birdcage veil Archives - Smashing the Glass

A colourful Jewish wedding at Manhattan Penthouse on Fifth Avenue, New York City, USA

09/08/2016 by Karen

Whilst this is a big day in your life, have perspective. It’s a party, a celebration of you and your significant other’s formal bond — there’s no reason to be stressed because really, it’s a celebration.

Sage advice there from the beautiful Elise in this morning’s super chic Manhattan affair. I couldn’t not open with this mantra because I think it’s all too easy to forget amidst the madness of colour themes and dresses and table plans and favours and centrepieces. That’s not to say that all of these bits and pieces aren’t important but more that it’s about you and your partner and the love you have for each other that’s paramount on your big day.

But of course you all know this already. What you don’t know yet is how epic Elise and Michael’s big day was…but you’re about to find out.

I can promise you the sassiest bride, a super cool Manhattan location, fantastic photography, care of Hales Studio, and the most magnificent colourful blooms. In fact the colours of Elise’s bouquet (created by the super talented Floresta NYC) provided the inspiration for the bridesmaids dresses! Elise sent them a picture of the bouquet and asked them to choose a dress (or wear one that they already owned) that would match the flowers. And how wonderfully does it all come together?

Another thing I particularly love about today’s wedding is that Elise and Michael inviting their parents and Elise’s grandparents, married for 41, 44 and 62 years respectively to dance to her grandparents wedding song (A Sentimental Journey) to recognise the stable, long-lasting and loving relationships that they were lucky enough to be brought up around… Too fabulous, right?

How we met

Elise, the Bride: Mike and I met on Okcupid! We both had tried online dating in the past – both of us did JDate actually, but in the end we met on the free non-religious site. We went for drinks for our first meeting and to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Italian food for our first official date.

Pop Art Jewish wedding full of creative surprises, at The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

06/10/2015 by Karen

“Just because the wedding industry encourages conformity, you don’t have to comply. Do it your way!”

Top advice from this morning’s bride, Melody, and yes she did! This is a wedding EXTRAVAGANZA. Seriously — I’ve never seen anything like it and the truth is, I don’t even know where to begin. Perhaps I should start by saying that I think this is one of my favourite weddings EVER to appear on Smashing The Glass and having blogged over 150 super cool real Jewish weddings I don’t say that lightly.

I love that the chuppah was created by the bride and features multi-coloured pom poms and green grass. I love that Melody walked down the aisle to a mash-up of Forever Young and Canon in D. I love that the bride and groom both wore custom Converse with ‘Let Love Win” embroidered down the side. I love that instead of the usual sit-down dinner, guests were treated to a ‘pop-up’ restaurant, where they had to make a reservation and come back for their table. I love that the bridesmaids wore flower ‘bib’ necklaces (yes Melody made that a thing!). And I love that the wedding theme was inspired by the artist Frida Kahlo and her vibrant colour palate. You see… anything can inspire your wedding theme, literally anything! Think outside of the box, and as far as your mind can take you.

There is also a a drag queen performing as Beyoncà© AND a flash mob of kids ‘interrupting’ the first dance. You have to see it to believe it (check it all out in the highlights video at the end by the super talented Rodinis Films).

Oh and gummy bears are loosely woven into this the big day too.

The whole shebang was documented by photography geniuses, Chrisman Studios. Every time I feature one of their weddings I know it’s going to be a memorable post, but this one is an absolute corker. It’s clear that Melody and Michael invested so much time and effort into making their wedding uniquely them and I can’t wait a moment longer to show it to you.

Come on then… let’s take a look. Over to Melody, today’s awesome bride.

how we met

Melody, the Bride: We met through Mellow Mushroom (a national pizza franchise in the USA). Michael is a multi-unit franchisee, and my father is one of the founders of the company. My dad introduced us, he thought we would make a good match. We fell in love over pizza!

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Alana & Marc | Country Garden Boho Jewish wedding at Offley Place Country House, Hertfordshire, UK

23/09/2014 by Karen

Alana and Marc were introduced by a mutual friend over Facebook (the Rabbi even thanked Mark Zuckerburg during the ceremony), and after a few messages back and forth they met up in a Camden pub, and the rest, as they say, is history!

They had a fantastic marquee-in-the-garden wedding and chose to hold their ceremony outdoors, complete with super-sized balloons lining the aisle, and the BEST bridesmaid entrance you have ever seen. Yes, Alana’s 8 month old niece arrived in a a remote controlled mini cream Fiat 500! EPIC or what?

