Chicago Jewish wedding Archives - Smashing the Glass

An Allison Webb Bride for a 1920s Glam Jewish Wedding at the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, Chicago, Illinois, USA

13/07/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We could not be more excited to be sharing the gorgeous vintage glam Jewish wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Jacklyn, a registered nurse, and Jeffrey, who owns a real estate company!

Taking cues from the old-world luxury vibe of their ca. 1929 venue, the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, Jacklyn and Jeffrey turned the hotel’s already stunning ballroom into an eclectic fantasyland, full of luxe florals and pampas grass, in a neutral color palette with pops of gold – including an absolutely stunning gold chuppah, which the couple covered with the groom’s grandfather’s tallitot. Don’t miss Erin Hoyt’s moody, classic photos and This Charming Heart’s wonderful trailer.

We also love the creative approach Jacklyn and Jeffrey took to structuring their day: Jacklyn wanted to be sure everyone would see her in her dress for the first time as she walked down the aisle, so to help with the flow of the day the pair opted to have their ketubah signing the night before the wedding. This turned into a very special gathering for an intimate group of 20, including family and friends who’d flown in from Poland and Dubai, beautifully photographed by the bride’s friend, fashion photographer Anna Stokland.

And we’re in love with the couple’s ketubah, a replica of an Italian ketubah dating from 1768 which they purchased from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com! (PSA to all history lovers: in addition to their fantastic collection of contemporary designs, Ketubah.com also has a wonderful collection of historical designs based on ketubot from all over the world, some dating back to the 1500s.)

There’s so much more we could say about this exquisite wedding, but we’ll leave it to Jacklyn, who looked like an absolute supermodel in Allison Webb, to share the rest…

How We Met

Jacklyn, the bride: We met through mutual friends. Went on one date and we instantly knew, that night, we were each other’s “one”.Continue Reading

A Pronovias Bride for a Windy City-Themed Jewish Wedding at The Shapiro Ballroom, Chicago Illinois, USA

10/02/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re so excited to be featuring the beautiful Jewish wedding of STG Brides Club member Leah, a food scientist, and Scott, a middle school science and social studies teacher – and these two might just have the coolest venue story we’ve EVER heard.

You see, back in the ‘60s, Leah’s grandfather owned a movie theater in Chicago, The Alvin – it’s such a big part of the bride’s family’s story that her father was even named Alvin in its honor! After many years of abandonment, just a few years ago the theater was finally renovated and turned into… wait for it… a wedding venue! What more perfect place for these two to wed – especially given that they themed their big day around their love for their home city of Chicago? #livinlavidavenus indeed!

This is just one of the many amazing personal touches that added up to make Leah and Scott’s wedding truly one for the books. How cute are the mini Heinz (in honor of the bride’s workplace, Kraft Heinz, as well as her love for ketchup) ketchup bottles with personalized labels they gave out as favors? And of course we adore the pair’s tree of life ketubah by the wonderful Rachelle of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush!

Jamie & Eric Photography captured all the details – not to mention the emotion – exquisitely, and we can’t get enough of the shoot they did with the couple at all of their favorite Chicago landmarks.

Now over to the bride, who could not have looked more elegant in her classic Pronovias ballgown…

How we met

Leah, the bride: We actually met 5 years ago through Jcrush! Swiping right really paid off as I married my best friend.

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Nature-Inspired Jewish Wedding at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Illinois, USA

01/02/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We love a good garden wedding. And we love it even more when a couple really goes all out in making the most of their natural surroundings, like Jane, an actor and a voiceover artist, and Adam, who works in digital distribution.

Elegance meets rustic in this beautiful Jewish wedding, inspired by the pair’s love of nature and celebration of the changing of the season from summer to fall at their September celebration, from a seasonal, produce-driven menu (incorporating recipes the foodie duo put together themselves!), earthy clay kiddush cups, anda gorgeous painted ketubah reflecting their love of nature and the changing seasons by artist Jessica Kraft, purchased from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com.

And speaking of beautiful wedding design, Jane and Adam were lucky enough to work with one of our fave

luxury stationers, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor E.Y.I. Love, on their invitations. We’re obsessed with the minimalist chic invitations they came up with together, featuring gold foiled text and gilt edging, a custom cactus print envelope lining, and forest green calligraphy on each envelope. If you love the look as much as we do, be sure to enter the competition we’re running to win your wedding stationery from E.Y.I Love. It closes in a few days – so make sure you don’t miss out!

