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A Berta Bride for an Enchanted Garden Jewish Wedding at the Fairmont Windsor Park, UK

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Bianca-Jordan-Fairmont-Hotel-Windsor-Park-UK

It’s been a long couple of weeks for the Jewish people. In light of Hamas’s horrific acts of terrorism, we’ve taken a few weeks off from our usual wedding content to focus on supporting Israel and each other. While we sadly can’t say things have gotten to a better place, we are feeling more than ever that we need all the Jewish joy we can get – and that includes weddings.

Hence our decision to resume publishing the joyous, life-affirming celebrations of love that are the core of what we do here at Smashing The Glass. And we’re back today with something really special: Bianca and Jordan’s beautiful Jewish wedding at The Fairmont Hotel in Windsor, just outside London – made possibly by a fabulous team of #STGvendors.

 Bianca and Jordan turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Michelle Jacobs of Elegante by Michelle J to make their enchanted garden dreams a reality. Michelle planned Bianca’s sister’s wedding a few years back, so the couple knew from the beginning they were working with the best of the best. In Bianca’s words, “She was amazing and really helped guide us through the process and really understood our vision and what was important to us… Any concerns we had Michelle would deal with it for us and we knew we were in the best hands.” You can see for yourself how exquisitely it all came together in the wonderful photos by Paul Santos and the moving trailer by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Big Day Designs crafted Bianca and Jordan’s invitations, featuring rose gold foiling and wax seals, as well as their wedding day stationery, and Bianca found her stunner of a gown at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club in Knightsbridge. She chose a strapless corset A-line dress by the Israeli designer Berta – which is all the more meaningful in light of the current situation.

Do read on for more Jewish joy, in Bianca’s own words…


Bianca-Jordan-Fairmont-Hotel-Windsor-Park-UK Bianca-Jordan-Fairmont-Hotel-Windsor-Park-UK Bianca-Jordan-Fairmont-Hotel-Windsor-Park-UK Bianca-Jordan-Fairmont-Hotel-Windsor-Park-UK
How We Met

Bianca, the bride: We knew of each other as we are both from Essex but we matched on J Swipe; after a few weeks of talking we finally met up and went on a date!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

My Favourite Jewish Wedding Dresses from The Wedding Club X Berta FW23 Runway Show

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I’m so excited to report back from THE wedding event of the season: the Wedding Club X Berta FW23 Runway Show at the Bvlgari Hotel in Knightsbridge. 

Israeli bridal designer Berta is so popular with STG readers – you can see past Berta brides’ weddings we’ve featured here – as is beloved #STGvendor The Wedding Club, one of London’s top bridal boutiques.

The Wedding Club also happens to be Berta’s exclusive stockist here in London, so if you’re as smitten with this fabulous new collection as I am, reach out to The Wedding Club ASAP to book your appointment. 

Berta’s dresses are truly the epitome of luxury, each one handmade from the finest fabrics in Berta’s studio.

I was absolutely blown away by the elegance and sophistication of the designs I saw.

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A Berta Bride for a Breathtaking Jewish Wedding Full of Flowers, Corgis, and Jewish History at Villa Arcadia, Johannesburg, South Africa

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Shari-Gavin-Villa-Arcadia-South-Africa

While we adore ALL the wonderful Jewish weddings we feature here on STG, for our last post of the year we always try to select something with that little bit of extra wow factor. And if we say so ourselves, we’ve outdone ourselves with our ’22 pick. The fabulous South African Jewish wedding of Shari, who works in marketing and media, and Gavin, a musician, is truly one for the books.

First off the flowers… there really isn’t much we can say beyond WOW. From the Amalfi Coast-inspired floral chuppah to the artfully curated tabletops to the hanging arrangements – all we can say is do yourself a favor and scroll through the exquisite images by Shanna Jones Photography ASAP!

Just as stunning was Shari’s Berta gown. She knew “Demi” was the one for her the moment she set eyes on it, and purchased her dream dress from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club in London, “who were absolutely incredible in organising it despite the distance from South Africa”!

We also love that Shari and Gavin opted to wed in a venue with Jewish history: dating back to 1903, Villa Arcadia was the first Jewish orphanage in South Africa, and it was instrumental in homing war orphans from Eastern Europe.

