Destination Weddings Archives - Smashing the Glass

My Weekend in Kosher Paradise at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in the Bahamas

16/08/2023 by Sam Levitz

I couldn’t have imagined back in 2019, as a member of Brides Club planning my own Jewish wedding, that one day I would be a part of the incredible team here at Smashing the Glass. As luck would have it, I joined the team back in 2020, and these last three years as a Features Writer have been such a blast. This July, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to take part in the Kosher Fam weekend, sponsored by the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in the Bahamas with other amazing Jewish influencers and to see what it was like to spend a proper Shabbat in the Caribbean.

The First Kosher Restaurant in the Caribbean

What makes a stay at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar so unique is that it boasts the first 100% certified kosher restaurant in all of the Caribbean as well as a fully kosher food truck and other kosher options throughout the resort. Cinko, their Asian Latino fusion inspired restaurant, is not only kosher, but each dish is so unique and delicious that you could have a new item on the menu for every meal in a week and still not run out of tasty options to try. One evening for dinner, I ordered the Korean beef kimchi tacos, the salmon ceviche, and for my main course a stunning red snapper in an aji amarillo and coconut Thai sauce with succulent bites of yuca.

Shabbat Accommodations at a 5 Star Hotel

Whenever I’ve traveled and need to account for Shabbat or kosher meals, it’s usually whatever pre-packaged options I have on hand. I’ve never seen the luxury of a 5-star hotel take into consideration its kosher guests with such preparation and care. Cinko closes its doors to general hotel guests every Friday night through Saturday unless you make special reservations for Shabbat dinner and takeaway lunch, securing your kosher meals ahead of time.

From Cinko’s candle lighting setup and hand washing station, to the beautiful Shabbat table with challah and wine the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar thinks of everything in making sure all you need is accounted for and you can just enjoy the beautiful Shabbat feast that’s been pre-prepared. Shabbat lunch is just as thoughtful with takeaway boxes filled with scrumptious food, and your own personal challah roll and grape juice for kiddush. The local Chabad Rabbi also has wonderful resources online and does his best to gather a minyan for Shabbat every week.

A Hayley Paige Bride for a Romantic Jewish Wedding at Villa Oliva, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

02/03/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

What a wedding! If you’ve ever fantasized about jetting off to Tuscany to get married, the exquisite Jewish wedding of Stephanie and Dan, who did just that, is going to knock your socks off. In fact, it’ll probably do that even the thought of a Tuscan wedding has never even crossed your mind!

The couple’s wonderful planner, Michelle Jacobs of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante By Michelle J, took all the pressure out of planning while making sure the big day was as elegant, romantic, joyful, and memorable as it could possible be. And she connected the couple with their amazing roster of vendors!

Truly, these two used so many of the very best out there, from the amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Totem – who Stephanie and Dan flew over from London because they wanted to make sure their big day featured some EPIC Israeli dancing, and if you know Totem you know they get the party going like no one else – to mega-talented stationer Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bigday Designs (love the stationery suite they came up with!) to a gift list with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Prezola.

Photographer David Bastianoni and videographer Federico of Waterfall Visuals both captured the day so beautifully, and we love that they were committed as to capturing the love between the couple – including lots of sweet casual moments – as to featuring the beautiful setting and décor (looking at you, floral chuppah!).

If you’re wondering how you can make your wedding as awesome as Stephanie and Dan’s, don’t miss our Facebook Live with none other than Michelle Jacobs herself, all about creating an ultra-memorable experience for your guests. It’s happening this Thursday, March 5, at 7:30 PM GMT / 2:30 PM EST / 11:30 PST, right on the Smashing The Glass Facebook Page.

But for now, we’re going to turn you over to the lovely Stephanie, who looked simply ravishing in Hayley Paige…

Venue

Stephanie, the bride: We got married in Villa Oliva, near Lucca in Tuscany. I’ve always dreamed of having a romantic wedding abroad and, luckily, Dan saw the appeal. We picked Tuscany because we both love Italy – from the food and wine to the art, landscape and scenery.

Dan and I are both nature lovers, so the idea of getting married in a Tuscan garden really appealed to us. The venue we chose had several gorgeous gardens surrounding the villa and we fell in love.

We also wanted each area of the party to be a surprise for the guests, so we got married at the front of the villa; had the drinks reception behind the villa; and dinner and dancing was held in a large garden slightly further away from the property. The front of the villa had a beautiful grotto, which was the perfect backdrop for the chuppah.

