BHLDN Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Nouvelle Amsale Bride for an Autumnal Outdoor DIY Jewish Wedding on a Budget at Camp Holiday Trails in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

23/12/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We could not be any more overjoyed to be featuring the gorgeous DIY Jewish wedding of our beloved Brides Club member and blogging bride Erin as our very last wedding of 2020!

Erin, a medical education coordinator at the University of Virginia, and Josh, a musician and fourth-grade teacher at a forest school, had originally planned to wed at their synagogue, followed by a reception at a local restaurant. But like so many 2020 couples, they had to retool their day when COVID hit. They were intent on marrying on their original date, but knew they needed a mostly outdoor venue that allowed for social distancing.

Luckily, Erin and Josh live in beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia, and they were able to find a spot that perfectly fit the bill in Camp Holiday Trails, which during the summer functions as a camp for children with medical needs – so not only did they end up with incredible natural scenery requiring very little in the way of added decor (abundant fall foliage AND the Blue Ridge mountains as a backdrop? Yes please!), they were able to support a good cause too.

Erin and Josh were on a tight budget – but luckily they also happen to be super craftsy, and they ended up creating so many incredible DIY touches that really made their day pop. The highlight has got to be the ketubah they created together, featuring a gorgeous composite photo of the couple sitting by a local pond looking up at the Milky Way (with photos by the groom) – perfectly in keeping with their loose theme of “a starry fall night in the mountains.” We also love the cool copper pipe chuppah these two built – which they plan to repurpose in the future as parts for their sukkah! Don’t miss it – and all the other handcrafted touches – in the incredible photos from Steve of Photography Champloo.

The couple also had some help from their wonderful friends and family – Erin’s sister, Kaley Agee, happens to be a professional photographer, and she pitched in with some getting-ready shots on the big day in addition to manning the videography (which Erin and Josh will be editing themselves). And when Erin determined a florist was out of budget, her amazing friend and fellow Brides Club member Karisa, sent over some unused Sola Wood Flowers left over from her own wedding, which Erin dyed and hand-painted herself.

There’s so much more to say about this fantastic wedding, but we’ll let Erin tell you the rest…

How we Met

Erin, the bride: Josh and I met how any good millennials meet – on a dating app! Josh and I had the unusual courtship of two months of talking before we ever met in person (it was the Thanksgiving holiday, then I went down to Florida to see my family over the winter holidays, and then by the time I got back, Josh was on a Birthright trip to Israel!)

We were finally able to meet in January of 2018, and we both fell hard pretty quickly after our first date at a local coffee shop (where we both unknowingly ordered the same drink!)Continue Reading

A BHLDN Bride for a Classic Jewish Wedding Featuring Tons of DIY Details at Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

14/12/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We always love seeing all the cool DIYs couples incorporate into their Jewish weddings – but Audrey, a project manager at a media company, and Idan, an investment banker, really took it to another level!

Crafty bride Audrey DIY’d just about all the couple’s wedding details, from crafting escort cards (and a gorgeous escort card wall) to writing out the bar menus (on marble!) to monograming the bridesmaids’ pajamas customizing a white leather jacket with her wedding date – and that’s just for starters!

So it comes as no surprise that this is one couple with seriously good taste – as evidenced in their choice of a seriously stunning paper cut peacock ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Noa Attias. Even the couple’s Upper West Side framer back home in NYC – who we can only assume has seen plenty of ketubot in his time – said it’s the most beautiful he’d ever seen! And of course we’re totally unsurprised to hear that Audrey and Idan found Noa a complete pleasure to work with. Don’t miss this gorgeous work of art in Rachael Koscica Photography’s images and The Good Vibe Media’s trailer.

There are so many more cool details to share, but we’ll leave it to Audrey – who looked radiant in her Jenny Yoo dress from BHLDN – to tell you about all that…

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How We Met

Audrey, the bride: We met at the Scottsdale, Arizona Moishe House back in 2016! Shortly after meeting, I moved to Chicago for work and Idan moved to Michigan for graduate school, and we did long distance for a few years until we moved to New York together in 2019.

Real Jewish Brides: Erin on Her Wedding Day!

