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A Jewish Wedding with a Fabulous Floral Chuppah at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

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Justine, a medical resident, and David, who works in finance, got married at one of our very favorite outdoor Jewish wedding venues, Hummingbird Nest Ranch. Focusing on the natural beauty of their California setting, the duo let their venue take the lead,  choosing neutrals and earth tones to complement their surroundings.

This included an absolute stunner of a floral chuppah – don’t miss it in the dreamy photos by Joe Silva – and a gorgeous nature-inspired custom ketubah by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Meirav Finn, which Justine and David now proudly display in their home.

We also love some of the fun touches the pair incorporated into their day, like opting for had charcuterie board-style platters on each table instead of individually plated dinners, and an afterparty by the pool featuring hookahs, a cigar bar, and paninis!

Read on for the rest of the story in Justine’s own words…

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How We Met

Justine, the bride: We met in New York while I was in Medical School there. David was in town for work and a mutual friend introduced us.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Helena Kolan Bride for a Colorful, Multicultural Jewish-Hindu Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA

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Get ready to be BLOWN AWAY by the incredible Jewish-Hindu wedding of our beloved Brides Club member Jaime, who has an online fitness business, and Varun, who is CEO of a tech company. These two wanted a one-of-a-kind day that felt larger than life, and did they ever achieve that goal – thanks in no small part to the expertise of their wedding planner, Leora of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Best Bride, who Jaime describes as “the best wedding planner on the planet. Period.”

Blending two different faiths and cultures is no small feat, but Leora made it a breeze, working with Jaime and Varun to craft a jam-packed day – and we do mean a full day; this wedding went from noon until midnight! – including two ceremonies (one Hindu, one Jewish), a positively mouthwatering bicultural food experience featuring Israeli and Indian street food, and, of course, a rocking party to end things off.

The results were thoroughly, breathtakingly beautiful – we’re equally obsessed with the color and energy of the Hindu ceremony and the romance and drama of the sunset Jewish ceremony. And how beautiful is the couple’s floral ketubah, created by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush?! Jaime can’t stop raving about her experience working with founder Rachelle to create the perfect design to match the color and décor scheme for her Jewish ceremony.

You really, really don’t want to miss the fantastic photos from Clane Gessel and Sanaz Photography. Because their day had so much going on, planner Leora encouraged Jaime and Varun to hire two photography teams to make sure none of the good stuff went undocumented, and Jaime is SO glad she followed that advice. And the trailer by AndHer Visuals is equally unmissable.

Now over to the bride, who had not one, not two, but THREE dresses for the big day – her gorgrous, vibrant dress for the Hindu ceremony was made by Vama Designs, and her gown for the Jewish ceremony was custom made by Israeli designer Helena Kolan (who also created Jaime’s reception dress)…

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How we met

Jaime, the bride: We met on OKCupid in San Francisco when we were both working in the start up scene. 

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Real Jewish Brides: Jaime Talks About What’s Happened in The Past Three Months and What’s Next

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Jaime will be marrying Varun on 26th October 2019 at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA. Click here to read all Jaime’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Jaime and Varun will be having a Jewish ceremony AND a Hindu ceremony – on the same day! (2) They’re planning a swanky but not stuffy wedding at one of our fave California venues, Hummingbird Nest Ranch! (3) Jaime is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!


What’s happened in the past three months

Hey everyone! My goodness it’s been such a whirlwind since I last checked in with STG! April, May and June have been full of fun! As I mentioned in my last blog – we had the best time doing our pre wedding shoot with Clane Gessel – our wedding photographer – just check some of these out…


Image by Clane Gessel

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Real Jewish Brides: Jaime’s Pre-Wedding Photoshoot and Wedding Planning Update

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Jaime will be marrying Varun on 26th October 2019 at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA. Click here to read all Jaime’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Jaime and Varun will be having a Jewish ceremony AND a Hindu ceremony – on the same day! (2) They’re planning a swanky but not stuffy wedding at one of our fave California venues, Hummingbird Nest Ranch! (3) Jaime is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!


A pre-wedding photo shoot in a natural wonder

It’s been a little while since I’ve blogged but so much has been happening and I can’t wait to share it with you!

I am literally writing this as I’m at the airport coming from our amazing pre-wedding photo shoot that we did with our photographer, Clane Gessel.

When we signed up with Clane, he told us we could do a pre wedding photoshoot to anywhere in the US and when we saw the photos he had done at White Sands Beach NM – we knew we had to do it there.

White Sands Beach is a sight to be seen – there is nothing like it as it is a true natural wonder. We got the most amazing shots and had the best time shooting with Clane and his assistant Chloe.

Here is a sneak peek from the shoot…


Image by Clane Gessel from Jaime and Varun’s pre-wedding photo shoot

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A Meaningful Family-Forward Jewish Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, Santa Susana, California, USA

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What a treat to be blogging a beautiful Jewish wedding at one of our very favorite venues: SoCal’s stunning, Spanish-style Hummingbird Nest Ranch.

We’re obviously smitten with the lovely visuals Jessica, who works in entertainment marketing, and Michael, a high school statistics teacher, pulled together to make their big day pop – see the exquisite photos from One Love Photography and video from Fancy Fox for evidence -but we’re even more in love with all the wonderful meaning they brought to their wedding.

First off, the ketubah: sure, these two chose a gorgeous, fresh floral design from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink With Intent. But that’s just the beginning – to make the ketubah ultra-meaningful, the couple decided to write their own personal vows into their custom text (which they translated into Hebrew with some help from their families). Then, under the chuppah, Jessica and Michael read their own ketubah aloud together – isn’t that beautiful?!

We also love that – inspired by the memories of their late grandparents – the bride and groom worked with charity Petals for Patients to donate their wedding flowers to a local hospice at the end of the day. Such a wonderful way to make your wedding give back!

Jessica will fill you in on the rest of the details of this fab day…

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How we met

Jessica, the bride: We probably met way back in 2009 at a youth group convention that we both attended. Of course, there are pictures of Jessica with Michael’s friends and Michael with Jessica’s friends, but unfortunately none of us together. High school Jessica and Michael must not have made a good enough impression on each other but luckily, the universe had other plans and decided to give us one more shot at getting to know each other.

We reconnected online in 2013, after Jessica graduated from UCLA and Michael from the University of Michigan. Michael took Jessica out on their first date on December 5th, 2013 where we really hit it off. A few amazing dates, and less than a month later, we decided to kick off 2014 as an official couple.

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