California Jewish Wedding Archives - Smashing the Glass

A BHLDN Bride for an Intimate Brunch Wedding at Madera Kitchen Los Angeles, CA, USA

29/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

And now for something totally different… a brunch wedding! In honor of their favorite meal, Lindsey, a registered dietitian, and Justin, a CPA, held their Jewish wedding in the early afternoon, welcoming guests with frozen mimosas and Bloody Marys during a pre-ceremony cocktail hour – where the bride and groom mingled with their guests, followed by the ceremony and then a family-style lunch.

The laid-back couple wanted their day to feel “like we were all just getting together and it happened to be a wedding,” and weren’t afraid to do things a little differently to make it happen. They also kept their planning low key by wisely choosing to delegate things that weren’t so important to them. Lindsey’s mom took charge of invitation design, and the couple left the chuppah design to their florist.

Photographer Kelsey Albright captured all the details of this fun-filled day – for instance, dietitian Lindsey opted to include vegetables in her bouquet, and the couple sourced their gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com – so wonderfully. Now over to the bride, who looked luminous in her bridal separates from BHLDN…

How we met

Lindsey, the bride: We met through mutual friends (Evan and Erica). Evan was Justin’s frat brother at UC Davis and Erica was my friend from elementary school. Evan and Erica were dating (and are now married). Evan was starting law school at the time and had a party at his place, so Erica invited me. Justin had approached me and we hit it off back in 2010!

An Intimate Rustic Jewish Wedding with a Pregnant Bride at The UC Berkeley Faculty Club, Berkeley, California, USA

22/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Redwoods? Check. Sunlight? Check. Perfect Arts & Crafts architecture? Check check check. Yep, we’re just a little bit obsessed with Helena and Alex’s gorgeous venue for their Jewish wedding,the UC Berkeley Faculty Club. Everything about it captures the beauty of Northern California so perfectly.

With such special surroundings, you don’t need much embellishment – and we love that the couple chose to keep things simple, with a sweet rustic birch chuppah and subtle florals in soft, spring tones. Photographer Simone Anne’s poetic images capture the cozy aesthetics so well – not to mention all the love between the couple, and the fun they so clearly had on the day!

And we love how Helena, who was pregnant with the couple’s first child at the time of the wedding, found the perfect flowy gown to complement both her changing body AND the ever-so-slightly boho vibe of her venue – can you believe it was the first one she tried on?!

Now over to the bride…

An Outdoor Wedding

Helena, the bride: we got married at the UC Berkeley Faculty Club. Having an outdoor ceremony was high on our list and with some help from the weather fairies, the sun broke through and we had a beautiful ceremony on the big lawn. We also loved the rustic, classic Berkeley feel. Elegant, cozy and a little eccentric.

A Naeem Khan Bride for a Cozy, Outdoorsy Jewish Wedding at The Hideout, Kirkwood, California, USA

21/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple isn’t afraid to do their Jewish wedding their own way – after all, helping couples do just that is really at the core of our mission. So naturally we were psyched when Kathleen and Carter’s wedding popped up in our inboxes.

These two knew their priority was a warm celebration with their loved ones, minus the stress that can so easily dominate wedding planning. They also knew they wanted to honor the groom’s love of the outdoors.

So they went right for the stuff that mattered to them and scrapped what didn’t when crafting their super fun wedding weekend at rustic venue The Hideout, in the mountains just outside Tahoe, full of hot chocolate, giant lawn games, and – above all – plenty of quality time with the couple’s nearest and dearest.Photographer Lindsey Gomes captured the wedfest in all its cozy glory.

We love that the wedding party made breakfast together in the lodge on the morning of the wedding, and Kathleen took the DIY approach to her own and her bridesmaids’ hair and makeup, “because I wanted everyone to be relaxed and feel like they were just getting ready with friends.” The best!

Another thing we love? The couple’s gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tallulah Ketubahs, inspired by the breathtaking mountain setting.

