Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Home > California Jewish Wedding

A Mira Zwillinger Bride for a Rustically Elegant Jewish Wedding at Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm, Santa Barbara, California, USA

by

Laura and Danny, Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm, Santa Barbara, California, USA

Talk about a Jewish wedding with a view – we’re totally and completely obsessed with Laura and Danny’s dreamy day at Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm in Santa Barbara! With an outdoor chuppah on a meadowed bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a reception in the farm’s stunning glass greenhouse, and tons of greenery and wildflowers all around, this was one gorgeous celebration.

Laura and Danny made the wise decision to let the beauty of their location take the lead, opting for a natural and understated aesthetic featuring shades of wheat, beige and nude hues coupled with greens, as well as organic design elements like natural colored linens and textiles, exposed wood, burnished metal, and ceramic. Elena Berlo of Smashing The Glass Recommended vendor Once Upon a Paper designed the couple’s custom ketubah, translating our vision into a truly beautiful and meaningful piece.Don’t miss it all in the wonderful photos by Tara Johansen and video by Thomas Tikos-Kadji.

Now over to Laura, who looked so elegant in her gown by beloved Israeli designer Mira Zwillinger…

 

Laura and Danny, Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm, Santa Barbara, California, USA Laura and Danny, Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm, Santa Barbara, California, USA Laura and Danny, Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm, Santa Barbara, California, USA Laura and Danny, Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm, Santa Barbara, California, USA

How We Met

Laura, the bride: Danny and I were set up through a mutual friend. Our first date was at a bar in Los Angeles, CA and what was supposed to be just drinks turned into dinner and over three hours of talking and laughing. We had an instant connection and both shared a love for Documentary films. Once the physical date ended, we continued texting for another four hours that evening.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Desert Bohemian Jewish Wedding with Circus Elements at Smoke Tree Stables, Palm Springs, California, USA

by

Rena-and-Alexander-Smoke-Tree-Stables-Palm-Springs-California-USA

We love a good theme wedding – and Rena and Alexander’s was doubly great, having not just one theme but two! While their venue, Smoke Tree Stables in Palm Springs (where the groom worked for over a decade), lent itself to a Western theme, they also opted to add in circus elements by hiring a stilt walker and face painter and setting up games like horseshoe and cornhole.

Rena and Alexander worked with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rabbi Leah Richman to craft a custom ketubah involving elements from her Desert Oasis Sunrise Ketubah with desert animals, such as the mule deer, big horn sheep, and California Rosy Boa snake. She also added hedgehog cactuses with blooms of deep magenta in the foreground, and in the background the San Jacinto mountains, beneath which the Smoke Tree Stables are nestled.

We love that the duo opted for an egalitarian Kabbalat Panim, where both bride and groom were surrounded by their loved ones, in separate ceremonies, to share stories and memories. Don’t miss it all in the wonderful photos by Kathleen Geiberger Art.

Now over to the bride…

Rena-and-Alexander-Smoke-Tree-Stables-Palm-Springs-California-USARena-and-Alexander-Smoke-Tree-Stables-Palm-Springs-California-USA Rena-and-Alexander-Smoke-Tree-Stables-Palm-Springs-California-USARena-and-Alexander-Smoke-Tree-Stables-Palm-Springs-California-USA

How We Met

Rena, the bride: We met on Bumble—one success story amid myriad tribulations. Alex was nervous to get on the phone, since he is often quiet when meeting someone new. However, Rena immediately put him at ease sharing stories of backpacking in places like Catalina, the Green Mountains, and her favorite pastime—finding hard-to-reach natural hot springs. For their first date, Alex drove four hours from Palm Springs—where he worked as a horse wrangler at Smoke Tree Stables—to Anaheim to meet at the Hidden House Coffee shop.

They talked for hours and decided on a second date: a moonlight hike in the Cleveland National Forest. They hiked Upper Hot Springs Canyon to Falls Trail under the full moon. Rena didn’t think to bring food, which turned out to be a good thing, as Alex had packed a charcuterie board and four types of wine since he didn’t know her preference.

From that moonlit picnic at the waterfall, Alex knew he wanted to marry Rena. From then on, he drove four hours for many more dates while Rena finished her postdoctoral position at the University of California, Irvine.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Winnie Couture Bride for a Summer Jewish Wedding Where Old Hollywood Meets the Mediterranean at Bel Air Bay Club, California, USA

by

Sophe-and-Alex-Bel-Air-Bay-Club-California-USA

Have we got a gorgeous Jewish wedding for you today! The Mediterranean meets Old Hollywood in Sophe and Alex’s big day at Bel Air Bay Club, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and we are here for it. Every detail of their summer celebration reflected elegance and sunshine—from the light, summery color palette to the joyful florals in shades of pink, yellow, and orange.

Tragically, Sophe lost her beloved father seven years prior to the wedding, and including him in the day was a top priority. Sophe’s 95-year-old paternal grandfather walked her down the aisle, did a grandfather-granddaughter dance, and made a toast where he handed over Sophe’s dad’s hat to Alex – how special is that?

