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Real Jewish Bride: Sarah on Postponing for the Third Time

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Sarah will be marrying Rich on 19th June 2022 at Tikitano Beach, Marbella, Spain. Click here to read all Sarah’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Sarah knew Rich was the one when he brought a gift of dog treats for her toy poodle Nuala along to their fourth date! (2) They are crafting an amazing destination wedding weekend in Marbella with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended vendor optimum weddings as their planner. (3) Sarah is a member of  Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!


In my last blog I mentioned how we had decided to get a backup date in place for 2022 and how we hoped it was just a “formality”. Well, the good news is that it was a sensible idea, the less exciting news is that it was less of a formality and more of a necessity! In January of this year we made the difficult decision to postpone our wedding one last time.

Needless to say, neither Richard or I can predict the future, but we felt that it was the safer option for many reasons. We have waited so long for our dream wedding, so in reality, one more year is not the end of the world to us.

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Real Jewish Brides: Maggie on Wedding Planning in Full Force

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Maggie will be marrying Danny on 6th June 2021 at Stone House of St. Charles in St. Charles, Missouri. Click here to read all Maggie’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Danny proposed to Maggie on his birthday! (2) Maggie is in the process of converting to Judaism (3) Maggie is a member of STG Brides Club!


Wedding planning is in full force again. With only 5 months left till the big day things are starting to be put into motion.  As many of my friends and family already know our save the dates went out at the end of December.

They are beautiful and classic, going right along with the theme of our wedding, all thanks to the talents of Abbie Rudolph of Abbie Takes Pictures  for our amazing photograph on the save the dates and our friend Leah Sachs of Leah E Moss Designs who designed the whole save the date and will be continuing with our invitations, signage, as well as the big item, our ketubah.

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An Autumnal Backyard Jewish Minimony in Yonkers, New York, USA

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We’re totally and completely in love with the beautiful backyard micro wedding of Brides Club member Sara, a social media coordinator at a jewelry company, and Ian, a special education middle school teacher.

These two had originally planned a 150-person wedding for October, but due to the pandemic they opted to postpone their big celebration to next year and proceed with a 20-person minimony held in Sara’s father’s backyard.

On a perfect, sunny autumn day, Sara and Ian gathered with their families – including their beloved grandparents – for an intimate outdoor celebration, complete with COVID safety precautions: everyone wearing masks, hand sanitizer everywhere, and each household assigned to their own space. They streamed the proceedings on Zoom so those on their original guest list who couldn’t be there in person could still take part in the day.

For the in-person guests, Sara and Ian provided individual boxed lunches – and, best of all, Sara’s aunt gifted the gluten-free bride a super chocolatey, super delicious gluten-free cake from one of her favorite places, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor By The Way Bakery– known far and wide for the tastiest and most beautiful GF wedding cakes around.

We love all the DIY touches – Sara not only did her own hair and makeup, she also hand painted her denim wedding jacket with a moon, stars, hearts, and the words “Written in the Stars” to wear as a coverup – and you can just feel the joy exuding from each and every one of the photos by Tohid Rasel of Monolith Images Studio.

We’ll let the bride fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Sara, the bride: Ian and I started chatting on JSwipe in 2017 and we’ve talked everyday since. We had an immediate connection, went on a few dates, and just two weeks later we were exclusive.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

2021 we are ready for you!

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KAREN-CINNAMON

Ready to put 2020 behind you? Yeah, I thought so!

We’ve all got a lot of big hopes for 2021 and I want to make sure you get the year started on the right track.

So starting this Monday, January 4, I’m running a five-day wedding wellbeing challenge designed to get you feeling good about planning and empowered for whatever lies ahead.

The five-day wedding wellbeing challenge is free…but only if you’re a member of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club.

Brides Club is the place for community, identity, belonging, and planning your Jewish or Jew-ish wedding your way.

Not a member yet? Join Brides Club now… and even better you can currently join on a free 30 Days promotion to access:

  • Community (online and IRL… across the globe!)
  • Connection
  • 1:1 wedding planning guidance with me
  • 100s of Jewish wedding resources
  • Extensive library of pandemic planning resources covering EVERYTHING
  • 100’s of handpicked discounts and gifts
  • Weekly Yoga classes
  • Crafting & Kvetching
  • Live Bridal Masterclasses
  • Social get-togethers
  • Everything you need to get through this emotionally challenging time
  • And the excitement you deserve to feel when you’re wedding planning!

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

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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…

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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 ReadingContinue Reading