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A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Timelessly Classic Jewish Wedding in Tuscany at Villa Oliva, Lucca, Italy

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Katie and Jamie, Villa Oliva, Lucca, Italy

There’s nothing like a Tuscan wedding – between the gorgeous scenery, the brilliant sunshine, and, of course, the food, there’s no wonder it’s one of the most popular destination spots for STG couples. And Katie, who works in PR for interior and lifestyle brands, and Jamie, who works in sales, had a truly unforgettable Tuscan Jewish wedding.

We were so thrilled to hear that they found their wonderful venue, Villa Oliva, right here on Smashing The Glass – and it’s easy to see why they fell in love with the verdant grounds at first sight.

Katie and Jamie’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alessandro Colle, and videographer, Alte Vedute, “went above and beyond, and they captured every single moment possible! We trusted them and were happy to follow their lead, and we’re thrilled with the results!”

Read on for all the details of this magical day in the bride’s own words…

 Professions / notes for Emily –

Jamie works in sales, whereas i work in PR for interior and lifestyle brands.

  Katie and Jamie, Villa Oliva, Lucca, Italy Katie and Jamie, Villa Oliva, Lucca, Italy Katie and Jamie, Villa Oliva, Lucca, Italy Katie and Jamie, Villa Oliva, Lucca, Italy

How We Met

Katie, the bride: We first met when we were 16 on an Israel tour! We became best friends, and over time, we ended up becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. 10 years later, Jamie proposed!

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Two Dancers’ Interfaith Jewish Wedding at Louland Falls, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

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Tori-Shawn-Louland-Falls-Salt-Lake-City-Utah-USA

When two competitive dancers tie the knot, you know it’s going to be something special! Tori, a musical theatre performer, and Shawn, who works in financial planning, met on the ballroom dance team at the University of Utah, and though they now live in NYC, they decided to return to the state where they met for their interfaith Jewish wedding.

Needless to say, their wedding was quite the party – including an epic first dance that the bride and groom spent three months choreographing and perfecting!

As an interfaith couple – Tori is Jewish, while Shawn isn’t – the duo knew they wanted to plan a ceremony with traditional Jewish elements that would be accessible to all of their guests. They found the perfect ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rachelle of The Delicate Brush, centered on a Tree of Life design with Hebrew on one side and English on the other. Tori and Shawn adored having their ketubah at the wedding, and they love it even more now that it’s on display in their home! Don’t miss it in the wonderful images by Courtney Blair Photography.

There’s so much else to say about this joyous wedding – how fun is it that the couple organized a photo scavenger hunt around the venue for guests, with pics of the bride and groom growing up?! – but we’ll let Tori take it from here…

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How We Met

Tori, the bride: Shawn and I met in 2013 on the ballroom dance team at the University of Utah during my freshman year of college! We never danced together on team because of our height difference, but we were drawn to each other. We started dating, got engaged in 2019, and now here we are married!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Madi Lane Bride for a Rustic and Relaxed Backyard Jewish Wedding in London, UK

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Sara-Jason-private-residence-London-UK

There’s something so special about a backyard Jewish wedding. That personal touch of making things official in your family home – there’s nothing like it. Even though today’s couple, Sara, a speech and language therapist, and Jason, a payments manager, didn’t initially plan to hold their wedding in the bride’s parent’s garden – their pre-pandemic plan A was Israel – in the end their day turned out to be everything they could’ve hoped for and then some.

Due to the pandemic, Sara and Jason kept the ceremony and dinner to just immediate family, and then invited a handful of close friends to join afterward for dancing and late-night snacks. Working with a fabulous team of vendors, the pair transformed the garden into the perfect rustic retreat, adorned with flowers and candles and all kinds of soft romantic touches.

Sara and Jason’s chuppah, rented from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People (who they found right here on STG!), was the perfect cornerstone for their rustically romantic aesthetic. They opted for “The Finchley,” built on natural branches that looked as if they were just growing out of the garden.

The couple report that one of the best decisions they made in their wedding planning was working with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Events with Grace as their on-the-day coordinator. Grace helped keep things organized during the last month of planning, and on the day she made sure everything ran smoothly and took the pressure off Sara and Jason and their families.

