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A Same-Sex Jewish Wedding Celebration Extravaganza at Temple Kol Ami Emanu-El, Plantation, Florida, USA

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This wedding is just chock full of Jewish joy – and we are here for it! It was a no-brainer for Sam, an attorney and the Vice President of Instruction and Online Education for BARBRI, and Mark, the Cantor and Co-Senior Clergy at Temple Kol Ami Emanu-El in Plantation, Florida, to marry at their home congregation – where Mark just celebrated his 30th anniversary as Cantor!

Sam and Mark worked with Beverly Diane of Beverly Diane Party Consultants to plan the day – or rather, multi-day wedding celebration extravaganza – of their dreams, and in the grooms’ words, “She understood the assignment and really wanted to capture “us” authentically when designing and planning.”

The wedding weekend started with a Shabbat service and dinner, followed by a day of togetherness with loves ones from near and far a the couple’s home.  Sunday was the big day, with a morning ceremony followed by a brunch for all the guests. In the evening, the duo wrapped things up with a 5-course dinner party for their closest loved ones, featuring toasts and roasts from guests and an impromptu musical welcome speech from the grooms. The whole day was filled with so much love and laughter, beautifully captured on photo and video by Bells and Whistles Studios.

Read on for all the details in Sam and Mark’s own words…

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How We Met

Sam, and Mark, the grooms: We first met in 2009 at a guest house in Key West while both in other relationships. In 2020, Sam reached out to Mark out of the blue (both were single by then). After catching up, we discovered that, by pure coincidence, we had both made reservations at the same guest house in Key West where we originally met, a few weeks apart. The rest is history.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Ines Di Santo Bride for a Zionist and Proud Jerusalem-Meets-Florida Jewish Wedding Aventura at Turnberry Jewish Center, Florida, USA

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We cannot get enough of the love for Israel that shines through every single moment of today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding! Florida couple Shirley, an in-house attorney with a corporation that specializes in government contracting for emergency management, and Jared, a Florida lobbyist, planned to get married in Jerusalem on October 19, 2023.

After October 7, they knew they needed to pivot – and while the war required a change of venue, there was never any doubt that the “rescheduled wedding needed to be even bigger, even more Jewish, and even more Zionist-and-proud.” And though the location changed from Jerusalem’s Olmaya to Florida’s Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, the theme of “Yerushalayim shel zahav” (Jerusalem of gold) remained.

Shirley and Jared made every planning decision with the aim of bringing Jerusalem to their guests, including a delicious Middle Eastern-inspired menu and olive branch décor – there was even a centerpiece olive tree, serving as both homage to Jerusalem and a symbol of peace. During the chuppah, the couple wrapped themselves in the flag of Israel while their rabbi sang Hatikvah, and Israeli flags and Magen Davids were all over the big day – don’t miss these wonderful touches of Jewish pride in the photos by The Light and Color and trailer by Senderey Videography.

For their ketubah, Shirley and Jared turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Brit Colors, who handcrafted a stunning design inspired by the iconic doors of Olmaya, the duo’s original Jerusalem venue. Featuring embroidery and gold foil, it’s truly an exquisite piece of art.

There’s so much more to say about this very special, Jewish joy-packed day – read on for all the details in Shirley’s own words…

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How We Met

Shirley, the bride: We met in law school in 2017, when I sat behind Jared in Wills and Trusts. We now realize how foretelling that was of us spending the rest of our lives together.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Miphai Bride for an Intimate Multicultural Jewish Wedding at Home, Ventura, California, USA

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Talk about a multicultural wedding: today’s bride Lesley’s from southern California, while groom Rony hails from Santiago, Chile. The pair met while living in Tel Aviv, and shortly after getting engaged they moved to Paris for work!

Lesley and Rony knew they wanted to keep things simple and intimate while bringing all these strands of their lives into the celebration, and so they opted for a 40-guest wedding at Lesley’s parents’ home in southern California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Despite some unexpected complications – the morning of the wedding was so windy that the chuppah had to be moved twice! – the whole day was so perfectly joyful, and the couple’s photographer, Phil Tripoli, captured it exquisitely.

Read on for all the details of this very special day in the couple’s own words…

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How We Met

Lesley, the bride and Rony, the groom: We were both working in high tech in Tel Aviv. Rony is a software developper and Lesley is a product marketer. We met during Covid in 2020 and because of the tight restrictions in Israel, we had to be creative about our dates being in open spaces (like the beach or the dog park with Lesley’s two dogs) and we didn’t even go to a restaurant or a bar together until 4 months into dating.

