Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

“My best Jewish wedding photo” by Michael Temchine

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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  Michael Temchine.

Michael-Temchine

‘Eyes’ by  Michael Temchine

Picking a favourite photo out of the tens of thousands that I have taken is not a simple task. On any given day it will likely change. But I always come back to this photo taken under the chuppah at Sarah and Meir’s wedding. It simply grabs you and holds you.

Like many orthodox, or frum, weddings the chuppah was packed with people and moving around was difficult at best. Finding an angle that would put Sarah and Meir’s faces both in the frame was nigh impossible. Being able to find those fleeting moments that tell the story and have them composed in a way that supported the meaning of the moment was like winning the lottery. It took a lot of small adjustments to get everything right on my end as I prayed Sarah would give him that little look.

I simply love that all of the elements in this photo return you to those eyes. It is simple, direct, and the perfect moment.“

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Win your wedding photography (worth £2450!) by the internationally acclaimed wedding photographer, Kate Nielen

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If you’re a sophisticated, creative couple who are  currently on the hunt for your perfect wedding photographer, let me  introduce you to the internationally acclaimed luxury fine art wedding photographer, Kate Nielen.

Based in London, but shooting weddings all over  the UK and beyond,  Kate  travels the world to photograph beautiful weddings with her distinctive dreamy, cinematic style.  Her gentle, fine art editorial approach creates timeless, luminous images that show her couples and their special day at their most romantic, natural and beautiful.

Kate works for the most discerning clients who appreciate photography and want the best wedding photography experience available, so  you can only imagine how thrilled I was when she asked if I’d host a competition  for her, and I was even more excited when she told me she wanted to very generously give away a completely FREE  wedding package together with an engagement shoot in London, to one lucky couple anywhere in the world. Wow – just WOW! If you’re getting married before July  2017 and you haven’t organised  your photographer yet, then today is most definitely your lucky day!

Even if you’re not fortunate  enough to win, Kate would like to offer every couple that enters 15% off their wedding photography if you then decide to go on and hire her  (but you  must book with her before 31st January 2016.)

Thank you so much Kate! Be sure to check out more of her work at  Kate Nielen Fine Art Photography.

Kate Nielen PhotographyKate Nielen Photography
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Julie & Abe | Outdoor Jewish wedding, with a vintage botanical theme, at Vineyards at Chappel Lodge, Austin, Texas, USA

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I’m not sure if you know that when I graduated from university back in 1999, I embarked on a career as a graphic designer, having studied graphic arts & design at university. I’ve always had an enthusiasm for great design, and those were the days before digital so it was ALL about interesting paper stocks and beautiful print techniques. I’ve never lost that passion for creativity  (if anything it’s been amplified since starting my design company in 2002 which I ran until Smashing The Glass became my full-time business) and that’s why I so appreciate today’s wedding with its exquisite creative streak and attention to detail.

The craft and care for everything at this wedding is so apparent and I’ve been lapping it all up! I’m blown away by the stationery for starters – it’s magnificent. Luigi Maldonado, the art director at the creative studio in Austin where Julie works, designed the entire suite as a gift to Julie and Abe and it’s beyond beautiful.

And their wedding is a totally outdoor affair! They had their chuppah under an elegant oak tree, and their reception within a unique open-air ‘dinner tent’. It was essentially a tent structure without the tent itself and was decorated with festoon lighting so that guests could dine and party under the moonlight. Er… WOW.

Julie and Abe managed to mix tradition and creativity together effortlessly. Taking inspiration from vintage botanical sketches and illustrations of cacti and succulents, their colour palette ended up taking on a lot of white and greens, and cacti became a foundational element across floral designs, and decor.

Before I hand over to Julie let me just say that I know you’re going to go pin crazy with all the wonderful images by The Nichols. Enjoy!

Outdoor Jewish Wedding
how we met

Julie, the Bride: Abe and I knew each other growing up, and at one time in our teen-aged years, we lived about two blocks away from one another. I left for college in LA, he went to Israel and then to New York and back. Years later, after I had returned to Austin, we ran into each other while he was in town visiting. After that, we started seeing one another on his trips home and kept in touch long-distance. He eventually moved back to Austin full time and we got married a few years later.

Outdoor Jewish Wedding
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“My best Jewish wedding photo” by STAK 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 Steven Young from STAK Photography.

Stak-Studios

‘Tribeca Rooftop’ by STAK  photography

This photo is from Emily and Jon’s wedding at Tribeca Rooftop. They spent a large part of their relationship doing long distance, so I wanted a photograph that symbolised how the wedding day was here and brought them together again.  So in this photo, I was able to see the couple and get a reflection of their venue, Tribeca Rooftop, all into the same shot.  I love the way Jon is holding her, and how Emily is reaching back grabbing his hands. The connection is real, and you can feel it in the photo.”

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A super cool bride wearing bridal separates for a minimalist wedding at Caliph in the Old City of Jaffa, Israel

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Today’s Australian bride, Emma,  is breathtakingly  beautiful  and thoroughly  rocks her two piece ready-to-wear wedding outift  and bridal accessories to match. I mean you just can’t help but gawp at her stunning good looks, super chic wedding separates and gold heeled Prada sandals.

The whole day is  simplicity done perfectly. If you don’t want anything fussy  on your day you can’t go wrong with following their raw, minimal style. It’s all so simple, elegant, pretty, and relaxed, and perfectly executed in every way.

Emma is from Australia and Yoni comes  from Israel, and the couple chose to get married at  Caliph in the Ancient city of Jaffa, near Tel Aviv  in Israel.  The stunning but uncomplicated  venue provided a jaw-dropping  coastal back drop for their neutral  colour scheme and minimal  decor.

If you’re a contemporary bride who wants to push the envelope on your wedding day, take a cue from Emma’s chic bridal style and consider ready-to-wear trends like bridal separates. The best part? Unlike a traditional  wedding dress, you can wear bridal separates again and again!

The  gorgeous set of images, as crisp and cool as the big day itself, are by Ben Kelmer.

Without further ado, I give you the à¼ber cool Emma and Yoni.

Jaffa Israel wedding
how we met

Emma, the Bride:  Yoni used to own a cafe that was my local coffee shop. He asked me out numerous times and eventually I said yes! After our first date, we basically saw each other every single day right up until this day…Continue ReadingContinue Reading