Now over to Jane, who looked stunning in her beaded strapless princess gown by Monique Lhullier, which she found at wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club in South Kensington, London…

Jiho Park from Lilly Photography and Hunter Floyd from Hunter Floyd Films captured all the emotion and elegance of the day so perfectly. Enjoy!

A Garden Wedding

Jane, the bride: We got married at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois, in the USA (2 September, 2018). The venue is located close to the bride’s family’s home. Though then it seemed like a far-away dream, when Jane was around 7, she told her parents that she “would marry either a South-African or British man and get married at the Chicago Botanic Garden.” And so it was, she married a British man and got married at the Botanic Garden!

A Rebecca Schoneveld Bride for a Super Stealth Surprise Jew-ish Wedding at Salvage One in Chicago, Illinois, USA

26/10/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re totally obsessed with this super cool SURPRISE Jew-ish wedding. Ariel and George told guests they were throwing an engagement party, but it turns out the sneaky duo had actually planned a stealth wedding, just three months after getting engaged!

An hour into their “engagement” do, the pair slipped away and changed into their bridal attire while guests were ushered into a previously gated off area that just happened to contain the ceremony setup — chuppah and all!

Ariel, a renewable energy business developer, and George, a software developer, wanted to stay true to their own style in planning their big day — totally our kind of couple — and they knew a long engagement wasn’t for them.

They wanted a fantastic party to celebrate their love with their nearest and dearest, and that’s exactly what they got — once guests got over the shock, everyone seems to have had a pretty epic time, if the photos from Bill Shayaka of Eivan Photography are anything to go by.

Another way this cool couple made their big day totally them? Paperless invitations from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Greenvelope. Ariel and George loved that Greenvelope’s evites helped them keep their big day ecofriendly, not only by avoiding paper but also because Greenvelope donates to help preserve forests. What a great way to incorporate their dedication to the environment into the wedding!

Now over to Ariel, who looked so elegant in her classically bridal gown from Rebecca Schoneveld…

How We Met

Ariel, the bride: We met at a startup incubator that both our companies were out of. The incubator hosted happy hours regularly so the companies could network with each other. George saw Ariel from across the room and made it his goal to speak to her by the end of the night, and he accomplished that goal and so much more. We have both since moved out of that incubator, but that place will always be dear to both of us.Continue Reading

A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Contemporary Cool Jew-ish Wedding at Le Meridien Chicago, Illinois, USA

07/09/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Today is a special day for all of us at Smashing The Glass: it’s our first time blogging the Jew-ish wedding of one of our very own Brides Club members! Jeanette had the SWEETEST things to say about the inspiration she found in the Club and on Smashing The Glass:

I absolutely adored Smashing The Glass. The personal outreach, appeal to a specific group of brides, detailed blog posts, and overall eye for uniqueness and quality made it a much more visited website and Facebook page than other wedding blog. I used Facebook Lives and articles from STG to aid in my planning process, such as in writing my speech, deciding on a veil, buying a smash glass (and knowing how to use the pieces after), designing a cake, picking songs, and many other elements I’m forgetting! I can’t think of anything missing from the blog!”

Aw… we’re blushing now… Jeanette, a speech-language pathologist, and Chris, an architect, are all about contemporary minimalist design, and they channeled their passion for all things modern into an ultra-unique wedding aesthetic.

From the geometric hanging centerpieces (!) to the striking cake with metallic geometric dividers between the layers to the stylish stationery (100% designed by the groom!), this wedding has some serious flair. Jennifer Hyde of JHyde Photography did such a fantastic job capturing all the cool touches.

We’re so thrilled that the couple credits STG with helping them do everything from picking songs to writing speeches, but one thing we can’t take credit for? Jeanette and Chris’s brilliant idea to “table hop” during dinner: instead of staying in one place for the whole meal (or, alternately, running around frantically with no time to eat), they chose four tables to sit at, one for each course. That way, they were able to spend time with more of their guests, in a relaxed way. Such a smart setup!

Now over to Jeanette, who looked stunning in her tulle-tastic blush pink Maggie Sottero gown (and matching rose gold hair!)…