Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Jenny Packham Bride for a Greek Island Fantasy Jewish Wedding at the Royal Myconian Hotel, Mykonos, Greece

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Claudia & James, Royal Myconian Hotel, Mykonos, Greece

Ok, who could use a sunny island getaway about now? Yeah, we thought so. For those of us not lucky enough to be jetting off to beachy paradise, do the next best thing and live vicariously through the fabulous Jewish wedding of UK couple Claudia, who works in advertising, and James, who works in affordable housing, who tied the knot in their favorite holiday destination, Mykonos.

We’re not sure what we love more, the totally epic locale, or the fact that Claudia and James worked with an amazing team of beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their dream day a reality. Their first port of call was Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante by Michelle J, who was, as always, “a dream to work with and took a lot of the stress off us in the planning process and the day.” Michelle helped the duo translate their island-perfect color scheme of crisp whites an blues into the fabulous day you see in the wonderful photos by Anna Roussos.

The couple’s stationers, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Cartalia, designed the most exquisite pocket-style invitation suite in coordinating blues and whites, and the couple’s chazzan, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson – who they flew out from London along with two of his musicians – performed in their trademark unforgettable style at the chuppah and again for the Israeli dancing.

And we haven’t even mentioned the fact that Claudia was lucky enough to have a bespoke wedding dress designed for her by a close friend of her mum’s – none other than Jenny Packham herself! We’ll turn you over to the bride for the rest…

Claudia & James, Royal Myconian Hotel, Mykonos, GreeceClaudia & James, Royal Myconian Hotel, Mykonos, Greece
How We Met

Claudia, the bride: We met through mutual friends in 2013, James had just finished his masters and Claudia had just finished her second year at university.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Reem Acra Bride for a Sophisticated Garden Interfaith Jewish Wedding at Annadel Estate Winery, California, USA

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Alexandra & Alec, Annadel Estate Winery, California, USA

Okay, HOW amazing is today’s chuppah?! Is it dreamy, or is it dreamy? For that matter, today’s entire floral scheme is pretty much #goals. Bay Area couple Alexandra, a manager of product operations, and Alec, a data scientist and product manager, have got seriously impeccable taste when it comes to flowers.

The pair’s whole vision for their day was “sophisticated dreamy garden,” and did they ever execute it to perfection! Even Alexandra’s stunning Reem Acra gown featured 3D floral embroidery. The incredible photos of the day from The De Jaureguis are truly unmissable – and how cool is it that Alexandra and Alec repurposed their chuppah after the ceremony by moving it to the dessert lounge and adding seating underneath?

As a counterpoint to all this floral splendor, we love that the duo chose an elegantly simple ketubah from the amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Ketubah – with artist Stephanie’s exquisite hand calligraphy, you don’t need much else.

There’s so much more we could say about this incredible wedding, but we’ll leave it to Alexandra to fill you in on the rest…

Alexandra & Alec, Annadel Estate Winery, California, USAAlexandra & Alec, Annadel Estate Winery, California, USAAlexandra & Alec, Annadel Estate Winery, California, USAAlexandra & Alec, Annadel Estate Winery, California, USA
How we Met

Alexandra, the bride: We met on the dating app Hinge in 2017 in San Francisco. Our initial messages were standard, then I was struck at how communicative we continued to be even before meeting for our first date. We went to dinner and continued the night at a cocktail bar across the street, all the while talking and discovering more about one another. Most importantly, we realized we wanted to spend more and more time together, to share our families and celebrations, and to build a future together.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Jewish Newlywed Spotlight: Jocelyn Levin

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Jocelyn is a member of our Smashing Life Club.

Inside Brides Club, I personally help you to minimize wedstress and overwhelm, and maximize your wedding budget. Oh – and every Brides Club member gets a free smash glass pouch (designed by me) for under the chuppah posted out to them too. Mazal Tov!

Come and join Brides Club too – for advice, discounts, community, sisterhood… and your sanity!

 

ABOUT JOCELYN

Where are you from? New Jersey
What do you do for a living? Customer Success Manager for a Healthcare Data Platform
How did you meet your partner?Hinge
When did you first know you were in love? November 2018, about 7 months after we first started dating. I wrote about every single one of our dates when we started dating and when I go back to these entries my writing changes to how I felt that we were both in love with each other even though we hadn’t said it yet. It all was about the power of feeling it at the time that makes it impossible to pinpoint an exact moment aside from thinking back to that feeling (and reading about it from my writing!)
 

       

Win a Romantic Night For Two at the Pan Pacific London, A Haven of Modern Luxury

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I’m so delighted to offer you the chance to win an overnight stay at one of London’s most stunning  luxury hotels, Pan Pacific London!

Located in One Bishopsgate Plaza, Pan Pacific London is a haven in the city and combines sincere Singaporean hospitality with contemporary London design. With the hotel’s luxury proposition, unrivaled location and sincere service this is undoubtedly an ideal choice for a memorable Jewish wedding.

