Search Results for: ceremony

A New York-style Jewish wedding in Paris, with a customised Junko Yoshioka dress and stunning Louboutins

06/12/2016 by Karen

We have a super special real wedding on the blog today — one so beautifully designed and executed that you’re definitely going to want to jump into the pictures and live there! This wedding didn’t just marry the happy couple, but also two iconic fashion capitals, so put the kettle on, settle in and let yourself be whisked away…

Style-savvy bride, Krissy, really put her skills from her amazing job as visual merchandising manager for dreamy Anthropologie bridal sister brand, BHLDN, to fantastic use. Her stunning design scheme brought together the urban cool of New York City with chic Parisian style. The colour palette was understated black and white with pops of colour — all captured in stunning detail by Brian Wright at French Grey Photography.

This trà©s chic real wedding took place against the oh-so-romantic backdrop of Paris, France, with a gorgeous ceremony in the outdoor courtyard of the Westin Vendà´me.

The wedding was packed with beautiful little heartfelt details. Krissy and Josh opted for champagne and strawberries instead of wedding cake, and for their favours bought everyone a Ladurà©e cookbook. Their copy doubled as the guest book.

When Krissy bought her Junko Yoshioka dress from Bridal Garden in NYC and customised it so that it would really show off her sublime Christian Louboutin heels (seriously though — just look at them), she never dreamed that mentioning this fact to her doctor would lead to the most amazing coincidence. We won’t ruin the surprise, but the story is absolutely amazing!

Despite Krissy’s parents sadly being unable to make it to the wedding due to her father falling ill, the couple forged ahead with their plans, bravely making the most of their beautiful big day. Enjoy this one folks!

How we met

Krissy, the bride: We met on a rooftop at a French bistro in Brooklyn. We dated for four years before getting married.

13 Insanely Fun (and Affordable) Wedding Ideas from Etsy

05/12/2016 by Karen

It goes without saying that every wedding is special and unique – but one thing that our Smashing the Glass couples tend to have in common is their commitment to making their wedding as individual as they are with some lovely unique dettails. Even after all these years and countless real weddings, we never cease to be surprised by a new and original detail that we haven’t come across before. That ethos is the reason we’re such huge fans of Etsy.

Etsy is a place of endless imagination. Small businesses and sellers lovingly craft a mixture of fashion-forward and traditional wedding wares, which can often then be personalised by the couple to create a one-off wedding-day treasure. While would never dream of denying you the joy of a long Etsy hunt, we have come across a few gems lately that we just couldn’t keep to ourselves. Here are thirteen of our favourite affordable, creative Etsy wedding finds.

1. Have your wedding logo made into a rubber stamp £12

Have a custom stamp made with your wedding logo and have fun branding all the different details of your big day! It’s amazing how simple this is to do and how much fun you can have doing it (FYI I wrote a whole post on how to brand your big day with a logo here.)

2. Create a custom slogan veil £37

Say it loud and proud with a slogan veil. This double layered, shoulder-length veil is handmade to order with the word or phrase of your choice (up to 12 characters). I love the idea of having one with your new married name on it!

3. Create a personalised cake topper £65

Have your names, your new surname, or any phrase you fancy stop your wedding cake!

4. Have some fun with your dance floor signs £6

Yukie & Jason’s Moroccan-themed destination wedding, with three designer dresses, at Caesar Yam, Caesarea, Israel

28/11/2016 by Karen

Yukie and Jason’s Moroccan market-themed Israeli destination wedding was an epic, four-part production, thanks to super helpful mother-in-law, Victoria and their incredibly talented planner, Adena at A to Z Events.

Bright colours abound with lavish gold accents, maximalist patterns and oh my goodness, check out that cake! At Smashing the Glass HQ, we’re also loving the drama of those fantastically opulent thrones for the bride and groom (move over Posh and Becks), and these brilliant stylistic choices are matched only by the loveliness of the couple’s story.

For anyone out there who is living the sometimes taxing reality of the old adage, absence makes the heart grow fonder, take heart – this loved-up pair have proved that long-distance relationships can have a truly happy ending. With a groom from New York, a bride from Tokyo, the groom’s parents from Moscow but living in Israel and most of the guests taking their first trip to the Holy Land for the couple’s wedding, this is a love that brought together cultures from all over the world for a truly beautiful celebration.

The ceremony was custom built for Yukie and Jason. While it was important to them to have a ceremony that was “official” according to the religion, with Yukie having recently joined the tribe, they also wanted it to reflect their own feelings and personal connection to Judaism. Some of the personalised details included a reciprocal ketubah, and when the groom smashed the glass, the bride simultaneously smashed a plate. The rabbi composed his speech by asking the bride and groom for three important memories and three reasons they were each other’s one and only — from this, he created an incredibly moving tribute to their relationship.

Oh, and if you’re not already sick with jealousy over Yukie’s amazing Oscar de la Renta gown, she also had two more gorgeous dresses for the evening parties! Feast your eyes on it below, all perfectly captured by photographer Shabi Kedem and Levi Dovid.

