Australia Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Craig Braybrook Bride for an Australian-Spanish-Indian Jewish Wedding at the Swiss Italian Lavandula Farm in Daylesford, Australia

22/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Imagine you’re standing in the middle of a beautiful field of lavender. Breathe in that wonderful aroma. Relax. That’s it…

Sounds like a nice meditation, right? Well, for Georgia and Richie, it was the setting for their Jewish wedding. Seriously. Check out the stunning photos by Stewart Leishman for proof.

The crazy thing is, the epic setting isn’t even the coolest thing about this wedding (though it’s definitely pretty awesome). We’re mostly obsessed with how interior architect Georgia (she runs Studio Ezra and Tiles of Ezra) incorporated her design sensibilities into the big day.

For starters, there’s the chuppah. The bride came up with the design for the simple wooden structure draped in garlands of blue hydrangea and the most exquisite ropes of bright orange marigold. It’s truly a stunner, from the unlikely juxtaposition of colors to the distinctive lines, and one unlike any chuppah we’ve seen before. The story of how – and why- the marigolds reached the venue is pretty amazing, too.

Even the floor of the chuppah reflected Georgia’s style – she had custom handmade tiles by her company Tiles of Ezra to line the bottom of the structure. The tiles even included the couple’s Hebrew names!

And did we mention that Georgia designed her own dress in collaboration with Craig Braybrook? We can’t get enough of the elegant lines and fun burst of tulle at the bottom of the mermaid-style skirt.

European Vibes

Georgia, the bride: The ceremony was held in Daylesford at the magnificent Swiss Italian Lavandula Farm. My rich love of Europe, having lived in Valencia, Spain, drew me to the farm, as it was reminiscent of this authentic European landscape and lifestyle. It was the perfect scene for one of the most important days in our lives.

A Jane Hill Bride for a Jewish Wedding at Mount Duneed Estate Winery in Geelong, Australia

04/02/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

A laid-back outdoor winery wedding with gorgeous scenery, epic party vibes, and some of the coolest wedding lawn games we’ve ever seen? Yes please!

Lauren and Marc, a doctor and a speech therapist, opted for giant chess, connect four, AND human snakes and ladders during their canapes — how fun is that?! And what a great way to keep kids (and, let’s be honest, adults too) entertained.

We’re also obsessed with the couple’s beautiful, colorful ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor BRITcolors. We are huge fans of Britt’s work, and we’re totally not surprised that Lauren reports she was lovely to work with.

Oh, and did we mention that the couple’s parents — who just happen to be friends with each other — built their chuppah for them? So sweet.

Photographer Chris Kapa and videographer Anthony Spiteri of Videoboutique did an amazing job capturing all the fun and emotion of this fab day — don’t miss the wedding trailer!

We’ll let Lauren, who hit the perfect balance between laid-back and glam in her dress from Jane Hill Bridal, take it from here.

How we met

Lauren, the bride: We were introduced by mutual friends.

A Martina Liana Bride for a Countryside Jewish Wedding at Mt Duneed Estate, Waurn Ponds, outside Melbourne, Australia

15/08/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Oh we are positively swoooooning over today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding. Everything from bride Adi’s oh-so-elegant Martina Liana gown to Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Jeremy Blode’s artful photographs of the day positively exudes that laid-back Aussie chic we just can’t get enough of….

Adi, a solicitor, and Rod, a physical therapist, placed a premium on creating a beautiful record of their day, and did it ever pay off! Just look at those portraits of the duo walking off into the sunset. *Swoon.* The Jewish dancing shots are pretty unmissable, too. Adi says Jeremy Blode “has a gift for capturing the rawest and most beautiful moments,” and we could not possibly agree more.

To round out the documentation, Adi and Rodney brought in Videoboutique as videographer and Magnet-Me to provide ultra-creative wedding favors in the form of instant photo magnets! Adi loved the idea of a photo booth but wanted to keep her guests on the dancefloor having fun, and what a perfect solution she found. Instead of guests having to queue for a photo booth, a photographer walked around during canapà©s and dancing to snap guests’ photos, which were then printed out instantaneously to be taken home at the end of the night. LOVE!

Now over to Adi…

How we met

Adi, the bride: Funnily enough, Rod and I first met at a dingy Melbourne nightclub called Boutique. I may need prescription glasses to see almost everything in my day-to-day life; however, I managed to spot Rod (free from glasses) in the loud and dark nightclub. I pulled him out from the crowd and asked for his name and whether he was single. The rest is history.

A Needle & Thread Bride for a Laid-Back Outdoor Jewish Wedding at Spring Road Park and Leonda by the Yarra, Melbourne, Australia

11/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We are ALL about bride Ashleigh’s ultra-romantic Needle & Thread dress today. That floral beading! So. Much. Pretty.

Ashleigh knew she wanted something low-key yet beautiful, and we’d say that’s a spot-on description of the style of her laid-back Jewish wedding to Brett.

If you’re in the market for a vintage-inspired dress, Needle & Thread is absolutely worth a look. They’ve got some fantastic, stand-out options for brides on a budget, and they also offer some fab styles for brides on the hunt for that ever-elusive modest wedding gown — check out Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Jeremy Blode’s many fab shots highlighting all the lovely detailing for evidence of this!

And aren’t Jeremy Blode’s images divine? Everything he seems to snap up just turns into wedding gold, and you’ll see precisely what I mean when you take a peek at the pretty below.

Ashleigh, an aspiring psychologist working as a program coordinator in the nonprofit sector, and Brett, a doctor, were set on holding their chuppah outside in nature, in their local park – so much so that they went through with their original plans even after an unexpected downpour the morning of the wedding! Love that dedication, guys! Now over to lovely Ash, who’ll fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Ashley, the bride: We met at a family friend’s bar-mitzvah when Ash was 15 and Brett was 17. We were seated on the same table and ended up in a competition on who would appear on the slideshow the most — Brett won.

An Outdoor Garden Jewish Wedding at Kamesburgh Gardens, Brighton, and Peninsula Docklands, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

02/05/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s real Jewish wedding is pure Aussie garden fantasy. The sunlight, the palm trees, the Jurassic Park-style giant ferns–we’re definitely down under! Bride Issie and groom Adam held their outdoor ceremony amidst the ultra-lush greenery of Kamesburgh Gardens and their reception at Peninsula, chosen as much for its ability to accommodate all 400 (yes, you read that right!) of their guests as for its gorgeous views of Victoria Harbour.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jeremy Blode Photography captured the energy and emotion of the day so well, zeroing in on everything from the breathtaking setting to the spirited Jewish dancing.

Speaking of that Jewish dancing — Issie’s dress, a bespoke gown by Vincenzo Pintaudi Couture, was designed with a super-smart feature: a detachable train. Issie wanted the ultra-dramatic look for her walk down the aisle that only a lovely long train delivers, but she was concerned about managing with it during the reception — especially the dancing. Vincenzo came to the rescue with a train attached to a belt, so that Issie could take it off post-ceremony and transform her glam gown into the perfect party dress.

There are just so many cool things about this wedding, but I think my favorite is the way these two did their badeken. They had a deeply intimate setup, involving their families in a really beautiful way and making for a dramatic reunion between the pair, who followed the traditional Jewish custom of staying apart for a full week (!) leading up to the wedding. Read on for all the juicy details….

How we met

Issie, the bride: Adam is a doctor and I am a nurse, very clichà© we know! Much to everyone’s surprise, we didn’t meet in the hospital setting. We had a mutual friend who introduced us while we were still studying our respective degrees and the rest is history!