Lesley is originally from southern California and Rony is from Santiago, Chile, although they both grew up with emotional ties to Israel (Rony’s parents lived on a kibbutz for a decade in the 1970s, and Lesley’s father had spent time on a kibbutz in the north in the 1960s). Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Cathy Telle Bride for a Summer Jewish Wedding at Huntcliff River Club, Atlanta, USA

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Kim and Andrew, Huntcliff River Club, Atlanta, USA

There’s not much we love more than getting a chance to feature the wedding of one of our beloved Smashing The Glass Brides Club members – so we’re pretty thrilled to be sharing the beautiful Atlanta Jewish wedding of our Brides Club member Kim, an elementary school teacher, to Andrew, a contractor.

We’re so touched to hear Kim’s kind words about her experience as a Brides Club member:

I really enjoyed building the friendships and connections with other women around the world who were or had gone through the wedding planning process not long before I had done… I gained most from connecting with others and learning from their experiences and building my own ceremony and wedding experience based off what had worked well and what had not worked well for other Smashing the Glass Brides Club members.

An avid thrifter, Kim turned to stillwhite.com to find the secondhand dress of her dreams – and she found it in her stunning blush/pink colored gown by Ukrainian designer Cathy Telle. And we love that, after the ceremony, she opted to pair it with pink Keds with floral embroidery, which she enjoys wearing to this day – don’t miss them in the luminous photos by Andrea de Anda!

We’re also obsessed with Kim and Andrew’s gorgeous ketubah by calligrapher Ruth Stern Warzecha, which they found on Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com, featuring a classic design of intricate pen line decorations and the traditional seven wedding benedictions around the edge of the ketubah itself.

Read on for the full story in Kim’s own words…

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How We Met

Kim, the bride: I invited my best friend from high school to go to yoga and she brought along her roommate. Her roommate and I slowly built a friendship that progressed into a loving relationship over the course of two years, built by common interests, similar grounding, and complimentary personalities.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Essense of Australia Bride for The Ultimate Pacific Northwest Jewish Wedding Weekend at The Evergreen PDX, Portland, Oregon, USA

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Portland transplants Allison and Dan are understandably smitten with their new home – and when it came time to plan their wedding, they wanted to share their love of the Pacific Northwest with their mostly East Coast guest list.

And did they ever! Crafting a full-on wedding weekend capturing both the natural grandeur and urban charm of the area, this Jewish wedding has it all: trees, bold colors, and of course Portland’s trademark quirky character at full strength.

We’re absolutely in love with Allison and Dan’s outdoor chuppah set in a clearing amidst Hoyt Arboretum’s lush evergreens, made of dark, natural wood and adorned with a canopy of greenery and roses in hues of white, soft oranges and corals – don’t miss it in the wonderful images by Kate Holt Photography!

Read on for all the details of this very special day in the bride’s own words!

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How We Met

Allison, the bride: We met for our first date on June 9, 2017. Dan had just moved back to New Jersey from Oklahoma and Allison was living in Philadelphia, PA. Thanks to Jeff and Anna Fineberg (Dan’s brother and sister-in-law), Dan was dog-sitting Josie Beagle. We both swiped right and, after a few conversations, made a date to meet up for iced coffee. After meeting up, we sat on a bench talking outside of the Benjamin Franklin museum for a few hours. A Philadelphia resident came up and asked when the wedding would be; we still need to locate him to let him know he might be in the running for best man! In late 2018, we moved in together in New Jersey and then in January 2020, across the country to Portland, OR with our cat Zoë.

Since moving to Portland, we have braved a pandemic, job changes, a lot of hard work, nearby fires, a few snow storms, and a flood!

Our Engagement Story: Allison’s maternal grandmother (Renée, also known as Grandma Nay) always valued the finer things in life. In fact, Grandma Nay instructed two year old Allison to ask for rubies, diamonds, and pearls when someone asked her what she wanted as a gift even though at that point, Allison was more focused on toys and puppies! Grandma Nay passed away in August of 2020 and Allison was gifted grandma’s engagement ring. While they didn’t have the same style, Allison was excited to use her grandmother’s center stone in her own engagement ring.

Allison grew up knowing that her mother and father had designed their engagement ring, so always envisioned a custom ring in for her own engagement. Instead of leaving anything to chance, when she and Dan began talking about marriage, Allison worked with a jeweler from Philadelphia and was involved in the entire ring design process, making her dream of a custom engagement ring a reality! In addition to Nay’s center stone being a key element in the design, Allison also included baguettes from Grandma Nay’s ring in her wedding band. We were engaged on October 7, 2021, when the ring came in the mail via FedEx. The package was opened and, in the kitchen in our PJs and exercise clothes, the ring was immediately placed on Allison’s finger. And while it wasn’t exactly a cover of a magazine moment, (Dan had just gotten through with a strenuous bike ride) it was the perfect engagement and 100% true to us!Continue ReadingContinue Reading