Scroll through Megan Donati Photography’s beautiful imagery and you’ll see what an absolute dream of a day this turned out to be. We’ll let Sara take it from here…

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How We Met

Sara, the bride: We first spoke on an Aish trip when were 17. We had actually met a year earlier but I had forgotten on the trip. Jason came up to me and started talking like we were old friends. I wasn’t sure at first but on the trip we became friendly. When we got home, we started a long-distance friendship. The rest is history; we dated for 4 years long distance until Jason made the move to Essex.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Essense of Australia Bride for a Foodies’ Jewish Wedding at Wild by Tart, London, UK

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Chelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UK

Today’s couple, Chelsie, co-founder of Blondies Kitchen, and Rob, founder and owner of Brown Butter Dining, had visions of tying the knot on the beach in Marbella in July 2020, feasting on paella and sangria to their hearts’ content. As you can probably guess, though, COVID got in the way. At first the couple opted to postpone, hoping things would go back to normal in time for a July 2021 wedding… but as we all know, that’s not quite how things went.

Eventually, the pair shifted gears and started planning a local wedding in London – and somehow they managed to put something together that combines the best of their home city with the laid-back Mediterranean vibes of their Plan A wedding. With a ceremony at New West End Synagogue followed by a reception at Wild by Tart in Belgravia (which is not only an event space but also a restaurant – hence incredible food that met the duo’s tough standards), Chelsie and Rob pulled off the most perfect day -even if it looked different from what they’d first envisioned. They even finished off the night with a cookie cart from Chelsie’s cookie business, Blondies Kitchen, so that everyone could take home a special treat at the end.

We’re obsessed with the natural photos by Alex Wysocki and stunning cinematic video from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion – watching the trailer really makes us feel as if we were right there with Chelsie and Rob!

We’ll leave it to Chelsie, who looked so glam in Essense of Australia, to take it from here…

Chelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UK Chelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UK Chelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UK
How we Met

Chelsie, the bride: We actually met through a friend because I went to train to be a chef and Rob was one. Our passion for food connected us.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Michal Taylor Bride for a Colorful Jewish Wedding at Bezzela Hahar, Machasiya, Jerusalem, Israel

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Elinoa-and-Yonah-Bezzela-Hahar-Israel

Even though Israeli couple Elinoa and Yonah held their Jewish wedding during the pandemic, they were lucky enough not to have to make major changes to their plans. Sure, they changed venues two weeks(!) before the big day – but, happily, they made that change in order to be able to invite MORE guests (including Yona’s entire army unit), not because they had to cut their list down.

As always, we’re totally and completely blown away by the couple’s incredible wedding photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman. Like so many couples, Elinoa and Yonah knew they wanted him as their photographer before they were even engaged. In Elinoa’s words, “Herschel has this magical way of just capturing moments – being truly in them with you but also making you feel like it’s only the two of you. There was not a moment throughout the wedding where I noticed a camera on me or in my face and I think that’s a testament to the true skill Herschel has.”

There’s so much more to say about this gorgeous wedding – just for starters, we love that Elinoa designed all the wedding stationery herself! – but we’ll let the bride, who looked exquisitely elegant in Michal Taylor, fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Elinoa, the bride: We’ve both always sort of been in the background of each other’s lives. Our parents were all part of Bnei Akiva in England, which if you’re familiar with anyone who grew up in England and went to BA – everyone knows everyone. My father-in-law was a madrich to both my parents, Yonah’s uncle was my dad’s madrich & my mother in law was a good friend of my uncle through-out high school. The four of them made Aliyah around the same time & lived in the “merkaz klita” in Ra’anana. Our families both settled down in Ramat Beit Shemesh and we grew up always sort of aware of each other but were never necessarily friendly (although we have got a few pictures of us together from when we were little). Eventually my family moved to America and then to Ra’anana meaning the next time we crossed paths was when they would come to stay with us for Shabbat.

Yonah’s second cousins live in Raanana and they are good friends of ours so every time they had a simcha, Yonah’s family would stay with us. In August 2016 they came to stay with us and Yonah and I sort of caught each other’s attention. A few days later I noticed he had FB messaged me wishing me good luck in my year of sherut leumi in Jerusalem. Turns out he was just being nice and not flirting but I took it as flirting and told him to let me know next time he was in Jerusalem and we would hang out. 9 months later he texted me asking if I was free, May 26th 2017 we went on our first date and we’ve been together ever since. Our relationship has spanned 2 year of sherut leumi, Yonah’s army service (and subsequently many, many drives to his base), almost an entire degree, traveling, and much, much more.Continue ReadingContinue Reading