But that’s not all. I also absolutely adore Alana’s entire outfit — from her exquisite wedding dress to her sensitively designed birdcage veil and headpiece which she accessorises perfectly with a pink and peach Peonie bouquet.

Alana and Marc have written their wedding report together and it’s lovely to hear from a Groom who had so much input into the big day, even though he confesses that “Alana had so many ideas for the wedding that [he] wasn’t convinced by, but “[he has] to admit they ended up being amazing” (And he said that he promises he wasn’t forced to write that either!).

Images come from our fabulous Smashing Supplier, Mark Seymour, back with a bang to STG with this wedding. As always, he captures every last detail beautifully. And there’s an immense highlight film right at the end of the post by Wedding Films London. It really captures the spirit of the day and if you’ve never been to a Jewish wedding but always wondered about the “crazy Jewish wedding dancing thing” scroll to 3 minutes, 5 seconds in and you’ll get a terrific example (WARNING: you’ll feel exhausted just watching!).

THE PERFECT VENUE FOR AN OUTDOOR CEREMONY AND A GREAT BIG PARTY!
Alana the Bride, and Marc, the groom: Our venue was called Offley Place. We dreamed of having the ceremony outdoors and we wanted the venue to have real character to it too. We also needed to find somewhere that could fit our huge family. We had a few venues fall through and we were really finding it difficult to find anywhere that worked for us. When we went to see Offley Place we knew straight away that we wanted to get married there. The grounds were stunning and the marquee had capacity for our huge family. The fact that the manor house had rooms for us to stay in ensured that the party could continue late into the night. Also, the manor house itself was very beautiful. Offley Place had the potential to incorporate all our ideas and the team there were clearly geared up for Jewish weddings already.

Madalyn & Aaron | Ultra-Creative and Chic Jewish Wedding at The Metropolitan Building, New York, USA

03/10/2013 by Karen

This wedding is cooler than an igloo with air con.

In the achingly chic wedding venue of The Metropolitan Building in New York, Madalyn, Aaron and their guests got together to celebrate one of the most exquisitely fashionable and creative weddings I have ever laid my eyes upon.

There are beautifully designed invitations, programs and custom illustrations of the bridal party (which the bride and groom created themselves), mismatched floral table centres, the cutest polka dot kippot you’ve ever seen, and something I didn’t think was even possible: personalised Converse black and orange sneakers made for every one of the groomsmen!

On top of that, frankly any bride that incorporates a gorgeous peplum into her bridal gown scores serious style points in my book.

Let’s take a look…

A CREATIVE ‘LOFT-STYLE’ VENUE
Madalyn, the Bride: I fell in love with the Metropolitan Building in Long Island City, New York, the minute I saw it on a wedding blog. The mismatched vibe and colourful alcoves and artsy rooms were exactly what we were looking for. Only when I got there did I realise I had been to a wedding there before!

Our colour palette was a mix of deep autumn colours like eggplants and plums. We wanted a warm and intimate atmosphere that beautifully accented the loft-like vibe of the building.

DESIGNING OUR OWN INVITATIONS
Aaron and I actually designed the invitation ourselves so it was completely unique to us. We letterpressed them onto real birch wood giving them a beautiful earthy vibe.

A 50’S-ESQUE PEPLUM DRESS + VALENTINO SHOES
I found my dress at Saks Fifth Avenue and it was by Oscar de la Renta. I totally fell in love with it the second I put it on. It was a strapless fit and flare with an attached peplum around the waist. I added the black band around it to make it a little more me. I would wear this dress every day if I could. It was the perfect blend of fashion and classic glamour.

My shoes were Valentino Prive bow pumps in black patent leather. The heel was perfect and they are so comfortable! I was able to wear them all night and many more times for other occasions.

I had nine bridesmaids and I told them to wear whatever long, black dress they wanted. That way everyone was happy!

A BEAUTIFUL BIRDCAGE VEIL
I bought a small net veil on Etsy.com because I just am not a big veil kind of girl. For jewellery I wore two bangles in black and gold from C Wonder and Miriam Salat and the most special piece, my grandmother’s sapphire and diamond ring. Something old, borrowed and blue.

A GLAMOROUS TOUCH
Anthea King from Timeless Glow Bridal did my make up and I really just wanted to look like myself, only better. I did soft colours with a little glow and a subtle cat-eye. Lacy Redway crafted the perfect waves into my hair for a little bit of old world glamour.

