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A Casablanca Bride for a Hanukkah Wonderland Jewish Wedding at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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There’s something so special about a Hanukkah wedding – and we’re obsessed with the way Brides Club member Jennie, a Ph.D. student at Cambridge, and Ben, a software developer for a financial firm, went all out incorporating the holiday vibes into their big day.

With their Jewish wedding falling on the first night of the Festival of Lights, Jennie and Ben opted for a full-on Hanukkah wonderland theme, and we are ALL about it. From the blue-tinged color scheme to the giant (5-foot!) menorah the pair lit at the start of dinner to the dreidels-and-gelt wedding favors, this wedding was chock full of wonderful festive touches. And we haven’t even gotten to the food yet – Jennie and Ben not only served delectable sufganiyot with their dessert; they also had a latke station with several different toppings at the end of the night! How fun is that?

Throughout her wedding planning, Jennie was a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club, and we’re so touched by her kind words about how the community “made the wedding planning process a whole lot easier, especially since I was planning everything from overseas. All of the checklists and resources really allowed us to think about what was important for us. It was also great to have a group of brides who were going through the same process as me or had already completed their weddings – they really helped us not sweat the small stuff. Everyone in Brides Club is so kind and supportive of each other!”

Jennie also found some of her wonderful vendors via Brides Club, including Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Talia C, who provided the couple’s smash glass and then made the shards into Shabbat candle sticks, and their fabulous ketubah designer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent. Jennie and Ben chose Ink with Intent’s custom night sky design, featuring the star map for their wedding date! Don’t miss it in the wonderful photos by Simi Rabinowitz.

There’s so much more to this wonderful wedding, but we’ll leave it to the bride to fill you in on the rest…

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How We Met

Jennie, the bride:  We live in London but we originally met back in 2016 in Boston, where we were both working at the time. Ben was the flatmate of one of my colleagues, who brought him to an after-work meet up one evening. We kept seeing each other at group hangouts for a few years after that, then slowly became friends and started seeing each other more and more. Our friendship very naturally grew into a romantic relationship over time. The friend who introduced us was our Best Man!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Lilian West Bride for an Autumnal City Jewish Wedding at the Pan Pacific London, London, UK

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Freya & David, Pan Pacific London, London, UK

Happy 2023! We’re starting off the new year with a bang in the form of a truly FABULOUS London Jewish wedding – prepare to be wowed by the super-stylish nuptials of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Freya and David!

For their chic, urban, autumnal nuptials, these two chose one of our very favorite venues, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Pan Pacific London (which they found right here on STG!). Freya and David can’t stop raving about the stylish space and exquisite service – and once you have a look at the magazine-worthy photos by Dominika Miechowska, you’ll see why.

In Freya’s words, “Between their devoted venue floor able to be split in two for both the ceremony and reception in one place, and their incredible Singaporean menu, it was the perfect place for us. I cannot stress enough how fabulous the wedding team were – small things I had not even thought about, they had a plan for on the day. Nothing was too big of an ask and they made the day go off without a hitch.”

We loved following Freya’s wedding planning journey during her time in Brides Club, and we’re so thrilled that the group helped her find so many of her wonderful vendors, from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Dimitria Jordan, who designed the pair’s on-the-day stationery and signs, to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People, who supplied their lovely chuppah, to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink With Intent, the artist behind Freya and David’s egalitarian ketubah illustrated with autumnal flowers.

This really is one very special wedding – read on for the rest of the story in Freya’s own words…

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How we Met

Freya, the bride: We met on Tinder! Dave was about to move to London for his masters degree and I was already here, working in legal research. We met up three days after he arrived from the US and simply did not want our first date to end; a casual coffee in Marylebone turned in to dinner and drinks in Shoreditch, which turned in to seeing each other at least five times a week.

After graduation, he had to go back to the US for work – so I followed and started my PhD in St. Louis in international law. Four years, a pandemic, another across the world move, and a ginger cat later, I feel so lucky to have spent nearly every single day since with my best friend.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Top 12 Ketubah Designs

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One thing I love about modern Jewish weddings is the way the ketubah – the ancient Jewish marriage contract – has become a way for every couple to put their personal aesthetic stamp on their day. There are so many mega-talented artists creating gorgeous ketubot in all different styles (and with options for all different texts – traditional, interfaith, same sex, egalitarian, or even your own custom version).

