Connecticut Jewish Wedding Archives - Smashing the Glass

An Etsy Bride for an Interfaith Jewish Wedding with Plenty of DIY at Farms Country Club, Wallingford, Connecticut, USA

27/09/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

We could not be more delighted to be sharing the gorgeous interfaith Jewish wedding of our beloved Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Nalda! Nalda, a licensed massage therapist, married groom Dan, who works in higher education, in a heartfelt ceremony with some truly wonderful DIY touches.

First off, how special is it that Nalda’s crafty mom made the couple’s chuppah canopy and chair sashes? She also helped crochet kippot for the guests – and Nalda and Dan even learned to crochet themselves so they could join in! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to touching personal details – don’t miss the super special way the couple included Nalda’s son in their ceremony! You can tell from Misha Book‘s photos what a truly special day it was.

And of course we’re so touched by Nalda’s kind words about our Brides Club. In her words,

Brides Club was an invaluable resource during our planning. I spent so much time reading through all the Brides Club checklists and guides, on everything from choosing your planning priorities, to picking traditional music, and what to include in our programs… The other Brides Club members are always so supportive and quick to provide advice, insight, creative ideas, or just a listening ear. I can honestly say our wedding wouldn’t have been half of what it was without Brides Club.

There’s so much more to say – just for starters, the wild story of Nalda’s Etsy dress, and the couple’s surprise minimoon – but we’ll hand you over to the bride now…

How we Met

Nalda, the bride: We met on Hinge!Continue Reading

A Rime Arodaky Bride for a Backyard Jewish Micro Wedding in Connecticut, USA

25/01/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

We are absolutely in love with the beautiful backyard Jewish wedding of NYC couple Alexis, a physician, and Marc, a lawyer! Alexis’s work as a front-line provider during the peak of the pandemic in New York made the pair realize it was time to seize the day and seal the deal.

Since Alexis and Marc didn’t want to wait long before making it official, a backyard wedding at the bride’s parents’ home made perfect sense. The couple didn’t have much time to spend planning, so they sought out micro wedding expert Susie Blumenfeld of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Pink House Productions to plan the rustic celebration of their dreams. And are we ever obsessed with the outcome – the perfect intimate romantic day, strewn with white blooms and greenery (including the most beautiful birch chuppah). Don’t miss the gorgeous photos from Dreamscapes Studio – or the stunning ketubah from Our ketubah was from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com.

We also love that in shopping for the perfect dress for her casual outdoor day – something she had to do all online, since bridal stores were closed due to the pandemic – Alexis sought out French designers whose lines included civil ceremony dresses. And did she ever find her match in the most exquisite Rime Arodaky!

We’ll let her take it from here…

How we Met

Alexis, the bride: We both work very busy and opposite schedules and somehow were lucky enough to cross paths on the app Hinge in January 2019.Continue Reading

An Eddy K. Bride for a Jewish Interfaith Backyard Micro Wedding in Connecticut, USA

27/11/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re so delighted to be sharing the gorgeous interfaith Jewish micro wedding of our Brides Club member Julia, a social worker for the Department of Veteran’s affairs working to hose homeless veterans, and Josh, an EMT and US Army veteran!

Julia and Josh had originally planned for a 200-person wedding at a local park, but when COVID hit they downsized their guest list and shifted the festivities to Julia’s mom’s property – which, luckily for the couple, just happens to be a beautiful farm filled with green fields of wildflowers.

Regardless of the location, Julia’s top priority was always to create a relaxed and inclusive celebration that embraced both her Jewish faith and Josh’s Puerto Rican heritage. In her words,

My husband is Puerto Rican and most of my friends are not Jewish. While I am rooted deeply in my faith, sometimes I feel isolated by my Jew-ishness. Brides Club felt like this beautiful validating hug. I was able to get so much out of the articles and vendor tips. I wish I had found Smashing the Glass earlier!

The pair opted for a mostly Jewish ceremony under a chuppah (covered by a Puerto Rican flag with a Star of David at is center – designed by the groom!), officiated by Julia’s mom’s best friend, who is the rabbi of an interfaith Jewish congregation. And we love that they incorporated their daughter (who also gave a beautiful speech and sang a song for the couple!) into the ceremony, too.

Don’t miss the beautiful images from Abigail Renee Photography – or the rest of the story of this very special day, as narrated by the bride…

How we met

Julia, the bride: Josh and I met working at a group home for teen girls. We both worked third shift at the time. When he started, he requested to have Fridays off and I lost my Shabbats off, so I decided I was not going to like him. (Boy did that backfire!) Turns out the reason he couldn’t work Fridays was because of his daughter. He used his weird sense of humour and a few honeydew melons to get me to talk to him.

