Danny Azoulay Ketubah Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Limor Rosen Bride for a Meaningful Family-Centered Jewish Wedding at Ba’yaar, Israel

08/11/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We adore the magical forest vibes of today’s Jewish wedding at incredible Israeli venue Ba’yaar. This is one stunning celebration, no question – and the couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ran Bergman, captured all the emotion and beauty of the day in his signature style.

But the thing that REALLY warms our hearts about how Shira, an occupational therapist, and Jonathan, who works as a political consultant, celebrated their marriage is the way they made their big day all about tradition and family – while making sure their own personalities always shone through.

Take the ceremony. For Shira and Jonathan, there was no question that crafting a personal, moving, yet traditional ceremony was priority #1. To make sure their ceremony truly spoke to who they are as a couple, the pair each spoke under the chuppah, shared individual vows to each other, and exchanged rings. We also love that in between the traditional 7 brachot said by men, they asked 4 women to each add their own personal blessing.

And then there’s the couple’s incredible paper cut ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay Art– truly a work of art!

But what really, REALLY blew us away about this ceremony was something we don’t usually remark on: the groom’s wedding band. Jonathan used his grandfather’s wedding ring from before World War II, to his first wife who perished in the Holocaust along with the couple’s two young children. What an incredible heirloom to pass down through the generations.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll let the bride (who wore an absolute stunner of a gown from wonderful Israel designer Limor Rosen) take it from here…

A Magical Forest

Shira, the bride: We scoured throughout Israel to find something that conveyed a feeling of magic while also providing the highest quality. When we walked into Ba’yaar we knew we found it. Nothing compared to the feeling you get of walking into a magical forest when you walk into their perfectly lit and beautiful garden of orange trees and blossom. Additionally, they stood out with the very high quality food, technology and professional staff.

We got married in spring, and another important factor was a stunning indoors due to what turned out to be a realistic fear of rain. The spectacular glass incased room surrounded by lit greenery was exactly the combination of class and nature.

A Louise Marie Bride for a Sunshine Party Jewish Wedding at Finca La Concepcion, Marbella, Spain

08/05/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

This glorious Jewish wedding in Spain is truly the stuff destination wedding fantasies are made of – and no wonder, given that Charlotte, an EA at a financial services firm, and Simon runs his own business, SB Jewellery, assembled a total dream team to help them pull off planning from abroad.

From Dyana Dessar Simmons and her team at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Optimum Weddings – who led the couple to their jawdroppingly gorgeous venue – to photography by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jeremy Standley and his assistant Ruth Blamire-Brown – who captured everything from that smashing the glass moment to the wild Israeli dancing perfectly – Charlotte and Simon had all the Jewish wedding expertise (not to mention creative talent!) you could ask for.

Getting the Jewish element just right was extra important to these two given that the bride had recently converted to Judaism, and she wanted to make sure her family felt included in the big day despite being new to Jewish weddings.

Happily, these two had a super supportive rabbi, who made sure everyone felt a part of the ceremony – and we love how they made some of our favourite Jewish wedding traditions their own, with lovely touches from a birch chuppah to a beautiful bespoke ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay that the couple picked out when visiting his shop on a trip to Jerusalem.

Now over to Charlotte, who looked stunning in her bespoke lace gown from Louise Marie…

How we met

Charlotte, the bride: Simon and I met and University of Birmingham both doing a Chemistry degree, it wasn’t until our final year that we got together after being friends from the start.

We had been together 4 years when Simon proposed in the Four Seasons in Johannesburg the first night of our holiday in South Africa just before starting our safari. He arranged the whole thing with the hotel to have our room all decorated and champagne and canapes laid out for us. It was perfect and I really was surprised.

A Pronovias Bride for a Destination Jewish Wedding with 2400 Roses at La Quinta de Jarama, in Madrid, Spain

08/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Nothing gives us the warm and fuzzies like hearing that we’ve helped a couple plan their Jewish (or Jew-ish!) wedding. Especially when said wedding is as gorgeous as today’s knockout destination celebration with an absolute stunner of a rose chuppah – yup, that chuppah alone contained a whopping 1500(!) roses.

Deborah, a solicitor in a City firm, and Michael, who works in finance, live in North London, but they opted to marry in sunny Madrid, where the groom grew up (#margolovichwedding).

