California Jewish Wedding Archives - Smashing the Glass

An Essense of Australia for a Rustic Rave Interfaith Jewish Wedding at a Private Residence in Morgan Hill, CA, USA

31/07/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We’re so excited to be sharing the joyous, colorful interfaith Jewish wedding of our beloved Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Gina, an executive admin, and Mike, a college soccer coach! This wedding was SO full of personal touches, and we are totally and completely obsessed.

From the couple’s choice to wed at Gina’s aunt and uncle’s home, to making the bouquets and boutonnières from flowers grown in Gina’s mother’s garden, to the unique and fabulous theme of rustic rave, to the bride’s decision to pair her Essense of Australia gown with white sneakers with fiber optic lighting that changed colors, this wedding was SO Gina and Mike. The couple even booked some mega-talented friends of theirs as vendors on the day, including their photographer and videographer!

The bride, who isn’t Jewish, and the groom, whose family is Orthodox, made sure to craft a ceremony that reflected both of their backgrounds. They chose to have Mike’s best friend officiate, and incorporated lots of Jewish traditions – some with a unique twist. We love that Gina and Mike asked seven friends and family to each read one blessing in English, with Mike’s brothers repeating it in Hebrew. Such a special way to honor loved ones in your day!

We also love the simple floral chuppah, built by Gina’s dad! Oh, and those fab colorful flowers adorning it? They’re fake!

Of course we’re so touched to hear Gina’s kind words about Brides Club – especially that the group gave her the freedom to plan exactly the wedding she and Mike wanted.

Take it away, Gina!

How we Met

Gina, the bride: We met on Tinder in Nov 2014. On our first date, Mike picked me up at my parents’ house and met my parents!

A Helena Kolan Bride for a Colorful, Multicultural Jewish-Hindu Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA

19/06/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Get ready to be BLOWN AWAY by the incredible Jewish-Hindu wedding of our beloved Brides Club member Jaime, who has an online fitness business, and Varun, who is CEO of a tech company. These two wanted a one-of-a-kind day that felt larger than life, and did they ever achieve that goal – thanks in no small part to the expertise of their wedding planner, Leora of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Best Bride, who Jaime describes as “the best wedding planner on the planet. Period.”

Blending two different faiths and cultures is no small feat, but Leora made it a breeze, working with Jaime and Varun to craft a jam-packed day – and we do mean a full day; this wedding went from noon until midnight! – including two ceremonies (one Hindu, one Jewish), a positively mouthwatering bicultural food experience featuring Israeli and Indian street food, and, of course, a rocking party to end things off.

The results were thoroughly, breathtakingly beautiful – we’re equally obsessed with the color and energy of the Hindu ceremony and the romance and drama of the sunset Jewish ceremony. And how beautiful is the couple’s floral ketubah, created by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush?! Jaime can’t stop raving about her experience working with founder Rachelle to create the perfect design to match the color and décor scheme for her Jewish ceremony.

You really, really don’t want to miss the fantastic photos from Clane Gessel and Sanaz Photography. Because their day had so much going on, planner Leora encouraged Jaime and Varun to hire two photography teams to make sure none of the good stuff went undocumented, and Jaime is SO glad she followed that advice. And the trailer by AndHer Visuals is equally unmissable.

Now over to the bride, who had not one, not two, but THREE dresses for the big day – her gorgrous, vibrant dress for the Hindu ceremony was made by Vama Designs, and her gown for the Jewish ceremony was custom made by Israeli designer Helena Kolan (who also created Jaime’s reception dress)…

How we met

Jaime, the bride: We met on OKCupid in San Francisco when we were both working in the start up scene.

A Martina Liana Bride for a Sunset Jewish Wedding at the Marriott Marina del Rey, California, USA

05/06/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re so excited to be featuring the beautiful SoCal Jewish wedding of our beloved Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Ashleigh, an ice skating coach and photographer, to Jason, a former PRO MMA fighter and current Muay Thai master instructor and personal trainer.

All of us at Team STG so enjoyed following Ashleigh’s planning journey in Brides Club, and we’re so touched by her kind words about her experience in the group:

Karen was so involved and totally dedicated in guiding me along my bridal journey. STG Brides Club is a virtual community where friendships are built and everyone truly supports each other. I love the fact that Karen encourages Bride’s Club Meet Ups. It is easy to form friendships online but in this day and age to meet and bond offline is a rare occasion! Now that I am married, I find myself still enjoying being a part of the STG community and I encourage every bride-to-be to join.

