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A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Colorful Jewish Wedding with Lots of DIY Touches at Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

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Aly and Benji, Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

Calling all DIY-loving brides and grooms! If you’re planning on crafting some elements of your Jewish wedding yourself, the beautiful wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Aly to Benji is a must-read.

From the get-go, Aly and Benji knew they wanted their big day to feel fun and whimsical to reflect their personalities – in Aly’s words, she wanted “the opposite of a white wedding!” And with tons of pastel colors (plus a few pops of something brighter) and tons of DIY, that’s exactly what they got.

Soon after getting engaged, Aly bought a cricut machine, and in the leadup to the big day she DIY’ed the couple’s large welcome mirror, customized their ring box with their initials, made the MOB and MOG personalized hoodies to get ready in, customized the card box, and DIY’ed a vase with the signature drink menu on it. Aly also designed all of the digital and print elements – including the invitations – using elements from Canva for the table numbers in gorgeous frames, menu cards, cocktail hour signs, and digital signage around the venue – she’s truly the queen of DIY! Don’t miss all the special details in the wonderful photos by Nadav at Manning Avenue.

There’s so much more to say about this exuberant Jewish wedding, but we’ll turn you over to Aly for the rest…

Aly and Benji, Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada Aly and Benji, Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada Aly and Benji, Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada Aly and Benji, Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

How We Met

Aly, the bride: On Benji’s birthday in 2019, we matched on Hinge! Benji might have been not-so-sober celebrating in Greece, but luckily, his location was still set to home for me to find.

A few weeks later, Benji suggested we “meet in the middle” at the Yonge and Sheppard Jack Astors (RIP) which was 10 minutes from his house and 20 minutes from Aly’s… but the date went well enough for us to keep our Snapchat streak going while Aly went to Disneyworld for two weeks and Benji waited patiently for her to come home (streak is still going strong at 2,200+ days!).

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An Ines Di Santo Bride for a Zionist and Proud Jerusalem-Meets-Florida Jewish Wedding Aventura at Turnberry Jewish Center, Florida, USA

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We cannot get enough of the love for Israel that shines through every single moment of today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding! Florida couple Shirley, an in-house attorney with a corporation that specializes in government contracting for emergency management, and Jared, a Florida lobbyist, planned to get married in Jerusalem on October 19, 2023.

After October 7, they knew they needed to pivot – and while the war required a change of venue, there was never any doubt that the “rescheduled wedding needed to be even bigger, even more Jewish, and even more Zionist-and-proud.” And though the location changed from Jerusalem’s Olmaya to Florida’s Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, the theme of “Yerushalayim shel zahav” (Jerusalem of gold) remained.

Shirley and Jared made every planning decision with the aim of bringing Jerusalem to their guests, including a delicious Middle Eastern-inspired menu and olive branch décor – there was even a centerpiece olive tree, serving as both homage to Jerusalem and a symbol of peace. During the chuppah, the couple wrapped themselves in the flag of Israel while their rabbi sang Hatikvah, and Israeli flags and Magen Davids were all over the big day – don’t miss these wonderful touches of Jewish pride in the photos by The Light and Color and trailer by Senderey Videography.

For their ketubah, Shirley and Jared turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Brit Colors, who handcrafted a stunning design inspired by the iconic doors of Olmaya, the duo’s original Jerusalem venue. Featuring embroidery and gold foil, it’s truly an exquisite piece of art.

There’s so much more to say about this very special, Jewish joy-packed day – read on for all the details in Shirley’s own words…

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How We Met

Shirley, the bride: We met in law school in 2017, when I sat behind Jared in Wills and Trusts. We now realize how foretelling that was of us spending the rest of our lives together.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Mira Zwillinger Bride for a Designers’ Jewish Wedding Featuring a Sea Moss Chuppah at Chablé Maroma, Riviera Maya, Mexico

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When two design pros get married, you can bet their big day is going to be something special – and that’s absolutely the case when it comes to the fabulous Jewish wedding of NYC couple Steph and Brett.

These two put their own stamp on their Riviera Maya destination wedding by designing and building everything from the event programs to welcome bags to table assignments – and their choice of ultra-stylish boutique hotel Chablé Maroma set the perfect backdrop.

