Italy Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Pronovias Bride for an Elegant Outdoor Destination Jewish Wedding at Villa Grabau, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

18/04/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

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Gorgeous couple, gorgeous venue, gorgeous lemon grove… today’s Jewish wedding brings ALL the pretty. London-based Federica and Justin wanted a Tuscan destination wedding (and after looking at their stunning photos, you just might, too!). With the help of their wedding planner, Silvia from Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Infinity Weddings, they opted for an outdoor ceremony in the lush gardens of Villa Grabau.

The thing that sold them on their venue? The chance to have their ceremony amidst a grove of lemon trees. Lemon trees! It doesn’t get much more idyllically Tuscan than that, does it?!

And the favors? Lemon soaps from none other than Lush, thanks to a connection at Lush HQ. Even better, the couple opted to tag them with guests’ names and table numbers, making them do double duty as a table plan. This is one favor I personally would’ve been very happy to receive – if you guys have any leftovers, you know where to send them!

Photographers Rhapsody Road delivered the natural, relaxed photos the couple hoped for – and then some. From the emotion to the details to the rolling Tuscan hills in the background, it’s all there.

Beautiful Federica claims to have hated dress shopping, but you’d never know it from how effortlessly elegant she looks in her modern, chic Pronovias gown. She’ll fill you in on the rest of her fab day…

A Destination Wedding in Tuscany

Federica, the bride: Our wedding planner, Silvia from Infinity Weddings, provided us with a list of venues in Tuscany. We shortlisted the venues, jumped on a plane, and went to meet Silvia. We then visited all the venues we liked the look of and narrowed it down to two that we loved. From there we did a lot of research into local hotels, distance from airports, coach hire, etc.

Finally, we made the decision to go with Villa Grabau. We loved the lemon house and surrounding grounds; it just had a relaxed aura about it that we picked up on immediately. When Silvia showed us the lemon house we instantly realized that that was where we wanted to have the wedding.

An Angelo Lambrou Bride for a Glamorous Destination Jewish Wedding at Villa Cimbrone, Ravello, Amalfi Coast, Italy

11/04/2018 by Karen Cinnamon 2 Comments

Today’s destination Jewish wedding is serious #venuegoals. NYC-based Nejla (@acutestyleaddict), a personal stylist, and Alex, who works in finance, married at Villa Cimbrone in Ravello, on the breathtaking Amalfi Coast in Italy. The couple visited Ravello just after getting engaged, and the minute they set foot in their venue they knew it was where they would wed.

And can you blame them? You have GOT to see the views from this place. It’s literally smack dab in the middle of the swoon-worthy Amalfi Coast, right on the water. We could not possibly come up with a dreamier setting. And that’s not even mentioning the villa itself, where the meal was held – it dates back to the 12th century (!), and the dining setup seriously looks right out of the castle from Beauty and the Beast.

With such a stunning venue, Nejla and Alex understandably wanted to let the natural beauty of their surroundings take center stage. As such, they kept their décor simple, with a focus on local, in-season flowers in pink and white.

Photographer and videographer Gianni Di Natale got the most exquisite shots of the day; his photos (not to mention the gorgeous highlights video) really make you feel like you’re there.

But don’t let all that fool you into thinking this wedding was all about the looks – far from it. The couple put serious effort into planning their ceremony, which was especially meaningful given that Nejla completed her conversion to Judaism weeks prior. They flew their rabbi out from New York, and, because the wedding began at sundown on Saturday night, they incorporated a Havdallah service into the ceremony. With the sunset over the coast on one side and a sea of loving faces on the other, it could hardly get any more perfect.

Amazingly, though, that wasn’t even the duo’s favorite part of the wedding. According to Nejla, it was surpassed by their joy at Alex’s grandmother, Edna, being present to celebrate with them. It was especially poignant, as the wedding marked Grandma Edna’s first time in Europe since she left as a young girl after the war.

Nejla being a personal stylist, it’s only natural that she went ultra chic on the day, in a custom couture gown in blush silk by Angelo Lambrou. She’ll fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Nejla, the bride: We met through friends several years ago but didn’t start dating until about 4 years ago.

A Martina Liana Bride for a Romantic Jewish Destination Wedding at La Catilina, Lake Iseo, Lombardia, Italy

05/03/2018 by Karen

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There’s something about Italian weddings that just makes us want to hop on the next flight to Milan. That sunlight! Those lakes! And the olive groves! Manchester-based couple Lauren and Avi took full advantage of all of the above (and more!) after opting to marry abroad.

In search of a location with guaranteed good weather and no more than a few hours’ flight from the UK, they found their dream spot overlooking Lake Iseo in Lombardia, in northern Italy.

Their venue, La Catilina, has the most breathtaking views, and, ever the considerate hosts, the couple were also drawn to its shaded areas and air-conditioned reception rooms to keep their guests cool in that bright Italian sunlight.