Jordan Elizabeth Photography and Loufas Films captured every moment of the day so beautifully, and we’re in love with Sophe and Alex’s gorgeous personalized ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rabbi Leah Richman of Ketubahs and More, featuring the most exquisite blue Mediterranean tiling design.

Read on for all the details in Sophe’s own words!

 

Sophe-and-Alex-Bel-Air-Bay-Club-California-USASophe-and-Alex-Bel-Air-Bay-Club-California-USASophe-and-Alex-Bel-Air-Bay-Club-California-USASophe-and-Alex-Bel-Air-Bay-Club-California-USA
How We Met

Sophe, the bride: Our story begins in August 2016 as young 23 year olds trying to figure out the real world. Only two weeks after moving to Los Angeles to do Teach For America, Sophe’s school did an overnight retreat for the teachers in Malibu and at the end of the night she decided to go on Bumble to see if she came across any celebs or cute surfers. Even better, she came across a handsome Greek man and Sophe immediately recognized him from their alma mater Chapman University (and swiped right).

Fortunately for Sophe, Alex was living in Calabasas (right over the hill from Malibu) so she was in his geographical range because Alex refused to drive more than 5 miles in LA traffic. The joke was on him as Sophe actually lived in West LA and was a 1.5 hour drive after work (aka we were long distance dating in LA).

Soon text conversation turned into a first date where Sophe and Alex got kicked out of the sushi restaurant because they stayed so long. From then on, Sophe and Alex became inseparable. A few months into dating they decided to add each other on social media, only to find out that they were already Facebook friends. Turns out they became Facebook friends in 2011, as college freshmen, and Alex even wrote “Happy birthday :)” on Sophe’s wall for her birthday in 2012. The jury is still out on if they ever did talk at some college party or if Alex always had his eye on Sophe. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Miphai Bride for an Intimate Multicultural Jewish Wedding at Home, Ventura, California, USA

by

Lesley-and-Roni-private-residence-Ventura-California-USA

Talk about a multicultural wedding: today’s bride Lesley’s from southern California, while groom Rony hails from Santiago, Chile. The pair met while living in Tel Aviv, and shortly after getting engaged they moved to Paris for work!

Lesley and Rony knew they wanted to keep things simple and intimate while bringing all these strands of their lives into the celebration, and so they opted for a 40-guest wedding at Lesley’s parents’ home in southern California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Despite some unexpected complications – the morning of the wedding was so windy that the chuppah had to be moved twice! – the whole day was so perfectly joyful, and the couple’s photographer, Phil Tripoli, captured it exquisitely.

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

Lesley-and-Roni-private-residence-Ventura-California-USA Lesley-and-Roni-private-residence-Ventura-California-USALesley-and-Roni-private-residence-Ventura-California-USA
How We Met

Lesley, the bride and Rony, the groom: We were both working in high tech in Tel Aviv. Rony is a software developper and Lesley is a product marketer. We met during Covid in 2020 and because of the tight restrictions in Israel, we had to be creative about our dates being in open spaces (like the beach or the dog park with Lesley’s two dogs) and we didn’t even go to a restaurant or a bar together until 4 months into dating.

Lesley is originally from southern California and Rony is from Santiago, Chile, although they both grew up with emotional ties to Israel (Rony’s parents lived on a kibbutz for a decade in the 1970s, and Lesley’s father had spent time on a kibbutz in the north in the 1960s). Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Jewish Wedding with a Fabulous Floral Chuppah at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

by

Justine-and-David-Hummingbird-Nest-Ranch-Simi-Valley-CA-USA

Justine, a medical resident, and David, who works in finance, got married at one of our very favorite outdoor Jewish wedding venues, Hummingbird Nest Ranch. Focusing on the natural beauty of their California setting, the duo let their venue take the lead,  choosing neutrals and earth tones to complement their surroundings.

This included an absolute stunner of a floral chuppah – don’t miss it in the dreamy photos by Joe Silva – and a gorgeous nature-inspired custom ketubah by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Meirav Finn, which Justine and David now proudly display in their home.

We also love some of the fun touches the pair incorporated into their day, like opting for had charcuterie board-style platters on each table instead of individually plated dinners, and an afterparty by the pool featuring hookahs, a cigar bar, and paninis!

Read on for the rest of the story in Justine’s own words…

Justine-and-David-Hummingbird-Nest-Ranch-Simi-Valley-CA-USA Justine-and-David-Hummingbird-Nest-Ranch-Simi-Valley-CA-USAJustine-and-David-Hummingbird-Nest-Ranch-Simi-Valley-CA-USAJustine-and-David-Hummingbird-Nest-Ranch-Simi-Valley-CA-USA
How We Met

Justine, the bride: We met in New York while I was in Medical School there. David was in town for work and a mutual friend introduced us.Continue ReadingContinue Reading