coronavirus Archives - Smashing the Glass

Real Jewish Brides: Orli On Yoga and Brides Club Quarantine Camp

27/05/2020 by Smashing The Glass Leave a Comment

Orli will be marrying Ben on 6th September 2020 at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK. Click here to read all Orli’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Orli and Ben met on Jswipe. (2) Although their venue, the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, couldn’t be more quintessentially London, Orli and Ben are going for a countryside feel. (3) Orli is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

It’s crazy to think that my last blog was in the middle of March just before lockdown began. Going into lockdown, I realised how much time I was saving everyday by not commuting that I started thinking of new ways to fill my time. Whether it was a banana bread recipe, a new live fitness class or reading deeper into the yoga philosophy and drafting new routines.

I realised that it was likely that a lot of us in Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club had some extra time on our hands, so came up with the initial idea to reach out to the Karen for me to start running some yoga classes. Karen couldn’t have been more supportive and was so excited by my idea of asking different members of Brides Club to run all different sessions.

What to Know If You’re Planning a Jewish Wedding During the Coronavirus Outbreak

06/05/2020 by Karen Leave a Comment

When you’re planning an event of a lifetime you never dream of doing it in the context of a global pandemic. My heart goes out to you – it’s a challenge – but the bottom line is, Coronavirus or no, you’re going to have an amazing wedding – even if it may look a little different than it did prior to the pandemic. And I’m here to help ensure that happens.

I’ve just updated our free guide with step-by-step actions for what to do depending on your wedding date.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE: Coronavirus and your wedding – what to do if you have a wedding booked in 2020 free guide.

The guide is split into five parts:

I’m here for you, and can’t wait to guide you on your journey towards the chuppah.

Keep planning and keep upbeat and positive! As challenging as this period is it can re-orientate us and refocus us to create a wedding that’s even more meaningful and more romantic.
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Real Jewish Bride: Sarah on The Emotional Side of Postponing

28/04/2020 by Smashing The Glass

Sarah will be marrying Rich on 20th June 2021 at Tikitano Beach, Marbella, Spain. Click here to read all Sarah’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Sarah knew Rich was the one when he brought a gift of dog treats for her toy poodle Nuala along to their fourth date! (2) They are crafting an amazing destination wedding weekend in Marbella with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended vendor optimum weddings as their planner. (3) Sarah is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

So, since my last blog post was written and published in March, a lot has changed! I look back now and find it surreal that I was writing about being optimistic about sticking to our June 2020 date and how it would all be ok. Needless to say, that is not exactly how it played out in the weeks that followed.

A few weeks ago Richard and I had to make the hardest decision yet, to postpone our wedding. We initially spoke to our amazing wedding planner Dyana from optimum weddings and we decided to pencil in September 2020.

However, after looking at the somewhat bleak possibility of Covid-19 being resolved by then, the chances of everyone being able to fly to Marbella and the general stress of being in the “will it or wont it’ category (known as wedding limbo), we decided to do what was best for our guests’ health and our sanity and we postponed until 20^th June 2021.

A Spiritual, Magical Florida Backyard Jewish Wedding Reimagined Due to COVID-19

24/04/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s Jewish wedding is so unbelievably, jaw-droppingly, breathtakingly gorgeous, it’s hard to believe it wasn’t the couple’s Plan A all along. But believe it or not, bride Ganga, whose work combines counseling, astrology, ritual, and ecological design to support clients through change and loss, and Seth, a strength and conditioning coach who draws on a similarly interdisciplinary background, pulled together this intimate, impromptu wedding in the bride’s mother’s back garden after their original plans were waylaid by coronavirus.

These two had a bigger wedding at an eco-retreat all lined up – and they still plan to hold that bash, with their original lineup of vendors, next year – but when the pandemic hit, they changed their plans to this pared-down backyard celebration with a focus on spirituality.

The couple, who are both training to be inter-spiritual ministers, poured themselves into developing a ceremony that felt deeply authentic to them both, from their circling around each other to the Adon Olam, to adapting the seven blessings to reflect poems and blessings from many traditions to reciting their own vows.

We also love the thought they put into selecting their gorgeous Gingko Spiral ketubah by Temma Gentles from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com: the ginkgo has been around for over 300 million years, meaning it’s a true adaptor and survivor – just what we all need to be in these uncertain times.

And would you believe these exquisite photos were shot by a first-time wedding photographer? Ganga’s bridesmaid – the only one who was able to make it in the end – just happens to be mega-talented photographer Thais Aquino, who’s clearly a natural at weddings!

Now over to Ganga, the bride…

How we met

Ganga, the bride: We met through my best friend who had been one of Seth’s students, on New Year’s Eve 2016. The first thing I remember asking Seth was what his intention for 2017 was, to which he replied, “just to be love.” That immediately told me we were on the same page in our approach to life, and within a few weeks we were learning how to be love, together.

Can You Postpone a Jewish Wedding Because of Coronavirus?

23/04/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Rabbi Paul Glantz officiating Laura and Gio’s wedding

We’ve been hearing that some of our STG Brides Club members have been getting pushback from friends and family when discussing the hard decision to postpone their Jewish wedding due to COVID-19.

You may even be getting messages from well-intentioned loved ones that it’s forbidden by Jewish law to push back your wedding date. But chances are, the people giving you flack about postponing are struggling to give you a solid reason for their objections.

So we wanted to clear things up for you once and for all. We chatted with our resident expert in all things Jewish law, Rabbi Paul Glantz (who has officiated many beautiful STG real weddings), and he says it’s 100% fine to postpone a Jewish wedding.

It’s absolutely fine to postpone a Jewish wedding for Covid-19

Although it’s true that there’s a strong custom not to postpone under normal circumstances, it’s just that: a custom. There’s absolutely nothing in halacha (Jewish law) prohibiting it. While some very strict rabbis are taking the stance that, even amidst the pandemic, Jewish weddings shouldn’t be postponed, it’s important to know that that’s a very strict interpretation.

Rabbis who are advising couples to avoid postponing may be relying on the tradition of not delaying joyous events – which, while a strong theme in Jewish law, absolutely does not override the stronger principle of pikuach nefesh, the idea that the preservation of human life takes priority over just about all other Jewish laws and customs. Given the danger of gatherings at this time, it’s pretty clear that by waiting to hold your wedding until the pandemic has receded, you are honoring pikuach nefesh – and there’s not much more Jewish than that!