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5 of Our Favorites: Jewish Weddings with Dogs

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Rachel and Aaron‘s Dog-Friendly Wedding | Photo by Hello Blue Photo

Welcome back to “5 of Our Favorites,” where we highlight five stunning Jewish weddings each week, all centered around a special theme. This week, we’re all about weddings with dogs!

STG couples have come up with the cutest and most creative ways to incorporate their beloved pups into their special days – whether that means full-on participation, up to and including walking down the aisle, or simply taking some heirloom-level photos together and adding in sweet tributes throughout the wedding. 

We’re so excited to share these fabulous dog-freidnly weddings with you and inspire your own pet-friendly celebration!

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Jacqui and James‘ Wedding | Photo by Sarah Diller

Jacqui and James’ Barnyard Jewish Wedding at Red Gate Farms, Savannah, Georgia, USA

We love a good barn wedding. And a wedding with pets. AND a Jewish wedding where the couple goes the extra mile to personalize their ceremony. Put all those things together, and you’ve got one incredible day.

Jacqui and James‘ Wedding | Photo by Sarah Diller

Jacqui and James pulled off the perfect laid-back barn wedding – the bride wanted all the guests to feel “like they were hanging out in their own backyard.”

Jacqui and James‘ Wedding with Pets | Photo by Sarah Diller

And how cute is it that the couple got their beloved dogs in on the fun? We’re obsessed with the pics of the pair walking back down the aisle with their sweet pups in tow.

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Wendy and Nagesh‘s Wedding with Pets | Photo by Laurie Bailey

Wendy and Nagesh’s Dog-Forward Wedding at Bel Air Bay Club, Los Angeles, CA

Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Wendy and Nagesh incorporated the beloved dogs in their lives into their big day in the sweetest ways! 

The couple knew they wanted to include their pug, Shimi (named after the late Shimon Peres), in their day, so they hired Black Tie Pups to bring her to and from the venue for photos. 

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Wendy and Nagesh‘s Wedding with Pets | Photo by Laurie Bailey

Wendy and Bagesh included not only their own dog, Shimi, but also Wendy’s parents’ dog, Snoopy, who is a bit of a family mascot. They named their signature drinks after the pups and got cute signs from Etsy.

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Wendy and Nagesh‘s Wedding with Pets | Photo by Laurie Bailey

Even Wendy and Nagehs’s ketubah, custom designed by Etsy artist Jerise, featured a beach scene with an image of  the couple and Shimi!

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5 of Our Favorites: The Dreamiest Festival Weddings

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Rachel and Josh‘s Jewish Wedding | Photo by Tom Webb and Dan McCourt

Welcome back to “5 of Our Favorites,” where we share five spectacular Jewish weddings, all curated around a unique theme. This week, we’re diving into the vibrant, energetic world of festival-inspired Jewish weddings.

Festival weddings are full of joy, creativity, and celebration, combining the laid-back vibe of a festival with the love and tradition of a Jewish wedding. From boho-chic tents and flower-filled arches to music, dancing, and colorful decor, these weddings are a true reflection of the couple’s personality and the fun-filled, carefree spirit they want to share with their loved ones.

Whether it’s an intimate gathering or a lively, grand event, these dreamy festival weddings are packed with inspiration for couples looking to infuse their big day with a little extra magic. We can’t wait to share these incredible celebrations with you!

Amy and Richard‘s Jewish Wedding | Photo by Jossef Si

Amy and Richard’s Festival Chic Wedding at The Q, Glil Yam, Israel

Amy and Richard opted to theme their big day around their shared love of music and festivals, and while festival-inspired weddings are by no means uncommon, these two really took theirs to the next level. They combined the basics – candles, gentle lighting, greenery – with some unexpected touches – Amy designed festival wristbands for guests, as well as making over 200 personalised mini dream catchers to use as the table plan/seating cards! And in true boho chic style, the couple’s chuppah was styled like a tent with lace dream-catchers hanging at the back.

