Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

An Enchanted Woodland-Themed Destination Jewish wedding at Baya’ar, Israel

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What do the words “fairytale wedding” evoke for you? For some, they conjure images of opulent castles, extravagant gowns and dreams come true. Colette and Rob’s fairytale took a wonderful twist away from the clichà©, through enchanted forests in a truly magical woodland-inspired celebration (check out the themed chuppah — it’s just sublime).

The backdrop for the big day was Baya’ar, a breathtaking Israeli nature reserve. We’re thrilled to say that STG had the immense honour of playing a big role in the venue selection, as the happy couple had come across it before right here on the blog.

Aside from the absolutely stunning aesthetic (including a breathtaking wedding dress by a hot new Israeli designer, and the cutest flower girls), captured by photographer Ronen Boidek, the wedding was also full of heart. Colette had been through a tumultuous time, surviving cancer before meeting the love of her life, and so seeing her walk down the aisle was an incredibly emotional moment for her whole family.  

We’ll hand over to Colette to tell us more — it goes without saying that everyone at Smashing the Glass wishes the happy couple a long and wonderful married life together.

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How we met

Colette, the bride: Rob went to university with my brother, we then had a drunken night in a very tacky bar in London!

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The Top Ten Instagram and Pinterest accounts for Jewish wedding inspiration

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Happy 2017! If you got engaged over the holiday season, welcome to the Jewish or Jew-ish wedding planning club! If you’re feeling a little daunted and you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry, you’re in the right place — we’ve got you.

The first order of business is to get excited! You’re going to have a wedding — your very own wedding that you can plan and create and decorate any way you want. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. So what better way to get the creative juices flowing than with a little inspiration?

Because there’s a whole world wide web out there full of pretty wedding inspiration and, let’s face it, that can be a little overwhelming, here at Smashing the Glass, we’ve narrowed things down to our ultimate top ten Pinterest and Instagram accounts. Take ten minutes, grab a cuppa and feast your eyes on these beautifully curated, creative and chic galleries of wedding gorgeousness. In no particular order:

Instagram 

@jewishweddingitaly

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We love destination weddings — and very few destinations are as rustic and romantic as Italy. Warning: contains a plethora of pictures of breathtaking landscapes, adorable details and Jewish wedding wonders.

@sabawell

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Updates and real wedding images from one of Israel’s most beautiful wedding venues. A carefully curated collection of images that are guaranteed to give you countless great Jewish wedding ideas!

@theknot

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A wedding blogging giant, The Knot is a hub of cool, contemporary and creative wedding ideas for all faiths and creeds. Be sure to check out some of the particularly spectacular chuppah designs — swoon!

@rockmywedding

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UK-based Rock My Wedding is a must visit for an eclectic mix of wedding dà©cor aesthetics. From rustic chic to super luxe, you won’t be able to look away.

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A creative, colourful Jewish wedding with a show-stopping floral Sassi Holford gown at Chippenham Park, Cambridgeshire, UK

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Happy New Year from all of us here at STG! We hope you enjoyed a gorgeous family-packed holiday season and congratulations to all our newly-engaged readers . Welcome to STG and the very special community we have created (you might also want to follow us on Instagram and Facebook and join the private Facebook group for STG Brides too!).

So onto today’s gorgeous real wedding… Hands up who loves colour! And creativity! And phenomenally floral wedding dresses! OK, I briefly have to put my hand down so I can write up this gorgeous real wedding for you, but it remains enthusiastically raised in spirit.

Adam and Amy met in shared halls at university and Amy’s mum immediately clocked him as a perfect match for her daughter, definitively proving the theory that mum knows best.

The pair got married at Chippenham Park, Cambridgeshire, with all the action and their contemporary monochrome and floral colour-pop theme captured beautifully by photographer Adam Cluer from SE3 Productions.

At Smashing the Glass, we see a lot of wedding dresses, all beautiful and unique in our own ways, and yet we say this with emphasis: Look. At. That. DRESS!

Bride Amy wore a stunning floral creation by beloved Smashing the Glass sponsor, Sassi Holford that she purchased at the somewhat legendary bridal boutique, Miss Bush. 

This detail-heavy day is bound to make you swoon. From the groom’s velvet blazer to the bridesmaids in matching monochrome, the collaborative homemade cake effort to the touching and special chuppah design (seriously, maybe grab a tissue before reading that bit), you won’t be able to stop staring.

Over to Amy to tell us all about her Jewish wedding day.

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How we met

Amy, the bride: I met Adam on our first day of University, 12 years ago. In fact, I met Adam’s mum and sister first while unpacking my food into the communal fridge.

As soon as my mum met Adam she knew we’d get together; she just had a feeling about him, so when I told her we were going out a few months later, she asked what had taken us so long!