Naturally, when it came to choosing a ketubah, only the best would do – and when Steph and Brett stumbled onto Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Brit Yudell of BritColors, they knew they’d found just the artist to craft their magical embroidered ketubah.

We’re also in love with the couple’s chuppah, crafted from locally sourced wood and covered in sea moss – don’t miss it in Amanda Young’s exquisite, artistic photos.

We’ll let Steph – who looked positively radiant in her gown by Israeli designer Mira Zwillinger – take it from here…

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How We Met

Steph, the bride: We met through work! Brett was a producer at a fabrication shop, and I was looking to hire someone to build my company a booth for a trade show. Given the small scale of the project, we never would have needed to meet if not for my pushy creative direction—I figured if I lived a few blocks from the shop, why not go in person and explain my vision? I’m so glad I did, because once I locked eyes with Brett, it was on.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Mira Zwillinger Bride for a Classic Jewish Wedding in Black and White at The Rockleigh, New Jersey, USA

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Brooke-and-Jacob-The-Rockleigh-New-Jersey-USA

Today’s Jewish wedding is just SO classically elegant, we can’t get enough of it. Brooke, who works in marketing, and Jacob, in impact investing, crafted the most exquisite day at The Rockleigh in New Jersey, and we are all about their glam style – don’t miss the bride’s gown from Israeli designer Mira Zwillinger!

There’s no question that this wedding is a stunner – don’t miss the joyous photos by Ira Lippke Studios and trailer by The Totos – but that’s hardly all there is to it. Brooke and Jacob were committed to crafting a day full of personal, meaningful touches – like their custom ketubah by Britt Yudell of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor BritColors, incorporating embroidered mountains to reflect the couples’ love of skiing and a beaded sun to commemorate the acoustic version of “Here Comes the Sun” Brooke chose for walking down the aisle.

Brooke tragically lost her father at age six, and the couple thought up some beautiful ways to incorporate him into the day. The pair wrapped themselves in Brooke’s dad’s tallit for the blessing by the parents, Brooke got ready wearing a robe made from her mom’s wedding dress, and the rabbi who officiated was best friends with Brooke’s dad.

Read on for all the other wonderful details of this very special day in Brooke’s own words…

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How We Met

Brooke, the bride: We met on Hinge after the algorithm suggested us saying that it thought we would be a perfect match – clearly it was right! We started chatting over Thanksgiving week in 2018 and had both never enjoyed talking to someone so much before even going on a first date, so we knew that it was special even before meeting in person. Once we had our first date we hit it off and the rest is history!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Matilda Ndrecka Bride for a Persian-Ashkenazi Jewish Wedding at Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation, Long Island, New York, USA

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Nicole and Jordan, Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation, Long Island, NY, USA

Well, here it is… our last real Jewish wedding of 2023! And we’re going out with a bang with the joyous, multicultural wedding of Nicole and Jordan at Long Island’s Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation.

Both bride and groom are very connected to their Judaism and cultural backgrounds – hers Persian and his Ashkenazi – and from the beginning they knew they wanted to incorporate elements of both traditions into their Jewish wedding. You’ve got to read on – and scroll through Amanda of Swiger Photography’s wonderful images – to see it all for yourself, but we’re especially in love with the couple’s Hana-Bandoon, or henna party, and their traditional Persian procession, which Nicole describes as “a giant family dance party,” complete with Nicole’s cousins serving as flower-men!

It was important to Nicole and Jordan to find a ketubah that honored both their backgrounds and their artistic vision, and they loved working with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Britt Yudell from Brit Colors, an incredible artist based out of Israel, on a custom piece. In Nicole’s words, “Britt is so talented, professional, artistic and dedicated to her craft. Britt worked patiently with us and listened to all of our ideas. From that, she created a stunning piece of unique art work that we will cherish forever!”

There’s so much more to say about this very special day – read on for the full story in Nicole’s own words…

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How We Met

Nicole, the bride: Like so many couples of the 21st century, we met online. We met during the pandemic. At the time, Jordan, who was a data analyst, was working from home and had barely left his apartment in months while Nicole – who was an intern physician in New York- felt like she hadn’t left the hospital since the start of the pandemic. Each felt like the other was a breath of fresh air.Continue ReadingContinue Reading