Aw, thanks Ashleigh – who clearly put all that Brides Club guidance to good use, because this wedding is incredible! From the floral chuppah with a panoramic view of the marina, the city, AND the ocean, to sweet personal touches like the couple’s dog, Baby, walking down the aisle in a princess crown, this was one beautiful day, and we’re obsessed with the breathtaking photos by Dmitry Shumanev and video from White Rose Production produced.

Also, how stunning does Ashleigh look in her gown from Martina Liana Bridal?! We’ll let her fill you in on the rest…

How We Met

Ashleigh, the bride: We met at the gym. Jason was teaching his kickboxing class and I thought him incredibly handsome but did not think that an MMA fighter that looked like a ninja could be Jewish. To my surprise, he was and that is when my stalking began, which lasted for 4 months until he finally asked me out.

A Romona Keveza Bride for an Indian-Jewish Wedding at Bel Air Bay Club, Los Angeles, CA

01/06/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple works to combine their backgrounds into a totally unique wedding that’s 100% them, so naturally we are so excited to feature today’s beautiful Indian-Jewish wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Wendy, who works on HR software, to Nagesh, who works in healthcare data analytics.

Wendy is Jewish, Nagesh is Indian, and the pair made it top priority to ensure both cultures were represented in their celebration. They incorporated Hebrew and Hindi text wherever they could, and used symbols that reflected both cultures throughout their stationery and design. For their rehearsal dinner, they held an Indian sangeet, a musical pre-wedding party, at an Indian restaurant. The couple wore traditional Indian dress and encouraged their guests to follow suit, and they even brought in Indian dancers to help get everyone on the dance floor.

Then, the next day, the pair had the most stunning outdoor chuppah overlooking the Pacific Ocean – seriously, don’t miss the epic imagery from photographer Laurie Bailey and videographer Yours Truly Media – with so many beautiful personal touches, from their cantor, who officiated, including the couple’s own words about their hopes for married life that she’d requested they write in advance, inviting friends and family to read the seven blessings in English after their cantor read them in the original Hebrew, and using Wendy’s great-grandparents’ gold wedding bands.

And did we mention that Wendy looked absolutely stunning in her Romona Keveza gown? Because she most definitely did.

Take it away, STG Brides Club member Wendy! (and if you want to join Brides Club (STG’s members-only community that removes wedstress and indecision, and gives you what you need to plan with confidence, join here. We’re closing the doors to free entry on Thursday so now is the time!).

&lt;span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”&gt;&lt;/span&gt;

How We Met

Wendy, the bride: Nagesh and I met in our MBA program at the University of Maryland in 2015. We hit it off as soon as classes started and the rest is history!

A Berta Bride for a Spiritual Glam Jewish Wedding at the Millennium Biltmore, Los Angeles, CA, USA

01/04/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Is this #chuppahgoals, or is this #chuppahgoals? Yep, we’re totally obsessed with the luxe, glam Jewish wedding of Heather, a dermatology resident, and Alex, lawyer who specializes in litigation defense. These two made the wise decision to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Best Bride to bring their divergent tastes and traditions – the Ashkenazi bride wanted enchanted garden vibes, while the Persian groom preferred to keep everything white and sophisticated – together into one seamlessly perfect day.

This incredible chuppah – featuring abundant white flowers and lush greenery – was the stunning compromise Leora, founder of Best Bride, helped the pair settle on. Don’t miss the gorgeous photos from Katie Beverley! And Leora’s also a master when it comes to combining different backgrounds, so needless to say the cross-cultural elements of the wedding went without a hitch.

We also love that these two put as much thought into the spiritual side of their wedding as they did to the aesthetics. Heather was especially moved by the idea of a Jewish bride serving as a source of blessing on her wedding day, and decided she wanted to pray for as many people as she could on the day – so she shared a Google doc on Facebook and let her friends submit prayer requests for anything, anonymously. Such a smart idea! We’re equally obsessed with Heather and Alex’s gorgeous papercut ketubah by Enya Keshet, which they purchased through Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com.

Now over to the bride, who looked simply ravishing in beloved Israeli designer Berta gown…

How we met

Heather, the bride : I moved from the East coast to Los Angeles in the summer after my third year of medical school to pursue a dermatology research year at USC. I thought that making a Hinge dating ap profile could be a good way to meet people in general. Alex was my first date in Los Angeles! The rest is history.Continue Reading