Italy Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Bright and Fresh Outdoor Jewish Wedding at Villa Grabau, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

02/08/2019 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Planning a destination wedding from abroad is no easy feat. Just ask Jessica, who runs her family’s restaurant, and Jared, a lawyer. Luckily they had an awesome planner on site, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Luccaorganizza, to help them work out the details of their dreamy Jewish wedding in Tuscany.

Planners Benedetta and Simona directed them toward their incredible venue, Villa Grabau, and it’s easy to see from Foto Cortopassi‘s pics why the couple fell hard for it. It’s exactly the sort of dreamy spot you probably imagine when you think of Tuscany. Jessica and Jared wanted to keep things light and fresh, and the team at Luccaorganizza did the perfect job bringing their vision to life.

We love that the pair crafted a Jewish ceremony that was personal and meaningful to them, zooming in on elements that were meaningful to them – like a ketubah decorated by the bride’s best friend – and skipped ones that didn’t – they opted out of having a chuppah.

Now over to the bride…

How we met

Jessica, the bride: We met at my best friend’s birthday party, when I was 25.

A Berta Bride for a Personal Jewish Wedding at Borgo Corsignano, Poppi, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy

26/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We love it when a couple plans a Jewish wedding that’s a true reflection of who they are as a couple. So naturally we’re head over heels for the fab festive weekend of Simone, a nurse, and Etai, who works in finance.

They got married in glorious Tuscany – since their friends and family were spread out all over the world, they figured they might as well have everyone meet up somewhere fantastic, and spread the celebration out over three days to make sure they got in some quality time with all of their guests – no rushing around during the wedding dinner for these two!

We love that they opted to skip the bridal party because it’s just not a tradition that spoke to them, and we’re obsessed with the beautiful, personal ceremony they crafted, writing their own vows, having seven family members each recite one of the original 7 blessings in Hebrew plus a modern English blessing, and choosing the most beautiful geometric floral ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubata.

Being that this wedding took place in one of the most beautiful places in the world, it’s no wonder that the couple’s trailer from wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor HD Moments is nothing less than jawdroppingly gorgeous – but it’s all the love and emotion on display that truly makes it unforgettable.

Photographer Roberta Facchini too captured the couple’s happiness – and the evident joy their guests took in celebrating them – wonderfully.

Despite a few mishaps – rain not one, not two, but ALL THREE days of the wedding weekend, friends who couldn’t make it, a guest who partied so hard he broke BOTH of his feet dancing – this was truly a perfect day.

We’ll leave it to Simone, who looked stunning in Berta, to tell you the rest of the story…

How we met

Simone, the bride: We met on Bumble – the online dating app. I really wasn’t interested in going on another bad date, but when he told me he was Jewish and Israeli (hello – accent!!) I couldn’t resist. We’ve been together every day since unless one of us is travelling.

A Gucci Bride for an Intimate and Elegant Destination Jewish Wedding at the Great Synagogue and the Four Seasons, Florence, Italy

29/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple does their Jewish wedding their way (it’s our mantra after all), and that’s just one of the many reasons we’re so smitten with family nurse practitioner Lauren and director of sales Abraham’s gorgeous destination wedding in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

First off, we love that Lauren stayed true to herself ad opted to marry in a totally chic – and not traditionally bridal – Gucci dress she bought off the rack from Neiman Marcus! It just goes to show, you absolutely don’t have to do the big white gown thing for your big day if it doesn’t speak to you.

We also think it’s fantastic that Lauren and Abe opted to keep their wedding super intimate – they had just 24 guests! There’s something to be said for surrounding yourself with your nearest and dearest – and only your nearest and dearest – on such a special day.

It doesn’t get much better than the majestic Great Synagogue of Florence, where the chuppah took place, and the reception venue – the Four Seasons of Florence – was pretty epic in its own right. It was all captured wonderfully by award-winning photographers D2, Donatella and Damiano, whose natural, atmospheric photos captured all the love and emotion of the day so perfectly.

Also, these two have an unusual – and beautiful – how-we-met story. Seriously, you don’t want to miss this one!

