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STG Review: Berta Fall 2017 Collection European Launch

12/01/2017 by Karen

There’s nothing more exciting than a fashion show. The pure anticipation when the room falls silent before the music comes on and all eyes are on the catwalk, awaiting the first glimpse of a designer’s divine new creations.

Last night, I had the immense pleasure of attending the European launch of Israeli designer Berta’s Fall 2017 Collection. It was a gloriously glittering fashion show, at The Savoy’s infamously breathtaking ballroom, hosted by exclusive UK Berta stockist and proud Smashing Supplier, The Wedding Club.

As the event’s official blogger, and having had many Berta brides grace the STG pages, it was an absolute delight to capture the action on Facebook Live and in a series of Instagram shorts. If you missed it, now’s your chance to catch up on everything, including the great cape action (warning, may induce intense dress lust).

Berta has developed quite a reputation as a cutting-edge bridal fashion brand. With all the sex appeal, seductiveness and gumption that personify Mediterranean strong female expression, Berta’s beautifully curated Instagram feed has amassed over a million well-deserved followers.

Amazing @bertabridal {more on Insta Stories} #allthesparkles @theweddingclub1

A video posted by Smashing The Glass (Karen) (@smashingtheglass) on Jan 11, 2017 at 11:44am PST

Berta’s signature aesthetic, sheer fabrics, luxurious lace, plunging necklines and low backs, were all hallmarks of the new collection, but it’s also worth mentioning that there were also sparkles aplenty, capes and trains, bringing an added touch of luxe and glamour to the collection’s stunning, sensual and frankly show-stopping silhouettes.

The show itself was a delight to watch. The Wedding Club and Berta did a fantastic job of championing diversity, with a gorgeous range of body types and ethnicities represented on the catwalk.

If you’re already in love (let’s face it, of course you are), here’s how to find a local Berta stockist:

In the UK

The UK’s exclusive stockist of Berta, The Wedding Club, are offering STG readers a 10% discount on any non-sale dress order placed in January 2017 at their London store. Quote ‘Smashing the Glass’ to receive your discount.

Call +44 (0)20 7581 9540 | email info@thewedding-club.co.uk | Visit 10 Yeomans Row, Knightsbridge, London SW3 2AH or 16 Highfield Rd, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 3DU

In the USA

Berta stockists in the USA

For your pinning pleasure, I’ve added images of every dress — with front and back views — from the Fall 2017 collection below (all captured by the fabulous Evette Chiverton). There’s also a film of the evening at the end of the post, by the gorgeous Urban Cinematography.

Would you wear a Berta dress? Which one is your favourite? Let me know in the comments below!

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My behind-the-scenes clip at The Savoy just before the show started!

A Berta Bridal gown and the perfect Jimmy Choos | A glam chic wedding at Villa Padierna Palace Hotel, Marbella, Spain

22/11/2016 by Karen

Ladies and gentlemen, if you’d please present your boarding passes — I mean invitations — and take a journey with us to Salena and Stefan’s super glam wedding at Villa Padierna Palace Hotel in Marbella, Spain

Captured with aplomb by much-loved and often-featured Smashing Supplier, photographer David Pullum and fabulous videographer AtMotion, Salena and Stefan’s big day was all about friends, family and, of course, the party of a lifetime, which lasted until 3am!

There are so many adorable details to look out for, but this one is particularly steal-worthy! The couple had the genius idea of sending their guests passport invitation packages. As it was an overseas wedding, this was a really fun way to represent that and present all of the necessary information in a cool, chic and creative way. Sticking with their stunning chosen colour palette of duck egg blue and gold, the invitations themselves were styled as boarding passes.

At Smashing the Glass, we love a bride who expresses herself, and wedding singer Salena looked every bit the belle of the ball in her show-stopping Berta Bridal dress, complete with jealousy-inducing Jimmy Choos and to-die-for jewellery. Looking catwalk ready with her perfectly executed hair and makeup, Salena was an absolute shining star.

‘What will be will be’ was this bride’s philosophy, opting to give her epic crowd of loving bridesmaids and her mother the freedom to choose their own styling – which she absolutely loved.

Perhaps the most touching detail of the day is that the bride’s own band, Muzika Showband, flew over to perform for Salena and Stefan’s big day, with dear friends singing them down the aisle.

How we met

Salena, the bride: We met at my husband’s friend’s wedding where I was the wedding singer. He chatted me up by the cheese board… enough said!

A Berta Bride for an interfaith Jewish wedding (with four guys smashing the glass!) at Riverbend, Kohler, Wisconsin USA

01/07/2016 by Karen

INTIMATE-INTERFAITH-JEWISH-WEDDING
I bet you’re intrigued by the idea of four men breaking the glass under the chuppah, right? Well let me explain…

The groom in today’s wedding has three wonderful boys from a previous marriage and all three were included in the vows (the Bride created a set that she recited just for them). Then when it came to the big moment, all the boys joined in with their father for the smashing of the glass. Um – how brilliant is that? I absolutely love how symbolic and meaningful that is, and Molly Michel from M Three Studio captures the moment perfectly in the image below.

But that’s just one of a ridiculous amount of reasons why I love today’s wedding.

