Bella Figura Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Caroline Castigliano Bride for a Jewish Wedding in Pink and Gold at Alpine Country Club, Demarest, New Jersey, USA

06/09/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re so delighted to be sharing the Jewish wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Nicki, a life sciences consultant, and Ricky, an options trader! Last year we featured the couple’s fabulous micro wedding – planned in just two weeks! – and it’s such a treat to share their bigger celebration with you now.

By the time the big day rolled around, Nicki and Ricky had already been married for ten months. So they decided to change things up, making this wedding more a celebration of their love than a traditional wedding. Rather than repeating the Jewish ceremony, this time around they had prayers celebrating their love.

Nicki is lucky enough to be the daughter of mega-talented wedding planner and Smashing The Glass Recommended VendorSusie of Pink House Productions, and naturally her mom took charge bringing the day together. Among other things, we’re in love with what Susie did with the table designs, all in the couple’s wedding colors of pink and gold – don’t miss them in the gorgeous photos by Mark S. Kornbluth!

In Nicki’s words, “We were so beyond happy to finally be able to celebrate with our friends and family even if it was a little smaller, ten months later, and in a different place than originally intended.”

Now over to the bride, who looked ever so elegant in Caroline Castigliano…

How we Met

Nicki, the bride and Ricky, the groom: We were set up by mutual friends in July 2016. Ricky was living in Philly and Nicki was living in NYC and our first date happened when we were both out in the Hamptons for a weekend.Continue Reading

An Anne Barge Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding at Gotham Hall, NYC, New York, USA

15/03/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Remember when weddings could be inside? And have triple-digit guest counts? Hopefully the day when weddings no longer have to be socially distanced will come sooner rather than later… but until then, feast your eyes on the gorgeous pre-pandemic Jewish wedding of Caroline, who runs operations at a diagnostics start-up, and Alex, a chemist-turned-management consultant.

These two worked withwedding planner Susie Blumenfeld of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Pink House Productions to craft their perfect Manhattan glam celebration – complete with the perfect grand midtown venue, Gotham Hall; classic letterpress invitations designed by the multi-talented Susie Blumenfeld of Pink House Productions; and an elegant Anne Barge gown purchased from none other than Kleinfeld! And, in one of those quintessential only-in-New-York moves, at the end of the night the couple capped things off with a 3 AM visit to a Korean restaurant for a late night snack – still wearing their wedding clothes. Don’t miss Rebecca Weiss Photography’s images of the whole NYC-perfect day.

We also love that Caroline and Alex each had their own tisch before the ceremony, where they could gather with their friends and family to get the celebration started. Alex didn’t have a ton of demands for the big day, but the one thing he was set on was having at least three types of herring at his tisch – and in the end, the venue (who also handled catering) supplied eight!

We’re also obsessed with the couple’s minimalist ketubah by the wonderful Stephanie Caplan of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Ketubah. Featuringa simple circular design with coppery-gold detail, it bears a quote from the Book of Ruth across the top: “Ki el asher telchi eilech,” “Wherever you go, I will go” – the same quote that’s inscribed on the inside of Alex’s ring.

We’ll leave it to the bride to fill you in on the rest…

How we Met

Caroline, the bride: We met through OKCupid, a dating app, in 2018.Continue Reading

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for an Autumnal Luxe Jewish Wedding at Cipriani 42nd Street, Manhattan, NY, USA

20/07/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Okay, HOW incredible is this tree chuppah dreamed up by Julia and Max for their New York Jewish wedding? Despite getting married smack dab in the heart of Manhattan, the couple, both of whom work in finance, love autumn in New York (who doesn’t?) and wanted to bring the feel of the city’s most beautiful season to their decidedly indoor affair.

And they really, really did, through the creative use of lots and lots of gorgeous indoor trees decked out with those signature autumn leaves. That’s where the chuppah comes in – and is it ever a stunner! – but the autumn tree effect extended to the couple’s wonderful centerpieces as well. The overall feel was totally magical – almost like an indoor walk through Central Park on a beautiful October day. Don’t miss Andrew Henderson’s beautiful photos of the day.

And as if that weren’t enough NYC fabulousness for one wedding, we’re also smitten with Julia and Max’s adorable invitations by Bella Figura, featuring whimsical sketches of classic NYC icons – like a subway train pulling away with a “Just Married” sign! Too cute!