There’s so much more we could say about this fab, laid-back wedding, but before we hand you over to the bride (who looked simply smashing in Naeem Khan), we’ll leave you with one last tidbit: she and Carter opted to exchange vows to each other in private on the morning of the wedding before saying them in front of their guests during the ceremony so they could have that special moment together, just the two of them. Awwwww!

A Wedding in the Mountains

Kathleen, the bride: Carter is a consummate outdoorsman, and he has slowly but surely brought me into his world (I own a backpacking pack, a pair of skis, and climbing shoes, to name just a few new acquisitions since we started dating!), so it was a goal of mine to find a venue and plan a wedding that he would be super excited about – and that’s exactly what happened!

I knew it needed to be outdoors, remote, preferably in the mountains because that’s his happy place. The Hideout was exactly that – secluded, breathtaking, unique, and just outside Tahoe. Carter loved it as soon as I brought him on the first visit.

A Grace Loves Lace Bride for a Laid-Back Garden Jewish Wedding at Holly Farm, Carmel, California, USA

17/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Sometimes it’s the things that don’t go to plan at a wedding that make the best memories. That’s what happened at the beautiful Jewish wedding of Martina and Rob (how cute is their hashtag, #cromerhitahomer?).

Obviously, there’s a ton here that DID go to plan. I mean, can we talk about this venue?! Straight up tropical garden paradise. Flowers and greenery for daaays. It’s truly a one of a kind space – Martina says she felt like she was in an alternate universe, and we totally get it.

And the couple’s chuppah? Pure magic. Trust us, you don’t want to miss the breathtaking photos from One Love Photography.

We’re totally obsessed with the bride’s ethereal, boho dress from Grace Loves Lace – such a perfect fit for the venue, and it looks ridiculously light and comfortable, too.

There were a few mishaps along the way – the ceremony starting without the bride, Martina’s father stepping on the back of her dress as he walked her down the unexpectedly narrow aisle – but we love that Martina’s response was to laugh it off. In her words, “The ceremony faux pas became some of the best and most talked-about moments over the course of the weekend and I could not be happier about it. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.”

Take it away, Martina!

Theme

Martina, the bride: The spirit of our wedding was all about togetherness. We have an incredible love story that spans over a decade – we wanted our guests to get caught up in it and become a part of our story. We kept it light and fun and full of good humor and romance. Of course it didn’t hurt that we were surrounded by gorgeous flowers and scenery. It was impossible not to feel like something really special was happening. Perfect!

A Galia Lahav Bride for an Elegant and Energetic Persian Jewish Wedding at the Sheraton Universal, Los Angeles, CA, USA

24/05/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We love a good Persian Jewish wedding here at STG, and today’s is no exception. Sadaf, a clinical pharmacist, and Payam, a personal injury lawyer, had an epic party – with over 500 guests, how could they not?! The awesome energy kept everyone on the dance floor nonstop, and we really do mean nonstop – the bride and groom were so busy tearing up the dance floor that they skipped dinner!

And we love how they followed the Persian Jewish tradition of having the wedding party and close relatives walk down the aisle before the bride and groom and their parents – for Sadaf and Payam, that amounted to over 40 people, each of whom danced down the aisle to a song of their choice!

We’re obsessed with the glam photos from V Production – and how cool is the post-wedding shoot they did of the couple at Malibu Creek State park?!

We’re so touched by how the couple included Payam’s mom, who had tragically passed away two years before, into the wedding, by dedicating the wedding to her on their invites and displaying a picture of her under the chuppah.

We’ll let Sadaf, who was nothing short of ravishing in her dreamy Galia Lahav mermaid gown, tell you the rest…

How we met

Sadaf, the bride: Two and a half years ago, Payam and I attended a mutual friend’s house party. We never talked or met at the party. After the party, a mutual friend told Payam that she thinks we may be a good match for one another.

A few days later Payam send me a message on Facebook. Since we were not Facebook friends, his message went into my spam folder. After a few months I accidently came across his message, which was upper, cute. In the message he wrote: “a mutual friend has spoken highly of you and I would like to get to know you”. It was too cute to say no. I messaged him back and we started a conversation. On June 27th 2016, we finally went on our first date and the rest was history.