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A Jumpsuit-Wearing Bride for a Chic, Alternative Jewish Wedding at Avigdor 22, Tel Aviv, Israel

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Super cool couple, Tamar and Asaf, designed the perfect Jewish wedding day for them – with spectacular results.

With a typically Israeli cool vibe, this Tel Aviv wedding featured a secular, alternative and egalitarian ceremony, with both bride and groom speaking under the chuppah and the happy couple smashing a glass each. We love it! 

Fashion-forward bride, Tamar, ditched the traditional wedding dress for an oh-so-chic wedding jumpsuit by Kaviar-Gauch. Not only was it a bargain, but she looked absolutely breathtaking, and stole the show with her unique wedding getup. 

The wedding was designed to feel like a luscious life vacation. The couple worked with florist Yahav Green to fill their venue with foliage and white flowers, in honor of Shavuot, on which their big day took place. With cocktails in hand, and their own self-created wonderland, the wedding provided a wonderful break for the couple and their guests. 

All of the action and details were captured with aplomb by marvellous Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Luz Weddings, who truly told the story of the day in the images below.

Tamar is the latest Smashing The Glass bride to take over these pages, so please give her a very warm welcome, and take it away, Tamar!

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Jewish Wedding Avigdor Tel Aviv Israel_0018

Jewish Wedding Avigdor Tel Aviv Israel_0018 Jewish Wedding Avigdor Tel Aviv Israel_0018
A relaxed, urban venue

Tamar, the bride: We got married at Avigdor in Tel Aviv. When we looked for a venue, the most important thing for us was that it would be conveniently close to Tel Aviv, where we, and most of our guests, live. The second thing we took into consideration was the food quality, and the third was the atmosphere.

The Avigdor uses the catering service of Erez and Hanan who are amazing. The design and atmosphere at the Avigdor is known as urban, groovy and relaxed and besides that, the place is known for it’s professionalism at the highest level of service.
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A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Jewish Wedding with a Living Tree Chuppah at Micklefield Hall, UK

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Jewish Wedding Micklefield Hall, UK
Hold up – press pause on your day, put down that deadline for a minute (I know, we’re terrible influences) and take some proper time to appreciate the utter gorgeousness that is Becky and Adam’s Jewish wedding!

We thought we’d seen every chuppah design out there, but a living-tree chuppah, adorned with friends’ and family’s blessings and wishes for the couple’s future is such an awesome, unique idea. There are so many incredible hidden gems at their venue, Micklefield Hall, but Becky and Adam were the first couple to get married underneath that tree, making their own mark on the venue’s story.

To say Becky and Adam did things their way would be an understatement – they did things their way, and then some. 

We LOVE that bride Becky stayed true to herself, even when under pressure, and went with her own beeeeautiful minimalist makeup look. Becky did so with the confidence that, in the words of the couple’s wonderful photographers, Adam and Hannah, “the best photos are of a happy bride”. And right they were – Becky’s happiness and ease with herself glows through in the stunning spread of wedding pictures Adam and Hannah provided.

Becky’s detailed Maggie Sottero gown also looked like a dream on her, and was a perfect fit for the rustic, boho-style aesthetic of the day as a whole.

The couple opted for a really personalized Jewish ceremony, with both bride and groom smashing a glass. We are SO here for that, and it’s a prime example of how Jewish customs don’t have to be antiquated. You can absolutely make them your own and construct a ceremony that works with your own values.

THREE of our incredible Recommended Vendors were involved with this love-filled big day. The ketubah was lovingly made by Ink With Intent, wedding band The White Keys rocked the reception and videographer Moon & Back made the cinematic, heartfelt wedding video below, which you simply MUST watch!

There’s so much more to say about this breathtaking day, we haven’t even had time to touch on the divine dà©cor, but we’d be going on forever, so we’ll pass you over to Becky, and Adam, for the full report. 

Jewish Wedding Micklefield Hall, UK Jewish Wedding Micklefield Hall, UKJewish Wedding Micklefield Hall, UK Jewish Wedding Micklefield Hall, UKJewish Wedding Micklefield Hall, UK_0043
How we met

Becky, the bride: We met when we both lived in Moishe House London, a home-based community for Jewish young adults. I interviewed Adam to live in the house and it went from there… 
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A BHLDN and Mordechai Avraham Bride for a Magical Forest Egalitarian Jewish Wedding at Tzel Hadumim, Neot Kdumim, Israel

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We are totally in love with Esther and Yoni’s magical forest wedding venue, Neot Kdumim, which we’ve featured before on STG. Saying “I do” under the stars just sounds too dreamy and romantic — we can’t even!

Beautiful bride, Esther, couldn’t decide between a beautiful BHLDN number and a vintage lace boho gown by Mordechai Avraham – so she chose both! We are very much on board with this decision, and it perfectly tied together their laid-back-meets-formal vibe. 

Esther accented the bohemian vibe with natural-look makeup and fresh flowers in her hair, making her the walking centerpiece of the whimsical forest wonderland. Guests were also adorned with flower crowns, which doubled up as favors, making everyone who attended a living part of the dà©cor. Divine!

Surrounded by natural beauty, Esther and Yoni kept things simple, with sweet floral accents adorning the chuppah and a much bigger focus on their egalitarian, highly personalized Jewish ceremony. We love these priorities, and it’s no secret that we’re always huge fans of consciously gender-equal weddings. 

