Arizona Jewish Wedding Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Tony Ward Bride for a Desert Glam Jewish Wedding at the Westin La Paloma, Tucson, Arizona, USA

08/05/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding has made us realize we don’t see nearly enough desert celebrations. But we’re hoping to see a lot more after today, because who could see the stunning nuptials of Simone, the co-founder of an educational services company that brings wellbeing programs to college students, and Isaac, who works in real estate development, and not want to get married amidst the mountains and saguaros?!

Although mountain lovers Simone and Isaac live in Tucson, home to plentiful dramatic scenery, it wasn’t so easy for them to find a chuppah spot that met their specs: it needed breathtaking mountain views that could be enjoyed by both guests AND the couple themselves while standing under the chuppah. We’re glad they didn’t give up, though, because they totally hit the jackpot when they found The Westin La Paloma.

And how amazing is their chuppah, which, in keeping with the theme of celebrating Tucson’s natural beauty, incorporates not only flowers but also cactus pads?!

We’re obsessed with their gorgeous artistic ketubah from STG Recommended Vendor ketubah.com too. Truly a work of art!

OK – time to ogle over the stunning pics from Ben & Kelly Photography and video by Black Sheep Filmworks. And let’s hand over to the bride, who looked radiant in Tony Ward…

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Mountain Views

Simone, the bride: We got married at The Westin La Paloma in Tucson, Arizona. I had two main criteria when it came to selecting a venue. The first, and most important, was to have mountain views from the ceremony site and the second was to select a hotel venue since a lot of our guests would be coming from out of town.

I visited every hotel venue in Tucson and while all were beautiful, none had the dramatic mountain views that I had wanted from the ceremony site and if they did, only the guests would be able to see them, not me or my husband from under the chuppah. I actually started to scope out venues in Scottsdale because this was one area I was not willing to compromise.

As a Jersey girl, my favorite thing about living in Tucson are the mountains and I am just as enamored with their beauty today as I was when I first moved here 6 years ago. My husband, who is a native Tucsonan, shares my love of the mountains and I couldn’t imagine them not being a part of our big day.

Anyways, La Paloma was the last stop on our Tucson hotel tour and I didn’t want to get my hopes up. As we were going around the property everything else checked the boxes in terms of what we were looking for and I was eager to see the ceremony site, which was the last stop on our tour.

The minute we pulled up I knew with 100% certainty that we had found our venue. The ceremony site was beyond perfect. It was quiet, secluded, and had unbelievable views of the mountains for both us and our guests.

A Justin Alexander Bride for a Desert-Chic Jewish Wedding at Chateau Lux, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

09/10/2017 by Karen

What we love here at Smashing The Glass, are that no two couples Jewish weddings we feature are EVER the same! Some prefer to keep things simple, some fill their weddings with ‘in’ jokes and items that have personal meaning to them, and some, like Sheila and Alex, create stunning aesthetics, with intense attention-to-detail that makes their Jewish wedding look fresh from the pages of Pinterest, or a luxury magazine.

First introduced by their best man, Sheila and Alex have been besotted with one another since they first laid eyes on each other. Their ‘desert chic’-inspired real day paid homage to their home state of Arizona, with a stunning color scheme and gorgeous, succulent (see what we did there?) dà©cor details.

The happy couple had a moving and beautiful outdoor sunset Jewish ceremony under the chuppah and the breathtaking bistro lights at their venue, Chateau Luxe. The rabbi’s touching words can be heard in the cinematic wedding film below, provided by Ryan Blake Films.

We simply LOVE that the wedding’s sweet treats were provided by bride Sheila’s family deli – how incredible is that?

Photographer Ryan Nicole Photography captured every moment, creating a dreamy set of images that you won’t be able to stop yourself from Pinning, while bride Sheila provided the writeup with every detail of the planning process and big day itself. We’ll leave you in their capable hands. Enjoy!

How we met

Sheila, the bride: We were introduced by a mutual friend who had been trying to set us up for years. Our friend, Ari Psez, was visiting AZ staying with Alex. Ari invited me over to catch up with him. Unbeknownst to me, Ari had a ploy to have me meet Alex in hopes of setting us up. We met that night at Alex’s house, and he asked for my phone number. We went on our first date a few days later. Alex proposed in the same house we met in, and we now live there together.

