Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Alana & Michael | Jewish wedding at Bevis Marks Synagogue and The Shangri-La At The Shard, London’s highest wedding venue

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Wedding at Shangri La The ShardWedding at Shangri La The Shard
Who is in the mood for an ultra glamorous wedding set against the jaw-dropping backdrop of London’s iconic Shard? Well you’re in luck because I have exactly that on the blog for you this afternoon.

I’m such a huge fan of London, my home city, and all its iconic landmarks, so I’m very excited to be blogging Smashing The Glass reader, Alana’s, wedding to Michael, that took place at the capital’s highest wedding venue (at 125 metres above sea level), The Shangri-La Hotel, At The Shard.

The hotel occupies floors 34 to 52 of Renzo Piano’s 1016ft tall building on the banks of the River Thames, and this was the first wedding ever to take place at the newly-opened hotel, in August of this year.

And it gets even better. Alana and Michael’s candle-lit ceremony took place just over the river at the breathtakingly beautiful Bevis Marks Synagogue, which is also a record-holder. It’s the oldest synagogue in Great Britain (it was built in 1701) and it is also the only synagogue in Europe which has held regular services continuously for over 300 years.

The images come from Smashing Supplier, Blake Ezra Photography who are lucky (and talented) enough to shoot some absolutely incredible weddings. I know you’re all going to love this one…

Jewish wedding at Bevis Marks Synagogue and The Shangri-La At The Shard London

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Maya & Danny | Outdoor DIY Garden Jewish Wedding at Cedar Bend Events, near Austin, Texas, USA

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DIY garden wedding
This morning’s w-day is the union of teenage sweethearts Maya and Danny, and the wedding report is written entirely by the dashing groom! This sweet pair have been together since they were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (they met when they were 15 years old) and they had their wedding desserts catered by the same ice cream parlour as they had their first date at. Isn’t that adorable?

They had such a fun, authentic wedding. I love the hand-crafted details, the purple touches (a nod to Maya’s purple hair?), the vibrant blooms, the Harry Potter favours, and the outdoor relaxed vibe.

Plus, any wedding that includes a family performance of “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof gets a big thumbs up from me!

Their entire day really is beautiful. Enjoy all of the wonderful images taken by the rather talented Cory Ryan, and when you get to the end of the post, tell me how much do you love that very last picture?

Outdoor DIY Garden Jewish Wedding at Cedar Bend Events, Austin, TexasOutdoor DIY Garden Jewish Wedding at Cedar Bend Events, Austin, Texas
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The Tisch – Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained #3

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Tisch
All imagery by Blake Ezra Photography. This is part 3 of the 9-part Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained series.

The Tisch, traditionally, is a period of loud and atmospheric boy-time before the ceremony starts. In the more secular world, there are probably some parallels with going for a few drinks in the pub before the big match, but substitute beers for whiskey, football chants for symbolic Hebrew songs, and Barmaids for Rabbis. OK, I admit that may not have been a flawless comparison, but it can be loud and full of energy, whilst meaningfully building the anticipation for the events to come.

Some Grooms opt not to have a Tisch, and instead prefer to be elsewhere in the venue, welcoming guests as they arrive. It all depends on individual preference and also on how religious or spiritual that person is. For me, a wedding is great when it truly represents the couple, so there shouldn’t be pressure on a Groom to have a Tisch, or indeed not to.

The word ‘Tisch’ literally means ‘table’, and the common theme of every Tisch we’ve ever photographed is that there’s a table in the middle, laden with food and drink for the guests to enjoy before the ceremony.

TISCH.
Tisch
Tisch
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Olya + Yossi | Hand-crafted, rustic, bohemian ‘Instagram’ Israeli wedding at Duce Villa, Tel Aviv, planned in just 3 months!

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intimate bohemian wedding
Oh this is such a beautiful wedding. I’m so very excited to be blogging it, and what’s more, the story of how Olya and Yossi met is quite simply a modern day fairytale, with good ol’  Instagram at the epicentre of their tale!

Olya was looking for a vintage hebrew typewriter and posted a picture on  Instagram of what she was looking for. Yossi saw the  picture after one of his friends ‘liked’ it, and he then dropped her a message telling her he owned one that she might just be interested in. Originally from  Israel, Yossi had just moved to Los Angeles, but that didn’t stop the two of them from carving out a beautiful love story via email, Skype and all manner of 21st century technologies.

Olya says. “We are still wondering how this all magically happened, but here we are now together, sharing the same last name and that turquoise vintage typewriting machine.”

Super creative Olya  (the blogger  behind the à¼ber-cool boho  TLV Birdie  blog) handcrafted so many beautiful elements for her  wedding, and believe it or not, organised the whole thing  in just  3 months! This girl knows a thing or two about originality and artistry so look no further for your D.I.Y. inspiration! Take note of her wise advice the end too.  I  found myself nodding along in agreement like one of those dogs you find on the back shelf of a car. But I digress… read on for a beautiful story, and some sensational  imagery by  Irina Yakobson.

Hand-crafted, rustic, bohemian ‘Instagram’ Israeli wedding at Duce Villa, Tel Aviv
PLANNING OUR ENTIRE WEDDING IN JUST 3 MONTHS
Olya, the Bride: When it came to planning the wedding,  we had a vision of a simple, cosy, small  bohemian wedding. We organised the entire do in  just 3 months, and the wedding day fell upon the beautiful date of 4/4/14.

Hand-crafted, rustic, bohemian ‘Instagram’ Israeli wedding at Duce Villa, Tel Aviv
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The Ketubah – Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained #2

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Ketubah
All imagery by Blake Ezra Photography. This is part 2 of the 9-part Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained series.

In last week’s instalment of Jewish Weddings Explained, we looked at the varied ways in which Jewish couples prepare for their wedding, this week we’ll be looking at the Ketubah. The Ketubah is the name of the traditional Jewish marriage certificate, in Hebrew the word Ketubah literally means ‘something written’.

The content of a Ketubah has always, traditionally been a one-way document detailing what the Groom must provide to the Bride in their married lives together, which includes three main things — clothing, food and physical relations.

This ancient document used to deal with concepts such as payments for marriage, which in today’s modern world simply aren’t applicable to most of us. One passage says, “All my property, real and personal, even the shirt from my back, shall be mortgaged to secure the payment of this marriage contract.” We can understand it not as a way to “secure the payment” of the marriage, but as the Groom saying to his Bride, ‘everything I have is also yours, down to the shirt on my back’.

The Ketubah - Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained
If you’re planning a wedding the Ketubah can be a great thing to personalise to make it more relevant to you. A Ketubah can be decorated in many different ways, with illustrations around the text or colours that represent something about you, indeed there are many artists who custom-make Ketubot, all with a presence on the internet.

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