Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Rosh Hashanah Giveaway: Win a Gorgeous Honey Dish by Yaeli Vogel

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With Rosh Hashanah right around the corner, we’re teaming up with iconic Jewish artist Yaeli Vogel over on our @yourjewishlife Instagram to give away this gorgeous honey dish and spoon – the perfect centerpiece for your Rosh Hashanah table!

This ceramic honey dish is from Yaeli’s High Holiday 2022 Rimon Collection that includes Jewish New Year challah covers, Simanim dishes, napkins, prayer books, and more!

Yaeli’s got such a delightful and uniquely whimsical style in the world of Judaica, and her heirloom-quality pieces are just SO special (they also make great wedding gifts!).

How to Enter

To enter all you need to do is to like our Instagram post, leave a comment with your favorite thing about Rosh Hashanah, and tag a friend. Please note you must also follow both @yourjewishlife 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 Monday September 12 at 5 PM EST!

An Enzoani Bride for a Family-Focused Jewish Wedding with a Stuning Floral Chuppah at Offley Place, Hitchin, UK

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The wonderful Jewish wedding of Sophie, a sustainability executive, and Daniel, a legal technologist, has so much going for it – stunning florals, a gorgeous chuppah, rockin’ music, and an exquisite venue, to name just a few things.

And we adore them all. But most of all, we love that these two made it their highest priority to make sure their big day felt like a big, welcoming community, centered on happiness, love, and family. Especially meaningful was the fact that Dan’s dad – who’d been in hospital and rehab for 8 months recovering from Covid – was able to be there, and you can just feel the emotion come through in each and every one of the photos from Jo Russell of Chiko Photography, and every frame of the epic wedding video by Max from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion.

Sophie and Daniel opted to work with a number of our beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, including their venue, #STGvendor Offley Place – which “ticked every single one of our boxes and then some” between its welcoming staff, beautiful grounds, and accessible spaces – and #STGvendor Toastmaster Jango, who helped to ensure the day ran smoothly – and also provided invaluable assistance in the runup to the big day. They also opted to make their wedding gift list with #STGvendor The Wedding Shop, who we love for their fab selection of not only general home goods but Judaica too!

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave it to Sophie – who looked simply ravishing in Enzoani – to fill you in on the rest…


How we Met

Sophie, the bride: The story of how we met depends on who you ask! However, we can both agree we met at the University of Manchester, and have been together coming up to 10 years.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Jewish Wedding Worth the Wait at Boston Exchange, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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Rebecca-Benjamin-Boston-Exchange-Boston-USA

There’s something so special about all the gorgeous Jewish weddings of couples whose big days were disrupted by the pandemic – like Rebecca, a health economist, and Benjamin, a software engineer, who were originally slated for a May 2020 wedding at the historic Boston Exchange. Needless to say, things didn’t go to plan.

When the pair first got engaged, they booked Luba of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Primavera Dreams to help them plan their wedding – they knew they wanted someone who knew Jewish weddings and could help them craft a meaningful day centered on a traditional ceremony, pick the right vendors, and take the stress out of planning.  That last bit proved extra important as the couple navigated the rollercoaster of multiple reschedules leading up to their eventual May 2022 wedding.

Pandemic or no, Rebecca and Benjamin strongly believe choosing to work with Luba was one of the best wedding planning decisions they made. In Rebecca’s words, “We always thought of a wedding planner as an extravagant extra… [but] our planner introduced us to amazing vendors whose prices were more competitive than those we found ourselves. She also negotiated contracts on our behalf and helped us effectively prioritize where to cut and spend money. Having her organize last minute details and communicate with vendors in the days and weeks leading up to the wedding allowed us to focus on our families and enjoy the wedding.”

One thing Rebecca and Benjamin did that we love: they set up a Judaica registry (in addition to their traditional Zola gift list)! They registered at Kolbo Fine Judaica Gallery in Brookline, MA, and loved being able to add handmade Judaica to their list online. The duo also purchased their gorgeous ketubah, crafted in Israel by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay, at Kolbo.

There’s so much more we could say about this fab wedding – for starters, don’t miss the wonderful floral chuppah in Lynne Reznick’s luminous photos – but we’ll turn you over to the bride for the rest…

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How We Met

Rebecca, the bride: We met in Boston in 2014 and had our first date at a coffee shop in Harvard Square! Four years later (to the day), we got engaged after having dinner in the same building.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Justin Alexander Bride for a Modern Classic Turnip Rose Promenade & Gardens Wedding, Costa Mesa, California, USA

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Erin & Jared, Turnip Rose Promenade and Gardens, California, USA

Today we’ve got the perfect Jewish wedding to take in as you savor the last weeks of summer: the fabulous nuptials of our Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Erin!

Erin, who runs an ecommerce site, and Jared, who works in real estate, went for an all-outdoor wedding at Turnip Rose Promenade and Gardens – and while the decision was driven by Covid safety, with a venue so stunning who wouldn’t want to make the most of every single moment to take in the gorgeous scenery?!

Erin and Jared’s modern classic theme, featuring tons of white, green, and gold – with all white flowers and plenty of romantic candles – made the most of the venue’s natural beauty. Erin’s simple, elegant Justin Alexander gown continued the theme – and Taylor Kinzie Photography’s light and airy style was the perfect fit to capture it all.