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful day – how sweet is it that the couple’s corgi, Nika, served as their flower girl?! – but we’ll let the bride take it from here…

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How we Met

Shari, the bride: We met very unexpectedly through mutual friends who were dating, we both went to his house with very low expectations. The only reason they thought to set us up was because Gavin was tall enough for me!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Berta Bride for a Timelessly Glam Jewish Wedding with a Cannabis Bar at Chicago Illuminating Company, Chicago, Illinois, USA

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Alana & Benjamin, Chicago Illuminating Company, Chicago, USA

We are absolutely, positively in love with Alana and Benjamin’s jawdroppingly gorgeous Chicago Jewish wedding. Swathed in greenery and twinkly lights, the ambience these two created for their day was nothing short of magical (don’t miss the stunning photos by Avery House!) – and we love that they added in some unexpected personal touches, like a cannabis bar!

Perfectly matching their color scheme focused on neutrals, white, and gold was the couple’s fabulous ketubah from beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Ketubist. Featuring papercut gold peonies on a white background, the design is SO chic – and Alana and Benjamin loved working with founder Talia.

This wedding was full of so many more wonderful touches, but we’ll leave the rest to Alana, who looked nothing short of ravishing in her exquisite gown from Israeli designer Berta…

Alana & Benjamin, Chicago Illuminating Company, Chicago, USA Alana & Benjamin, Chicago Illuminating Company, Chicago, USA Alana & Benjamin, Chicago Illuminating Company, Chicago, USA Alana & Benjamin, Chicago Illuminating Company, Chicago, USA
How we Met

Alana, the bride: Formally, we met on the Jewish dating app J-Swipe. However, Benjamin’s friend from Jewish summer camp happened to have been my college roommate and eventually became our Rabbi. He played a significant role in our courtship after we met. We are both psychotherapists.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Berta Bride for a Magical Lakeside Jewish Wedding in Webster, Massachusetts, USA

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Jenna & Noaam, private residence, Webster, Massachusetts, USA

We’re absolutely obsessed with the glorious lakeside Jewish wedding of Jenna, who works in HR, and Noaam, in property technology and residential real estate! What a fantastic spot for a wedding – made even more special by the fact that the New York-based couple made the lake retreat their primary residence during the pandemic. When you see it in Studio Nouveau’s photos, we’re pretty sure you’ll agree.

Knowing what a gem of a location they had on their hands, Jenna and Noaam decided to keep the focus on their luscious surroundings, opting for delicate touches to enhance the natural beauty of their surroundings. We’re especially in love with their hand painted ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush. The custom watercolor features verdant greenery that captures the feel of their wedding spot so perfectly!

We’re also crazy for Jenna and Noaam’s  gluten-free/dairy-free kosher vanilla and lemon cake from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor By the Way Bakery, which their florist decorated simply with fresh flowers.

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful day, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked positively ravishing in the Demi gown from Muse by Berta…

Jenna & Noaam, private residence, Webster, Massachusetts, USA Jenna & Noaam, private residence, Webster, Massachusetts, USA Jenna & Noaam, private residence, Webster, Massachusetts, USA Jenna & Noaam, private residence, Webster, Massachusetts, USA
How we Met

Jenna, the bride: I had been living and working in NYC for 10 years when in the fall of 2018, Noaam, who was living in Boston at the time, decided to visit New York for a few weeks during his slow season of work. While there, we matched on the dating app Hinge and Noaam asked me to meet him for a drink. A couple days before we were scheduled to get together, Noaam revealed to me that he actually lived in Boston, not NYC, but wasn’t looking for a short term fling. I wasn’t interested in a long distance relationship and I made up an excuse to cancel at the last minute. Noaam was disappointed but persistent and came back to NYC the following week and asked me out again! That time I agreed.

We met at a bar near my apartment on the Upper East Side and we laughed the entire date. I was also happily surprised that when I told him that I had two cats, he wasn’t put off and he wasn’t allergic!

We then continued to see each other, traveling back and forth between Boston and New York, and in a short amount of time became exclusive. After a year of long distance dating, Noaam moved in with me in NYC.

In March 2020 Noaam proposed privately at our apartment and organized a beautiful and intimate engagement party right after with our closest family and friends. Little did we know that only one week later NYC would shut down due to COVID! As soon as the shutdown was announced, we decided to pack a couple of bags and drive to his family’s lake house in Webster, Massachusetts with the intent of staying a few weeks until things settled down in NYC. Fast forward, and we’ve been living full time at the lake house ever since!Continue ReadingContinue Reading