Italy Archives - Smashing the Glass

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.

A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Destination Jewish Wedding at the Great Synagogue and Villa Miani, Rome, Italy

28/01/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We always love seeing what wedding pros choose for their own big days. On one hand, they’ve got a leg up knowing all the ins and outs of the industry. But on the other, when you’re surrounded by amazing wedding vendors day in and day out, how do you choose?!

Today’s beautiful bride Laura is a London-based wedding planner, and we’re not surprised that she and Moshi, a financial adviser, picked a whole roster full of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors for their beautiful destination wedding in Rome: from ultra-creative videographer Denee Motion (love that drone footage!) to a 10-piece band by the amazing Totem to a beautiful, colorful ketubah by artist Veronique Jonas from Ketubah.com, they went for some of the very best of the best.

And then there’s Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Italian Wedding Company. Being a planner’s planner is no easy job, but Stefania and Vanessa handled it with aplomb, helping Laura realize the wedding of her dreams despite her planning from abroad and speaking not a word of Italian.

Photographer Paul Toeman captured all the emotion of the day — not to mention the gorgeous setting — so perfectly, and we can’t get enough of the couple’s adorable wedding hashtag, #moshandbecks.

We’ll let Laura, who looked stunning in Suzanne Neville, fill you in on the rest…

How We Met

Laura, the bride: He was sitting next to a friend’s husband one year and asked who was sitting next to his wife. After cancelling what would have been our first date and re-connecting a year later, we met up and the rest is history!

A Pronovias Bride for a Dreamy Destination Jewish Wedding at Belmond Caruso, Ravello, Amalfi Coast, Italy

07/01/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

When wedding dreams come true… we love that Alicia and Arcady went from joking about what a great wedding venue the majestic Belmond Caruso would make for their very hypothetical Jewish wedding to tying the knot there four years later!

Not that you need a sentimental reason to justify a venue as outrageously gorgeous as this one — it’s basically everything the words “Amalfi Coast” probably conjure up for you, and then some. With a sweet floral chuppah overlooking the sea and an intimate outdoor reception with some serious Midsummer Night’s Dream vibes, and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Gianni di Natale’s photos are pure, glorious eye candy. We love Gianni SO much!

Oh, also, how sweet is it these guys brought their beloved Maltipoo, Tesla, with them all the way from San Francisco to Ravello — and then they brought him along for their honeymoon, too! Now, if that’s not devotion, we don’t know what is.

Now over to Alicia, who looked simply smashing in her sleekly elegant Pronovias dress…

How we met

Alicia, the bride: We are one of the last of our generation that met the old fashioned way, through mutual friends at a birthday party in Brookline, MA, way back in 2010. Sparks flew, and the night was filled with dancing in the street and a very romantic first kiss in a pile of fall leaves. We eventually started dating, and within 6 months decided to move to San Francisco together to start exciting jobs and go to graduate school.