared being “the one.”

The Event of the Year for Jewish and Jew-ish Brides starts tomorrow.. Make Sure You’re IN!

02/06/2019 by Karen Leave a Comment

What have you been up to this weekend? Partying? Chilling? Wedmin-ing? In my case, it may or may not surprise you to hear that I’ve spent most of the weekend preparing for Smashing The Glass’ FREE Jewish Wedding Planning Bootcamp for Jewish and Jew-ish brides-to-be, happening tomorrow, Monday, and I’m SO excited!

After Bootcamp I’m a million percent confident you’ll walk away knowing exactly what you need to do to ensure you have an unforgettable wedding — the wedding you really want (whilst keeping everyone around you happy)

And the best news of all? The live bootcamp will be streamed directly to your computer or mobile device, so cosy slippers and a hot chocolate (or a large glass of wine!) are positively encouraged!

The free event is starting on Monday June 3, 2019 @ 3:30 PM EST (that’s 3:30pm New York, 12:30pm Los Angeles, 8:30pm London, 10:30pm Israel)

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE AND GET A REMINDER

You’re engaged… and I get it:

You want to be different but fulfil certain expectations.
You want to be cost efficient without seeming to scrimp.
You want to involve friends and family without causing them a ton of work and stress.
You want to throw an amazing party that will appeal to quite a disparate group of people… and across the generations.

I know most of these pressures apply to ALL weddings but there are extra levels of pressure for Jewish weddings — how much of the traditional stuff do you do? How do you cater for kosher guests? The chuppah, the ketubah, the glass, kippot, the rituals, the rabbi…

And then there’s the party itself. How do you ensure it’s one to remember without losing your mind in the process of planning it all? (And by the way you’ll benefit from the event whether you’re using a planner or not — this is an absolute must-attend for every Jewish / Jew-ish bride-to-be!)Continue Reading

A Nitzan Krispil Bride for a Laid-Back Seaside Wedding at Beit Andromeda, Tel Aviv, Israel

31/05/2019 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We’re always obsessed with Israeli oceanside weddings…. especially when they’re smack dab in the middle of picture-perfect Old Jaffa. Like the gorgeous Jewish wedding of Olga, a graphic designer, and Chen, a programmer, which we’re totally and completely obsessed with.

It’s hard to go wrong when you’re starting out with a venue like Beit Andromeda. Throw in cool, contemporary photography with just a little bit of edge from mega-talented Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Gamba Photographers (the couple have known Gamba’s Avihai since their military service!), and you’ve pretty much got a slam dunk.

And that’s before we even get into the awesome touches the couple added to reflect the fact that their wedding was the day before Rosh Hashanah – in honor of the holiday, Olga and Chen adopted the themes of blossoming and new beginnings, and added sweet details from honey jar favors to fun dancefloor props embellished with floral and fruit motifs (handmade by the bride and her friends in the buildup to the big day – love that!).

We also love the couple’s commitment to making sure they crafted a wedding that truly reflected who they are – so in line with what we believe her at STG, and what we want to make sure all brides (and grooms) to be have the tools to accomplish for themselves. That’s why we’re so excited about our first-ever FREE Jewish Wedding Planning Bootcamp, starting this Monday, June 3 – it’s going to be truly unmissable, so if you’re planning a Jewish or Jew-ish wedding, do sign up!

Now back to Olga, who looked effortlessly romantic in her two-piece Nitzan Krispil…

How we met

Olga, the bride: We met during our military service at a mutual friend’s birthday party, and got married 6 years later.

A Romona Keveza Bride for a Family-Focused Jewish Wedding at the Belvedere Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

29/05/2019 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Cool ketubah alert! We’re totally obsessed with Kara and Dan’s gorgeous nature-inspired design, handcrafted by the wonderful Rachelle Tchiprout of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush. Kara says Rachelle was one of her very favorite wedding vendors, and we’re not surprised – she is totally lovely to work with, not to mention being a mega-talented artist.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to awesome things about this wedding. We love how the bride, a clinical social worker, and the groom, a legal assistant, crafted a day focused on their families – they even chose Kara’s parents’ 34^thwedding anniversary as their wedding date! All the love in the room comes through so clearly in the beautiful photos from Anna Schmidt Photography and video from Just Hitched Films.

They had lots of unique creative touches, too, like their guest book – they had mini polaroid cameras for their guests to use to take pics and then past them into the book alongside their messages! They also had Jenga tiles for guests to write messages on – both awesome ideas that are just a little bit different than your standard guest book (and if you’re looking for ways to add creative personal touches that are totally you to your big day, don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Jewish Wedding Planning Bootcamp, starting June 3!)

The couple also had an artist, Maggie Smith Kuhn, on hand to paint their first dance live in real time – what a beautiful memento to have from the big day!

Now over to the bride, who looked so lovely in Legends Romona Keveza…

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How we met

Kara, the bride: We met as roommates 7 years before tying the knot. We have lived together since the first day we met!Continue Reading

Real Jewish Brides: Juliette on Shopping for a Wedding Dress as a Plus-Size Bride

28/05/2019 by Smashing The Glass 1 Comment

Juliette will be marrying Matt on 9th November 2019 at Ashford Estate in Allentown, New Jersey, USA. Click here to read all Juliette’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Juliette and Matt met in Hebrew school when they were 16 – aww! (2) Juliette and Matt are both Jewish, but they are having a Jew-ish wedding – Juliette’s dad’s side of the family is Catholic, and they want to make sure everyone feels included on the day. (3) Juliette is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club – and she calls STG her “secret weapon” in wedding planning!

Bride and bridesmaids dresses: a huge deal

Weddings are full of glamour. The simplest of weddings at a courthouse to the most lavish affairs (my mom is nodding at this) have the unspoken element of glamour and effervescence. I think it comes from the fact that you know you are actively making memories on that day, rather than the other days of your life where memories just happen. Your wedding day is special.

With that in mind I knew the dresses both mine, and my bridesmaids were going to be a HUGE deal. I was inundated the second I was engaged with Pinterest photos of bridesmaids and dream dresses for myself. It was honestly overwhelming.