Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Hayley Paige Bride for a Florida-Meets-Norfolk Jewish Wedding full of Tropical Touches at Titchwell Manor, UK

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We just love seeing a couple merge their unique backgrounds into one fabulous big day – and that’s exactly what Rachel, an educational psychologist, and Matt, a sales specialist, did!

Rachel is from Florida, while Matt’s British – and the couple’s big day at Titchwell Manor Hotel combined tropical chic with country house cozy in the most wonderful way – and it also happens to be near the beach, which Rachel loves. They took advantage of the venue’s beachy touches, like white wicker chairs, bright colors, and a large conservatory for the reception space, and added in vibrant orchids and tiger lilies, chocolate shells, Mai Tais, and Rum Punch – check it all out in the vibrant photos by Kate Lowe.

Read on for the rest of the story in Rachel’s own words – and don’t miss her perfect Hayley Paige gown!


How we Met

Rachel, the bride: I grew up in Florida, spending summers as a camper at Camp Kenwood in Kent, Connecticut and returned there to work as a ropes course counselor for three summers. During the summer of 2012, Matt was employed through a British agency called Camp Leaders, which recruits English university students to work at American summer camps, as a ropes course counselor at Kenmont and Kenwood Camps.

We quickly became inseparable that summer, spending most of our time together working on the ropes course and all our time off together with our fellow ropes course counselors. For the next 7 years, we continued our relationship long distance with me in America finishing my education and Matt in England. During that time, we visited each other over 30 times, Skyped nearly every Sunday, and exchanged countless WhatsApp texts and calls. I then moved to England in 2019 and have lived here with Matt since.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Heartfelt Jewish Wedding filled with Emotion at Psagot Winery, Israel

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Saul & Yehudith, Psagot, Israel

Get ready to be blown away by today’s STUNNING Jewish wedding – exquisitely captured by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si. Israel-based couple Yehudit and Saul, who both work in high tech, chose to make it official at the ultra-romantic Psagot Winery.

With gorgeous surroundings ticked off the list – a place like Psagot doesn’t need anything extra to shine – Yehudit and Saul were free to focus on their top priority: crafting a day that truly reflected them and their values. And did they ever! The challenges the pair faced along the way – most notably Yehudit’s parents being denied at the airport – only served to bring them closer together.

But back to those incredible photos – in Yehudit’s words, Jossef Si was “incredible, professional, creative, and a pleasure to work with,” and his images do such an amazing job of capturing all the love and emotion of the day, and in high style too.

There’s lots more to say about this very special wedding – Yehudit and Saul have quite the how-we-met story – so read on for all the rest…

Saul & Yehudith, Psagot, IsraelSaul & Yehudith, Psagot, IsraelSaul & Yehudith, Psagot, IsraelSaul & Yehudith, Psagot, Israel
How we Met

Yehudith, the bride: We met on my first Shabbat in Jerusalem, I sublet a room for 2 week and one of the girls who lived there was Saul’s friend. She invited him for Shabbat dinner and when he saw me he thought “wow this girl is tall! I need to talk with her”, but to his surprise I didn’t know English.

So, he invited me and his friend for lunch the next day and he told his friend that he wanted to ask me out, but …we could not communicate, and I was converting (guiur process) so I could not go out with anyone.

It was very cold that day and I forgot to bring a jacket so he gave me his jacked from the army (he served in Golani) hopping that it would make us to meet again.

I never gave the jacket back…Till the day I finished my guiur and learned English (1 and half years later). I texted him “Hey do you remember me? I have your jacket, I would like to give it back to you.” And he answered “lets make a deal, you can stay with the jacket if you go out with me.” So we started dating.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Galia Lahav Bride for a Relaxed Jewish Wedding with Party Vibes at the Wallace Collection, London, UK

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Today’s wedding is a special one for me to feature is it’s at the Wallace Collection where I got married!