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave it to the bride – who looked ravishing in Monique Lhuillier – to fill you in on the details…

How we met

Julia, the bride: Max and I met over a summer internship at Morgan Stanley while still in college. The two of us were alphabetically seated next to each other during a week of training in Manhattan, and immediately thought the other was special. Even though we had planned to work on different coasts post-graduation, we made our relationship work long distance. A few years later, Max joined me in California where we’ve now been living together for 4 years.

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Neon Jungle Jewish Wedding at the Mandarin Oriental, New York, New York, USA

05/08/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We are totally obsessed with the neon jungle theme Jessica and Brant chose for their Jewish wedding – it was just the most perfect way to bring the vibe of the tropical destination wedding the couple initially hoped for to their hometown of New York City, where they ended up marrying to keep the big day accessible to their friends and family.

Bride Jessica says she knew from the moment she got engaged she wanted her wedding to be unique, and did she ever pull it off! With bright colors galore, plenty of palms, a tequila bar, neon signs, and so many more Instagramable touches than we even have room to list here, it’s safe to say she achieved her goal of making her guests feel as if they were transported to the chicest jungle. Don’t miss the photos from The Day by Nathan Smith.

Obviously their stunning chuppah was the pinnacle of jungle chic, and we love that, wanting to get the maximum enjoyment out of it, Jessica and Brant opted to repurpose it for the party, displaying their gorgeous cake and a cool neon sign under it.

But don’t let the fab aesthetics make you think these two skimped on the ceremony – far from it. They made it a priority to honor their late grandparents – they used Brant’s grandfather’s tallit under the chuppah, and Jessica’s wedding band originally belonged to her great-great-grandmother (and has been used by all of the women in her family ever since!) – and even got their dog involved with a walk down the aisle. They made it a priority to find a beautiful ketubah that could serve as a cherished piece of art in their home, and opted for a totally stunning paper cut design from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay.

We’ll let Jessica – who looked stunning in Monique Lhuillier – fill you in on the rest…

A New York Wedding

Jessica, the bride: We got married at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. Brant and I always thought about having a warm climate destination wedding, and we looked almost everywhere. However, after a few months of looking, and keeping friends and family in mind, we thought Manhattan (our hometown) would be the best and easiest. Me being born and bred in Manhattan, and Brant growing up on Long Island, the city was our perfect destination. When we walked into the Mandarin ballroom for the first time and looked out those huge windows to see Central Park and the city skyline, it took our breath away.Continue Reading

A Vera Wang Bride for a Super Luxe Fashion-Forward Jewish Wedding at Mandarin Oriental New York, New York

08/12/2017 by Karen

Start spreading the news – because today’s NYC Jewish wedding is the dictionary definition of city chic!

A wedding set against the stunning New York skyline deserves nothing less than the very best vendors – and that’s exactly what happy couple, Marianna and Peter opted for. The celebration was held at the iconic Mandarin Oriental hotel, with floristry by the fabulous Bride & Blossom, who submitted today’s fashion-forward wedding to STG.

We’re totally enamored with the origami crane chuppah – what a great way to fuse wedding traditions from different cultures! We’re also all hearts for eyes over the unique all-red dà©cor scheme, and bold bridesmaids in black dresses. Absolutely sublime! Also take a look at that absolute centerpiece of a cake – we’re both in love with the visuals and very, very hungry!

Gorgeous bride, Marianna, opted for a classic fashionista outfit – a timeless Vera Wang gown with something-blue Manolo Blahnik. So luxe Carrie Bradshaw herself would weep with envy!

Of course, it’s an STG wedding, which means it’s more than likely one of our own was involved! Our brilliant Recommended Vendor, Bella Figura, provided the rose-gold, classic letterpress invitation design.

Photography was provided by none other than absolute wedding photography royalty, the Fred Marcus Studio. We’re massive fans here at STG, and it will soon become clear why as you look at the phenomenal spread of pictures.

We’ll leave you with Marianna for the rest of the details of her and Peter’s stunning big day. Take it away, Marianna!

The perfect NYC venue

Marianna, the bride: I knew I wanted to get married in our favorite city, New York. NYC is also home, having been born and raised here. I wanted a venue to showcase the skyline and central park. We also had our second date at Columbus Circle. Mandarin Oriental was the perfect venue.
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