How we met

Yukie, the bride: I am Japanese and spent my entire life in Japan before I met Jason. We met nine years ago in Tokyo while he was on vacation with his brother.

Although at first I thought he wasn’t my type, once we started talking we got along so well that we had a date every day for the week he was in Tokyo. We kept in touch after he left – he called me every day for the next two years.

We visited each other any time we could — he even came to live in Japan for a year. We kept our long-distance love going for for years between Tokyo and New York.

Then, four years ago, I finally decided to move to New York and we started living together.

A chilled out backyard Jewish wedding at the bride’s childhood home in Cleveland, Ohio, USA

25/11/2016 by Karen

When bride Andria met her handsome groom Ilya after a Tinder date that almost didn’t happen, she was so taken with him that she still remembers everything he wore on that ultimately fateful day. Hey, when you know, you know, right?

Despite being one of the most laid back brides to ever grace the Smashing pages, Andria’s gorgeous backyard wedding is full of beautiful, natural and rustic details captured wonderfully by photographers Zeefoto. The couple married in Andria’s parents’ backyard and stuck to a rustic vintage theme. With just three months between the engagement and the wedding, the family went all out, re-doing the entire lawn and planting new flowers, even bringing in sandstone for that Israeli-meets-magical-woodland feel.

At Smashing the Glass, we love it when a wedding includes rare aspects of Jewish culture. The groom, Ilya, is Bukharian. For those who don’t know, Bukhari Jews are originally from central Asia and speak a rare dialect of the Tajik-Persian language. The result of two Jewish cultures fusing is always awesome, and the little touches — the Bukharian band and the eight-course meal (yes, you read that correctly — what would a Jewish wedding be without an extraordinary amount of food?) really made this wedding something special.

It’s worth mentioning that the couple insisted on having vodka on the tables — we admire their spirit (sorry, sorry…)!

Perhaps the loveliest detail of all was Andria’s chilled-out attitude. From absolutely embracing her Jewfro (high five all the Jewfros out there) to wearing her wonderful mother’s veil and a precious symbolism-laiden family heirloom as jewellery, Andria’s approach was all heart, no fuss.

Just you wait until you read Andria’s moving words about her mother (here, have a tissue — you’ll need it).

How we met

Andria, the bride: Ahhhh, those were the days. So, Ilya and I matched on Tinder except he never said anything to me for six months. He then saw me numerous times out but none of my friends would give him my number since they said I was moving. Then three months before I was leaving to make Aliyah (the process of diaspora Jews moving to Israel) I got a random phone call on October 20 at 5:38 PM from this boy named Ilya. We went on our first date a week later. Ilya was wearing Timberlands, jeans, a grey Cleveland Browns t-shirt (we were watching the game), a red flannel, puffy vest and a black scarf. I told him 15 minutes into the date that if he either of us didn’t vibe with one another we shouldn’t waste our time. We sat at the pub for four and a half hours. I knew the second I saw him he was the one. I still, to this day, get butterflies sometimes. He’s so special and I’m grateful every day to be his wife.

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A Berta Bridal gown and the perfect Jimmy Choos | A glam chic wedding at Villa Padierna Palace Hotel, Marbella, Spain

22/11/2016 by Karen

Ladies and gentlemen, if you’d please present your boarding passes — I mean invitations — and take a journey with us to Salena and Stefan’s super glam wedding at Villa Padierna Palace Hotel in Marbella, Spain

Captured with aplomb by much-loved and often-featured Smashing Supplier, photographer David Pullum and fabulous videographer AtMotion, Salena and Stefan’s big day was all about friends, family and, of course, the party of a lifetime, which lasted until 3am!

There are so many adorable details to look out for, but this one is particularly steal-worthy! The couple had the genius idea of sending their guests passport invitation packages. As it was an overseas wedding, this was a really fun way to represent that and present all of the necessary information in a cool, chic and creative way. Sticking with their stunning chosen colour palette of duck egg blue and gold, the invitations themselves were styled as boarding passes.

At Smashing the Glass, we love a bride who expresses herself, and wedding singer Salena looked every bit the belle of the ball in her show-stopping Berta Bridal dress, complete with jealousy-inducing Jimmy Choos and to-die-for jewellery. Looking catwalk ready with her perfectly executed hair and makeup, Salena was an absolute shining star.

‘What will be will be’ was this bride’s philosophy, opting to give her epic crowd of loving bridesmaids and her mother the freedom to choose their own styling – which she absolutely loved.

Perhaps the most touching detail of the day is that the bride’s own band, Muzika Showband, flew over to perform for Salena and Stefan’s big day, with dear friends singing them down the aisle.

How we met

Salena, the bride: We met at my husband’s friend’s wedding where I was the wedding singer. He chatted me up by the cheese board… enough said!

Search Results for: ceremony

How we met

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1. Have your wedding logo made into a rubber stamp £12

2. Create a custom slogan veil £37

3. Create a personalised cake topper £65

4. Have some fun with your dance floor signs £6

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How we met

Share this post:

How we met

Continue Reading

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How we met

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