Reason #2: I love that Leah and Phil only invited 20 guests. I’m a big advocator of not inviting too many people, as I highlight in my Top 5 Do’s and Don’t’s for the Perfect Jewish Wedding. Fewer and closely connected is far better than inviting a cast of unknowns, and makes for a much more meaningful, intimate atmosphere in my opinion.

Reason #3: Leah rocks a life-changingly gorgeous Berta gown. That plunging neckline! All that lace! It’s super sexy and daring, yet oh so feminine and elegant at the same time. And if that’s got you all green with envy just wait until you see reason #4, her snakeskin Jimmy Choo‘s!

OK, enough with my reasons, I’m going to hand you over to the Bride to hear the wedding story from her, but before I do, let’s hear from her wedding photographer, Molly Michel. She’s going to tell you a little bit about the ‘rai-ayy-ann on [their] wedding day’ as Alanis Morissette famously sang. And no, it’s not ironic, it’s really rather lucky, as Molly explains:

Rain was definitely not part of Leah & Phil’s plans as they created their wedding day. Watching the forecast that week, the rain stubbornly took hold on their day and refused to budge. By Saturday morning, there was no denying that buckets of rain (and all the luck that comes with it) was what would come to define their day. And then a funny thing happened. Their intimate wedding became more intimate. People huddled closer together to dodge the raindrops. They hugged to bring about warmth. They sat closer, shared stories, snuggled by the fireplace, stood arm in arm, swaying to the band, poured the wine a little more liberally. The intimate, close-knit wedding that Leah & Phil had hoped for was somehow even more so because of the rain. Lucky thing, those raindrops.”

How we met

Leah, the Bride: Phil and I met through a mutual friend in September 2010. He put his number in my phone with the name “Mr. Wonderful.” After our initial introduction, we made plans to meet for drinks at NoMI at the Park Hyatt the following week. Leading up to the date, I was really nervous so asked if we could reschedule. He wouldn’t. He replied with, “I don’t take rain checks.” And, the rest is history!

The Rise of Israeli Wedding Dress Designers

19/02/2016 by Smashing The Glass

This is a guest post by Anne Kleinberg

There was a time, not isao long ago, when the words Israeli Haute Couture could be considered an oxymoron. There was nothing elegant or sophisticated about evening dresses. And bridal gowns? A profusion of puffiness and petticoats!

But times changed. Dramatically. In a country known as the start-up nation, the bridal industry has captured the world’s attention and is reported to be valued at billions of shekels. The wedding gown creations of Israel’s designers are nothing less than stunning and they are being paraded out onto the world’s catwalks and red carpets – big time. The names of these houses are uttered in hushed, revered tones on both sides of the Atlantic, and beyond.

While the centre of the bridal dress district was once Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, it now expands out into trendy Jaffa, the southern coastal city of Ashdod and beyond. And although Israeli brides tend to rent their gowns (for considerably less money than buying), many designers sell in bridal salons throughout the world as well as via the Internet. The shops vary from small, personalized boutiques run by classically trained dressmakers to empires run by businesswomen and their daughters.

Berta Baliti was born in Egypt, emigrated to Israel with her family as a small child and parlayed her degree from the famed Shenkar College in Tel Aviv into a world-renown bridal dress empire. She describes her designs as “avant-garde” and they certainly exude sexiness and daring, femininity and elegance with their plunging necklines, flowing trains and delicate veils. She has boutiques in many countries and her gowns have graced magazine covers, and bodies, throughout the world.

> See real brides on Smashing The Glass wearing Berta

Galia Lahav is of Russian descent, born into a family of dressmakers. From a modest beginning creating ivory lace appliques to establishing a design house saturated in extravagance and luxury, a Galia Lahav gown is not for the faint of heart. Her collections epitomize a golden age with evocative names like Ivory Tower, La Dolce Vita, Empress, Lourdes & Les Reves Bohemians. Pearls cascading down a graceful back, mermaid tails, fringes, feathers & ruffles embellish her dresses as jewels in the crowns of royalty.

Carys & Baz | Super glam, super stylish destination Jewish wedding ‘in the desert’ at The Parker Palm Springs, California, USA

07/04/2015 by Karen

How about we all jet off to Palm Springs to revel in the à¼ber glam destination wedding of Londoners, Carys and Baz?

Carys is half Welsh, half American (with Jewish heritage) and Baz is half English, half Persian, and they had the most exquisite wedding full of stylish, creative details and more than a hint of Palm Springs glitz and glamour.

It’s swoon-inducingly pretty… I just love every element — from Carys’s entire outfit — a divine gown by Israeli wedding dress designer, Berta, a sweeping, full length veil, and glittery Louboutins — to the pink ombre wedding cake, the glittery details, the dreamy flowers, and the Mexican mariachi band that played during the cocktail hour. It’s all just so much fun and beautifully stylised.

One thing that might not have gone so much to plan was the breaking of the glass… A member of the cleaning staff had mistaken the bulb and napkin for rubbish, but fortunately the groomsmen spotted the slip-up at the last minute before Carys and Baz had even noticed, and the equipment was saved!

This wedding proves that you don’t necessarily need to hire a destination wedding planner for a big day abroad. Anything is possible if you have a clear vision, great suppliers, and some helpful friends.

Let’s hand over to Carys for the inside story, but before I do, I must just mention Mi Belle who took all the gorgeous imagery on the page today.