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A Vera Wang Bride for an Elegant Spring Jewish Wedding at Pleasantdale Chateau West Orange, NJ, USA

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Because we can all use a bit of springtime cheer right now, we’re excited to share the beautiful Jewish wedding of two high school sweethearts: Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Elizabeth, a lawyer, and Bernie, a doctor (#cantTARASaPART).

It’s always a pleasure blogging the weddings of our Brides Club members, and we’re so touched by the bride’s kind words about how the group helped her plan her big day. Elizabeth especially loved the personal vendor referrals Team STG provides to Brides Club members on a daily basis – we connected her with her fab planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Amy Katz Events, who did SUCH an incredible job bringing the couple’s vision for their day together and keeping everything running smoothly on the day, as well as the couple’s ketubah designer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Melanie Dankowicz – the gorgeous floral papercut she created was the absolute perfect fit for the soft springtime vibes that characterized the day.

Speaking of springtime vibes, how about that chuppah?! We adore the profusion of roses and peonies in soft pinks, corals, and whites – and those hanging floral strands just add that little something extra. The mirrored frame keeps the whole structure looking contemporary, too – don’t miss it in the wonderful photos from Maya Myers and video from Motoko Fukayama of Love in Progress.

We’ll let Elizabeth, who was a total knockout in Vera Wang, take it from here…


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A Chateau Wedding

Elizabeth, the bride: We got married at Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange, NJ. We are both from NY so neither one of us had any particular ties to NJ, but we were struggling to find a venue that spoke to us. Then someone suggested Pleasantdale and we fell in love from the moment we walked in.

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Real Jewish Bride: Sarah on Planning a Wedding During Coronavirus

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Sarah will be marrying Rich on 21th June 2020 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!

When you plan a wedding you always expect there to be bumps along the way, such as family dilemmas, issues with the band, the logistics of an abroad wedding, and so on. What you don’t plan for is a worldwide pandemic three months before you are meant to say “I do”!

The Coronavirus has become a talking point like no other. It is the only thing that people want to talk about, and when it is mentioned in the same sentence as your wedding then it is never a good scenario!

I started off a little anxious about it but then I decided to be positive because it is out of my control and I can’t worry about something which I cannot control. However, that is all well and good until you have people calling you and asking you what your contingency plan is and if you are going to postpone the wedding!

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Coronavirus and Your Wedding Plans – How Smashing The Glass Can Help

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If you’re getting married in the next few weeks, or even months, you’re no doubt currently consumed with coronavirus wedding concerns.

I’ve just recorded a Facebook Live (above) with some top tips of what you can do right now if you’re thinking about postponing your wedding, or potentially facing a drastically reduced guest list.

We’re having so many #CoronaConversations inside Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club about the impact of Coronavirus on our wedding plans, and I have individually answered a lot of those questions inside the Smashing The Glass Brides Club members-only Facebook group.

Tomorrow, Sunday March 15,  I am also hosting a live Zoom call for Brides Club members to solve all their wedding planning issues, however big or small / struggles / questions / concerns / and with Coronavirus threatening to impact so many of our wedding plans, this is a great way for me to talk to you 1:1 about anything you’re worried about concerning the impact.

Let’s get it solved for you, and let’s get an action plan in place.

I have opened up free 30 day places inside Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club once more, so that you can all benefit from the Corona chat and handling your plans at this stressful time, so do click below for free for 30 days, and let’s alleviate some of the stress.
 

>> JOIN SMASHING THE GLASS’ BRIDES CLUB FOR FREE

 

I will also be bringing in a Psychotherapist  for a mini segment on Coronavirus and anxiety during this Sunday’s call, as we know it’s affecting our anxiety levels, as well as our wedding plans.

The bottom line is, Coronavirus or no, you’re going to have an AMAZING wedding – even if it may look a little different than it did prior to the pandemic – and I’m here to help ensure that happens.

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Real Jewish Brides: Jos’s Grooms’ Eye View into Wedding Planning

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Jos will be marrying Daniel on 28th June 2020 at Hackney Town Hall, London, UK. Click here to read all Jos’ planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Before meeting Daniel, Jos was known for her torrid dating tales – so much so that her friends used to call her Bridget Jonestein! (2) Daniel proposed to Jos in the Greek island of Naxos! (3) Jos is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

The lead up to Daniel and I getting engaged was one of great anticipation. My mum called me one day and said ‘just tell him, the minute he proposes, I’m ready to get organising’. I too had tentatively started googling things… not wanting to tempt fate, but just to prep.. you know… just in case. Fast forward to the week after Daniel proposed, and I received of the biggest shocks of the wedding planning process so far.

