Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Michaela & Aviad | A Jewish wedding in the woods in Ben Shemen forest, Israel

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FOREST-WEDDING
I’m really excited about today’s wedding, not just because it’s epitomises my idea of simple beauty, but also because Liron Erel was the photographer, and I’ve been dying to get his work up again on the blog.

It also contains a few firsts: It’s the first Jewish wedding that I’ve blogged  on  Smashing The Glass to take place in a real bone fide forest, it’s  the first to feature a Jewish bride proudly (and resplendently!) showing off her tattoos, and it’s the first to feature my favourite boutique hotel in Tel Aviv, The Montefiore, which is where today’s lovely  couple got ready.

Here is what the  beautiful bride, Michaela, had to say about her Israeli wedding in the woods.

Forest Wedding
how we met

Michaela, the Bride:  We met whilst we were working together in  the same bar (in fact, our  first dance was to We found each other in the dark  because we  met in a  bar!).  Nothing happened between us for a long time until we were both invited to a friend’s wedding. Maybe it was the magic air of a Jewish wedding, but I started to see something between us…

Forest Wedding
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Create a beautiful ‘Wed-Site’ with Riley & Grey + 50% reader discount

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Riley-Grey
Some of you may be aware that I ran my own graphic and web design business for 10 years, prior to working full time  on  Smashing The Glass. That explains why I get super excited about  gorgeous  designs and beautiful  graphics and really know a brilliant  creative  product  when I see one, and ‘the one’ that I’m thoroughly  obsessed with right now is Riley & Grey.

Their wedding websites are by far the prettiest, and most  alluring ones out there, and can be  completely customised to your specifications. When I was planning  my own wedding  I hunted high and low for a cool and stylish wedding website and eventually binned the idea when I couldn’t find one to reflect my tastes. What a shame that Riley & Grey weren’t  around then as I would have, without question, used their services.

The best online tool for you and your guests

A wedding website (or ‘wed-site’ as you might have heard them referred to) is a great tool for collecting guest addresses, managing RSVPs and dietary requirements, and informing  your guests about your gift list. They’re also eco-friendly, and can incorporate all sorts of extra information and photo and  video galleries in a beautifully stylish way.

You can introduce your bridal party, tell everyone the story of how you met, explain directions, and if you’re having a destination or weekend-long wedding, incorporate the full schedule of events, and see who’s coming to what and when. You can also advise  your guests on  nearby hotels, attractions,and all the relevant transport links in a beautiful, orderly way. And if any specifics change, unlike print, you can instantly update  the details in a flash!

Riley Grey wedding website Riley Grey
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Jennifer & Jessica | Wonderfully joyous Lesbian Jewish Wedding at The Old Manse, Concord, and John Pierce House, Lincoln, Massachusetts, USA

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lesbian-Jewish-wedding
It’s not so unusual to feature a wedding with homemade invitations, an extraordinarily meaningful chuppah, and a vegetarian menu… But arriving by canoe, personalised pencil favours, a custom neon sign, and a joint breaking of the glass on the same rock where revolutionists, Henry David Thoreau and Nathanial Hawthorne once sat? Now that is a little more unusual!

Jennifer and Jessica had a very personal wedding like no other. It was so very authentic to them, and they incorporated many wonderful personal and thoughtful details.

I absolutely LOVE their ‘how we met’ story too…

The report today is written by them both, and photography is by the brilliantly talented Prinos Photography.

Lesbian Jewish Wedding at The Old Manse, Concord Lesbian Jewish Wedding at The Old Manse, Concord
how we met

Jessica: I was jumping rope in my apartment on the top floor of a high rise in Manhattan overlooking the East River and I was saying to myself, “I just want to meet my own Jen.” My eldest brother is married to a beautiful Jen with curly red hair and my other brother is married to a beautiful Jewish Jen from New Jersey. Two weeks later I met my Jen and she’s Jewish, from New Jersey and has curly red hair!

Jennifer: We met in February 2007 during a cocktail event at the Asia Society in Manhattan. We had less than fifteen minutes together but there was an intrigue about Jessica that made me want to learn more. I gave her my number, and she called three days later. We both lived on 1st Avenue, she was uptown and I was downtown… We fell in love on the 1st Avenue bus.

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Smashing Wedding Dress Details: Sleeves

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Kate-William-wedding
Left: The Duchess of Cambridge by Hugo Burnand  / Right: Olivia Palermo —  Oliviapalermo.com

by Karen Whybro

One of the most common things we are asked for at the boutique is a dress with sleeves. Thank goodness for Kate Middleton who brought sleeves back in a big way! And since Olivia Palermo showed us that covering up doesn’t have to mean dressing down, wedding dresses with sleeves have been a huge hit. With so much choice out there right now, how do you choose a sleeve which will suit you and your wedding?

Think fabric and vary length

There’s more than one type of sleeve and the choice of length and fabric can change the look entirely. From half cap to full length, the length of sleeve can change the feel and appearance of a gown and the bride within. If, like a great deal of women, your arms aren’t the favourite part of your body, where a sleeve ends will affect how you look and feel on the day.

Lace-sleeve-wedding-dress
Monique Lhuillier dress by The Chriselle Factor via Bridal Musings

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‘Q&A with Karen Cinnamon’ – a return interview with the Save The Date wedding podcast

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Karen-Cinnamon
I had so much fun when I was interviewed last  December for the Save The Date Podcast that I jumped at the chance to meet  Aleisha, the head honcho of  Save The Date, for a sequel.

Aleisha came to  my London home last week to record a special Wedding Q&A episode and I answered everything ranging from  what’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen at a wedding, to my favourite affordable wedding dress designers, to helping a Jew-ish bride-to-be who felt under pressure from her mother to include too many Jewish traditions in her upcoming wedding.

You can listen to the podcast here or here, or by pressing the play button below.  I hope you find it useful and if you’d like me to answer any  other questions, feel free to leave a comment below, or email me at karen@smashingtheglass.com

Thanks for having me Aleisha!