And I love that when Daniella, a Lagree instructor, and Adam, who works in finance consulting, set out to plan their Jewish wedding, their top priority was for it to feel relaxed, like a big party.

And with the help of their amazing wedding planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante by Michelle J, the couple were able to make their big day at London’s Wallace Collection feel like exactly that! In Daniella’s words, Michelle “not only understood exactly what we wanted from our wedding but also managed to pull everything together in a very short time frame” – plus she helped make the less formal setup of the day (Daniella and Adam opted not to have a formal seated dinner and instead to have food stations and seating areas) flow perfectly.

Also key to those party vibes was the pair’s band, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Totem. Daniella and Adam opted for their DJ live offering, which kept everyone on the dance floor until the very end! As evidenced by Paulo Santos stunning photography, a fabulous time was indeed had by all.

Oh, and did I mention Daniella’s Galia Lahav gown yet? Read on for full details about it, and so much more…

 

 

 

 


How we Met

Daniella, the bride: We met over six years ago both working on the same consulting project in Manchester and two years later we moved together out to Hong Kong where we live now.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Sukkot Giveaway: Win Two Stunning Sukkah Prints by Yaeli Vogel

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To celebrate Sukkot we’ve teamed up with our fave Jewish artist Yaeli Vogel and her stunning new homeware brand Yoghm By Yaeli to give away two (yes TWO!) stunning sukkah prints.

Created just for Sukkot, Yaeli’s sukkah print posters come as high-quality prints on vinyl, durable for the outdoors and prepared with grommets for easy hanging. They’re available in stunning designs featuring scenic views of Jerusalem, lulavs and etrogs, luscious pomegranates, and so much more. The lucky winner will be able to choose their favorite two images – and we bet it won’t be an easy choice!

Yael is so talented and has such a delightful style – and we couldn’t be more thrilled about the launch of Yoghm By Yaeli!

How to Enter

To enter all you need to do is to like our Instagram post, leave a comment with your favorite thing about Sukkot, and tag a friend. Please note you must also follow @yourjewishlife, @yoghmbyyaeli, and @yaelivogel on Instagram to be eligible to win. 

The competition is open to anyone 18 and over, wherever you are in the world, so hop on over to Instagram and get your entry in before Wednesday October 12 at 5 PM EST!

A Sophia Tolli Bride for a Jewish Wedding Full of Feeling at the St Pancras Renaissance, London, UK

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We could not be more delighted to be featuring the fabulous London Jewish wedding of our Smashing The Glass Bride’s Club member Jessica! Jessica, who works in advertising, wed Harry, a solicitor, at the majestic St Pancras Renaissance and their big day was simply BEYOND!

Naturally, we were thrilled to hear that Jessica found some of her incredible vendors through Bride’s Club, including their sensational chazzan, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson. In Jessica’s words, “He has the most beautiful voice and moved so many people to tears. He got people clapping along to sheva brachot and hearing his voice really calmed both of our nerves. For me, he took our ceremony to a whole other level.”

For their reception music, Jessica and Harry went with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band, another rec from Bride’s Club. Jessica writes, “They performed beautiful acoustic sets while guests were eating, and bought the party for the dance sets in between courses and at the end of the night. The Israeli dancing set was also incredible with so much energy. They had everyone on their feet all night long and were better than we could have ever imagined.”

Even before she got engaged, Jessica knew she wanted Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel as her photographer – and unsurprisingly, she received another rave review from Jessica: “Claudine was everything we could have wanted in a photographer and more. She rolled with all the punches and kept us both really calm when a few hiccups happened. She really is the dream supplier and we hope to be able to work with her again in the future.”

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll leave it to Jessica, who looked simply divine in  Sophia Tolli, to fill you in on the rest…

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HOW WE MET

Jessica, the bride: We met on JSwipe (as all modern Jewish love stories start) and started dating on 29 May 2016. It was then incredibly special to get married on our 6-year anniversary, on 29 May 2022.Continue ReadingContinue Reading