And of course the other bonus of a beautiful ketubah is that it’s one of the few wedding elements that comes home with you once the day is over. These days so many couples proudly display their ketubah in their home as a work of art – and with options this stunning, is it any wonder?

With everything out there, it’s so hard to narrow my picks down – but that said, here are 12 of my favorites for 2022…

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Two Bevin Dillon Brides for a Laid-Back Jewish Wedding on the Beach at Las Terrazas Resort, Belize

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There’s so much to love about the chilled-out beachside Jewish wedding of beautiful brides Ashley, a beloved member of our Smashing Life Jewish community, and Amanda! Obviously the setting was second to none, and we love that the couple’s top priority in planning the day was making sure their 90 guests had a blast.

We’re obsessed with their gorgeous ceremony in the round (held right on the beach, naturally), which lent the proceedings an intimate feel and meant as many guests as possible got a front-row view. Ashley and Amanda walked down separate aisles, meeting in the center under the chuppah – love it!

Ashley and Amanda both work in the fashion industry, so naturally choosing their gowns was serious business. Ultimately, the opted to work with New York-based designer Bevin Dillon to have their dresses custom made – both choosing the same beaded champagne fabric to have two totally different, and totally gorgeous, designs made. Don’t miss them in the wonderful photos by Leonardo Melendez!

We also love the pair’s approach to our favorite Jewish wedding tradition, smashing the glass! Both Ashley and Amanda were apprehensive about trying to break a glass with their heels on the sand, so instead they opted to do the smashing with hammers, festively wrapped in blue ribbon! Other things we can’t get enough of: the couple’s modern marble geometric ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent, and the fact that the duo opted to highlight Ashley’s late mother’s favorite flowers – bougainvillea and orchids. How beautiful?!

Now over to Ashley…


How we Met

Ashley, the bride: Amanda and I are both in the fashion industry in Los Angeles. At the time we were both sales managers for different fashion brands and they were represented by the same showroom in Atlanta. We were at a fashion trade show in Atlanta and Amanda hit on me with an awkward pickup line that I rebuffed because I was in a relationship, but I was secretly intrigued.

We chatted a bit that night before she had to catch a flight back to LA and then we followed each other on social media. We ran into each other a couple years later at another fashion trade show in Dallas and could no longer ignore the obvious spark that was there. We’ve been inseparable since. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Pronovias Bride for a Picture Perfect Jewish COVID Wedding at Larz Anderson House, Washington DC, USA

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Merav and Dmitri’s Jewish wedding was SO incredibly dreamy, if not for the personalized masks and “vaccine” shooters we’d never have guessed it took place during the pandemic.

We’re obsessed with their gorgeous venue, Larz Anderson House in downtown Washington, DC – a spot the couple had looked at and loved when they first started planning, but eventually rejected because it couldn’t accommodate their pre-COVID guest list.

Once the pandemic hit and they had to scale things down, though, the Anderson House became a viable option. We’re not sure which we love more, the lush garden where Merav and Dmitri held their outdoor chuppah or the beautiful ballroom they used for their reception. Don’t miss a single detail in Adam Mason’s luminous photos or Wise Films’ wonderful trailer.

We’re also in love with Merav and Dimitri’s fabulous ketubah by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent. The couple searched long and hard for a ketubah that felt truly them, and when they stumbled onto one of Ink with Intent’s past ketubot featuring text printed over a picture of the couple, they knew that was the direction for them. Needless to say, the pair adore their ketubah, and it now graces a wall in their home as a special piece of art.

We’ll let the bride, who looked so elegant in Pronovias, take it from here…

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How we met

Merav, the bride: Dmitri and I originally met in 2008 through a mutual friend, but we didn’t know each other well and only saw each other sparingly over the years. When he moved down to Washington, DC to start a data analytics company, we reconnected over coffee and we started working together to make the dream a reality.

Together, we worked at WeWork Chinatown (where we did our pre-wedding photo shoot!), 7 days a week, through holidays and snowstorms to build our company. Today, we have 40 employees and a growing business.

As our respect and trust for each other grew, so did our relationship. A year and a half after working together, we started dating. After 4 years of growing our company together, moving in, and adopting two cats, Dmitri proposed at a private dinner on a beautiful beach in Mexico.Continue ReadingContinue Reading