Chicago Jewish wedding Archives - Smashing the Glass

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!)…

How We Met

Jeanette, the bride: We met in college at Southern Illinois University, at a party one of my now-bridesmaids convinced me to go to!

Jamie & John | Garden loft Jewish wedding with an amazing suspended floral chuppah at Open Secret Studios, Illinois, Chicago, USA

14/07/2015 by Karen

Jamie and John’s big day is swoon-inducingly pretty. I love every single creative element — from the incredible suspended flower-covered chuppah, to the “best woman” dog wearing a custom satin harness made by the groom’s mum, to the illustrated invitations, programs, menus and place cards, all painstakingly hand-sketched and painted by the bride herself!

It’s just all so exquisite with so much creative input from both the bride and groom.

And the flowers just take my breath away. I expect muchos pinning action to be happening this morning – I for one will be pinning my heart out!

In a slight deviation from the norm, the narration of this W-Day comes directly from Becca Heuer, Jamie and John’s super talented wedding photographer who as it happens is getting married herself in a couple of months! Becca, take it away…

Continue Reading

Susie & Andrew | Gold themed city-chic Jewish Wedding at South Branch, Chicago, with the bride in a sequin-covered wedding dress!

24/11/2014 by Karen

I adore this morning’s wedding. The colour palette of blush pink and golden hues is beautiful, and bride Susie’s blush tulle BHLDN gown (a super flattering hue for fair-skinned blondes by the way) glimmers from head to toe in full-on floor length gold and silver sequins. I LOVE it.

Susie found her dress a year in advance and it became the inspiration for the rest of her wedding decor and her chosen theme of gold and blush (one of my favourite colour combos).

This is city chic done delicately and beautifully – it’s so elegant, pretty, and relaxed. Just wait until you see the simple but oh so dreamy chuppah, the divine florals and the vivid and contemporary ketubah design.

The images are courtesy of Thomas Slack from Slack Photography, who has captured Susie and Andrew’s day exquisitely. With every image, the tone is just right. Anticipation, fun, laughter, love and joy all come through.

Personally, I think this is a fabulous way to start the week…and I really hope you’ll agree.

A restaurant venue

Susie, the Bride: We are not “ballroom” people, and we wanted something different and less formal, so we decided to go with a restaurant. South Branch is located right on the river in downtown Chicago and the outdoor ceremony space and bar seemed perfect for our ceremony and party. We were also very busy while planning the wedding (I was finishing up my MBA) and South Branch made it so easy for us. The restaurant is beautiful and needed very little in terms of decor, which was perfect for us!