This is an exciting day in STG history: it’s the very first time we’re publishing a wedding set in Prague! One of Europe’s most beautiful and historic cities, Prague is such a special place if you’re looking for a more urban destination wedding spot – and we’re thrilled that Rachel, a labor and delivery nurse, and Jakub, an equity research analyst in finance, shared their special day with us!
The couple opted to wed at in Troja Chateau in Prague because the groom’s extended family lives in the area – and to help make their wedding dreams come true long-distance, they worked with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Andrea Haman, who Rachel describes as “the absolute most incredible wedding planner.” Andrea helped Rachel and Jakub source the perfect vendors for their day and worked with them to create an elegant and elevated vibe – just check out the wonderful photos by Jenny Ovsyannikova and video byMartin from Kaco Films for proof!
We love the way the duo incorporated both Jewish and Czech traditions – so in addition to the ketubah signing, chuppah, and smashing the glass, they followed the Czech practice of smashing the plate – read through Rachel’s wonderful writeup to find out all about it!
Before we turn you over to the bride, we’ve got to say a few words about her stunner of a gown by Israeli designer Lee Petra Grebenau, a custom creation by the designer blending two of her gorgeous styles!
How We Met
Rachel, the bride: We met via the dating app, Bumble in 2020.
Venue
We got married at the Troja Chateau, in Prague, Czech Republic. We chose this venue as Jakub’s extended family is from the area, and it was important/meaningful for us to have his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to attend our wedding (most of whom he hadn’t seen since before the pandemic).
Theme
We had the absolute most incredible wedding planner, Andrea Haman. Our color scheme was rich in purples and greens (our two favorite colors), and we wanted our wedding style to be elegant and elevated. We had mirrored tables to reflect all the beautiful artwork from the ceilings and the walls, a gorgeous string quartet during our ceremony and cocktail hour, gourmet food, and the best DJ! We incorporated both Jewish traditions (with our ketubah signing and wedding ceremony) as well as Czech traditions (smashing of plates after ceremony and having to clean up pieces as a partnership, unknowingly being handed a shot of either water or vodka symbolizing who would “wear the pants” in the relationship).
Invitation/Stationery
We decided to do electronic invitations, and with the help of my talented sister and brother in law designed our invitations on Paperless Post.
Hair + Makeup
My fairy godmother, angel hair and makeup artist Alina Vagner. I first met with Alina in April 2023 for a wedding trial and just fell in love with her. She did my hair and makeup for all 3 events of my wedding weekend (rehearsal dinner, welcome party, wedding). The sweetest, kindest, most beautiful, and most talented person you could possibly meet. I couldn’t have been any luckier to have her. I’ve never felt more beautiful than I did the entire weekend. For the wedding specifically, I decided to do a look change instead of an outfit change. Alina helped me with this transition during the cocktail hour (sleeked back ponytail to half-up half down long cascading curls).
For the rest of my bridal party we had a team of extremely talented hair and makeup artists! Eliska Matejkova and Laura Berisha.
Dress
My dress designer was Lee Petra Grebenau, and my dress was unique in that we blended elements from two different dresses; the Esther gown and the Capri gown. It was a fitted flare, with a gorgeous lace underlay. I had a matching lace, open-backed body suit that I wore underneath for the ceremony and removed for the reception. I first tried on the Esther in August 2023, and it was my favorite of the current collection. But knowing the fall collection was coming out a couple months later, I waited to try the new collection on before making any final decisions. As my luck would have it, when I tried on the Capri dress there were so many details I loved but still felt a strong pull towards the silhouette of the Esther. Thankfully Lee was more than willing to work with me to make a beautiful hybrid of the two for my big day!
Accessories
My veil was from Lee Petra Grebenau and my accessories came from Untamed Petals.
Shoes
My shoes were platform heels from Gucci!
Bridesmaids
I had 8 bridesmaids, all were in their own chosen black-tie dresses but in shades of lavender.
