Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Home > You searched for ceremony > Page 250

Search Results for: ceremony

A Vivienne Westwood bride for a city chic Jewish wedding at The Criterion, London, UK

by

Vivienne-Westwood-Bride
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m *obsessed* with Vivienne Westwood (I wore a couture design of hers to my brother’s wedding which was the first W Day I ever blogged) so I am super thrilled to be featuring a super glam Vivienne Westwood bride on the blog today — I have SO been waiting for this moment!

And what a stunning bride Ana is – all glowing skin and glossy locks (topped off with an exquisite David Morris tiara). She totally rocks that Vivienne Westwood gown (named ‘Bird of Paradise’), and it’s actually an adaptation of the purple Dita Von Teese Vivienne Westwood wedding dress that was featured in the V&A’s wedding dress exhibition earlier this year.

We also have bridesmaids in Alice Temperley and an equally fashion forward groom in Spencer Hart (my husband’s choice of suit designer for our wedding!).

This W Day is full of fun — from the bridal conga around Eros in Piccadilly Circus to the Scottish-Jewish melding of cultures, and the table centres designed by Ana’s mum. She’s a keen gardener and grew all the flowers for the wedding in the year leading up to it — how wonderful is that? Ana says she really wanted all of the family to play a big part in the wedding day and such a perspective always makes for a fun and inclusive celebration.

So sit back, relax and enjoy this incredible London wedding — not only do I have the breathtaking film for you by much-loved STG sponsor, The Dreamcatchers, but also the gorgeous images by Joshua Tucker. To life!


Vivienne Westwood bride
A Jewish wedding with Scottish influences

Ana, the Bride: Our favourite part of the day was the mix of my Dad’s Scottish blood with Adam’s Jewish Traditional family and a Rabbi we both adore. We really wanted a happy, relaxed, fun party with some dressing up! I think from the fact our friends went on partying until the early hours of the morning means we succeeded.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Boho bride in cowboy boots for a DIY rustic Jewish wedding at Moshav Mevo Modi’im, Israel

by

DIY-wedding-Israel
Nikki and Gavriel met via the power of Google search (no kidding… read their ‘how we met’ story below!) but their Jewish wedding was far from hi-tech. It was a super cool, relaxed rustic affair set in Gavriel’s home town in Israel with an abundance of lovingly crafted DIY details.

So much of the wedding was DIY’ed straight from the heart, from the stunning florals organised by the couple and their families (no pro florists involved at all!) to the home-made wooden signs, hay bale seating, BBQ menu and the beautiful bride’s jewellery all made by Gavriel’s mother. She also created Nikki’s stunning baby’s breath flower crown. Is she one talented mama or what?

I absolutely love Nikki’s bridal style and how she accessorised her dress with that deep green sash. And she totally rocks those cowboy boots of hers. I’ve always loved a bride in cowboy boots — such a cool look for a country style affair.

The whole W Day is full of natural and rustic details — unfussy and relaxed, but ever so pretty. Perfect for a venue surrounded by wonderful nature.

Enjoy this treat of a Friday wedding with images by one of our ever-talented Smashing Suppliers, Herschel Gutman Photography, who captures the essence of the day perfectly.

DIY wedding Israel
How we met

Nikki, the Bride: A friend and I were looking for a new experience and for whatever reason googled “religious farms in Israel”. We found a little family farm on a moshav and helped out a here and there with the farm duties on our stay. The daughter of the family asked if we wanted to hang out with her and her friends. We said yes and through her we met a group of guys. The mother of the family told us, “be careful — moshav boys are dangerous!” But over the course of the weekend I hung out with Gavriel on the moshav.. we talked and I listened to him playing the guitar and singing (as well as admiring his devastatingly good looks!) I couldn’t not give him my number…. Well the rest is history and here we are about two years later…. as husband and wife!

DIY wedding Israel
Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Rue de Seine bride for a Jewish Wedding under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Simmer on the Bay, Dawes Point, Australia

by

Jewish-wedding-Sydney
Nikki and Jem are just the coolest couple and their big day from the world-famous Sydney Harbour Bridge embraces the most beautiful Jewish wedding traditions whilst maintaining a totally free-spirited, energetic and fun vibe. It’s been sensationally captured by Australian photographer Dan O’Day whose work I adore — I could have filled this feature with every image he sent me and you’ll probably be able to tell I struggled to stop myself from doing just that!

I love pretty much everything about Nikki and Jem’s Jewish wedding but one of my favourite details (that I’ve never seen done before) is the couple choosing to shelve the idea of traditional favours, and instead place custom ribbons with their monogram and date on them at everyone’s place setting. They then invited guests to create their own bouquets from the gorgeous wild flowers that were in front of them, tie them together with the ribbons and take them home. Such a beautiful and thoughtful idea.

Nikki also bought her bride posse (note, Nikki doesn’t call them bridesmaids!) a pair of Converse each, and left them on their seats with “dancing shoes” tags.

Fashion stylist Nikki looks utterly gorgeous in her Rue de Seine gown — the New Zealand designers make the most perfect boho bridal romantic dresses combining rich beading, intricate detailing and sheer draping, and they just seem to design for the coolest, most stylish brides. If you’re looking for a more modest dress they cater for this brilliantly with many of their designs incorporating high necks and long sleeves.