Lauren and Avi’s wedding aesthetic was minimal and romantic; the pair wanted to complement the fantastic views rather than distract from them. They went for a soft color scheme focused on whites and pinks, reflected in the white and pink O’Hara roses adorning the tabletops and their lovely, simple chuppah (made from locally sourced timber!).

Bride Lauren looked positively radiant in her lace Martina Liana gown with a statement train, and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Hebrewear supplied kippot and benchers for the guests.

Since Lauren and Avi both work for photography and videography studio Flix’n’Pix—in fact, Avi co-founded it with his brother!—so there was never any question as to who was going to capture their day. Take a look at the photos, and I think you’ll agree they did a fantastic job. Now over to Lauren, who’s shared a delightful writeup of her day.

A Stunning Lakeside Venue

Lauren, the bride: We knew we wanted to get married abroad with guaranteed weather and no more than a few hours on a plane for our guests to travel. We chose to look at venues in Italy and found our perfect venue overlooking Lake Iseo. Apart from the breathtaking views at La Catilina, it also had multiple shaded areas and air-conditioned reception rooms for our guests to gather to enjoy drinks and nibbles while we had our wedding photographs.

Destination Jewish Wedding with an Italian Feast at Grand Hotel Royal, Sorrento, Italy

15/11/2017 by Karen

Picture the scene: it’s Italy’s breathtaking Amalfi coast. The sun is beaming down over a stunning, long aisle towards a beautifully decorated chuppah, with a sea view, no less. Sounds like a dream, right? Well it was Aimee and Richard’s reality! Their Jewish destination wedding was truly a sight to behold.

Complete with a vegetarian Italian feast and Limoncello favors (as well as kippot, provided by one of our amazing Recommended Vendors – Hebrewear), the wedding paid constant homage to the location, and brought some of the sea into the color scheme, with its baby blue and sparkling hues.

The wedding was ALL about family, with family forming the main wedding party (and two ADORABLE flower girls stealing the show), as well as the couple honoring lost loved ones, with special memorial candles by the chuppah.

It’s not easy to plan a wedding from overseas, but the happy couple pulled it off with aplomb, with the help of wedding planners, Sorrento Sunland.

Aimee looked gorgeous in her Morilee dress, which was totally meant to be! We won’t ruin the story for you, but do read on. We’ll pass you over to Aimee for that, and other wonderful wedding anecdotes now, accompanied by perfect pictures by photographers The Bros Photography.

Put on the kettle, or pour yourself a glass of wine, sit back and let us transport you to sun-soaked Italy… ahhh…

How we met

Aimee, the bride: Rich and I went to the same Jewish primary and secondary schools in Barkingside. We actually properly met for the first time at Rich’s house, around 10 years ago. My best friend was going round to sing for him and she insisted I come with. We did date a little, but remained good friends. We officially got together seven and a half years ago, when I got back from travelling for a year.

A Stunning Super Luxe Peony-filled Jew-ish Destination Wedding at Buranco Vineyard, Cinque Terre, Italy

08/09/2017 by Karen

SWOON! That’s us right now, at STG HQ, swooning away at this jaw-dropping Jew-ish Italian destination wedding.

Now that we’ve picked ourselves up off the floor, let’s get into the reasons Maggie and Ben’s super luxe celebration in stunning Cinque Terre is just SO sublime!

Let’s start with the fabulous destination. Maggie and Ben love to travel, and together they’ve seen the world. In keeping with their globetrotting history, they felt a divine destination was the way to go, so just think of the competition Cinque Terre had to beat to be selected for such an honor.

Cinque Terre, of course, is that gorgeous, colorful Italian coastal town you see every time you open a travel guide on the world’s most beautiful places.

Just when you think a place like that couldn’t get any more beautiful, enter Maggie and Ben, with their incredible, chic and fashion-forward wedding décor, bright and bold color scheme and sensational floral arrangements. The result? A total feast for the eyes.

Beautiful bride, Maggie, is in architecture and design, so of course every last detail was perfect, especially with the help and keen eye of Cinque Terre Wedding.

A wedding that was just as lovely on the inside as it was to look at, both the bride and groom’s respective fathers officiated their Jew-ish ceremony, and every choice was filled with heart and personal meaning for the couple.

Photographer, Facibeni Fotografia, and videographer, S-Bros, each did an amazing job of capturing the day- it almost feels like we were there! We’ll hand you over to Maggie now for the full writeup of her magical destination wedding.

How we met

Maggie, the bride: We met on match.com in 2007, and quickly learned that our paths should have crossed more than once over the course of our lives; we were both born and raised in Massachusetts, both had some history in Scottsdale, Arizona, and both finally settled in Los Angeles.

Ben finally proposed after almost nine years of dating, on a trip we had been planning to Bali and Vietnam over the holidays in 2015. Our family and friends were already expecting a destination wedding, and after a proposal in Bali and engagement celebration “tour” through Vietnam, we knew we had to follow it with an equally amazing wedding!