We’re also obsessed with the couple’s champagne tower seating chart – read on for all the details!

 

Erin & Jared, Turnip Rose Promenade and Gardens, California, USAErin & Jared, Turnip Rose Promenade and Gardens, California, USAErin & Jared, Turnip Rose Promenade and Gardens, California, USAErin & Jared, Turnip Rose Promenade and Gardens, California, USA
How we Met

Erin, the bride: We met on Jswipe, our first date was grabbing coffee. We share a love for sports (Red Zone for Fantasy Football is must), crime television, and spending time with family & friends.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Things to Budget for a Jewish Wedding That You May Have Overlooked

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Chloe and Danny‘s Tuscan Jewish wedding, planned by Michelle! Photo by David Bastianoni

This is a guest post by Michelle Jacobs. The founder of Elegante by Michelle J, Michelle  is a wedding planner with a niche specialisation in luxury destination weddings in Italy for UK and US based Jewish couples. Her mission is to create magical and memorable weddings for her couples, their families and their guests. Michelle has had the privilege of working at numerous Italian venues and has built fantastic relationships and effective collaborations with a whole host of talented and professional Italian wedding vendors. She is passionate about sharing all of her knowledge and experience to create your dream wedding.

One of the most challenging aspects of planning a wedding is budgeting. Figuring out how much you have to spend, breaking it down by category, and then continually monitoring your progress as you book each supplier… it’s a lot to think about!

But all that hard work can only go so far if you forget to include certain key items in your budget from the beginning. It’s like anything in life – you have to start with good foundations, otherwise it can all come tumbling down.

So, here are some examples for you of items that I commonly see omitted from an original budget document.

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Jasmin and Brett‘s Osea Island UK Jewish wedding, planned by Michelle! Photo by Claudine Hartzel

Ceremony Costs

Couples – when costing out their wedding – often look at the wedding reception costs only and forget about the main event!!  After all, your guests are joining you to witness your marriage.  Everything that follows is simply a celebration of this, and your marriage ceremony does come with its own costs.  These can include:

  • Synagogue membership fees (often a stipulation if the rabbi at your family Synagogue is marrying you)
  • Fees charged by the rabbi
  • Chazan, musicians and/orchoir
  • Sound system for the ceremony – not always available at the synagogue so if you are having musicians at your ceremony you might need to hire in a PA system.
  • Chuppah hire as well as the chuppah flowers
  • Any other ceremony decoration
  • Kippot and order or service booklets (if applicable or required)
  • Transport from the ceremony to the wedding reception (if you decide to provide this for your guests)
  • Chair hire and set up (eg for an outdoor ceremony at your wedding venue)
  • The cost of your civil wedding, which you will require in addition to your Jewish wedding 

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Paige and Richard‘s Jewish wedding at the Great Synagogue of Florence, planned by Michelle! Photo by David Bastianoni

Catering

Your caterer might have sent you an initial set of sample menus with per person pricing, but have they included:

  • Furniture hire if not available at your venue (ie tables and chairs) and do they charge extra to set these up for you
  • Linen upgrades (perhaps their per person cost includes for basic white linen and you would like to introduce more of a luxury feel or colour)
  • Tableware and glassware upgrades
  • Kitchen set up costs (if you are using a dry hire venue with no catering kitchen)
  • Transport costs for their team (if you are using a venue which is not local to their base)
  • “Crew meals” -you are not expected to pay to feed the caterers staff,  but you will need to pay to feed all of your other suppliers including your band, your photographers and videographers, your wedding planners etc.  Usually caterers will charge a reduced fee for a simpler meal, although you should expect to provide a hot meal as it is always a long day for the supplier team and a decent meal is considered essential.

Michelle helped Emma and Pete plan a Mary Poppins-themed wedding – talk about a Jewish wedding that’s totally them! Photo by Claudine Hartzel

Venue

Do make sure you check your venue hire contract carefully.  In particular you need to consider:

  • What time are your suppliers allowed access,and if earlier access will be required is this possible and will they charge extra for it
  • Likewise the breakdown and de-rig at the end;how long do they allow for this,  is it a sufficient amount of time and if not, will there be an extra fee for a later finish
  • What time must your wedding end; can you extend for a fee?And if so, how much?
  • Which spaces are included?Does this include for all of your requirements including a green room for the band and other suppliers (ie photographers and videographers), a room for your Tisch, a room for your Bedeken?  Is there any extra charge for additional rooms?

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Stephanie and Dan‘s Jewish wedding in Tuscany, planned by Michelle! Photo by David Bastianoni

Flowers

A florist might provide you with a ball-park cost for decorating your Chuppah and for your table centrepieces, but does the fee include:

  • Delivery and set up
  • Returning at the end to collect the vases, candelabras, tea light holders etc and break down the chuppah
  • Breakages of vases, tea light holders etc

Claudia & James, Royal Myconian Hotel, Mykonos, Greece

Claudia and James‘s Jewish wedding in Mykonos, planned by Michelle! Photo by Anna Roussos

Entertainment and Production

You have decided on a band and agreed a fee with them.  But I am afraid that is not all.  Their fee may or may not include their sound system, but it definitely won’t include:

  • Stage
  • Dance floor
  • Lighting

If you book a large showband they will have certain requirements regarding their stage and lighting so do make sure you talk to them about these things sooner rather than later and build them into your budget.

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