coronavirus Archives - Smashing the Glass

A DIY Jewish Garden Micro Wedding in London, UK

22/01/2021 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We are absolutely in love with the quintessentially English garden micro wedding of Rebecca, a teacher, and Joel, an engineer. These two needed a convenient all-outdoor venue where they could throw a COVID-safe celebration – and fortunately, the school where Rebecca teaches happens not only to have a gorgeous garden but is also located just around the corner from the pair’s home.

With some help from their friends, Rebecca and Joel put together a beautiful day starting with a tisch and badeken in the couple’s own garden, followed by a procession down the street to their venue. Then there was the ceremony – which came together with lots of participation from not only those guests who were able to attend in person, but also some VIPs who joined in via the couple’s livestream. These included the bride’s parents, who were able to give the couple a blessing, and her brother, who sang to them as they stood under the chuppah.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kate Swerdlow captured the day so perfectly in her emotion-filled photos – and Rebecca and Joel can’t stop raving about how much they loved working with a photographer who not only put them at ease on the day with her warm, easygoing nature but also just “gets Jewish weddings”!

Now over to Rebecca…

Garden Venue

Rebecca, the bride: We got married in the garden of the school where I work which is around the corner from our home. We picked this venue because it was beautiful, surrounded by an orchard, a vegetable patch, with easy parking and close by. It had a big green space where we had small marquees with tables that we used for lunch.

The chuppah was made out of bamboo and designed and constructed by my husband and his friends, and they built it onsite. The location was intimate and green and perfect.Continue Reading

A Pronovias Bride for a Jewish Micro Wedding at Pierce House in Lincoln, Massachusetts, USA

18/01/2021 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

To look at this gorgeous Jewish wedding, you’d never know it was planned in just two months! Boston couple Alisa, a product manager, and Evan, an architect, got engaged in August, and knew they were ready to move forward with building their future together – pandemic or not.

With just a few months to plan a COVID-safe outdoor celebration before the New England winter set in, Alisa and Evan knew it was time to call in the big guns. In this case, that meant Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Primavera Dreams, who helped them pull together the day of their (socially distanced) dreams, stat. Within three days of the couple’s engagement, founder Luba set the pair up on venue visits, and a couple weeks later they’d booked all their key vendors. Alisa and Evan say they couldn’t have done it without Luba’s expertise.

The couple’s number one goal was to plan a day where their friends and family would stay safe, and so they opted for a short guest list, socially distanced seating arrangements, table-side bar service, additional cleaning staff at the restrooms, and sanitization stations throughout, among other touches. They also opted to livestream the ceremony for those who weren’t able to attend in person. Because a dance floor wasn’t allowed due to COVID restrictions, Alisa and Evan went with a classical string duo for the ceremony and a jazz trio for the reception for their entertainment.

Photographer Kataram Studios did such a beautiful job capturing the day. Don’t miss all the gorgeous details, like the couple’s Enya Keshet ketubah, which they found online at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com. With a multilayered cut paper design, gold leaf, and Swarovski crystals, it’s truly a work of art.

We’ll turn you over to the bride – who looks gorgeous in the Pronovias dress she found just days after getting engaged – for the rest…

How we Met

Alisa, the Bride and Evan, the groom: Despite living less than a mile from each other in Brookline, Alisa and Evan’s paths never crossed. Like many 21st century relationships, theirs started by “swiping right”. After a week or two of texting, Alisa and Evan finally met for a drink after work in Copley Square.

The date went well, and they scheduled another shortly after. After the second date, Evan wanted to let Alisa know how special she was – so he sent flowers to her apartment. Evan knew this was a bold move, but he also knew he needed to let her know how he felt. He proceeded to send flowers to the wrong apartment, that got course-corrected with a help from the security desk.

In early March of 2020, Evan cleared out a large portion of his closet and Alisa brought an entire car-load of her stuff over to his place. One week after moving in, the world changed, and they were quarantined together.

Alisa and Evan went from spending most of their time together – to spending ALL of their time together. Fortunately, the relationship thrived, and they became closer than ever. During quarantine, they could only see their parents, and spent most of the weekends in 2020 visiting each other’s families. In a span of 6 months, Alisa & Evan spent less then 24 hours apart.

A Casual, Vibrant Backyard Interfaith Jewish Micro Wedding in Scarsdale, New York, USA

15/01/2021 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We love that when their original wedding plans for a black tie New York City wedding were waylaid by COVID, Bryar, a physician assistant at NYP Columbia, and Bradley, a VP at a private wealth management firmed based in Manhattan, opted to see it as an opportunity.

A few months into the pandemic, they moved out of their NYC apartment and into a house in Scarsdale. And given that it happened to have a gorgeous backyard, they figured it would be the perfect spot for a casual minimony – in which, unlike their big wedding (now scheduled for October of this year) where they’re going for timeless elegance, they felt free to experiment and have fun.