Ceremony & Chuppah
My brother in law, Adam, was the officiant for our ketubah signing and our wedding ceremony. He made the entire experience special, personalized, and meaningful. Our ketubah came from a very talented artist in Israel, Noa Attias, and features stunning hand painted blue and purple peacocks with gold trim. I’m very grateful to have had my step-father sign our ketubah as he passed away 10 days later. A lady bug was found on the frame of the ketubah before we began the signing, which we took to be good luck!
During the ceremony, Adam had our closest friends and family read the 7 brachas. My favorite part of the ceremony was when he told us about the only love story in the Torah, of the biblical Rachel and Jacob, and applied it to our loving relationship. Our chuppah design was a labor of love between myself, Andrea, and our florist Veronika from Frezia Fleur Weddings. We wanted something timeless and elegant, but that also didn’t overpower the beautiful backdrop of the Troja behind it.
Ketubah
Yes, not only was it a gift to us by my brother in law’s parents, but it came straight from Israel. It also featured my step-father and Jakub’s step-grandfather as our two witnesses. Two men we hold very close to our hearts. Noa Attias is the designer.
Our music choice
We had a string quartet, the Aristoquartet, for the ceremony and cocktail hour. I walked down the aisle to the classical version of “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol, and finished the ceremony with the classical version of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” by Elton John.
After the cocktail hour we transitioned to DJ Bertolucci, for the rest of the evening/after party. We had our first dance to “Fields of Gold” by Sting. We heard music from artists like Rufus du Sol, Klangarussel, Daft Punk, the Killers, ABBA, and Michael Jackson.
Flowers
We had a variety of purple, white, pink, and green flowers throughout the ceremony, the reception, and our after party. Some of which include roses, lilacs, hydrangeas, peonies, etc. Our incredible florist, Veronika from Frezia Fleur Weddings, was such a pleasure to work with. Not only did she do our flowers but she also provided the tables, chairs, plates, dinnerware, etc. Andrea and Veronika are a well oiled machine!!
Photographer and videographer
My wedding planner had a list of top quality vendors she’s been working with for the last 25 years in the industry. She helped me narrow down which ones to meet with based off the qualities Jakub and I were looking for.
The good vibes were there from both from the get go. Jenny Ovsyannikova (photographer) and Martin from Kaco Films (videographer) truly added such a fun and magical quality to our wedding weekend. Nothing about their presence ever felt forced or artificial. We also had the pleasure of doing a pre-wedding photoshoot around Prague with Jenny to start things off and had so much fun with her we didn’t want the session to end, despite the freezing temperatures! Jenny and Martin are masters of their craft, and the proof is in the unbelievable photos and videos they produced for us. 10/10 would recommend!
Food and cake
Maximum Catering was our caterer, and every single food item we had was gourmet, the best quality, and absolutely delicious. Our guests are still talking about how good the food was at our wedding. Petr was a sweetheart and such a pleasure to work with! He received all feedback with thoughtful consideration and happily provided us with everything we asked for. Wish I could eat our wedding food all over again!
Our elegant cake was done by Pavlína Loučková from Klobouckovic Dortiky. It was so delicious and exactly what we were looking for.
Wedding List/Registry
We chose The Knot, which was not only easy to use but super customizable to make our beautiful wedding website.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
I think the biggest piece of advice I can offer is: try to be as present as possible. You spend so long planning for it to all go by in the blink of an eye. Protect your peace! This time is solely about you and your partner, so enjoy every single second of it.
RACHEL & JAKUB’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Jenny Ovsyannikova
Videography – Kaco Films
Planner – Andrea Haman {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Ketubah – Noa Attias
Venue – Troja Chateau
Bride’s dress & veil – Lee Petra Grebenau
Bride’s shoes – Gucci
Bride’s accessories – Untamed Petals
Hair + Makeup – Alina Vagner, Eliska Matejkova and Laura Berisha
Flowers – Frezia Fleur Weddings
DJ – Aristoquartet, DJ Bertolucci
Catering – Maximum Catering
Cake – Klobouckovic Dortiky
Stationery/Invitation – Paperless Post
Wedding List/Registry – The Knot
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
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