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Amy and Richard‘s Jewish Wedding | Photo by Jossef Si

That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the lovely details incorporated into this Jewish wedding, and the couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si, captured each and every one of them – not to mention the love between Amy and Richard and the action-packed party following their beautiful ceremony – in his trademark artistic style. As always, we’re obsessed with his stunning work. 

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Amy and Richard‘s Jewish Wedding | Photo by Jossef Si

Amy and Richard knew it wouldn’t be easy implementing their creative ideas all the way from their home in England, and so they decided to work with beloved wedding planner Vicki Rosen (described by Amy as “the most organised lady you will ever meet”) to make sure everything went to plan, as well as to source the perfect vendors to make the day a success.

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Rachel and Josh‘s Jewish Wedding | Photo by Tom Webb and Dan McCourt

Rachel and Josh’s Festival-Themed Jewish Wedding with a Ball Pit and Mini Golf at Brook Farm Cuffley, Hertfordshire, UK

You know we’re all about “Your Jewish wedding, your way” here at Smashing The Glass. It’s really our mission, and while all the weddings we blog are chosen for their authenticity and individuality, sometimes one really blows us away with its inventiveness.

Rachel and Josh‘s Jewish Wedding | Photo by Tom Webb and Dan McCourt

That’s definitely the case today. Rachel and Josh packed their festival-themed Jewish wedding so full of unexpected fun, from the ball pit (!!!) to the BBQ-style mezze menu to the mini golf course!

Rachel and Josh‘s Jewish Wedding | Photo by Tom Webb and Dan McCourt

Our hats are totally off to Rachel and Josh for crafting such an utterly unique day, and one that is so obviously, unabashedly them. 

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Kiruna & Gareth | Wedstock Festival Theme Jewish Wedding at Holton Lee, Poole

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This is such an awesome wedding on so many levels. First of all, Kiruna’s amazing couture wedding dress is made almost entirely from paper! (mostly with the pages of an old copy of Alice in Wonderland together with that of an erotic novel). Secondly with an actress and a comedian marrying each other the relaxed feeling and originality that shine through this ‘wedstock’ wedding is just fabulous.

Kiruna Stamell, originally from Australia, and Gareth’s paths had crossed a couple of times over the years but as is so often the case, the timing wasn’t right. When a mutual friend re-introduced them in 2011, everything felt like it was meant to be and Gareth proposed to Kiruna after just 4 months.

They meticulously organised a weekend Wedstock wedding that took place in September 2012 complete with a fish ‘n’ chips van, camping, tipis, chill-out tents, a fabulous cake competition, and lots of crafty and DIY details all made by the very talented Kiruna herself!
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Kiruna, the Bride: We wanted a relaxed, bohemian party and Holton Lee, our chosen venue, delivered our festival dreams and then some! Our wedding lasted an entire weekend with guests camping onsite with us. Holton Lee is actually a not-for-profit charity so you’ve got these beautiful camping fields and wonderful facilities but also disability-friendly buildings right next door which was essential as we were hosting several disabled guests who needed accessibility.

THE VENUE + THEME

I wanted a pretty picnic lovely camping theme inspired by my experiences at English music festivals but with more of a civilised touch. I was amazed at how much discrimination I came across when I first started looking for a disability-friendly venue but Honeybells who supplied our romantic and chill-out tents came to the rescue with the suggestion of the beautiful Holton Lee and it ticked all our boxes.

We both wanted a ‘picnic festival’ even ‘Woodstock’ feel. We wanted to create a social / non-wedding / relaxing afternoon during daylight on the Saturday and then we would have this shift as the Sabbath went out at sunset on Saturday evening and it turned into the wedding element of the weekend.

The venue was a godsend and it was wonderful to know that the money we spent was going into their not for profit ethos.

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DIY CREATIVITY

Paper was a massive part of my theme which is why most of my wedding dress was made from paper.

I love the nostalgic element of brown paper packaging and string and as well as collecting lots of it I asked my local cafe to save the coca cola bottles to be my vases on the table and saved loads of money by making all the flowers myself out of paper.

The brown paper was the starting point and I then started collecting recycled scraps of paper in different colours to make festival bunting, and other artefacts in the months leading up to the wedding. The table centres were newspaper-covered K’s and G’s that I also made.

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