Phenomenal photographer, and much-loved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Ben Kelmer, captured the story of the day, and was met with absolutely glowing praise by the happy couple and their families. Looking over the stunning spread of images below, it’s easy to see why.

The vibe was also beautifully captured in the spine-tingling wedding video below, provided by Studio Polly.

It’s Esther’s turn to take over the blog to tell us all about her and Yoni’s unbelievably beautiful big day. Take it away, Esther! 

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Jewish wedding Tzel Hadumim, Neot Kdumim, Israel_0015

Jewish wedding Tzel Hadumim, Neot Kdumim, Israel_0015  Jewish wedding Tzel Hadumim, Neot Kdumim, Israel_0015
Getting married under the stars

Esther, the bride: We got married in Tzel Hadumim; the wedding venue in Neot Kdumim. We wanted a place that was relaxed and fun, but also worked with the more formal direction our families were into, and this place perfectly combined the best of both worlds.

I also really wanted to get married outside and not in a hall. Tzel Hadumim has all the amenities of a hall, but it’s in the middle of a forest, under the stars. We also live in Jerusalem and it was only 40 minutes away, so it was pretty convenient.
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Facebook Live Catch Up: Jewish Wedding Ceremony Q&A – with Rabbi Paul Glantz

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On Monday evening I went live on our Facebook page with the legend that is Rabbi Paul Glantz – a truly modern inclusive Rabbi, and much-loved STG Vendor who has graced the real Jewish wedding pages of Smashing The Glass many times.

It featured possibly my favorite Facebook Live moment ever (at 4 mins 25 secs) with Rabbi Paul on the phone to his brother on the Live  – go check it out!

We covered so much during the 4o minutes from ways to personalize your ketubah, badeken, chuppah, and sheva brachot, to the best kind of glass to smash to Jewish wedding dress codes – full breakdown below!  If you missed it, you can still catch up by watching the replay above.

4:25 – Rabbi Paul Glantz on the phone to his mother asking her to tune in (classic Live moment!)
8:10 – Do you need to have a registry office wedding as well as a Jewish wedding?
10:06 – Breakdown of the Jewish wedding ceremony
11:20 – How to personalize your ketubah
13:45 – Ways of personalising the Badeken
16:55 – Ways of personalising the Sheva Brachot (Seven Blessings)
18:00 – Egalitarian Jewish wedding ceremony ideas
19:53 – What is the meaning of the circling in the Jewish wedding ceremony
21:25 – Can anyone get married under a chuppah? 
23:20 – What’s the wedding dress code for a Masorti wedding?
24:41 – Music for the Jewish wedding ceremony
28:07 – Are there any parts of an Orthodox Jewish wedding ceremony that cannot be photographed?
28:44 – How many, and what kind of, people can sign the ketubah?
29:58 – As an interfaith Jewish couple can we get married under a chuppah?
32:21 – Can you get married on a Friday?
33:47 – Can you have engraving on your wedding ring?
29:43 – What is the best kind of glass for smashing the glass?
35:10 – Does the wedding band need to be made of silver?
36:08 – How do you know what time to start a Saturday night wedding?
36:59 – How can you make a wedding in a venue with non-kosher catering, with a United Rabbi 

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Image: Rabbi Paul Glantz officiating Laura & Gio’s wedding – coming to STG very soon
photographed by much-loved STG Vendor Paul Rogers Photography

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A Cute and Quirky Creative Industrial Chic Romantic Floral Jew-ish Wedding at Hotel Ocho, Toronto, Canada

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Jewish wedding Hotel Ocho Toronto Canada
Get ready for goosebumps, because this quirky and creative Jew-ish real wedding is soooo beautiful that we actively scouted it, after bride, Laura, tagged this image on her Instagram with the hashtag #jewishwedding !

When two creatives come together (Steve is an online editor for a local city magazine, while Laura works as a copy editor and page designer for a local newspaper), the result is an unstoppable force of originality, expression and amazing attention to detail. 

The industrial-chic vibe of Toronto boutique hotel, Hotel Ocho, was juxtaposed with a romantic, floral theme that saw fluffy, pink peonies take pride of place in wildflower-feel arrangements. The stunning chuppah, which was built as a team effort by the couple’s family, was sprawling with beautiful silk blooms. 

Everything about this bright and bold big day popped with color, from the bridesmaids’ and groomswomens’ dresses, to the bride’s breathtaking crimson lip and red hair combo. Laura looked every bit the Hollywood glamazon in her champagne-colored Allure Bridals ballgown. 

The wedding was peppered with personalized details, including illustrated invitations and simply the cutest cake topper! The whole thing came together in a pretty Pinterest-perfect palette. Speaking of which, you know what to do!

Every last detail, including some super romantic kissing in the rain, was captured by photographer Daniel Clements and, of course, writer Laura provided the most articulate and wonderful account of the couple’s big day. Enjoy, and don’t forget to leave some love in the comments.

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Jewish wedding Hotel Ocho Toronto Canada

Jewish wedding Hotel Ocho Toronto Canada

Jewish wedding Hotel Ocho Toronto Canada

Jewish wedding Hotel Ocho Toronto Canada

How we met

Laura, the bride: We met about six or seven years ago when we were both working for a news website called Torontoist – we both worked from home as freelancers, but we first met in person during a bar night at a journalism event. I was seeing someone else at the time, but Steve asked me out almost as soon as he heard I was single.

The first time he kissed me was after a date at a Doctor Who-themed improv show at the Comedy Bar, and we still have the postcard from that comedy show up on our fridge.
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