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Save £1000’s on your wedding essentials with money saving offers exclusively for Smashing The Glass readers

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Happy Sunday + Happy 2017! We’re into a brand new exciting year and to celebrate, we’ve got a shiny new blogging schedule – from now on, we’ll be blogging not one, but two real Jewish weddings per week, as well as advice posts, creative ideas and ceremony inspiration to make your Jewish (or Jew-ish) wedding as individual and unique as you are. 

Not only that, but I’m also excited to tell you about ‘Smash & Grab’, my hot-off-the-press personally curated money saving offers from some of the very best wedding vendors in the business (believe me, I’m incredibly fussy about who I partner with). Below you’ll find my exclusive collection of discounts, exclusively for Smashing The Glass readers, for vendors all over the world, from wedding dress designers, photographers, videographers, planners, make up artists, DJ’s, bands, florists, and more!

I suggest you bookmark this page for speedy reference, as many of these offers expire in February 2017 (some even sooner).

I’m a huge fan of each and every one of the wedding vendors listed, and I have handpicked them for these offers, not only because they love Jewish weddings (and know every little detail about them) but because they are some of the most fabulous, creative, and talented people you could ever wish to work with. Service and style.

To redeem any of the offers listed, simply quote SMASHING THE GLASS.

If there’s a supplier you’re looking for that’s not listed, please email me at karen@smashingtheglass.com and I’ll help you in whatever way I can.

Happy wedding planning!

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From L-R: Melanie Potro /  Sassi Holford /  Berta Bridal available exclusively from The Wedding Club

Melanie Potro Bridal Couture is offering £ 200 off any wedding dress from the current collection when ordered by 15th February. Simply quote ‘Smashing The Glass’.

See Melanie Potro Bridal Couture featured on Smashing The Glass // Contact Melanie Potro Bridal Couture

The Sassi Holford sample sale is taking place 21st — 28th January 2017. Their London store is offering up to 70% off sample gowns from the Sassi Signature Collection and Couture Collections and an exclusive extra £100 off any gown bought in their sale. Simply quote ‘Smashing the Glass’ when booking the appointment.

See Sassi Holford featured on Smashing The Glass // Contact Sassi Holford London

The Wedding Club is offering a 10% off any dress order placed in January at their London store (excludes sale dresses). Simply quote ‘Smashing The Glass’.

See The Wedding Club featured on Smashing The Glass // Contact The Wedding Club

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Peboryon Wedding Cakes 

Peboryon Wedding Cakes is offering a 10% off for all orders booked by 28th February 2017. Simply quote ‘Smashing The Glass’.

See Peboryon Wedding Cakes featured on Smashing The Glass // Contact Peboryon Wedding Cakes

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Paper Anniversary

Paper Anniversary is offering a 15% discount on any Paper Anniversary artwork (including bespoke chuppah designs) ordered in January or February 2017. Simply quote ‘Smashing The Glass’.

See Paper Anniversary featured on Smashing The Glass // Contact Paper Anniversary

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Blue Sky Flowers

Blue Sky Flowers is offering a free Bridal bouquet with any full wedding package booked before end of February 2017. Simply quote ‘Smashing The Glass’.

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The Big Smashing The Glass Survey + win $700 worth of Laura Mercier beauty booty!

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I’m taking a moment’s pause from my Jewish wedding obsession to ask you a favor — I’m wondering if you can give me a few minutes of your time to take our first ever super exciting STG reader survey?

I know what you’re thinking.. the words ‘survey’ and exciting’ don’t really go together so why on earth am I excited? Well, two reasons: 1) Your answers will help me get to know you even better so that I can make Smashing The Glass everything you want it to be, and 2) I’ve got a KILLER giveaway. One of you is going to win an enormous stash of Laura Mercier beauty products worth over $700 ( £570). I’m talking 24 (yes TWENTY FOUR!) full size Laura Mercier products (all detailed below) ranging from Look Book Palettes to brushes to lipsticks to bronzers to eye pencils to hand creams and eye liners. Epic prize, right?!

Absolutely anyone can enter and I would love to hear from as many as you as possible. You can be engaged, married, or just dreaming of the future, and I also warmly welcome responses from those in the wedding industry too. Plus, the beauty booty can be shipped anywhere in the world, so I would love to hear from you, wherever you are on the planet. You can fill in the survey anonymously if you choose to, but just bear in mind that you won’t be eligible for the prize as I won’t have a way of contacting you. 

It’s so important to me to find out how we are doing, and absolutely nail it when it comes to bringing you the very best Jewish wedding inspiration in 2017. I would love to hear your feedback on what works for you and what doesn’t so please be as honest as you can — constructive criticism is as necessary as praise!

I know how precious your time is and I appreciate it’s a big ask, so I hope that the Laura Mercier $700 prize, and the chance to make STG everything you want it to be is enough of an incentive for you. Thank you so much – it shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes of your time.

Click here to take the survey!

Entry deadline is 23:59 on Sunday 29th January 2017. The winner will be selected at random by Smashing The Glass, and will be notified by email. Please note: the winner can reside anywhere in the world.

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