When the group home closed, he asked me out (I was his supervisor). I said no. Josh was deployed a few weeks later and when he got to his post, he asked me if he could take me on a date. I agreed when he got home to go on a date with him. When he got home, he drove four hours from the airport home, showered and came right to pick me up.

About four years later he proposed in front of Boston Harbour.

A Picture-Perfect 25-Person Backyard Jewish Micro Wedding at an Airbnb in Connecticut, USA

13/11/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We are consistently so, SO impressed with the gorgeous Jewish micro weddings flooding our inbox these days. We know not too many 2020 couples planned on getting married in a backyard with a guest count that, in some cases, barely climbs above the single digits – and yet you’re all totally rocking it.

Take Rebecca, a consultant, and Yosef, a third-year law student. These two had originally planned a big wedding near the bride’s home of Potomac, Maryland, but when the pandemic struck they had to go back to the drawing board to come up with a COVID-safe outdoor affair for 25.

The couple, who live in the New York area, found the perfect solution in a Connecticut Airbnb that happened to have not only a stunning backyard, where the festivities were held, but also super considerate owners who went above and beyond to make Rebecca and Yosef feel at home on their big day.

Rebecca’s dad, who happens to be a rabbi, not only married the couple but also built their chuppah, Rebecca did her own makeup and found the perfect simple white dress to wear in lieu of her gown – which she’s planning on saving for the bigger celebration she and Yosef hope to have when it’s safe to do so – and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor C. Schvarcz photographed the day SO beautifully. Initially, Rebecca and Yosef were considering skipping pro photography altogether, given the tight limit on the number of people who could be present, but now, looking back, they are unreservedly delighted that they opted to work with Chaim. In Rebecca’s words, “Having the photos to look back on feels like the only sense of normalcy from the entire event.”

Relatedly, we love Rebecca’s advice that, even though a micro wedding will likely feel very different than the wedding you had originally hoped for, it’s still absolutely worth treating it like the real thing! Whether or not you plan to have a big celebration later on, don’t skimp on the touches that will make your small wedding special – whether that’s hiring an amazing photographer like C. Schvarcz, wearing something that makes you feel amazing, having an epic cake, or anything else.

Now over to the bride…

How we Met

Rebecca, the bride: We met 3 years ago at a Simchat Torah party, we actually lived a block away from each other so he offered to walk me home, and then we ended up seeing each other a lot after that and naturally drew closer to each other.

A Cinq a Sept Bride for an Exquisite Jewish Micro Wedding Planned in Just 2.5 Weeks at Birchwood Country Club, Westport, Connecticut, USA

30/10/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s bride, Nicki, not only had to contend with COVID scuppering her original wedding plans over summer 2020; she was also in the midst of her PhD defense! Luckily, her mother just happens to be mega-talented wedding planner Susie, founder of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Pink House Productions, so when – just after completing her doctorate in biomedical engineering – Nicki, who’s now working as director of R&D for a biotech company working on rapid testing for COVID-19, and groom Ricky, a portfolio manager at a hedge fund in New York City, decided they wanted to make things official on an expedited timeline, they had the dream team on hand to bring their dreams to life.

And in just two-and-a-half weeks, Pink House Productions planned one of the most gorgeous micro weddings we’ve seen yet! The bride and groom gathered with their families to celebrate their love in a stunning, intimate outdoor ceremony in Nicki’s hometown of Westport, CT, and the outcome was truly exquisite – we’re obsessed with each and every gorgeous shot from photographer Mark Kornbluth.

Understandably, Nicki wasn’t in the mood for intense wedding planning just after having completed her PhD, and so she left most of the decision-making to her mom. Susie and the whole team at Pink House Productions went above and beyond, working in fun touches like personalized candle favors for each guest, candy stations containing the bride and groom’s favorite treats (individually packaged and set up in a COVID-friendly fashion, naturally, and even surprising the couple with a Mister Softee ice cream truck at the end of the night!

Nicki also happens to have been a beloved member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club, and we’re so touched to hear how helpful she found it to be able to, in her words, “see how so many other brides pivoted, and how they were able to deal with the stress and uncertainty of the situation.” She and Ricky also found their ketubah supplier, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com, through Brides Club, and can’t stop raving about how wonderful they were to work with – even rushing the ketubah to work with the couple’s expedited timeline!

If that’s piqued your curiosity to find out what our ultra-supportive Brides Club community’s all about, now’s your chance, because through this Sunday, November 1, we’re offering a FREE 30-day trial membership – but don’t forget to sign up ASAP, because the doors close at midnight Sunday.

Now over to Nicki, who’ll fill you in on all the gorgeous details of her day…

How we met

Nicki, the bride: Although we were both graduates of the University of Pennsylvania (Nicki from the school of engineering, Ricky from Wharton) we did not know each other at PENN, and were set up on a blind date four years ago by mutual friends!

How we Met

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