We were very grateful for the support of our family and friends flying out to celebrate our special day with us. The guests were able to get to know each other at the welcome party and by the pool, so everyone was friendly at the main event. It felt like a big holiday!

A Liz Martinez Bride for a Summer Chic Jewish Wedding with an Epic Dance Party in Marbella, Spain

07/03/2018 by Karen

Destination Jewish wedding Villa Padierna Palace LOV Olivia Valere Marbella Spain_0039

Wow wow wow. This duo is just beyond… Stunning couple Claudia, who works in recruitment, and Nick, who works for Diageo, had the most exquisite outdoor summer destination Jewish wedding. The London-based pair opted to wed in sunny Marbella, Spain, and with guests coming in from every continent but Antarctica, the pair made a weekend of their celebration, with a full calendar of activities–including a henna party!

Claudia and Nick found the ultimate romantic setting for their chuppah in Villa Padierna Palace. Calling this breathtaking spot a hotel doesn’t do it justice; the place looks like a Tuscan palace that’s been airdropped in to the Costa del Sol.

Following the emotional ceremony, the pair threw an epic all-night dance party at one of Marbella’s top nightclubs, LOV Olivia Valere. Their guests were totally on board, dancing into the morning–with a break for the gorgeous sparkler-studded cake the couple arranged to have brought out at 1 a.m. to keep everyone going.

Bride Claudia said when she and Nick walked down the aisle with everyone clapping, she felt like she was at a celebrity wedding–and that’s exactly the vibe we got from this fab celebration. Claudia really did look like a movie star in her dreamy Liz Martinez gown, and photographer Barney Walters and videographer Gione Da Silva captured the day in all its glamor. Now over to the gorgeous Claudia!

How we met

Claudia, the bride: We met at university, where we both studied French and were in the same project group, but we didn’t get together until we both lived in France almost 2 years later. We visited each other a few times and finally started dating. Three days later Nick met Claudia’s entire enormous family at her 21st birthday party in Paris and he got the seal of approval! We have now been together for 6 years!

The Pros and Cons of a Destination Wedding

13/11/2016 by Smashing The Glass

Having a destination wedding, just like any other choice in life — has it’s long list of pros and cons. When Alex and I first began the conversation of where we’d like to tie the knot, we we’re slightly overwhelmed with the possibilities. The world was ours. Would we travel abroad? Stay within the country? East or West Coast? In the end, only three options really made sense for us: Florida – where my parents live, Arizona – where Alex’s parents live, and Washington, DC – where we’ve built our home together.

Two weeks after we got engaged, we flew out to Tucson, Arizona to visit his parents, as they threw us a lovely engagement party. At that point in the planning (only two weeks in), Alex and I barely had a grasp of what we wanted from the big day. Since we were already in Arizona, we figured we might as well take advantage of that, and explore some venues. The week prior to our trip, I contacted 5 different venues for fall / winter 2016 availability and pricing. Collecting a little binder of information prior to landing in Arizona. And good thing I did, since the moment we landed, wedding talk seemed to be the only conversational topic.

Image: Julian Wainwright, taken from Melissa & Ishay’s Jew-ish destination wedding in Thailand

The morning of the engagement party, Alex’s dad drove us around the city to various appointments, narrowed down to 4 at that point. Once we stepped foot on Tubac Golf Resort, we knew we had found something really special. We loved the atmosphere, the ranch-style hotel rooms, the layout of the property, the ballrooms, the heated-covered patios, the gorgeous well kept lawns where we’d potentially hold our ceremony — everything.

For various reasons, Florida and DC were ruled out. So Arizona made the next most sense. And after our tour of Tubac, we felt it was the right place for us. We didn’t give it much more thought than that. I signed the contract that very week we returned home to DC. And then, the rest of the planning, booking, and arranging began!

Planning the wedding from 2,500+ miles away hasn’t been the easiest, I will be the first to say that, and in fact it’s caused a reasonable amount of stress. I wanted to share my pros and cons list with any future brides still deciding, or to any brides that have already settled on a destination wedding for them to relate to.

The First Kosher Restaurant in the Caribbean

Shabbat Accommodations at a 5 Star Hotel

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Venue

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How we met

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Image: Julian Wainwright, taken from Melissa & Ishay’s Jew-ish destination wedding in Thailand

Image: Susan Stripling, taken from Natasha & Jez’s Jewish destination wedding in Cap Ferrat, South of France

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