Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

“My best Jewish wedding photo” by onelove photography

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A weekly series where  I ask some of the world’s best wedding photographers to pick out their favourite shot from their Jewish wedding portfolio. This week it’s the turn of Sara Allen from onelove photography.

onelove-photography

‘Joy’ by  onelove photography

This was taken in 2012, and I still come back to it. From the start, Ali and Andy are a couple that have this sparky, excitable energy between the them. Playful and sarcastic, laughing constantly. Their wedding was one for the books, a really stunner of a location at Nestldown in Northern California. However, everything about their wedding was about JOY. So much joy was shared, the families were relaxed and beaming with happiness, and they even had an 80’s cover band for their reception entertainment. This moment, captured right after they were pronounced as married, encapsulates their energy and their essence together.”

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10 brilliant gifts for bloggers

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gifts for bloggers

I was recently given this  (and I totally love it!)  and it made me think about all the other brilliant bloggy gifts that would be fun and super useful, for blog-aholics around the globe. With the festive season  just around the corner, it feels like  the right time to post these ideas so that any other bloggers reading  this can post the link to their  Facebook page and receive instant perfect gifts!

Covering every kind of price range, some are light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek whilst with others, you’ll be surprised how you ever lived without them. You’re welcome!  Happy Friday folks!

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A Vivienne Westwood bride for a city chic Jewish wedding at The Criterion, London, UK

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Vivienne-Westwood-Bride
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m *obsessed* with Vivienne Westwood (I wore a couture design of hers to my brother’s wedding which was the first W Day I ever blogged) so I am super thrilled to be featuring a super glam Vivienne Westwood bride on the blog today — I have SO been waiting for this moment!

And what a stunning bride Ana is – all glowing skin and glossy locks (topped off with an exquisite David Morris tiara). She totally rocks that Vivienne Westwood gown (named ‘Bird of Paradise’), and it’s actually an adaptation of the purple Dita Von Teese Vivienne Westwood wedding dress that was featured in the V&A’s wedding dress exhibition earlier this year.

We also have bridesmaids in Alice Temperley and an equally fashion forward groom in Spencer Hart (my husband’s choice of suit designer for our wedding!).

This W Day is full of fun — from the bridal conga around Eros in Piccadilly Circus to the Scottish-Jewish melding of cultures, and the table centres designed by Ana’s mum. She’s a keen gardener and grew all the flowers for the wedding in the year leading up to it — how wonderful is that? Ana says she really wanted all of the family to play a big part in the wedding day and such a perspective always makes for a fun and inclusive celebration.

So sit back, relax and enjoy this incredible London wedding — not only do I have the breathtaking film for you by much-loved STG sponsor, The Dreamcatchers, but also the gorgeous images by Joshua Tucker. To life!


Vivienne Westwood bride
A Jewish wedding with Scottish influences

Ana, the Bride: Our favourite part of the day was the mix of my Dad’s Scottish blood with Adam’s Jewish Traditional family and a Rabbi we both adore. We really wanted a happy, relaxed, fun party with some dressing up! I think from the fact our friends went on partying until the early hours of the morning means we succeeded.

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“My best Jewish wedding photo” by Claudine Hartzel

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A weekly series where  I ask some of the world’s best wedding photographers to pick out their favourite shot from their Jewish wedding portfolio. This week it’s the turn of  Claudine Hartzel.

Claudine-Hartzel

‘The groom’s speech’ by Claudine Hartzel

Choosing my best Jewish wedding photo was such a hard decision..  I have lots of amazing dancing shots and chuppah shots so I wanted to find an image that meant a lot to me and summed up what a Jewish wedding means to me.

Jewish weddings are about family and friends, and of course there is the dancing and food! BUT what I really enjoy  is the emotion and the happiness of all the guests.

As a photographer  it’s such a privilege to be under the chuppah so close to the bride and groom making their vows to each other. But I do also love the speeches  when everybody can see you and hear you…

I  have always loved this photograph as the groom is giving the most enthralling  speech to a sea of guests.”

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A Boho bride in cowboy boots for a DIY rustic Jewish wedding at Moshav Mevo Modi’im, Israel

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DIY-wedding-Israel
Nikki and Gavriel met via the power of Google search (no kidding… read their ‘how we met’ story below!) but their Jewish wedding was far from hi-tech. It was a super cool, relaxed rustic affair set in Gavriel’s home town in Israel with an abundance of lovingly crafted DIY details.

So much of the wedding was DIY’ed straight from the heart, from the stunning florals organised by the couple and their families (no pro florists involved at all!) to the home-made wooden signs, hay bale seating, BBQ menu and the beautiful bride’s jewellery all made by Gavriel’s mother. She also created Nikki’s stunning baby’s breath flower crown. Is she one talented mama or what?

I absolutely love Nikki’s bridal style and how she accessorised her dress with that deep green sash. And she totally rocks those cowboy boots of hers. I’ve always loved a bride in cowboy boots — such a cool look for a country style affair.

The whole W Day is full of natural and rustic details — unfussy and relaxed, but ever so pretty. Perfect for a venue surrounded by wonderful nature.

Enjoy this treat of a Friday wedding with images by one of our ever-talented Smashing Suppliers, Herschel Gutman Photography, who captures the essence of the day perfectly.

DIY wedding Israel
How we met

Nikki, the Bride: A friend and I were looking for a new experience and for whatever reason googled “religious farms in Israel”. We found a little family farm on a moshav and helped out a here and there with the farm duties on our stay. The daughter of the family asked if we wanted to hang out with her and her friends. We said yes and through her we met a group of guys. The mother of the family told us, “be careful — moshav boys are dangerous!” But over the course of the weekend I hung out with Gavriel on the moshav.. we talked and I listened to him playing the guitar and singing (as well as admiring his devastatingly good looks!) I couldn’t not give him my number…. Well the rest is history and here we are about two years later…. as husband and wife!

DIY wedding Israel
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