19/11/2020 by Smashing The Glass

Erin married Josh on 1st November 2020 in Charlottesville, VA, USA. Click here to read all Erin’ planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Erin and Josh planned an outdoorsy fall wedding on a budget in Virginia’s Shenandoah mountains. (2) Erin recently completed her conversion to Judaism, and she and Josh are looking forward to filling their big day with Jewish traditions while keeping it enjoyable and understandable to friends and family from all backgrounds. (3) Erin is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

When DIY-ing is more “doing-it-yourselves” than “doing-it-yourself”

As many brides are, I was working on a strict budget for my wedding, and I really couldn’t afford to pay fabulous artists and creators to make various aspects of my wedding day.

Luckily, Judaism has this notion called “hiddur mitzvah,” which can be interpreted as bringing beauty to ritual objects. I kind of took this notion and applied it to as many parts of my wedding as I could.

I have always loved vintage park posters, and since living so close to Shenandoah National Park means that Josh and I spend a lot of time hiking and driving through the gorgeous Blue Ridge mountains, I decided to try to incorporate their aesthetics into our save the dates. About a year into our relationship, Josh had gotten really into astrophotography, and wanted to start trying to take photos of the Milky Way, and he really took to it.Continue Reading

Real Jewish Brides: Erin on planning during Covid-19

30/07/2020 by Smashing The Glass

Erin will be marrying Josh on 1st November 2020 at Congregation Beth Israel, in Charlottesville, VA, USA. Click here to read all Erin’ planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Erin and Josh are planning an outdoorsy fall wedding on a budget in Virginia’s Shenandoah mountains. (2) Erin recently completed her conversion to Judaism, and she and Josh are looking forward to filling their big day with Jewish traditions while keeping it enjoyable and understandable to friends and family from all backgrounds. (3) Erin is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

So, it’s been a while since I actually talked about my wedding. (Mostly thanks to COVID-19 and how it’s turned life upside down.)

In late February, my fiancé and I went to Boston (him for a work trip, me to visit one of my best friends/bridesmaids.)

My friend and I cheesing in the gift shop of the Museum of Fine Arts, in Boston.

While we were in Boston, I took the chance to go to several bridal stores. One of the ones that was definitely on my list was BHLDN. I had a wonderful appointment there (probably aided by the fact that I had religiously stalked their website for months), and I ended up saying “yes” to the dress. Continue Reading

A BHLDN Bride for an Interabled Couple’s Ultra-Personal Egalitarian Jewish Wedding at Finsbury Old Town Hall, London, UK

06/07/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s no secret that we love seeing a couple who crafts a unique Jewish wedding that’s totally, 100% them. And that’s exactly what today’s bride and groom did. Candy and Max are passionate about documenting their life together as an interabled couple at Riding Everest – Max, an investment analyst, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, and in addition to a career in writing and social media Candy cares for Max, assisting him with all the tasks he needs help with due to his disability – and showing the world that relationships where one partner has a disability are just as loving, normal, and beautiful as any other.

And that seems to go doubly for weddings, based on Kristian Leven’s radiant, joyous photos of the day. This wedding was SO full of love, happiness, and cool personal touches, from papel picado in honor of Max’s Mexican heritage, eucalyptus leaves to reflect Candy’s Australian family, and tiny plastic horses scattered around the venue for guests to find as a nod to the couple’s 2018 horseback trek to Everest Base Camp! And they also worked in plenty of DIY touches, from hand-painted place cards (Max worked with a paintbrush held in his mouth, and Candy took charge of the calligraphy) to homemade gin favors.

We also love that these two opted to get married twice in one day, starting their day at the register office and ending it under the chuppah, which Candy and Max loved because it gave them the opportunity to have both a small, intimate wedding with just family AND a big Jewish wedding where they celebrated with their community.

And then there’s the exuberant Jewish music by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Shir! This mega-talented group not only helped the couple pick their favorite tunes and iron out logistical creases in their day, they also led the Israeli dancing and made sure that everyone – even guests who’d never before attended a Jewish wedding – got involved!

There’s so much more we could say about this awesome wedding, but we’ll leave it to Candy – who started the day in a pale blue vintage tea dress before a secret pre-chuppah costume change into a beaded dress from BHLDN – to fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Candy, the bride: We met after my masters, when I needed a part time job (an MA in playwrighting isn’t a very lucrative way to get into the job market) and Max needed a PA at work. Then we accidentally fell in love and the rest is history!