Clane Gessel Photography Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Helena Kolan Bride for a Colorful, Multicultural Jewish-Hindu Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA

19/06/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Get ready to be BLOWN AWAY by the incredible Jewish-Hindu wedding of our beloved Brides Club member Jaime, who has an online fitness business, and Varun, who is CEO of a tech company. These two wanted a one-of-a-kind day that felt larger than life, and did they ever achieve that goal – thanks in no small part to the expertise of their wedding planner, Leora of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Best Bride, who Jaime describes as “the best wedding planner on the planet. Period.”

Blending two different faiths and cultures is no small feat, but Leora made it a breeze, working with Jaime and Varun to craft a jam-packed day – and we do mean a full day; this wedding went from noon until midnight! – including two ceremonies (one Hindu, one Jewish), a positively mouthwatering bicultural food experience featuring Israeli and Indian street food, and, of course, a rocking party to end things off.

The results were thoroughly, breathtakingly beautiful – we’re equally obsessed with the color and energy of the Hindu ceremony and the romance and drama of the sunset Jewish ceremony. And how beautiful is the couple’s floral ketubah, created by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush?! Jaime can’t stop raving about her experience working with founder Rachelle to create the perfect design to match the color and décor scheme for her Jewish ceremony.

You really, really don’t want to miss the fantastic photos from Clane Gessel and Sanaz Photography. Because their day had so much going on, planner Leora encouraged Jaime and Varun to hire two photography teams to make sure none of the good stuff went undocumented, and Jaime is SO glad she followed that advice. And the trailer by AndHer Visuals is equally unmissable.

Now over to the bride, who had not one, not two, but THREE dresses for the big day – her gorgrous, vibrant dress for the Hindu ceremony was made by Vama Designs, and her gown for the Jewish ceremony was custom made by Israeli designer Helena Kolan (who also created Jaime’s reception dress)…

How we met

Jaime, the bride: We met on OKCupid in San Francisco when we were both working in the start up scene.

Real Jewish Brides: Jaime’s Final Countdown

25/09/2019 by Smashing The Glass

Jaime will be marrying Varun on 26th October 2019 at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA. Click here to read all Jaime’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Jaime and Varun will be having a Jewish ceremony AND a Hindu ceremony – on the same day! (2) They’re planning a swanky but not stuffy wedding at one of our fave California venues, Hummingbird Nest Ranch! (3) Jaime is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

1 month to go!

Here we are – the final sprint until the big day!

September 1 we had my bridal shower and it was so much fun to be with my family and spend the time. My mom and my aunts threw me the most beautiful shower – where I told her I wanted it to be “all things sparkly, colorful and rainbow” aka ungapatchka, lol!

Real Jewish Brides: Jaime’s Putting the Finishing Touches on Her Hindu-Jewish Wedding

31/07/2019 by Smashing The Glass

Jaime will be marrying Varun on 26th October 2019 at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA. Click here to read all Jaime’s planning posts to date.

3 months to go

Hi everyone! I’m excited to update you all on what we’ve been up to the last several weeks! It feels like all of a sudden things are happening so fast. We have just over 3 months to go and so much has to happen before then! Now, more than ever I am so grateful that we invested in such a high quality wedding planner to keep us on track. I have no idea where I’d be without her guidance!

Image by Fletch Photography

Real Jewish Brides: Jaime Talks About What’s Happened in The Past Three Months and What’s Next

02/07/2019 by Smashing The Glass

Jaime will be marrying Varun on 26th October 2019 at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA. Click here to read all Jaime’s planning posts to date.

What’s happened in the past three months

Hey everyone! My goodness it’s been such a whirlwind since I last checked in with STG! April, May and June have been full of fun! As I mentioned in my last blog – we had the best time doing our pre wedding shoot with Clane Gessel – our wedding photographer – just check some of these out…

Image by Clane Gessel

Real Jewish Brides: Jaime’s Pre-Wedding Photoshoot and Wedding Planning Update

07/05/2019 by Smashing The Glass

Jaime will be marrying Varun on 26th October 2019 at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA. Click here to read all Jaime’s planning posts to date.

A pre-wedding photo shoot in a natural wonder

It’s been a little while since I’ve blogged but so much has been happening and I can’t wait to share it with you!

I am literally writing this as I’m at the airport coming from our amazing pre-wedding photo shoot that we did with our photographer, Clane Gessel.

When we signed up with Clane, he told us we could do a pre wedding photoshoot to anywhere in the US and when we saw the photos he had done at White Sands Beach NM – we knew we had to do it there.

White Sands Beach is a sight to be seen – there is nothing like it as it is a true natural wonder. We got the most amazing shots and had the best time shooting with Clane and his assistant Chloe.

Here is a sneak peek from the shoot…