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A Cathy Telle Bride for a Summer Jewish Wedding at Huntcliff River Club, Atlanta, USA

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Kim and Andrew, Huntcliff River Club, Atlanta, USA

There’s not much we love more than getting a chance to feature the wedding of one of our beloved Smashing The Glass Brides Club members – so we’re pretty thrilled to be sharing the beautiful Atlanta Jewish wedding of our Brides Club member Kim, an elementary school teacher, to Andrew, a contractor.

We’re so touched to hear Kim’s kind words about her experience as a Brides Club member:

I really enjoyed building the friendships and connections with other women around the world who were or had gone through the wedding planning process not long before I had done… I gained most from connecting with others and learning from their experiences and building my own ceremony and wedding experience based off what had worked well and what had not worked well for other Smashing the Glass Brides Club members.

An avid thrifter, Kim turned to stillwhite.com to find the secondhand dress of her dreams – and she found it in her stunning blush/pink colored gown by Ukrainian designer Cathy Telle. And we love that, after the ceremony, she opted to pair it with pink Keds with floral embroidery, which she enjoys wearing to this day – don’t miss them in the luminous photos by Andrea de Anda!

We’re also obsessed with Kim and Andrew’s gorgeous ketubah by calligrapher Ruth Stern Warzecha, which they found on Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com, featuring a classic design of intricate pen line decorations and the traditional seven wedding benedictions around the edge of the ketubah itself.

Read on for the full story in Kim’s own words…

Kim and Andrew, Huntcliff River Club, Atlanta, USA Kim and Andrew, Huntcliff River Club, Atlanta, USA
How We Met

Kim, the bride: I invited my best friend from high school to go to yoga and she brought along her roommate. Her roommate and I slowly built a friendship that progressed into a loving relationship over the course of two years, built by common interests, similar grounding, and complimentary personalities.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Grace Loves Lace Bride for a California Cool Jewish Wedding with a Touch of Hollywood Glam at Spencer’s Restaurant, Palm Springs, California, USA

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Ashleigh and Brett, Spencer’s Restaurant, Palm Springs, California, USA

It’s always fun seeing the choices wedding pros make when it comes to planning their own big day. So naturally we were pleased when the Jewish wedding of Ashleigh, who works in finance by day and is a wedding coordinator by night, and Brett, a lawyer, crossed our path!

Floridians Ashleigh and Brett decided to make it official across the country in Palm Springs – partly because, well, it’s gorgeous, and partly as a tribute to the bride’s beloved late grandmother, who adored the desert.

The couple decided to go all in and embrace the vibe of Palm Springs in crafting their day, and we are here for it! Ashleigh says she wanted her day to feel like “an upbeat Lana Del Rey music video,” and does it ever! With touches of Old Hollywood glamour and pops of bright color, this was one stylish day – don’t miss it in the wonderful photos by Anchored Photographs and video from Lady Mouse Productions!

There’s so much more to say – like, how fun is it that Ashleigh and Brett served mini latkes as one of their appetizers during cocktail hour?! – but we’ll let the bride fill you in on the rest…

 

Ashleigh and Brett, Spencer’s Restaurant, Palm Springs, California, USAAshleigh and Brett, Spencer’s Restaurant, Palm Springs, California, USAHow we Met

Ashleigh, the bride: We met at the University of Central Florida in 2016. Brett had recently returned back to Orlando after serving as a lone soldier in the IDF, and I had just finished a summer abroad program in Tel Aviv. Our mutual love for Israel was an immediate part of our connection. We met a few times but didn’t have each other’s phone numbers–so I downloaded J-Swipe so that I could easily find him and chat! The rest is history! Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Gemy Maalouf Bride for a Jewish Wedding Inspired by Italy at Loseley Park, Guildford, Surrey, UK

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Get ready to be blown away by the seriously stunning Jewish wedding of Jessica and Ross. The pair, who live in Surrey, initially wanted to get married on Lake Garda in Italy, but opted to stay closer to home due to the uncertainty of the pandemic.

In the end, they put together a one-of-a-kind wedding at Guildford’s Loseley Park that combined the very best of English countryside chic and Italian glam, and we are OBSESSED. From naming all our tables after favorite towns around Lake Garda, to playing Italian classical music, to serving Aperol Spritz followed by a four-course Italian meal for dinner, the Italian theme carried through the day.

Even Jessica’s exquisite gown stuck to the Italian theme: with the help of the wonderful team at beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror Bridal, she made it official in the ‘Capri’ gown by designer Gemy Maalouf, which she knew was the one even before she got engaged! The dress, featuring a V-Neck, A-Line style and plenty of intricate beading and 3D flowers, was an absolute knockout – and Shamel at Mirror Mirror Bridal “was an absolute angel in turning the dress into ‘my’ dress.” Don’t miss it in the luminous pics by Meg from Wild Fern Photography!

Another thing we love is that in lieu of a traditional gift list, Jessica and Ross set up a contribution found for their honeymoon with Prezola, since they didn’t need anything for their home but dreamed of an amazing honeymoon (they’re going to Thailand in January!) and loved the idea of having their family and friends be a part of it.

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll let Jessica take it from here…


How we Met

Jessica, the bride: We met on Tinder almost 7 years ago in December 2015. It was the time between Christmas and New Year so were both bored at home with nothing to do so happened to be swiping. A couple of days after we matched, we met on a typical London rainy night on London Bridge. As we lived on opposite ends of London – Ross being in south London and me living in north-west London, it seemed like the only suitable place between us.

We walked along the Thames in the pouring rain trying to find somewhere to have a drink. I remember Ross ordering a vodka and diet coke and was horrified, but he still managed to charm me. (Now we can happily share a bottle of wine together, I’ve taught him well!) We spent the whole night talking, not wanting it to come to an end. We met again for our second date just two days later and have been inseparable ever since. We haven’t gone one day without speaking to each other since that first date.

