USA Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Suspended Floral Chuppah for a Festive, Glitzy Jewish Wedding at Dock 5 in Washington, D.C., USA

20/08/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

You know there’s little we love more than a distinctive chuppah design at a Jewish wedding.

At first glance, today’s version may look like a fairly standard-issue floral design… but look again. Specifically, look at the poles – or, more precisely the lack thereof.

That’s right, Jillian, a reporter at the financial news site MarketWatch, and Steven, a dental student, went for a suspended chuppah for their big day, with asymmetrical greenery and white flowers descending from each of the four corners but stopping a good few feet from the floor. How cool does it look in Sam Hurd’s glam photos?!

The non-traditional (yet still permissible according to Jewish law – the couple checked with their rabbi) chuppah is just one of the wonderful ways Jillian and Steven merged Jewish traditions with their own 21st-century sensibilities.

For example, the pair liked the tradition of a pre-wedding tisch (a ceremony for the groom and male guests) and kabbalat panim (for the bride and female guests), but weren’t crazy about the gender segregation thing. Their solution? During the cocktail hour, they held both ceremonies, but made each gender-neutral so that all of the guests could experience both – and get in some valuable time with the bride and the groom. We LOVE that.

There’s so much more to say about this fun, festive wedding, but we’ll let Jillian – who looked so glam in her custom gold lace gown designed by family friend Sharon Wilkes – take it from here…

How we met

Jillian, the bride: We first met through mutual friends – a close friend of Steven’s from growing up was one of my roommates in college – but then began dating while working together at HuffPost in New York, shortly after graduating from college. And of course our relationship continued through job changes and Steven’s career left turn into dentistry!

A Pnina Tornai Bride for an Uber Glam Jewish Wedding at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, Florida, USA

13/08/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

This mega-chic Jewish wedding is so picture perfect, between the dreamy Palm Beach setting and the jaw-dropping florals (have you seen that chuppah?!) you’d never guess that it almost didn’t happen. Brett, a social worker, and Dakota, who works in real estate, had to cancel their original wedding date at the last minute when their venue closed due to a Category 5 hurricane. Luckily, they were able to reschedule – with ALL of their original vendors, no less. How fabulous is that?!

But this wedding is so much more than its dramatic origin story. We ADORE Brett’s guipure lace gown by Pnina Tornai, which she custom designed alongside Pnina herself at Kleinfeld. It’s sexy without going over the top, and could it fit Brett any more perfectly?!

We’re also pretty smitten with the florals, courtesy of Lane of Dalsimer Atlas. The couple gave him more or less free reign over the flowers, and it turns out that was an excellent call.

Their floral chuppah is just the dreamiest, lush and romantic as can be. And we love the ultra-creative multilevel tabletop décor setup Lane came up with! Check it out for yourself in Emily Harris Photography and Senderey Video Productions’s fantastic captures of the day.

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How we met

Brett, the bride: We met in college at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Go Blue!!) and have been together very, very happily ever since!

A No Holds Barred DIY Carnival Backyard Jewish Wedding in Los Angeles, California, USA

08/08/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We have NEVER seen a wedding like today’s one before. Fact.

Plenty of couples choose themes, and pull them off beautifully, but the level of dedication this couple put into their carnival Jewish wedding is just off the charts. We’re not just talking about a wedding that hints at a fair aesthetic; Talia and Danny actually set up a full-on carnival in the bride’s parents’ backyard. We’re talking a Ferris wheel, games (complete with life-sized stuffed animal prizes!), photo booths, claw machines, a balloon artist and a stilt walker… and that’s just the beginning!

Even more impressive is how much of the work the couple – along with Talia’s family – put in themselves, from artistic details to heavy-duty stuff like wiring. With the help of their multitalented florist, Dawn of Tularosa Flowers – who did so much more than just florals – the pair made their dream into a reality, with everything from the big stuff (that Ferris wheel!) to the smallest details (the floral centerpieces were inside popcorn containers – genius).

It doesn’t hurt that Talia has got to be one of craftiest brides we’ve encountered – so much so that this fall she’s opening an arts and crafts business where people can come and make projects of their own. After seeing the ah-mazing photo props she crafted from cardboard boxes – Zoltar’s head, a popcorn machine, and more – plus her spiffy ticket booths (also crafted from cardboard) we think you’ll agree she’s found her calling.

Photographer Shimmy Lautman and videographer Michael Newman did SUCH a fantastic job capturing all the glorious details (a drone was involved!).

We haven’t even gotten to the carnival cart food, or the Kinder Surprise Egg invitations (yes!) – but we’ll leave it to Talia to tell you the rest.

A Backyard Wedding

Talia, the bride: We got married in my parents’ backyard. It’s the house I grew up in since I was born, and my father also grew up in the house. It meant a lot to me to get married there because it’s where all the milestones of my life happened. From taking my first step, to losing my first tooth, to graduating high school, all of my memories took place there, so it made it extra special to also have my wedding there.

A Hayley Paige Bride for a Sparkling Winter Jewish Wedding at The Allan House, Austin, Texas, USA

30/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon 3 Comments

You spend so much time and energy coming up with a beautiful chuppah design for your Jewish wedding – isn’t it a shame that it only really features for the duration of the ceremony?

Lindsay, who produces TV commercials, and Ben, a project manager for Google Fiber, thought so. And when you see the photos of their fantastic rose-strewn canopy, by Gia at Cory Ryan Photography, we think you’ll see why.

Loving the symbolism of the chuppah as their“new home,” after the ceremony they set up underneath it so that guests could come talk to them. They even stayed put under the canopy for dinner – such a great way to resolve that mealtime seating dilemma, right?!

Speaking of the meal, we just cannot get over Lindsay and Ben’s Fantastic Mr. Fox-themed wedding cake, inspired by the pair’s favorite movie. The cake topper, naturally, was bride-and-groom foxes, and the bottom layer featured the sweetest quote from the film.

Now over to the bride, who looked smashing in her striped dress by Hayley Paige…

How we met

Lindsay, the bride: We were introduced by a mutual friend who years later confided in us that “she didn’t think we would hit it off THIS well.”

A Vintage Bride with an Heirloom Gown for an Outdoor Wedding at Wente Vineyards, Livermore, CA, USA

13/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

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Today’s Jewish bride has got one of the most incredible wedding dress stories we’ve encountered yet. Her gorgeous vintage gown was worn not only by her mother, but by her grandmother and aunt too.. I mean WOW!

It’s hard to believe that Alana’s dress dates all the way back to 1949 (!) – but with some modifications, which the dress’s previous wearers kindly permitted, it’s the perfect blend of contemporary and vintage, and just the thing for an outdoor winery wedding. You’ve got to check out all the lovely details in Nightingale Photography’s pics.

Alana, a customer success manager, and Ben, a landscape architect, initially planned on renting their synagogue’s chuppah, but it turned out it was broken and out of commission! This setback turned out to be a blessing in disguise, since it prompted Ben to build one from scratch – and it turned out just tremendously. We love the modern design, and those flowers in the corners? Perfection!

Now over to Alana for the rest of their gorgeous Jewish wedding story…

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