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A Sincerity Bridal Bride for a Mountain Top Jew-ish Wedding at Kachina Basin, Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico, USA

29/08/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Yes, you read that right: today’s couple, Tema and Brad, really did hold their Jew-ish wedding on top of an actual mountain at 11,420 (!) feet. How high is that exactly, those of you from flatter locales may be wondering? So high, guests could only attend via chairlift, that’s how high!

The couple’s whimsical boho wedding style was the perfect fit for their mountaintop surroundings — rustic enough to work for the extreme location, simple and sweet enough not to distract from the natural grandeur of the surroundings.

Tema, who provides sustainability consulting services to commercial real estate owners, and Brad, a business analyst, had the sweetest birch chuppah, keeping it simple with just a touch of floral dà©cor draped over the top and Tema’s mother’s wedding veil as the canopy (aww!) — this is a great example of how you can pull off a beautiful floral chuppah while keeping things subtle!

And the couple’s delightful ketubah from Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Tallulah Ketubahs, adorned with whimsical watercolor succulents, is so on point we just cannot even. Have you seen a sweeter ketubah?

Rockstar photographers Shaun and Shannon Menary got THE most stunning captures of the day, from Tema’s fab boho bridal style — did she rock that Sincerity Bridal dress + flower crown combo, or what? — to the majestic mountaintop views.

Oh, and did we mention Tema and Brad have one of the cutest how-they-met stories of all time? Prepare to be charmed…

How We Met

Tema, the bride: The story of how we met is very unusual and funny. We both had our cars towed and met at the impound lot picking up our cars! We stood in line for 3 hours and Brad was there with his dad.

An Eddy K Bride for a Modern Vintage Jew-ish Wedding at Sixth & I Synagogue and Loft at 600 F, Washington, DC, USA

06/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We always love hearing from couples who’ve used Smashing The Glass as a wedding planning resource, and today is no exception. Beautiful bride Kiki reports that she loved STG for the real wedding inspo and vendor suggestions, and especially the Jewish 101 sections, which she found super helpful in planning her Jew-ish ceremony. Aw, thanks Kiki!

It was important to Kiki and Rob to plan an inclusive Jew-ish wedding that would be equally welcoming to Rob’s family, who are Jewish, and Kiki’s, who are not. They found the perfect spot in the historic Sixth & I Synagogue in their hometown of Washington, DC — you’ve got to check out the gorgeous photos from Ryan Hicks of Lily & Lime — with the reception nearby at Loft at 600 F, another cool historic building, just the thing for a modern vintage-themed wedding!

Also perfect for the modern vintage aesthetic? Kiki’s stunner of a gown by Eddy K, a strapless lace low-backed number with a dramatic train.

But the visuals are far from the only thing we’re loving about this wedding. Kiki and Rob incorporated all kinds of personal touches into the day. Our favorite: before the wedding, their rabbi had them each write ten things they love about each other and email it to him. Then, on the day, before the seven blessings, he talked about the pair as a couple and mentioned the things they had said about each other. Isn’t that the sweetest?!

Before we hand things over to Kiki, we’ve got to mention that we’re so pleased we were able to help guide Kiki and Rob toward Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent for just the right ketubah. In Kiki’s words, working with them was “nothing short of amazing,” with customer service that went above and beyond.

How we met

Kiki, the bride: We met when I started working at George Washington University in fall of 2013 and became friends first through lots of happy hours with coworkers and mutual friends. He now works at NIH in research imaging and I work at GWU assisting in patient care. We started dating that December, and got engaged while on vacation in Florida in December 2016 on the beach at sunrise.

An Ines di Santo Bride for a Destination Jewish Wedding at Villa Grabau in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

04/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Happy 4^thof July to all our American readers! What are you all doing to celebrate? Jetting off on a quick getaway to, say, Tuscany, by any chance? No? Us neither. But we are doing the next best thing, living vicariously through Helen and Jared’s oh-so-romantic Jewish wedding at Villa Grabau #swooooooon

And what a wedding it was. Can we talk about bride Helen’s out-of-this-world Ines di Santo gown? That train! That tulle! And that’s not even mentioning the painfully delicate beadwork on the bodice. It’s just the absolute perfect blend of sweet and sexy, dramatic and effortless. We are such massive fans of Ines di Santo — you may recall our Facebook Live with her last year— and it’s always a privilege to feature one of her brides on STG.