The 15-person micro wedding was a chance to try out things they wouldn’t have chosen for their big celebration – like filling tiny bud vases with bright seasonal flowers and opting for a non-traditional but totally stunning bridal ensemble. We’re obsessed with the dramatic sleeves on Bryar’s Vanessa Cocchiaro dress, ordered from Net a Porter, and how cool is her DIY pearl tiara (which she made by combining two pearl headbands)?!Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Megan Mills captured everything so perfectly, from all the gorgeous details to the couple’s love and happiness. Oh, and speaking of gorgeous details, don’t miss their beautiful white laser cut ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com!

Before we hand you over to Bryar, we want to share some of her reflections on her micro wedding:

In hindsight, I am so overjoyed that we got to have our micro wedding in our backyard of our new home. The evening was so intimate and we both were so present throughout the entire day. I feel like we are both so looking forward to our bigger celebration now because it will be just that. We will get to dance and hug everyone we will not have seen in so long, without the stress that a whole wedding day usually carries. Our advice to anyone considering a micro wedding is…do it!

Micro Wedding

Bryar, the bride: Our original wedding date was May 30, 2020 at Tribeca 360. We were so excited to have a black tie New York City wedding. We wanted an evening that was glamorous, yet filled with love, and lots of dancing! When the COVID pandemic began, I was working with Covid patients daily, so Brad actually moved in with his mom in CT and I stayed at our apartment in NYC. We initially postponed our wedding to October 31, 2020 (the last Saturday that wasn’t booked in 2020 at our venue), but we quickly realized that a large wedding in 2020 was not going to be feasible.

In July, we ended up moving out of the city and purchasing a home in Scarsdale. We are lucky enough to have a beautiful backyard and we decided to have a small ceremony in our backyard on September 5. It was 15 people total, just our immediate family and two friends, along with our Rabbi, Rabbi Michael Friedman from Temple Israel in Westport, CT.Continue Reading

An Autumnal Backyard Jewish Minimony in Yonkers, New York, USA

11/01/2021 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We’re totally and completely in love with the beautiful backyard micro wedding of Brides Club member Sara, a social media coordinator at a jewelry company, and Ian, a special education middle school teacher.

These two had originally planned a 150-person wedding for October, but due to the pandemic they opted to postpone their big celebration to next year and proceed with a 20-person minimony held in Sara’s father’s backyard.

On a perfect, sunny autumn day, Sara and Ian gathered with their families – including their beloved grandparents – for an intimate outdoor celebration, complete with COVID safety precautions: everyone wearing masks, hand sanitizer everywhere, and each household assigned to their own space. They streamed the proceedings on Zoom so those on their original guest list who couldn’t be there in person could still take part in the day.

For the in-person guests, Sara and Ian provided individual boxed lunches – and, best of all, Sara’s aunt gifted the gluten-free bride a super chocolatey, super delicious gluten-free cake from one of her favorite places, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor By The Way Bakery– known far and wide for the tastiest and most beautiful GF wedding cakes around.

We love all the DIY touches – Sara not only did her own hair and makeup, she also hand painted her denim wedding jacket with a moon, stars, hearts, and the words “Written in the Stars” to wear as a coverup – and you can just feel the joy exuding from each and every one of the photos by Tohid Rasel of Monolith Images Studio.

We’ll let the bride fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Sara, the bride: Ian and I started chatting on JSwipe in 2017 and we’ve talked everyday since. We had an immediate connection, went on a few dates, and just two weeks later we were exclusive.Continue Reading

A Needle and Thread Bride for a Backyard Jewish Wedding in Kfar Chabad, Israel

08/01/2021 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

How gorgeous is the intimate backyard Jewish wedding of Israeli couple Libby, who has recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in bioinformatics, and Yanki, a product designer for a start-up?!

By the time these two got engaged, COVID had already hit – so they knew from the start that they’d need to keep their affair on the smaller side. This was just fine with the bride, who’d always dreamed of a cozy, intimate wedding – and if we had a backyard like her parents’, we’re sure we’d feel the same! The whole space was transformed into an absolute floral fantasia, and we just can’t get enough of it.

Libby and Yanki wanted to make sure they found photographers who’d really get the vibe they were going for on the day, and sure enough their choice to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Luz Weddings did not disappoint. We’re in love with their stylish images capturing everything from the gorgeous design details to the couple’s happiness.

Being a designer, Yanki took charge of the couple’s invitations, creating a logo using the pair’s initials that ended up featuring on all of the wedding stationery. Yanki even designed the ketubah, which came out so beautifully! Another thing that came out beautifully? Libby’s stunning gown, which she ordered online from Needle and Thread – obsessed with the delicate embroidery and sweet pink flowers!

Now over to the bride…