Daniel, had an opinion. 

And I really don’t blame myself for the surprise I felt. We’re conditioned to believe that the wedding is the biggest day of a girl’s life. That the bride is the centre of attention. And if you think about popular culture, that’s really not surprising.

Take movies as an example. A cursory google brought up 99 films with ‘Bride’ in the title. These of course don’t include films that focus on a bride, but don’t specifically call it out in the title (i.e. almost every Disney cartoon). It does include the ‘Bride of Chucky’, which is not exactly within the romantic genre, but this isn’t an exact science.

Guess how many films I found with the word groom in the title? Five. Four of those films were made in the 1930’s, and one, confusingly, was called ‘The Well-Groomed Bride’, so, it doesn’t count. TV is another example. 

The only TV show I can think of that really features a groom is called… ‘Don’t tell the Bride’. So, I think I can be excused for the surprise when it dawned on me that this wasn’t the movies, it was real life and in real life, the Groom has a say. 

So, in true British style, I’ve decided to dedicate this post to the underdog. The most underrepresented demographic in the wedding world. The Groom.


From left to right: Jen, Jos, Charlotte and Jocy, all Brides Club Members and actual/former Real Blogging Brides. Their partners have been interviewed by Jos.

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A La Femme Bride for a Rainbow Glitz Jewish Wedding at The Rattlesnake Club, Detroit, MI, USA

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Happy Valentine’s Day! In honor of February 14, we’re bringing you something extra special today – the Jewish wedding of Amy Becker, who you may know as the inventive foodie behind What Jew Wanna Eat and online Judaica emporium ModernTribe, and groom Andrew, a tech executive.

Amy’s known for colorful (literally!) recipes like rainbow challah (which made an appearance at the wedding) and Jewnicorn hot chocolate, so it’s no surprise she and Andrew cooked up a totally rainbowtastic wedding. The bride describes the wedding theme as “rainbow gold glitter formal,” and in keeping with that vibrant ethos went for a non-traditional and super fun pink La Femme wedding dress. Photographers Holly and Erik and videographer Dustin, both from Mike Staff Productions, captured the day in all its glory.

This wedding was totally, 100% Amy and Andrew, and we’re obsessed with Amy’s advice on going all out to make your big day just the way you want it:

A few people advised us to pick a timeless wedding look, but we did the opposite! Don’t worry about picking something trendy or unique if that’s what you want. We added lots of colored lanterns and a Funfetti cake and neon table numbers and it felt totally us. It may look dated one day, but who cares as long as it reflected you on your special day.

And would you believe that Amy and Andrew planned the whole thing in just four months, and long-distance too?! We’re so touched that Amy credits our very own STG Brides Club with having helped them pull it off. In her own words:

I especially enjoyed bouncing ideas off other brides in the STG Brides Club Facebook group. The girls and Karen feel more like friends, and have the best ideas so you don’t have to nag your friends for feedback. I also stalked the Smashing the Glass website and got so much inspiration from the other wedding posts and the checklists were invaluable.

If you’d like to get in on the Smashing The Glass Brides Club magic too, now’s your chance! We’re currently offering a free 30-day trial so you can check out this wonderful community for yourself – but it’s only valid until Monday 17 Feb at 23:59 PST, so sign up now and see what all the fuss is about!

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Everything Bagel Forever

Amy, the bride: We met on the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel when we both lived in San Francisco, and from that day forward I was “Amy Bagel” in Andrew’s phone. Our first date was at the club Andrew is a member of, where he convinced me to try a booze-heavy Vesper instead of my usual red wine. After a few drinks and lots of laughs, we moved onto late-night oysters and talked for hours. On our third date, Andrew made me a multi-course dinner complete with a Funfetti cake to win me over, and it totally did. I was smitten and impressed.

After a month of travelling separately, we reunited on New Year’s Eve 2018, when Andrew changed his flight from Michigan to come back early to celebrate with me. He also brought me back corned beef. I knew he was a special one, and we were exclusive from then on. A few months later he proposed we move to Puerto Rico for a job opportunity, and a year after that he proposed we get married. Both were easy questions to say “yes” to. I’m still “Amy Bagel” in Andrew’s phone, and now I’m his everything bagel forever.

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