Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Exciting announcement!

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mother-baby
Hi lovely readers

I’m so excited to reveal that my husband and I welcomed an incredible little daughter into our lives a week ago!  Yes, it’s been quite a year – married in April, the launch of Smashing The Glass  in June, and now this astonishing little girl was blessed into our lives (fashionably late!) last Sunday 10 November.

Whilst adjusting to my journey into motherhood, there’ll still be plenty of  gorgeous new real weddings,  tips, insights and interviews  with the wedding industry’s finest, but posting will come down to once a week only for the next month or so at least.

Smashing The Glass is still very much my 2nd baby and I can’t wait to get back to super-regular updates, but whilst you’re waiting for your weekly fix there’s still tons and tons of gorgeous creative real Jewish weddings for you to browse through and be inspired by.

Equally if you’re look for weddings vendors that have the Smashing Seal of Approval, check out my  Smashing Suppliers  where I recommend some of the best in the business.

Finally if you’ve tied the knot already and think that your wedding was ‘smashingly creative’, I’d love to hear from you and feature your wedding on Smashing The Glass! Head over here to read how to submit your wedding.

Can’t wait to be back on this full-time as before. Just bear with me a little bit in these coming weeks!
Karen signature

Mishie & Misha | Spectacular Destination Jewish wedding at Villa Eva, Amalfi Coast, Italy

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amalfi coast wedding
It’s September 2013. We’re at one of the most passionate places in the world, the beautiful Villa Eva in ridiculously romantic Ravello on the Italian Amalfi coast. The village itself is tiny and has the most jaw-dropping views — rolling hills, endless sea panoramas, charming country villages, and of course the beautiful Italian sunshine!

One hundred of Mishie and Misha’s friends and family have traveled from all over the world to join them and celebrate their wedding holiday.

The bride has sensational style (not to mention two awesome dresses!), there’s lots of personal  input from friends and family, an  Argentinian tango first dance, stunning picturesque Amalfi backdrops…. Interested? Of course you are!

Here’s lovely Mishie, the Bride, with all the delicious detail.
Ravello Amalfi Jewish Wedding a
PICKING A DESTINATION FOR GUESTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
Mishie, the Bride: Our wedding was in Ravello, on the Amalfi Coast in Italy.  Since Misha is American and  I am Australian, we wanted somewhere that was neutral territory  but also somewhere that guests would want to come to and where they could make a holiday out of it, since a lot of people would be travelling a long way!  Italy is our favourite country to visit and Misha actually suggested the Amalfi Coast since it is one of the most beautiful and romantic parts of the country.

We  were then recommended some wedding planners based in Ravello by a friend of a friend. We went out there in March to meet them and they took us to see various venues in Ravello, Sorrento and Positano. When we  went to visit Villa Eva in Ravello, we just knew it was the spot where we wanted to get married.  The view is  spectacular and  the villa itself is gorgeous and has  a really relaxed and authentic Italian vibe to it.  Ravello is the most stunning town and really small which meant that everyone could stay in different hotels but still be able to walk to the wedding venue and around town.  And although Ravello is slightly more difficult to get to than other places on the Amalfi Coast, this has allowed it to stay less touristy and  keep more  of  its original character, which we love!
Ravello Amalfi Jewish Wedding b Ravello Amalfi Jewish Wedding f

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Phenomenal photography illustrating wedding rituals from around the world

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My wonderful Smashing The Glass teammate, Sharon, found these incredible wedding images on National Geographic. They focus on wedding  ceremonies from around the world (some Jewish, some not) and the fascinating cultural influences on generations, in both modern and traditional ways. Feast your eyes on these…

A YEMENITE WEDDING
Yemenite Wedding
[image: Stephanie Sinclair]
Friends and family fete the 21 year old yemenite bridegroom (in the centre wearing a floral head scarf) at his wedding in the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen. In a country where nearly half the population lives on £1 a day, wedding expenses–which can exceed £3000–are prohibitive. Many couples pool resources and marry in groups.

A MORROCAN WEDDING
Moroccan Wedding
[image: Alexandra Boulat]
In the Atlas Mountains of Morocco,  Berber brides dress for a traditional  wedding that often includes four days of ceremonial rituals. In one of the rituals, brides purify themselves with water gathered from the local river.

