Christian Louboutin Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Calla Blanche Bride for a Jewish Wedding at Al Hayam Caesarea, Israel

19/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Is there anything better than an outdoor Jewish wedding by the ocean in Israel? We’re betting on no… and so did Sophie, a primary school teacher, and Elliott, a financial advisor, who opted for an epic destination wedding at Caesarea’s always stunning Al Hayam. This is one seriously stunning day – you don’t want to miss the splendid photography and videography by Camellia Art (who used a drone to capture some seriously awesome landscape shots).

This is a venue that really speaks for itself, and these two let the natural beauty of the location speak for itself, timing their chuppah for sunset, and going for a beautiful green and white chuppah that made a statement yet didn’t distract from the natural splendor of the surroundings.

We love that the couple opted to follow the tradition of doing the badeken on the aisle, honoring Elliott’s Sephardi heritage, so that the groom AND all the guests all got their first look at the beautiful bride as she walked down the aisle.

Speaking of that beautiful bride – who totally smashed it bridal style-wise in Calla Blanche – we’re going to turn you over to her now for the rest of the story…

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A Wedding in Israel

Sophie, the bride: Back in October 2016, Elliott proposed to me by the Bahai Gardens in Haifa which is his favourite place in the world. He is half Israeli and with his family living there, he would go there throughout his childhood to visit them, and so Israel is a very special place to Elliott. Getting engaged there, we knew straight away that was where we wanted get married. We got married at Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel – the minute we heard about the venue we instantly feel in love with it.

An Elegant Jewish Wedding in White at Finca La Concepcion, Spain

01/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s something about a black-and-white wedding. So crisp, so glam, so timeless.

Kat, a buyer for JD Sports, and Austin, who owns a car hire company and taxi firm in North Manchester, worked with amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Fiesta Sol to make the wedding of their dreams a reality while planning from overseas, and we think they totally nailed it.

The couple’s big day is a total fantasy in crisp whites and sharp blacks amidst a backdrop of lush greens – and don’t even get us started on that exquisitely elegant chuppah. We also love that the bride made the slightly unconventional choice to dress her bridesmaids in white gowns with black sashes tied in bows – such a timeless, classic look.

Despite a few mishaps, from the comical (the groom’s pants split!) to the not-so-comical (a hora mishap left the bride with whiplash – but don’t worry, it all ended well), this day really was just about perfect. We’re in love with Pedro Bellido’s incredible, authentic photos, and he sure knows how to capture an action shot.

Over to the bride…

How we met

Kat, the bride: We met in a bar in Manchester through a mutual friend on my husband’s birthday – he still comments how I was the best birthday present!

A Gucci Bride for an Intimate and Elegant Destination Jewish Wedding at the Great Synagogue and the Four Seasons, Florence, Italy

29/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple does their Jewish wedding their way (it’s our mantra after all), and that’s just one of the many reasons we’re so smitten with family nurse practitioner Lauren and director of sales Abraham’s gorgeous destination wedding in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

First off, we love that Lauren stayed true to herself ad opted to marry in a totally chic – and not traditionally bridal – Gucci dress she bought off the rack from Neiman Marcus! It just goes to show, you absolutely don’t have to do the big white gown thing for your big day if it doesn’t speak to you.

We also think it’s fantastic that Lauren and Abe opted to keep their wedding super intimate – they had just 24 guests! There’s something to be said for surrounding yourself with your nearest and dearest – and only your nearest and dearest – on such a special day.

It doesn’t get much better than the majestic Great Synagogue of Florence, where the chuppah took place, and the reception venue – the Four Seasons of Florence – was pretty epic in its own right. It was all captured wonderfully by award-winning photographers D2, Donatella and Damiano, whose natural, atmospheric photos captured all the love and emotion of the day so perfectly.

Also, these two have an unusual – and beautiful – how-we-met story. Seriously, you don’t want to miss this one!

Now over to the bride…

How we met

Lauren, the bride: Our story is quite special. Abe’s ex-wife, named Lauren, and her now husband Ron made the introduction.

I was a close friend of Ron’s for many years, who then started dating Lauren. Ron had met Abe on numerous occasions, as Abe and Lauren have two sons together, Leon, 10 and Felix, 8. Abe and Lauren have a great/friendly/healthy relationship and still admire one another.

Upon meeting Abe, Ron had said to Lauren, I think I have the perfect girl for Abe. I was having dinner with Ron and Lauren and actually met Leon and Felix that evening, when they made a text introduction with Abe and I – an hour later I met Abe and never laughed so hard in my life, and from then on we have been together.

An Ines Di Santo Bride for a New York-Meets-London Jewish Wedding at the Gramercy Park Hotel, NYC, USA

15/02/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Where do we even start with this epic Jewish wedding? Catherine’s sensational bridal style? The way she and now-husband Perry, combined their NYC (hers) and London (his) backgrounds? The ceremony they crafted to reflect their “Judaism Lite” approach to religion? The editorial-style photography from Christopher Lane Wedding?

Or maybe the fact that the bride is a beloved member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club?

Okay, we’ll go with that last one… Catherine has the absolute sweetest things to say about the advice, tips, and resources she found through being a member of our Brides Club (and also her SMASHED IT bag for her smash glass)!

In Catherine’s own words:

“Karen (founder of Brides Club) was absolutely SMASHING in everything from her one-on-one advice inside Brides Club, to daily tips, and as neither my husband and I are very religious, the vast breadth of Jewish related questions and answers I was able to get answered was priceless.”

So back to Catherine’s bridal fashion sense… this super stylish bride, and she had not one but TWO gorgeous dresses: for the ceremony, an uber-glam long-sleeved Ines di Santo, and for the reception an edgier custom gown by the bride’s friend designer Paul Raymond — and we’re TOALLY obsessed with both looks.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll let the bride take it from here…

New York Meets London

Catherine, the bride: We got married a the Gramercy Park Hotel in NYC. I had wanted to get married in the UK as my husband is from London… plus who doesn’t want to be an English countryside bride?!

However, my mother put the kibosh on that (after we had already traveled to and picked the venue in England), claiming the wedding should be in the bride’s hometown. As I am born and bred NY’er, there was no shortage of venue options. We decided on the GPH as it embodied the perfect symbiosis of New York City glamour and London chic. Additionally, my parents’ first apartment was also on Gramercy park and the rooftop terrace has a Robert Mapplethorpe by Andy Warhol portrait… given my mother was Robert’s publisher while he was alive, it further supplanted the idea that the GPH was the venue for us.

An Inbal Dror Bride for a Mega Glam Jewish Wedding at the Ritz Naples, Florida, USA

14/01/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Two words: Orchid. Chuppah.

You know we love a good floral chuppah, and Michele and Scott went all out, packing every possible inch of theirs with glorious florals, from the poles to the edges to the gorgeous curtain of orchids hanging down the back.

This modern chic beachside wedding was packed full of luxe details, from the tiny bottles of Champagne they handed out as favors to their colorful ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com to the incredible paper and leather flower wall behind their sweetheart table — truly, it’s unmissable (oh.. and if you want to get lots of creative ideas for your wedding do sign up for this with our founder, Karen! It’s totally free and totally unmissable!)

Michele, who is chief administrative officer for a private equity firm, and Scott, a wealth manager at Merrill Lynch, chose photographer Emily Harris and videographer Senderey Video to capture their big day, and we think you’ll agree they did a totally awesome job of it.

We’ll let Michele, who looked incredible in her stunner of a dress from Inbal Dror, which she found at Mark Ingram Atelier in NYC, fill you in on the rest…