Ink with Intent Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Nautical New England Jew-ish Wedding at Latitude 41 in Mystic, Connecticut, USA

12/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s always a special day here in STG land when one of our wonderful blogging brides’ weddings shows up in our inbox. Especially when it’s as gorgeous as Alyssa and Colin’s luminous light house-themed Jew-ish wedding.

Seriously, just LOOK at Taylor Dunn Photography’s bright, airy, emotion-filled snaps of the big day.

It doesn’t get much more picturesque than this. Everything from the couple’s sweet, whimsical ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent to Alyssa and Colin’s adorable lighthouse logo to the fact that they used our very own Smashing The Glass pouch for their smash glass under the chuppah is total wedding goals.

And speaking of that chuppah? First of all, it’s a charmer, with birch poles, a clean green and white color scheme, and just a touch of asymmetrical greenery and florals. But it gets even better when you find out Alyssa and Colin’s fathers – plus Alyssa’s brother – teamed up to build it – using branches taken from trees in the yards of the bride and groom’s childhood homes (!!!). I KNOW.

Now for the rest from Alyssa…

How we met

Alyssa, the bride: I met Colin at just 13 years old. He was a silly kid in the back of the school bus and to be honest one of the only Jewish people I knew. We spent countless rides to school laughing and teasing each other relentlessly.

Senior year of high school we reconnected and rekindled our friendship. I was drawn to his humor, easy-going demeanor, kind nature, and his ability to be friends with everyone! Our friendship effortlessly evolved into an amazing relationship that I never expected.

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

03/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

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…

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.

Your Ketubah, Your Way: Our Top Ketubot for 2019

17/01/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Brooklyn Ketubah | Ink With Intent | From $280 | (10% off for members of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club)

One of my favourite wedding industry developments since I founded Smashing The Glass is the abundance of beautiful, lovingly crafted ketubahs to suit every style you could possibly imagine.

It used to be that your rabbi would set you up with a plain, standard ketubah – or if you really wanted to go all out, you might strike out on your own and find something a bit more ornate, maybe a traditional floral border. Even ten years ago, the range of possibilities was truly nothing like it is today.

Now, there are so many incredible ketubah artists putting their personal stamps on the ancient Jewish marriage contract. Whether you go for contemporary or traditional, whether you’re a minimalist or a maximalist, whether you love bright colours, pastels, or neutrals – there’s a ketubah for you. In fact, there are probably lots of ketubot for you.

And it’s not just design that can be customized to suit your style, either. So many ketubah creators offer a range of text options beyond the traditional, whether you’re looking for something interfaith, same sex, egalitarian, or just a little more modern – or maybe you even want to provide your own text that the two of you have written together! These days, the sky is truly the limit.

I’m privileged to work with some amazing ketubah artists, and I want to draw your attention to some of my very favorite pieces I’ve spotted recently – so here are just a few…

Silver Jewel Ketubah | Danny Azoulay | Price available upon request

This exquisitely elegant paper cut ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay is truly a work of art. Like museum quality. It’s a true heirloom, with an incredible level of detail.

Geometric Bouquet Ketubah | Ketubata | From $125

If you’re after something with a more playful look, you couldn’t do better than to check out Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubata. Think gorgeous watercolors, sweet botanicals, and totally modern geometric shapes.

Real Blogging Brides – Alyssa: All About Our Jewish-Interfaith Wedding

26/06/2018 by Smashing The Glass

Alyssa will be marrying Colin on July 20th 2018 at Latitude 41 in Mystic, CT, under a chuppah right on the water… Click here to read all Alyssa’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Alyssa first met Colin when she was just 13 years old! (2) They are planning a Jew-ish wedding where they hope to highlight the religious traditions most important to them as an interfaith couple (3) They envision their wedding to have a nautical theme with a relaxed summer atmosphere, great seafood, a fire pit complete with a s’mores station (oh yes!), and lots of drinking and dancing with their nearest and dearest.

After the initial blissful moments of our engagement I was immediately asked the question, “So will it be a Jewish ceremony?”

Having been with Colin for the past 11 years it wasn’t the first time I had thought about what our wedding would look like. I had fantasized about what dress I might choose and what color scheme I would pick, but I had never really delved deep into the religious aspect of the wedding. Colin and I have such a mutual respect for one another and our religions that I always told myself we would make it work. But after becoming officially engaged there was no more skirting around the matter.

Religion or No Religion

As I shared in my first post, part of what drew me to Colin is his genuine ability to connect with so many different types of people. As a result, he has become sort of the male version of Katherine Heigl in 27 dresses.

Of the many weddings he has been in, and we’ve attended as guests, we have seen a wide variety of religious ceremonies. When it came to deciding on our own ceremony, my initial instinct was to go the secular route. I have many friends who have had beautiful weddings done by the Justice of the Peace, and I thought a secular ceremony might be the easiest way to accommodate both of our families.

However, a couple months after Colin proposed we had an intimate engagement party where a simple comment changed my mind. In the midst of all the congratulations, one of Colin’s family members said to me, “I have pictured him standing under the chuppah since he was a little boy.” In that moment, difficult route or not, I knew we personally needed to include religious traditions into our ceremony.

A Theia Bride for an Intimate Rooftop Destination Jewish Wedding at Sugar, Miami, Florida, USA

30/05/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Wow – that chuppah! The colors! The smiles! Looking at the fab photos of today’s colorful, laid-back wedding, you’d never guess what a bumpy wedding planning ride Dana, a product manager,, and Alex, who works in corporate strategy, had!

After a venue mishap forced the San Francisco-based couple to cancel their original wedding plans — for a large, traditional event — Dana and Alex decided to take a step back and rethink what really mattered to them on their day. Their “wedding planning reboot” inspired them to start from scratch and create an ultra-personal day reflecting their personalities and values.

Oh, and just three weeks before the wedding, Dana broke her elbow snowboarding — not that you’d be able to tell from how gorgeous she looked in her delicate petal-covered Theia dress.

The silver lining of all this drama was that it made Dana and Alex focus on what really mattered to them — which meant that their fun-filled, close-knit brunch (yes, brunch!) wedding at Sugar on the rooftop of the East Hotel in downtown Miami turned out to be such a wonderful reflection of their personalities. You can really feel the joy shining through Andrea Harborne and Diana Hogan’s vibrant photos of the day.

We love how the duo incorporated their values into the day was by authoring their own ketubah text. Dana reports that writing their own marriage contract was a great way to stay grounded during wedding planning, and what a special memento of this phase of their relationship. It doesn’t hurt that the finished product is stunning, with a lovely modern floral design courtesy of much-loved STG Recommended Vendor Ink With Intent.

And we can’t get enough of the couple’s DIY handheld chuppah. Constructed by Dana’s family (with a gorgeous, colorful tablecloth standing in as the canopy, which Dana and Alex can continue using in their home!) and held up by friends during the ceremony, it added an ultra-meaningful touch to the day. Now over to the bride…

How we met

Dana, the bride: We met around 6 years ago when we were both working at the same company in Manhattan, and we moved out to San Francisco together 3 years ago.