And once Helen had chosen it, she was pretty much good to go. As busy attorneys, Helen and Jared didn’t have much time to devote to wedding planning, and they were so thrilled that their trusted wedding planners, Benedetta and Elena from Luccaorganizza, were able to give them the dreamy Tuscan day they wanted with minimal guidance.

Benedetta and Elena helped the couple pick everything from their venue(fun fact: it was once featured on the Bachelor), to their phenomenal photographer, Alessandro Colle.

In Helen’s words, “Our planners made everything SO easy for us that I have to pretend to understand what other brides are talking about when they refer to ‘wedding planning stress.’” That’s some serious praise! Now over to the bride herself, who’ll fill you in on all the details of the day…

How we met

Helen, the bride: We are attorneys in Los Angeles — as most tales of romance go, we met in law school at UCLA. Little did we know, despite only crossing paths for the first time in law school, our parents lived mere minutes from each other our whole lives and my sister and one of Jared’s younger brothers were in the same class together in high school! Truly a small world.

A Limor Rosen Bride for a Playful DIY Jewish Wedding at Ikea and Alma, Even Yehuda, Israel

29/06/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We’ve got two words for you: Ikea. Wedding.

Okay, maybe we’re exaggerating just a tad. Today’s couple didn’t literally hold their Jewish wedding inside the Swedish furniture giant. They did that at Alma, a beautiful venue set amidst a lush garden (where they held their fab outdoor chuppah, natch).

But bride Carmel, a computer science student, and groom Etai, an education and political science student, did do their photos amidst the Billy bookshelves and Malm beds. They went for Ikea Israel due to its abundant A/C on an unexpectedly hot day, but the photos Flea Studio shot there turned out just wonderfully — such an unexpected and cool (in all senses!) location, and we love that this pair wasn’t afraid to have fun with their wedding pics.

The Ikea photoshoot wasn’t Carmel and Etai’s only cool idea. This wedding is chock full of heartfelt DIY touches, our favorite being their DIY patchwork chuppah canopy, assembled from squares inscribed with messages, quotations, and drawings by their family and friends.

Oh, and did we mention that this duo has a super touching how we met story? We’ll leave it to Carmel, who looked so stunning in her off-shoulder Limor Rosen gown, to fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Carmel, the bride: We first met in the army, and we were good friends but not a couple. We served together on the same base, when we came home only once every two weeks. After a year in the Israeli army I transferred to another base and a month after that Etai discovered that he was sick with leukemia.

Since I was in a closer base I had a chance to visit him a lot, and during this time I saw him every night, took care of him, and tried to make him happy. We fell in love at the hospital, and after a few month Etai got a bone marrow transplant, which luckily was successful. After he beat the cancer it was clear to us that we were in love and we decided to be a couple. 7 years later we got married <3

A Breathtaking Waterside Same Sex Jewish Wedding at a Private Residence, Kittery, Maine, USA

09/02/2018 by Karen

Today we have a real treat for you because we have not one, but TWO wonderful brides whose boho-beautiful style you’re totally going to want to steal.

Samantha and Elise had their tented waterside Jewish destination wedding at a private family residence and it was absolutely rub-your-eyes-and-look-again beautiful. The natural scenery provided a spectacular backdrop for the couple’s moving, family-oriented Jewish ceremony – oh, and just how cute are those flower girls?? There’s an awesome story about them which we won’t ruin, but read on, because it will just melt your heart.

Let’s talk about the brides’ breathtaking dresses, from Willowby by Watters and Lillian West respectively – they could not have looked more perfect together, with a relaxed but oh-so-chic feel and lush lace embellishments. Serious bridal style goals!

We’re also head over heels for the foliage-covered birch wood chuppah overlooking the water – what a perfect place to say ‘I do’. Oh, and the rustic-look but clean and contemporary reception dà©cor? Sublime.

The stunning spread of photographs was provided by Alex and Bett, who captured all the love, joy and big-day details with aplomb. We seriously can’t stop staring!

We’ll hand you over to Samantha and Elise for the full story of their perfect day. Get ready to fall in love with these two!