This is obviously a totally stunning wedding from a visual standpoint – Victor Lax’s emotion-filled photography and Al Agua’s moving trailer attest to that – but we’re seriously touched to hear that we inspired some of the emotional details of the day.

For instance, Deborah reports she got the idea to incorporate her late father’s tallit into the chuppah design right here on STG – such a beautiful way to incorporate a loved one into the ceremony.

The couple also sourced their exquisite papercut ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay – featuring a gold ldea design of Jerusalem vineyards, in honor of their having met on Birthright in Jerusalem – aww!

There are so many more great details, but Deborah, who looked so elegant in her princess-style Pronovias gown (with pockets!) will fill you in on the rest of the story…

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How we met

Deborah, the bride: We met ten years ago on Birthright in Jerusalem when we were both students and got engaged in November 2016 in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, so this wedding has been a long time in the making!

A Secret Garden Jewish Wedding with an Epic Tree Chuppah at a Private Chateau in Loumarin, Provence, France

25/03/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding is giving us some SERIOUS chuppah envy. Amanda and Danny went all in on their luxe garden theme – not to mention their commitment to making the most of their epic Provence setting – by incorporating a beautiful tree on the property into their chuppah design.

Together with their florist, the couple came up with a truly spectacular structure, with the tree’s leaves and branches served as our canopy (so all that wonderful sunlight could shine straight down on them!), with four floral garlands hanging down from the tree to serve as the columns. The stunning photos and video from Studio Ohlala are seriously giving us the urge to book the next flight to the South of France.

We also love that they treated their destination wedding as an opportunity for their friends and family to get to know each other, all while experiencing the best Provence has to offer over a super memorable wedding weekend, from a wine tour to a pool party – speaking of which, you’ve got to see the crystal chandelier they had hanging over the pool!

And did we mention there’s a totally breathtaking ketubah made in Israel by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay in the mix?

We’ll leave it to the bride to fill you in on the rest…

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A Wedding in Provence

Amanda, the bride: We got married in the Provence region of France, in a charming village, Lourmarin. The venue was a private chateau. We both wanted to treat our family and friends to an experience for our wedding, where everyone would have the time to really get to know each other. I (Amanda) always loved France, great food and wine, beautiful lavender fields, sense of romance and wonder. Danny was happy to make my dream come true.

We contacted wedding planners, found Stephanie our wedding planner from Wedding Of Excellence in Provence, and she recommended our village and venue. There was a secret garden charm to our chateau that no other venue we toured had or that we thought we could find anywhere else.Continue Reading

Your Ketubah, Your Way: Our Top Ketubot for 2019

17/01/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Brooklyn Ketubah | Ink With Intent | From $280 | (10% off for members of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club)

One of my favourite wedding industry developments since I founded Smashing The Glass is the abundance of beautiful, lovingly crafted ketubahs to suit every style you could possibly imagine.

It used to be that your rabbi would set you up with a plain, standard ketubah – or if you really wanted to go all out, you might strike out on your own and find something a bit more ornate, maybe a traditional floral border. Even ten years ago, the range of possibilities was truly nothing like it is today.

Now, there are so many incredible ketubah artists putting their personal stamps on the ancient Jewish marriage contract. Whether you go for contemporary or traditional, whether you’re a minimalist or a maximalist, whether you love bright colours, pastels, or neutrals – there’s a ketubah for you. In fact, there are probably lots of ketubot for you.

And it’s not just design that can be customized to suit your style, either. So many ketubah creators offer a range of text options beyond the traditional, whether you’re looking for something interfaith, same sex, egalitarian, or just a little more modern – or maybe you even want to provide your own text that the two of you have written together! These days, the sky is truly the limit.

I’m privileged to work with some amazing ketubah artists, and I want to draw your attention to some of my very favorite pieces I’ve spotted recently – so here are just a few…

Silver Jewel Ketubah | Danny Azoulay | Price available upon request

This exquisitely elegant paper cut ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay is truly a work of art. Like museum quality. It’s a true heirloom, with an incredible level of detail.

Geometric Bouquet Ketubah | Ketubata | From $125

If you’re after something with a more playful look, you couldn’t do better than to check out Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubata. Think gorgeous watercolors, sweet botanicals, and totally modern geometric shapes.