We fell in love over a shared passion for good food, love of dogs, and travel. I certainly wasn’t a sports enthusiast, but we quickly fell in love nevertheless.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Grace Loves Lace Bride for a Desert Jewish Wedding at The Lodge at Ventana Canyon, Arizona, USA

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Jenna-Mat-The-Lodge-at-Ventana-Canyon-Arizona-USA

Today we’re featuring the wedding of a very special Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Jenna! You see, way back in the Before Times, Jenna hosted the very first NYC Brides Club meetup – a challah bake at her place in Brooklyn, which, as a mega-talented baker, she also led!

During the pandemic, she and now-husband Mat (who’ve got a super cute how-they-met story, by the way) relocated from NYC back to their shared hometown of Tucson, Arizona, where they also held their wedding – and while I know the New York Brides Club crew misses Jenna’s generosity and baking prowess, after taking a look at the gorgeous landscape featured in She.We Studio’s photos, can you really blame her?!

Even before Jenna and Mat’s move back to the Southwest, they always knew they wanted their wedding to reflect the beauty of the region where they met and grew up. Their main requirement in a venue was epic mountain views, their ketubah featured watercolor mountains reminiscent of Tucson’s, their invites featured prickly pear cacti – Jenna’s bridal bouquet even featured succulents! And she found the perfect lightweight gown for Arizona climate at Grace Loves Lace, too.

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful wedding, and we’ll let Jenna tell you all about it in her own words – but before we do, we’ve got to share her kind words about her time in Brides Club:

“I joined the Brides Club because Smashing the Glass really is the only resource out there for modern Jewish weddings. The Brides Club was a way to have that same community I was seeing from other wedding resources, but with the added bonus of people actually understanding questions related to a Jewish wedding.  What I didn’t know was that I would meet so many wonderful women and make so many amazing friendships, which was especially helpful when Covid hit and caused so many of us to change or cancel our plans.  I honestly couldn’t have weathered two postponements without being surrounded by my friends and having Karen there for mental and emotional support.”

Awww! Doesn’t get much better than that, does it? Take it away, Jenna!

Jenna-Mat-The-Lodge-at-Ventana-Canyon-Arizona-USAJenna-Mat-The-Lodge-at-Ventana-Canyon-Arizona-USAJenna-Mat-The-Lodge-at-Ventana-Canyon-Arizona-USAJenna-Mat-The-Lodge-at-Ventana-Canyon-Arizona-USA
How we Met

Jenna, the bride: I am a data analyst, currently working in retail, & Mat is a customer success manager in tech.  We actually met back in 1994 (we weren’t even two years old yet) at a tumbling class at a local park’s rec center.  We reconnected throughout life, as we both grew up in Tucson, AZ and belonged to the same synagogue (I even stole Mat’s birthday for my Bat Mitzvah date), but we happened to both be at a mutual friend’s high school graduation party (who ended up being our wedding videographer) one summer.

It turned out that Mat was going to be in the same freshman business mentorship program at our local university I had been in the year prior (I was a grade ahead of Mat in school) and was planning to attend the orientation that following week (University of Arizona is a large school with multiple orientation dates).  A few days later, I got a Facebook message from Mat saying “I got your book.”  Somehow, Mat got the book we read in the business mentorship program that I had signed – out of 60 from my year and 60 in his incoming year and of all orientation dates, he got my book!  When school started, I invited Mat to our school’s Chabad welcome back barbeque for free kosher food, and the rest is history (although, it would take us until March of the following year to start dating).Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Leanne Marshall Bride for an Oceanfront Jewish Wedding at Casa Marina Resort, Key West, Florida, USA

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Kimberly-Darren-Casa-Marina-Resort-Key-West-Florida-USA

We always say there’s nothing like a Jewish wedding on the beach – well, today’s couple, Kimberly and Darren, went one better and planned a full-fledged wedding weekend away from it all in beautiful Key West!

Chill island vibes, a chuppah on the beach, ‘20s Spanish-style architecture galore, all so beautifully photographed by Karrie Porter Photography – what could be better?!

And we’re obsessed with the couple’s gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com. Kimberly and Darren picked a design by artist Shell Rummel, featuring an infinity symbol with the phrase “I Carry Your Heart” from the poem by EE Cummings – and as it turns out, the couple have a line from that same poem engraved inside of their wedding bands! So special.

Before we hand you over to the bride – who looked so elegant in Leanne Marshall – we’ve got to say we love that one of her main bits of advice to future brides and grooms is to book a day of coordinator! We are BIG fans of handing off logistics on the day to a pro so that the two of you can relax and enjoy the day, and we’re always so glad to see couples going this route.

Over to you, Kimberly!

Kimberly-Darren-Casa-Marina-Resort-Key-West-Florida-USAKimberly-Darren-Casa-Marina-Resort-Key-West-Florida-USAKimberly-Darren-Casa-Marina-Resort-Key-West-Florida-USAKimberly-Darren-Casa-Marina-Resort-Key-West-Florida-USA
How we Met

Kimberly, the bride: Darren and I met at a restaurant we were both working at. I had just graduated college and was serving, Darren had just come back to Florida after serving in the IDF and was a line cook. We had seen each other but didn’t go on out first date until after working together for a few months. Darren messaged me on Facebook and we discussed a mutual interest in poetry and writing. On our first date, I actually brought a collection of some of my favorite poetry books for Darren to read!

After dating for a year in Florida we decided on adventure and moved across the country to Denver, CO with our two cats. There Darren finished law school and I began a career in nonprofit work. Fast forward to now and Darren is a civil litigation attorney and I am in marketing for a nationwide nonprofit.Continue ReadingContinue Reading