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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!

How we met

Samantha and Elise, the brides: We met online, on OkCupid, before the days of dating apps.
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A Jumpsuit-Wearing Bride for a Chic, Alternative Jewish Wedding at Avigdor 22, Tel Aviv, Israel

13/12/2017 by Karen

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!

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 BHLDN and Mordechai Avraham Bride for a Magical Forest Egalitarian Jewish Wedding at Tzel Hadumim, Neot Kdumim, Israel

24/11/2017 by Karen

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!

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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