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An Essense of Australia Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding at Sopwell House, St Albans, UK

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We love it when a couple pulls together a fabulous team of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their Jewish wedding dreams come true – which is exactly what today’s duo did. Alberta, who works in marketing, and Scott, in digital sales, made things official at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Sopwell House, the perfect country house venue nestled in the Hertfordshire countryside. They loved the private outside area, where they opted to hold their chuppah, as well as the variety of indoor function rooms they were able to choose from!

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band kept the dance floor full ALL night long, and guests couldn’t stop raving about the band after the wedding. Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel was responsible for the dreamy photos, in her trademark bright and luminous style, and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Michael Pearl handled videography. The couple initially weren’t planning on having a videographer at all, but now they’re so glad they did – and they report watching their highlights video daily! Yet another beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Toastmaster Jango, was on hand to make sure the day ran smoothly. 

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll hand you over to Alberta, who looked so elegant in her gown from Essense of Australia, for the rest…

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How We Met

Alberta, the bride: We first met via JSwipe and went out for some drinks.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Essense of Australia for a Summer Garden Jewish Wedding at Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., USA

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Aly & Shlomo, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington D.C, USA

How stunning is today’s Jewish wedding?! Aly, a recent law school graduate, and Shlomo, who works for his family’s packaging business, crafted the perfect summer-garden themed day in pink and peach, and we are all about it.

And would you believe they made it happen right in the middle of Washington, D.C.? Yep – this wedding took place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., which the couple loved for the way it combines fabulous outdoor hardens with easy proximity to downtown.

We’re obsessed with the exquisite photos by Kir Tuben – the couple met Kir when she photographed Aly’s sister’s wedding, and they adored her photography style, wedding-day energy, and passion for her work.

Now over to Aly, who looked positively radiant in Essense of Australia…

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How we Met

Aly, the bride and Shlomo, the groom: We met through mutual friends while living in D.C. after college.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Essense of Australia Bride for a Foodies’ Jewish Wedding at Wild by Tart, London, UK

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Chelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UK

Today’s couple, Chelsie, co-founder of Blondies Kitchen, and Rob, founder and owner of Brown Butter Dining, had visions of tying the knot on the beach in Marbella in July 2020, feasting on paella and sangria to their hearts’ content. As you can probably guess, though, COVID got in the way. At first the couple opted to postpone, hoping things would go back to normal in time for a July 2021 wedding… but as we all know, that’s not quite how things went.

Eventually, the pair shifted gears and started planning a local wedding in London – and somehow they managed to put something together that combines the best of their home city with the laid-back Mediterranean vibes of their Plan A wedding. With a ceremony at New West End Synagogue followed by a reception at Wild by Tart in Belgravia (which is not only an event space but also a restaurant – hence incredible food that met the duo’s tough standards), Chelsie and Rob pulled off the most perfect day -even if it looked different from what they’d first envisioned. They even finished off the night with a cookie cart from Chelsie’s cookie business, Blondies Kitchen, so that everyone could take home a special treat at the end.

We’re obsessed with the natural photos by Alex Wysocki and stunning cinematic video from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion – watching the trailer really makes us feel as if we were right there with Chelsie and Rob!

We’ll leave it to Chelsie, who looked so glam in Essense of Australia, to take it from here…

Chelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UKChelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UKChelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UK
How we Met

Chelsie, the bride: We actually met through a friend because I went to train to be a chef and Rob was one. Our passion for food connected us.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Essense of Australia Bride for a Jewish Wedding at the Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

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Melissa-Evan-Maryland-Centre-for-History-Culture-USA

There’s nothing like a good museum wedding. And we’re seriously smitten with the Jewish wedding of Melissa, a personal stylist, and Evan, who works for the U.S. government as an outdoor recreation planner and project coordinator. These two held their celebration at Baltimore’s Maryland Historical Society, which is chock full of cool history displays and art galleries – and it made the absolute perfect setting for their black-tie festivities. Have a scroll through the couple’s incredible photos by The Oberports and we bet you’ll agree!

We adore Melissa and Evan’s gorgeous ketubah, created by Nava Shoham of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor 1-800-Ketubah. The couple chose her “Royal Claddagh” design, in honor of their Scottish and Irish ancestry, and we’re in love with the bold, beautiful, colorful ketubah. In the bride’s words, it’s a real statement piece!

Now over to Melissa, who looked radiant in Essense of Australia…

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How we Met

Melissa, the bride: We met in college where we were both involved with the marching band.  Although, we weren’t in the band at the same time, we attended the same band parties and hit it off there.  That was 15 years ago!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Two Gorgeous Brides for a Same-Sex Backyard DIY Jewish Micro Wedding in Cambria, California, USA

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We are absolutely obsessed with the joyous, intimate, family-focused micro Jewish wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Sidnie, a diagnostic medical sonographer, and Monique, a cafe manager. Due to COVID, these two shifted their plans from a 115-guest wedding at a winery to a micro affair in Mo’s parents’ backyard.

While this obviously wasn’t their first choice, we love how the pair embraced the opportunities their minimony opened up for them – from being able to include all their friends and family from all over the world via livestream to special touches like a rehearsal dinner flower arrangement party, where everyone teamed up to assemble bouquets, corsages, and boutonnières for everyone at the wedding!

We love how Sidnie and Mo involved their family in everything from building their chuppah to cooking the reception meal to setting up and taking down all the décor – even their photographer, Adrian Throckmorton, is a cousin, and of course we’re SO incredibly touched by Sidnie’s beautiful words about her experience as a member of our Brides Club:

As a newly converted Jewish woman, it was incredibly powerful to feel such a sense of community with Jewish brides all over the world. From advice on a wedding dilemma to celebrating WPWs, these women made me feel like I had hundreds of the most dedicated bridesmaids supporting me! There were times I didn’t want to pester the people in my life with what was happening with the wedding and in those moments, Brides Club was there for me.

And we’re all over the couple’s stellar bridal fashion sense – Sidnie’s Essense of Australia gown, featuring  elegant off the shoulder straps, buttons all the way down the back, and pockets, and Mo’s custom suit she created with LGBTQ+ and size inclusive company Sharpe Suiting, where, with the help of her consultant, she was able to tie in everything from the wedding colors and flowers to embroider “Ani Ledodi V’Dodi Le” inside her jacket!

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How we met

Sidnie: We met working at a movie theater in Los Angeles 7 years ago!Continue ReadingContinue Reading