Epitomising the juxtaposition of old and new London architecture, One Bishopsgate Plaza encapsulates not only a bronze tower, but also the 144 year old One Devonshire House, creating the perfect backdrop for your wedding day. A new statement of indulgence with an array of distinguished spaces, including the largest ballroom within the square mile, Pan Pacific London undoubtedly has something perfectly fitting for your day.

Tailoring everything to individual tastes, the hotel’s dedicated Event Emporium – the only one of its kind in the city – is an immersive experience that encapsulates the spirit of sincerity, sophistication and inspiration, turning those important occasions into sensory experiences. Absolutely no detail is spared during inspirational one-on-one sessions from the softness of the linen to the curation of personalised menus and the scent of the room, there are no limits other than your imagination. Here, creativity and collaboration combine for bespoke experiences that don’t just meet discerning expectations but, exceed them.

Pan Pacific London showcases a concept that is contemporary and all encompassing. The hotel’s dedicated Celebrations Connoisseurs are with you every step of the way on your journey, guiding you through a lifetime of celebrations. Whether your looking for a pre-wedding pamper, post wedding anniversary dinner or any other landmark life event, you can trust the team to be by your side throughout.

A JEWISH WEDDING AT THE PAN PACIFIC LONDON

Whatever your style and event needs, Pan Pacific London’s got it covered with their comprehensive packages. Inspired by the sculptures located in Singapore’s Gardens By the Bay, their collections – Fern, Lous, Moongate, and Dragonfly – are designed to deliver on your perfect day. You can see full details of all the options here. 

A Range of Spaces

Pan Pacific London’s got a fantastic range of gorgeous spaces to meet your unique needs, whether you’re having a big bash or an intimate wedding of just your nearest and dearest – or anything in between!

Pacific Ballroom

With exclusive access from Bishopsgate Plaza via an impressive glass escalator and lift, Pan Pacific’s majestic double-height, subterranean ballroom (the only one within the Square Mile) is quite extraordinary. Featuring contemporary elements amid elegant interiors the Pacific Ballroom is the quintessence of grandeur and grace. Offering a neutral color palette, Swarovski crystal chandeliers and state of the art technology that allows you to share special moments in the moment, globally, the ballroom is an unrivaled venue for those larger celebrations. The Pacific Ballroom can accommodate 280 for dinner and dancing or 400 for a ceremony or standing reception.

 

Pacific Ballroom Foyer

Flooded with natural daylight that cascades through the glass escalator, the Pacific Ballroom Foyer is a dedicated pre-function area perfectly complements the Pacific Ballroom. It is offered in conjunction with the ballroom and the space provides a dedicated cloakroom and private washroom facilities. It can accommodate 280 for a standing reception. 

Green Dragon

Located on the fifth floor and offering magnificent views over Bishopsgate Plaza through floor to ceiling windows, Green Dragon, which represents good fortune, could not be more perfect for those intimate occasions. Possessing a neutral palette for ease of styling and coming accompanied with a separate private pre-function area, the venue presents a unique choice for those looking to do things differently. It accommodates 40 for dinner and dancing, or 50 for a ceremony or standing reception. 

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A Fresh, Beachy Jewish Pandemic Wedding at Caesar Yam, Caesarea, Israel

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Tash-Nick-Caesar-Yam-Caesarea-Israel

Planning a wedding during COVID isn’t easy. You’ve got to be prepared to roll with the punches, make last-minute changes, and generally have a wedding that might look pretty different than the one you’d had your heart set on.

But even with all that, some of the Jewish weddings we’ve seen that have been most affected by the pandemic have also been among the most stunning – ever. Take the fabulous Israeli nuptials of Tash, who works for an online glasses company doing customer service, and Nick, who does marketing and events for a healthcare software provider. These two made aliyah in 2021, and while they wanted to celebrate in their new home, travel restrictions made it uncertain as to whether overseas loved ones would be able to make it.

And even though plenty of things didn’t quite go to plan – the couple went through several changes of venue before settling on the fabulous Caesar Yam; their guest list went from 200 to 65, and some friends and family joined in via livestream rather than in person – this day was nothing short of magnificent.

We’re in love with the beachy, nautical décor – and how gorgeous is that stunning white floral chuppah? – and for all the challenges leading up to the day, there was clearly so much joy and love. Don’t miss the incredible photos from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman, who the couple report was a delight to work with, as always.

Now over to Tash…

Tash-Nick-Caesar-Yam-Caesarea-IsraelTash-Nick-Caesar-Yam-Caesarea-IsraelTash-Nick-Caesar-Yam-Caesarea-IsraelTash-Nick-Caesar-Yam-Caesarea-Israel
How we Met

Tash, the bride: We met on an app called J Crush in November 2014. Nick was on a year abroad in Paris as part of his degree with Aston University in Birmingham, and I was in my second year at University of Leeds. We spent the first year of our relationship meeting in either Paris, Leeds, Scotland (Nick’s hometown) and London (my hometown) so it was an adventure from the start.Continue ReadingContinue Reading