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Robin & Joe | Intimate + whimsical ‘dinner party’ Jewish wedding, Washington DC, USA

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Jewish wedding, Washington DC 4 Today’s bride, Robin, has the most exquisite bridal style. As her wonderful wedding photographer, Piper Watson, puts it, “a mix of old school classy gal and modern minx”. Her stunning black and white ensemble is achingly chic and in fact, the couple’s whole event manages to be simultaneously stylish and elegant, yet warm and homely.

In their own words, Robin and Joe say they had a very non-traditional wedding by design. They truly wanted the feel of a of an informal dinner party, where two people happen to be getting married. They didn’t have many of the traditional wedding staples – only 45 guests, no flowers, bridesmaids, or first dance – and this gave the evening a truly intimate, unique and personal feel.

Their wedding report is a joint effort written by both the bride and groom, and the beautiful set of images produced by the lovely Piper Watson, will ensure that all those fantastic memories stay fresh and vibrant for many years to come.
Jewish wedding, Washington DC intro
AN INTIMATE VENUE + BLACK & WHITE COLOUR SCHEME
Robin the bride and Joe the groom: Ultimately, we wanted our wedding to feel like a dinner party (with a ceremony beforehand) for our closest family and friends. It was very modern and a bit whimsical; it was really a perfect reflection of our sensibilities and who we are as a couple.

The ceremony was held at Joe’s cousins’ (Martha and Bob) house in Washington, DC. She and her family have an amazing house that had been fully redesigned. Martha is an interior decorator and it shows! The reception was at Elizabeth’s on L, a converted town house in downtown DC which added to the intimate feel we were going for.

Our colour scheme was black and white (to match Robin’s dress) and green as an accent colour.
Jewish wedding, Washington DC invitation
HAIR + MAKE-UP
Robin and Joe’s long time stylist, Gregg, did the hair for Joe, Robin, Joe’s sister Rachel, and Robin’s mother Ann. Robin had a really unique hair style at the time and only her stylist was good enough to style her hair. Robin’s makeup was done by a woman named Keisha from beautiful.flawless.face makeup. She was fantastic! Robin wanted to look like a more glamorous version of herself, but still look relatively natural. She made Robin look like herself, only better and also did the makeup for Ann and Rachel, who looked fantastic as well.

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Kim & Shay | 1920’s Inspired Israeli Wedding at Citrus, Even Yehuda, Israel

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Israeli Wedding at Citrus Even Yehuda Israel 16 Today’s uber-stylish bride, Kim, was born in New Zealand to a non- Jewish family but has lived in Israel for the last 20 years. Kim says that she wanted to take the plunge and convert to Judaism for many years but never found the right time.

So a few years ago, having dated her then-boyfriend, Shay, for three years, they decided that they wanted to get married and that it was the right time for Kim to convert. She studied and converted at Beit Daniel in Tel Aviv and officially became Jewish in May 2011.

Being a wedding planner and designer Kim had a blast planning things. “Finally I could do things exactly how I wanted – the only problem was making up m mind – I have too many ideas!” Let’s see what she chose to do…
Israeli Wedding at Citrus Even Yehuda Israel 44
VENUE + THEME
Kim, The Bride: We got married at Citrus in Even Yehuda, Israel. I wanted a classic wedding and loving the 1920’s, I adored the way the venue was decorated in an elegant soft way that complimented the whole vision that I had for the day. We also chose this venue because it was new and I had never done a wedding there. I wanted something fresh – I have been in the wedding industry for over 10 years now and done weddings in so many venues I wanted it to feel special for me and really different.

It was a classic yet modern type of an affair and the decor included a lot of pot plants that created a softer natural look (and became great giveaways at the end of the night).
Israeli Wedding at Citrus Even Yehuda Israel 37 1920s Jewish Theme Wedding 1
A 1920s STYLED DRESS
My mother made my dress from a soft lycra type material with pearl button holes and a lace belt. I envisioned something simple and classic and I had seen a similar dress similar on a bride that I had worked with years before but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Lucky for me I could call upon my mother make it and I ended up with the perfect 1920’s styled dress! I matched a short net veil to the dress, and wore my grandmothers pearls to complete the look.

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