Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Joyous Jewish Wedding Featuring a Personalized Outdoor Chuppah at Sopwell House, St Albans, UK

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We are so thrilled to be featuring the Jewish wedding of our Bride’s Club member Ines today! Ines, a professional chef, wed Andy, a property investor, at Sopwell House in an outdoor ceremony under the most gorgeous personalized chuppah – just one of the many special touches the pair included in their day – and we are all about it.

So about that chuppah… Ines and Andy worked with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People on the chuppah of their dreams – which they topped with the most exquisite personalized canopy handmade by Israeli artist Bella Alon – and they can’t stop raving about how much they loved working with the incredibly helpful team.

We also love that Ines opted to wear her mother’s wedding dress on the big day – how special is that?! Ines’s father had tragically passed away from Covid, and wearing her mother’s gown was such a meaningful way to honor his memory and make him part of the day. Don’t miss the incredibly special pics by Leivi Saltman.

Ines and Andy worked with a whole bunch of wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, including Noa Attias, who designed their beautiful ketubah; talented wedding filmmaker Robert of CCS Video, who made the couple’s wonderful wedding video; planner Events by Natasha; and Shir, who Ines describes as “the most amazing band ever!” Shir kept the dance floor packed all night long, and they even taught in Israeli dance lesson to get all the non-Jewish guests in the loop!

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How we Met

Ines, the bride: We met years ago at a friend’s house…  It was instant attraction, but took us around 2 years to start dating… But at the end of our 1st date, we were already deciding what to do on our 2nd date! And our 3rd date we had the most magical weekend in Monaco, staying at the Hermitage Hotel….Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Morilee Bride for a Jewish Wedding Where Tradition Meets Modernity at Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael, Springfield, New Jersey, USA

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Mindy & Neil, Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael, Springfield, New Jersey, USA

We are beyond thrilled to be featuring the New Jersey Jewish wedding of our wonderful Brides Club member Mindy today!

Mindy, a fourth grade teacher, and Neil, a digital marketing specialist, crafted the most exquisite celebration combining tradition and modernity – and we love the way they managed to honor family heritage and stay true to Jewish customs while crafting a day that was totally them! They combined a hora with a choreographed first dance, mixed Hebrew and English music, and used two kiddush cups under the chuppah: one from Mindy’s grandfather and another new cup, symbolizing the beginning of her life together with Neil and the start of their own family. You can see it for yourself in the stunning images from Yael Pachino Photography.

One other touch that made Mindy and Neil’s wedding extra special was the fact that they had live wedding painter and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jordana Sklover on hand to craft a beautiful painting of the day in real time! The pair decided that a painting of their wedding would be a wonderful gift to each other, and getting to see the finished painting at the end of the night was a wonderful way to cap off the celebration – plus, guests enjoyed watching Jordana’s creation come to life in front of their eyes throughout the wedding. Jordana Sklover also painted the couple’s custom ketubah, featuring an illustration of the Jerusalem skyline, honoring the important role Israel plays in their lives.

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll let Mindy – who looked SO elegant in her fit and flare gown by Morilee take it from here…

Mindy & Neil, Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael, Springfield, New Jersey, USAMindy-Neil-Temple-Beth-Ahm-Yisrael-Springfield-New-Jersey-USAMindy & Neil, Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael, Springfield, New Jersey, USAMindy-Neil-Temple-Beth-Ahm-Yisrael-Springfield-New-Jersey-USA
HOW WE MET

Mindy, the bride: We met on JSwipe and quickly realized that we both love Israeli and Mediterranean food. After dating for six months, we created a shared foodie Instagram, @shakshakingitup, devoted to reviewing hummus, falafel shakshuka, and avocado toast. We spent the early days of the pandemic watching all 30 seasons of the Amazing Race in order to prepare for our lifetime of adventures together.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Multicultural Vietnamese-Jewish Wedding at Temple Akiba and Playa Studios, Los Angeles, California, USA

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Michelle and David, Playa Studios, LA, USA

We love it when a couple merges their two backgrounds into a one-of-a-kind LA Jewish wedding – and that’s exactly what today’s duo did! Michelle, an executive search recruiter, and David, a public school teacher and screenwriter, set out to plan a wedding that celebrated both the pair’s shared Jewish faith and Michelle’s Vietnamese heritage.  

Right before their chuppah – which was held at the couple’s synagogue – Michelle and David hosted a traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony. They donned áo dais (traditional Vietnamese gowns) and served tea to their elders and relatives.

We also love that Michelle rocked three different fabulous bridal looks throughout her day! First the áo dài, then a classic ballgown from Rita Vinieris for the chuppah, and finally a fusion look for the reception, pairing a clean, minimalist gown from Jill Stuart with a matching, white khăn đóng (Vietnamese headdress).

Read on for more about this wonderful wedding, plus exquisite documentary photography by Rebecca y las otras…

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How we Met

Michelle, the bride: We met at a networking event in LA.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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…

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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