Now over to the bride…

How we met

Lauren, the bride: Our story is quite special. Abe’s ex-wife, named Lauren, and her now husband Ron made the introduction.

I was a close friend of Ron’s for many years, who then started dating Lauren. Ron had met Abe on numerous occasions, as Abe and Lauren have two sons together, Leon, 10 and Felix, 8. Abe and Lauren have a great/friendly/healthy relationship and still admire one another.

Upon meeting Abe, Ron had said to Lauren, I think I have the perfect girl for Abe. I was having dinner with Ron and Lauren and actually met Leon and Felix that evening, when they made a text introduction with Abe and I – an hour later I met Abe and never laughed so hard in my life, and from then on we have been together.

An Alan Hannah Bride for a Destination Jewish Interfaith Wedding at Borgo di Celle, Città di Castello, Perugia, Umbria, Italy

15/03/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

It seems like we see more and more gorgeous Italian destination weddings every day… and it’s not hard to see why. When spots as beautiful as Borgo di Celle are just a quick flight from home, why not?!

Getting married in the Umbrian countryside was extra meaningful for today’s London-based couple, Jenny, a teacher, and Neil, an accountant, because the bride grew up in Rome and her parents own a country home close to the venue — and we love how these two combined their traditions and cultures, English and Italian, Jewish and secular, to make one very special wedding day.

To honor both Neil’s Jewish heritage and Jenny’s non-Jewish background, the couple crafted an ultra-personal ceremony including a civil ceremony by the mayor of CittÃ di Castello, a Jewish blessing by a family friend of the groom’s, and the perfect simple chuppah made of a tallit resting on bamboo poles, held up by friends of the couple — don’t miss Paola De Paola’s gorgeous photos.

And of course we love how these two incorporated Italian traditions into the day with fun touches like millefoglie cake and customary Italian wedding favors of Sulmona confetti – the same candies used in Meaghan and Harry’s wedding! In keeping with Italian tradition, each guest got a box of 5 confetti — symbolizing the indivisible bond of marriage, since you can’t split an odd number — awwww!

Now we’ll hand you over to the bride, who found the perfect effortless gown to stay cool in that hot Italian weather in Alan Hannah…

How we met

Jenny, the bride: I left Italy to come to the UK and teach in London. When I arrived, I started teaching, but I met him too… we met three years ago, it’s incredible because it seems like we met yesterday!

A Lihi Hod Bride for a Destination Jewish Wedding at Borgo San Felice, Berardenga, Tuscany, Italy

13/02/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

A late summer night’s dream… yep, Leah and Tyler’s stunner of a Jewish wedding combined the magic of Tuscany with one of the most beautiful times of year, that perfect patch of late summer where fall’s just beginning to creep in.

The setting — a medieval Tuscan village converted into a hotel — could not have been more magical, and the couple’s wedding planner, Sara Mazzei, fromSmashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Infinity Weddings went full-on for that fairytale sparkle with a soft muted florals, a dreamy chuppah, twinkly lights, and even a fireworks display! Everything was captured to perfection by photographer Massimiliano Morlott and videographer Luigi De Gregorio Films.

And then there’s that dress. Leah was a total and complete knockout in Lihi Hod, and we’re kind of obsessed with her dramatic yet classic styling. We’ll let her take it from here…

Venue

Leah, the bride: We got married under a grape pergola at Borgo San Felice in Tuscany. My husband and I had a short list of must-haves for a wedding venue: we wanted everything to take place outside and a venue where all of our family and friends could stay on-site. We researched venues quite a bit in different countries (mostly wine-regions because we are lovers of wine) when the thought of getting married in Italy occurred to us. Between the two of us we had visited wine regions in California, New Zealand, Hungary, Switzerland, South Africa, and Israel, but neither of us knew much about Italian wines.

We booked a trip to visit a few venues in Tuscany and while they were all beautiful, Borgo San Felice blew us away. It is a medieval Tuscan village converted into a hotel. On the outside old spindly vines cover stone buildings. On the inside fresh chic interior design integrates with classic Tuscan architecture. My husband and I live in an old abode in New Orleans’ French quarter, so this character-filled aesthetic was right up our alley.