Georgia Jewish Wedding Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Dog Lovers’ Barnyard Jewish Wedding at Red Gate Farms, Savannah, Georgia, USA

17/01/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

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 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,” and based on the gorgeous photos from Sarah Diller, we’d say she definitely succeeded.

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.

Although Jacqui and James’ wedding was not religious – they were married by a friend, not a rabbi – we love the way they incorporated Jewish traditions in a way that was authentic and meaningful to them as a couple, opting to wed under a chuppah and sign a gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com, while forgoing the traditional ceremony in favor of one the bride wrote herself!

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll let the bride, who looked lovely in Maggie Sottero, take it from here..

Venue

Jacqui, the bride: I have always dreamed of an outdoor, barn yard, casual wedding. Red Gate Farms located in the beautiful, historic city of Savannah, GA was the absolute perfect location!

Industrial-Boho-Chic Jewish Wedding at Ambient + Studio, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

06/11/2017 by Karen

SQUEE! Sorry, we tried to play it cool, but… EEEE LOOK! Some weddings just ooze effortless chic – and Rachael and Ryan’s Jewish wedding day was definitely one of those weddings! Their industrial-boho theme was so perfectly executed that it looks lifted from the pages of Pinterest. In fact, that’s exactly where it belongs (you know what to do, folks).

The blank-canvas Atlanta venue, Ambient + Studio, was the perfect setting for the succulent-laden dà©cor, with its white exposed brick walls and gorgeous natural light.

The happy couple clearly have an eye for design, because every detail was just perfect, from the hanging terrariums (so on trend) to the beautiful color gradient of bridesmaids’ gowns, the mouth-watering naked cake to the show-stopping wooden chuppah from Annie’s Creek. Let’s not forget that the couple planned this wedding themselves, with a little help from their friends!

Bride Rachael looked like a boho woodland princess in her lush lace Dreamers and Lovers dress and fashion-forward half-up, half-down ‘do – she absolutely stole the show.

Photographer, Simply Violet Photography, created a sensational spread of images that really tell the story of the day – we’re totally in love. The couple also enlisted a dear friend, Jarell P. Wall, to provide the oh-so-sweet wedding video below.

There’s so much to love about this big day: the surprise serenade, the sparkler-lit exit, but we’ll let Rachael tell you all about it in her own words. Take it away, Rachael!

A blank-canvas industrial venue

Rachael, the bride: We got married in Ambient + Studio in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a 10,000 sq^2 foot blank canvas with high ceiling and wooden floor.

It has a unique industrial setting to it, with old blueprints of machinery and pieces of equipment, such as a scale, in the building. Also The Walking Dead was filmed around the area! Jason from Ambient + Studio was very helpful, along with the whole team.

A Romantic, Family-Oriented Jewish Wedding at The Trolley Barn in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

18/08/2017 by Karen

It’s time for STG to take a trip down south, to Atlanta, Georgia, where Sarah and Steven held their wonderful Jewish wedding in their own neighbourhood.

Sarah, a high school educator, and Steven, a healthcare billing manager, were high school sweethearts. Their parents are best friends, making the joining of the two families a long time coming, and especially joyous.

The aesthetic of the day was chic, simple and beautiful – hunter green accents, with beautiful foliage adorning the chairs and, of course, the stunning chuppah.

The emotional day centered around family, with Sarah and Steven honoring lost loved ones by saving them a seat at the ceremony, beautiful bride Sarah wearing her mother’s veil, a grandfather-granddaughter dance, and each parent whispering a piece of advice in their children’s ears after the signing of the ketubah. We won’t ruin their moving words for you, all we’ll say is do read on!

Speaking of the Ketubah, it featured a fabulous Atlanta skyline, paying tribute to the couple’s home town, and expertly crafted by our wonderful and much-loved Recommended Vendor, Ink With Intent.

We love bride Sarah’s sensational writeup, illustrated by gorgeous photography by Maggie and Rachel Photography and the adorable video by Wes Brawner. Over to Sarah!

How we met

Sarah, the bride: Steven and I met at a Jewish high school, so this day was a long time coming…
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A BHLDN bride for a brunch-style Jewish wedding at Park Tavern in Piedmont Park, Atlanta, USA

08/11/2016 by Karen

It’s a Big Day in America today (erm… understatement!) and I couldn’t possibly let the day pass without posting a gorgeous real American Jewish wedding, if nothing else, to divert us from all the madness!

Menucha & Austin are just the cutest and I’ve got an extra special treat in store for you today in terms of the bride’s FABULOUS frockage from BHLDN, one of my favourite bridal fashion brands — super sassy and achingly cool.

Austin isn’t Jewish, but is going to convert to Judaism and in the meantime, Menucha wanted to find a way to show that he was included and invited into the Jewish tradition.

So he had a tisch before the ceremony, and when they danced Austin in to see his bride for the badeken, he carried out the act of placing her veil over her face, but then she carried out her own really special addition to the short ceremony — she placed a white kippah on his head, to symbolise his future conversion to Judaism. It’s personal details like this that make for a truly smashing wedding…

The wedding ceremony itself was jam-packed with intimacy, personality and so much joy. Menucha’s father was the officiant, and the bride’s and groom’s siblings held the chuppah poles. Menucha’s mother also made the ketubah. Truly a family affair.

The images today come from Alyssa Kapnik Samuel — thank you for submitting this gorgeousness, Alyssa!

How We Met

Menucha, the bride: Austin and I met in college. He was roommates with my best friend from high school. And it was a long journey from there!

Pop Art Jewish wedding full of creative surprises, at The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

06/10/2015 by Karen

“Just because the wedding industry encourages conformity, you don’t have to comply. Do it your way!”

Top advice from this morning’s bride, Melody, and yes she did! This is a wedding EXTRAVAGANZA. Seriously — I’ve never seen anything like it and the truth is, I don’t even know where to begin. Perhaps I should start by saying that I think this is one of my favourite weddings EVER to appear on Smashing The Glass and having blogged over 150 super cool real Jewish weddings I don’t say that lightly.

I love that the chuppah was created by the bride and features multi-coloured pom poms and green grass. I love that Melody walked down the aisle to a mash-up of Forever Young and Canon in D. I love that the bride and groom both wore custom Converse with ‘Let Love Win” embroidered down the side. I love that instead of the usual sit-down dinner, guests were treated to a ‘pop-up’ restaurant, where they had to make a reservation and come back for their table. I love that the bridesmaids wore flower ‘bib’ necklaces (yes Melody made that a thing!). And I love that the wedding theme was inspired by the artist Frida Kahlo and her vibrant colour palate. You see… anything can inspire your wedding theme, literally anything! Think outside of the box, and as far as your mind can take you.

There is also a a drag queen performing as Beyoncà© AND a flash mob of kids ‘interrupting’ the first dance. You have to see it to believe it (check it all out in the highlights video at the end by the super talented Rodinis Films).

Oh and gummy bears are loosely woven into this the big day too.

The whole shebang was documented by photography geniuses, Chrisman Studios. Every time I feature one of their weddings I know it’s going to be a memorable post, but this one is an absolute corker. It’s clear that Melody and Michael invested so much time and effort into making their wedding uniquely them and I can’t wait a moment longer to show it to you.

Come on then… let’s take a look. Over to Melody, today’s awesome bride.

how we met

Melody, the Bride: We met through Mellow Mushroom (a national pizza franchise in the USA). Michael is a multi-unit franchisee, and my father is one of the founders of the company. My dad introduced us, he thought we would make a good match. We fell in love over pizza!