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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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A Rue de Seine bride for a Jewish Wedding under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Simmer on the Bay, Dawes Point, Australia

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Jewish-wedding-Sydney
Nikki and Jem are just the coolest couple and their big day from the world-famous Sydney Harbour Bridge embraces the most beautiful Jewish wedding traditions whilst maintaining a totally free-spirited, energetic and fun vibe. It’s been sensationally captured by Australian photographer Dan O’Day whose work I adore — I could have filled this feature with every image he sent me and you’ll probably be able to tell I struggled to stop myself from doing just that!

I love pretty much everything about Nikki and Jem’s Jewish wedding but one of my favourite details (that I’ve never seen done before) is the couple choosing to shelve the idea of traditional favours, and instead place custom ribbons with their monogram and date on them at everyone’s place setting. They then invited guests to create their own bouquets from the gorgeous wild flowers that were in front of them, tie them together with the ribbons and take them home. Such a beautiful and thoughtful idea.

Nikki also bought her bride posse (note, Nikki doesn’t call them bridesmaids!) a pair of Converse each, and left them on their seats with “dancing shoes” tags.

Fashion stylist Nikki looks utterly gorgeous in her Rue de Seine gown — the New Zealand designers make the most perfect boho bridal romantic dresses combining rich beading, intricate detailing and sheer draping, and they just seem to design for the coolest, most stylish brides. If you’re looking for a more modest dress they cater for this brilliantly with many of their designs incorporating high necks and long sleeves.

Right, shall we dive into this super cool wedding then? Trust me, you’re going to love it…

Jewish Wedding Sydney
how we met

Nikki, the Bride: We met in 2009 through a mutual friend who was trying to help Jem and his buddy get a jeans label off the ground. Our mutual friend suggested that I be their first model (because I was the only person small enough to fit in their teeny tiny samples!) I was interning at Cosmopolitan magazine at the time looking to get a career in fashion so it was a common interest for us both I guess. Jem now works in finance but I’m still in fashion. I was not born Jewish, and as our friendship grew, so did my love for Judaism. Once he found out I was looking into converting he also saw it as an opportunity for us to start dating, and the rest is history.
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“My best Jewish wedding photo” by Dror Einav

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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  Dror Einav.

Dror-Einav

‘Beach portrait’ by  Dror Einav

So why is this  my favourite? First of all I love this couple, Jordan  & Jacob were easygoing throughout  the day and they totally  trusted my photography skills. I normally avoid dramatically  posed photos, but this time it was different…

During their portrait shoot I saw these  two concrete blocks near the beach and I asked them to go and stand in front of them.  The wind blew  and moved Jordan’s  dress, and the sunset lit  them beautifully. The way they both stood  and looked at me with their serious facial  expressions together with the contrast between the blocks and the landscape.

For me, in this one photo, all the elements combined together perfectly.”

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12 modern ketubah designs – The Smashing Edit

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modern-ketubah-designs
One of the many things I love about Jewish weddings is the way they embrace the wonderful traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. What Smashing The Glass aims to do is help you embrace these traditions whilst inspiring you to mould them to reflect you and your partner in a way that is both meaningful and symbolic. Having a ketubah design that resonates with you is a perfect example of that, and every bride and groom planning a traditional Jewish wedding will need to have one.

The ketubah (which means “something written” in Hebrew) is an integral part of the Jewish wedding and it outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom to the bride. The contract dates back to ancient times but it’s come a long way since then! These days ketubahs (or ketubot, the Hebrew plural) are less about the business of marriage and more about the beauty. They have come to symbolise the love and commitment of a couple, and are often beautiful creations that the couple want to display prominently in their home well after their big day is over. It serves as a tangible memento of their love and also symbolises their relationship and new stage of life together.

I’ve put together an edit of some of the most gorgeous contemporary ketubah designs around that I certainly would take great pleasure in hanging in my home. Hopefully you’ll fall in love with at least one of these designs too.

Let me know which ones you love!

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1. Double Arrows & Hearts Ketubah  £197

modern ketubah

BUY

2. Personalised papercut ketubah from £260

papercut ketubah

BUY

3. Pop Art Ketubah from  £120

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