A cactus-themed Jewish wedding at Tubac Golf Resort, Arizona, USA

10/04/2017 by Karen

Chag sameach! Tonight is the first night of Passover. I’m doing Seder night tonight at my in-laws. What are you guys up to? I’d love to hear all about your plans.

Today’s real wedding is our very own utterly fabulous STG blogging bride, Dara, the first of our wonderful USA crop to get married! The couple tied the knot at Tubac Golf Resort, giving their wedding a fun-filled ‘back to summer camp’ atmosphere.

Despite being in a desert environment in Arizona, Dara and Alex’s wedding still evoked a romantic, wintry vibe, thanks to chic Dara’s clever choice of colour scheme.

We have all the love for gorgeous Dara’s stunning dress (and we adore her story – it’s a fantastic lesson in how you should always try something you wouldn’t have though to try). We’re also major fans of the cactus stationery and succulent favours!

All of the magical moments and delightful details were captured by photographer Lori O’Toole, including the particularly mouth-watering naked cake. Save us a slice?

Over to Dara for the rest of her big-day tale. If you like what you see here, check out her Instagram at @daraboxer and leave her some love in the comments box!

How we met

Dara, the bride: Alex and I are a match.com success story! After a few emails back and forth, we met up for a first date, which was nothing short of fun, hilarious and wonderful. I knew very early on that I had found my husband.

A destination Jewish wedding full of creativity, symbolism, and meaning at Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Arizona, USA

30/08/2016 by Karen

I have a delicious destination wedding to share with you today, written by Smashing The Glass reader, Mike (yes, I’m proud to say that a plethora of grooms read and love STG too!). He’s written a beautifully detailed account of his marriage to Michal, and his report is LONG, there’s no denying it but it’s well worth a read.

Mike and Michal were invested in the meaning, the spirit, and the energy of the wedding weekend as opposed to the decor (although there are plenty of cool creative details too) so there are many ‘planning nuggets’ and some really great advice throughout.

Their wedding theme was simply ‘us’, and it’s clear to see that they threw themselves into every facet of their wedding (and by their own admission, Mike was more your “typical bride” than your “typical guy”!). Whether it was their late-night welcome bag Photoshop design session, the 10-page ceremony program explaining each aspect and its personal meaning (LOVE this), or the endless communication with their talented Ketubah artist in Israel, everything was their unique creation. Even Michal’s engagement ring was meticulously designed by Mike using family heirlooms, with every detail of the ring telling a story.

At the end of their wedding weekend, as guests headed home, they left Michal and Mike with two of the greatest compliments they could have asked for – “that was the most meaningful wedding I’ve ever attended”, and “I’m only going to Jewish weddings from here on out…”

Now d’you see why this Jewish wedding is a must-read? With thanks to Trevor Dayley Photography for capturing all the memories so beautifully… Enjoy!

Choosing to get married in Arizona

Mike, the Groom: Being two Canadians living in San Francisco, with family and friends dispersed around the globe, we quickly learned there was no “local” option for our wedding. Whether we wed in Michal’s hometown of Toronto, or in the place we now called home, San Francisco, 80% of our guests would be flying in.

Once the reality set in that our wedding was going to be a destination wedding no matter what, we embraced it and broadened our search, keeping in mind somewhere that would be easy to fly to and that was family friendly. We had both always dreamed of getting married outdoors, and the 299 days of sunshine in Arizona seemed a good bet.

We had visited Fairmont Scottsdale Princess together a year before, and Michal had visited many times prior – once with her parents, once with her best friend, and once for a surprise proposal for another close friend; the place held a special place in her heart, and once our search wasn’t limited to Toronto and San Francisco any longer, I think she secretly knew – or at least hoped – this is where we would get married.

There is something magical about Fairmont Scottsdale Princess – the grounds are set up in such a way that really make it the perfect place for a wedding weekend, where friends and family can come together as a community for a simcha, and really enjoy each other’s company. Michal always wanted a wedding “weekend” where we could together celebrate the lead up to our wedding day and have quality time with all of our guests, and the idea of everyone being fully present and focused on the simcha – everyone essentially on vacation together – was the best arrangement to set the tone of togetherness.

Fairmont Scottsdale Princess made our wedding the best weekend with all of our loved ones, and it was extra meaningful as it was somewhere we knew could come back for years in the future, to celebrate anniversaries, and someday bring our kids to show them to place we got married.