Right, shall we dive into this super cool wedding then? Trust me, you’re going to love it…

Jewish Wedding Sydney
how we met

Nikki, the Bride: We met in 2009 through a mutual friend who was trying to help Jem and his buddy get a jeans label off the ground. Our mutual friend suggested that I be their first model (because I was the only person small enough to fit in their teeny tiny samples!) I was interning at Cosmopolitan magazine at the time looking to get a career in fashion so it was a common interest for us both I guess. Jem now works in finance but I’m still in fashion. I was not born Jewish, and as our friendship grew, so did my love for Judaism. Once he found out I was looking into converting he also saw it as an opportunity for us to start dating, and the rest is history.
Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Vera Wang bride for a spectacular rustic-glam Jew-ish destination wedding at a private villa in Phuket, Thailand

by

Destination-wedding-Thailand
From the introductory image above, it’s fair to say that Melissa and Ishay’s Jew-ish wedding is going to be seriously swoon-inducing… and it doesn’t stop with that extraordinary ceremony setting either. Their entire W Day is dazzling from start to finish with a beautiful back story of love crossing continents and eclipsing expectations.

Thai-American Melissa, and Israeli-born Ishay met in an Irish pub in Uganda (yes, really!) and everyone told them they were crazy to think their relationship could last.

As Melissa says, “After our time in Africa, and a year and a half of Skype video chats and international flights around the world, to and from Uganda, Israel, Thailand, and San Francisco, we embarked on a new adventure together – The East Coast. Then one evening when I was on call, Ishay decided to surprise me in my new apartment in New York City with over 400 candles. Who knew Ishay could be so romantic? Of course, I said yes.”

Oh I do love a good international love story (did you know that both my parents’ and my brother’s marriage are the culminations of long-distance relationships?) and the incredible story behind their relationship is told in their own words in one of the most moving wedding films I’ve ever watched – tears in my eyes. You absolutely have to see it – it’s just below.

Super stunning Melissa married the love of her life in a breathtaking Vera Wang gown, and if there is one word to describe this gorgeous couple’s big day then it’s WOW. From the show-stopping fireworks to those beautifully decorated long tables at dinner, to the exquisite displays of flowers and that chuppah on the infinity pool set against the backdrop of the Indian ocean, it all looks spectacular.

But that carefree shot at the end of both of them jumping into the swimming pool in their half-dressed wedding attire? That’s my favourite.

Enjoy this Tuesday treat of a wedding with words by the bride, images by Julian Abram Wainwright and the must-watch film below by David Pritchard from Imageforge Asia

Destination wedding Thailand
how we met

Melissa, the Bride: It started in an Irish pub in the middle of Uganda. I know, right? Ishay moved from Israel to Uganda to pursue a new life adventure. I took a year off from medical school to engage in medical research in Uganda. True to ex-pat living in East Africa, all good things came out of the regular go-to hang out place, the “local” Irish pub known as “Bubbles.”

It would be nice to say that it was love at first sight for both of us. If you asked Ishay, he would probably say that Melissa just never met anyone like him before. If you asked me, I would probably say that I initially was just not that impressed. Luckily, Ishay is persistent or, at the very least, stubborn. On the second meeting I became intrigued. By our first date, we were both hooked. We just couldn’t get enough of each other. Six months after spending time together in East Africa, what appeared to be the most unexpected love story was expected, by everyone, to end.

I moved back to San Francisco to finish medical school. Ishay stayed in Uganda to continue working. In less than a year, Ishay moved back to Israel to finish college. After a year and a half of Skype video chats and international flights around the world, to and from Uganda, Israel, Thailand, and San Francisco, we embarked on a new adventure together – The East Coast.  And then on one fall evening when I was on call (shocking for some but, dermatology residents do take call), Ishay decided to surprise me in my new apartment in New York City with over 400 candles. Who knew Ishay could be so romantic? Of course, I said yes.  Over the next two years, we had a civil ceremony in New York City at City Hall, had a traditional Buddhist ceremony in Bangkok, and finally, we had our wedding in Phuket. 
Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Pop Art Jewish wedding full of creative surprises, at The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

by

Creative-Jewish-Wedding
“Just because the wedding industry encourages conformity, you don’t have to comply. Do it your way!”

Top advice from this morning’s bride, Melody, and yes she did! This is a wedding EXTRAVAGANZA. Seriously — I’ve never seen anything like it and the truth is, I don’t even know where to begin. Perhaps I should start by saying that I think this is one of my favourite weddings EVER to appear on Smashing The Glass and having blogged over 150 super cool real Jewish weddings I don’t say that lightly.

I love that the chuppah was created by the bride and features multi-coloured pom poms and green grass. I love that Melody walked down the aisle to a mash-up of Forever Young and Canon in D. I love that the bride and groom both wore custom Converse with ‘Let Love Win” embroidered down the side. I love that instead of the usual sit-down dinner, guests were treated to a ‘pop-up’ restaurant, where they had to make a reservation and come back for their table. I love that the bridesmaids wore flower ‘bib’ necklaces (yes Melody made that a thing!). And I love that the wedding theme was inspired by the artist Frida Kahlo and her vibrant colour palate. You see… anything can inspire your wedding theme, literally anything! Think outside of the box, and as far as your mind can take you.

There is also a a drag queen performing as Beyoncà© AND a flash mob of kids ‘interrupting’ the first dance. You have to see it to believe it (check it all out in the highlights video at the end by the super talented Rodinis Films).

Oh and gummy bears are loosely woven into this the big day too.

The whole shebang was documented by photography geniuses, Chrisman Studios. Every time I feature one of their weddings I know it’s going to be a memorable post, but this one is an absolute corker. It’s clear that Melody and Michael invested so much time and effort into making their wedding uniquely them and I can’t wait a moment longer to show it to you.

Come on then… let’s take a look. Over to Melody, today’s awesome bride.

Creative Jewish WeddingBeyonce drag queen
how we met

Melody, the Bride: We met through Mellow Mushroom (a national pizza franchise in the USA). Michael is a multi-unit franchisee, and my father is one of the founders of the company. My dad introduced us, he thought we would make a good match. We fell in love over pizza!

Creative Jewish Wedding
Continue ReadingContinue Reading