CUSTOM CONVERSE SNEAKERS FOR ALL THE GROOMSMEN
The entire grooms party wore grey ludlow suits from J.Crew together with custom Converse sneakers in black and orange (Aaron’s favourite colours). Each pair of Converse had the date and their individual nickname embroidered on the side.

CHUPPAH DESIGN + CEREMONY
The song that we walked into was actually composed by my oldest brother. He created the music just for us which was so moving and incredibly special. He has his own recording studio, Mirrortone Studios, so it was a natural choice. Walking down the aisle to Aaron was so exciting, I had to concentrate and enjoy every single second because I knew it would all go by so fast.

We created the chuppah out of birch wood to go with our ‘woodsy’ invites with minimal florals, giving another nod to that earthy vibe, and the ceremony itself was incredibly special to us – we stayed focused on one another the entire time – something our Rabbi told us she has never seen before!

LOTS OF CREATIVE DETAILS
Our kippot were black polka dot because I work in the fashion industry and it is one of my all-time favourite trends. The ketubah was just gorgeous, a laser-cut round intricately designed work of art. It now hangs in our living room and is just so beautiful.

The guest book was set next to the photo booth so guests were able to paste their photo strips inside and write us a note! We also designed the menu ourselves. Aaron illustrated all of the items, adding a bit of whimsy to the tables. Because of all of the design work we put into our wedding we actually launched our own company Tinyawesomethings, designing custom stationery, invitations etc., It has been such a blessing!

FLORALS + DECOR
We collaborated with Hatch Creative Studio for all of our design and decor. We used dahlias, succulents and host of other flowers to create the gorgeous centrepieces that were different on each table, again echoing the mismatched, organic theme. We wanted low light and lots of candles which set the mood for the entire evening.

POST-IT NOTE FAVOURS
We designed pads of post-it notes for our guests. We even used them as the escort cards as a nod to the fact that Aaron also hides post-its for me around our apartment with sweet little notes.

PHOTOGRAPHERS WITH AN EDITORIAL SLANT
We chose Photo Pink as our photographers. I loved their editorial style since I come from an editorial background and they captured all the best moments. Thankfully there are no traditional stiff shots that make you cringe years later!

A CAKE WITH THREE DIFFERENT FLAVOURS + A SURPRISE TREAT FOR THE GROOM
We had Betsy Thorleifson of Nine Cakes design our wedding cake. We had a 3 tiered cake with black bands around each layer as a nod to my dress and a bride and groom sock monkey cake topper made just for us. We had three different flavours actually- apple peanut butter, salted caramel and chocolate peanut butter. We had so much fun doing the tastings for that!

Since our wedding also coincided with our 5-year anniversary I had Aaron’s best-loved dessert, Ted Drewes frozen custard, shipped directly to the venue from St. Louis, where we met during our college years at Washington University.

ENTERTAINMENT
We had a 10 piece band from Hank Lane with Bobby Attiko as the leader. He was at my cousins wedding three years earlier and he was so good I knew I had to book him as soon as I got engaged. Luckily he was available! Our guests are still talking about how amazing the band was!

ADVICE TO OTHER BRIDES
I had so much fun planning the wedding and never over thought any detail. I knew what I wanted and I made it happen. I didn’t agonise over choosing any of the vendors, I just went with my gut! The planning of the event can be stressful but just remember the end result will be an evening you will never forget and it’s all about you and your husband-to-be so make it fun!

MADALYN + AARON’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Venue — Metropolitan Building
Photography — Photo Pink
Floral + Event Design — Hatch Creative Studio
Invitation + stationery — Tinyawesomethings
Bride’s dress — Oscar de la Renta
Bride’s Veil — Etsy
Bride’s shoes — Valentino
Jewellery — Miriam Salat + C Wonder
Make-up – Anthea King with Timeless Glow Bridal
Hair — Lacy Redway with Timeless Glow Bridal
Groom’s attire — J.Crew
Groom’s Shoes — Converse
Entertainment — Hank Lane
Cake — Nine Cakes

So…did you love it?

Bet you did! Tell me, which was your favourite element?

And Madalyn’s advice is so spot-on: your day should be 100% about you as a couple; if you hold firm to that mantra then you won’t stop smiling all day long.

Thank you to Madalyn and Aaron, a beautiful and wonderfully creative couple for sharing their immense day. And if you fancy some of their creative flair sprinkled on your wedding, check out their new custom stationery business, Tinyawesomethings.