J.Crew Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Daalarna Couture Bride for an Autumnal Interfaith Jewish Wedding at Hotel Ella, Austin, Texas, USA

19/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Can you believe it’s Erev Passover this evening? How did that happen already?! And what are you doing for seder night tonight? I’ve just arrived home from 10 days in Israel on a family holiday, and heading to my in-laws in South London for our Erev Seder (I’ll be sharing snippets from our evening over on our Instagram Stories!)

And onto today’s gorgeous Texan interfaith Jewish wedding: Rachel, who works in marketing at Microsoft, and Joshua, an entrepreneur and founder of Standout Authority (#isntsheloveLEEatx), crafted a very special wedding reflecting the merging of their two backgrounds.

The couple had a totally gorgeous chuppah that perfectly combined tradition and modernity in some unexpected but beautiful ways – which Rachel felt was especially fitting in light of the pair’s interfaith relationship (she’s Jewish, he isn’t). Between the gold base, white drapery, and asymmetrical florals, they absolutely succeeded in their goal to come up with something just a little bit different – a perfect reflection of the new chapter of their lives marked by this wonderful celebration.

From the dramatic autumnal jewel tones to the emotion and love, photographer Misty Mclendon and videographer Lauren Maria did such a fantastic job capturing all the moments of this meaningful day.

We love what these two did for their “guest book”: they had a beautiful drawing of a tree and had their guests “leaf a thumbprint” to sign! Now, instead of a book that rarely gets opened, they have a unique piece of art to display in their home. Another great touch? Rachel and Joshua left a box for people to share their bucket list ideas!

Also, how cool is it that the rabbi wore cowboy boots? Doesn’t get much more Texas than that!

We’ll leave it to the bride – who looked so elegant in her Daalarna Couture gown – to fill you in on the rest… Oh, and before we go, Team STG wishes you a very happy Passover, however you’re celebrating!

An Austin Wedding

Rachel, the bride: Joshua and I got married at the Hotel Ella in Austin, Texas. We wanted a venue that was in Austin, not too far from the center of the city since we wanted to show our out-of-town family and friends what the city is all about.

We had seen about 5 places before going to the Hotel Ella and the second we saw the room, we knew it was it. We loved the mix of old and new – the colonial feel of the boutique hotel with the eclectic and modern design inside. It really represented our classic and modern attitude with Rachel being from Los Angeles and Joshua being from Texas.Continue Reading

A Viktor & Rolf Bride for an Enchanted Garden Jewish Wedding at Havat Ronit, Israel

18/09/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

A bridal cape, candy butterflies, tango music… swooooon. Today’s French-Israeli destination Jewish wedding is just SO full of fantastic, unique touches. Sarah, a lawyer (and member of our Brides Club), and Uri, who works in real estate, created the most wonderful, distinctive day — partly thanks to their “wedding bible,” (in Sarah’s own words!) Smashing The Glass!

Sarah reports that she found lots of her vendors through STG, found inspo for details, and more. Our fave quote from her awesome writeup? “It’s a miracle I didn’t find my husband on it too.” LOVE.

But back to the cape. We are OBSESSED. Our friends at fab London bridal boutique and STG Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror deemed 2018 “the year of the cape” on the Facebook Live they did with us earlier this year, and after seeing how Sarah pulled hers off we’re inclined to agree. Photographer Camellia captured the glorious fashion — plus all the other details of the day — so exquisitely.

Sarah looked just so elegant and distinctive in that cape — obviously her hyper-glam dress (that tiered skirt!) from Viktor & Rolf didn’t hurt either — and we love how it’s an easy way to add that little something extra for the ceremony. And the story of how Sarah ended up with it is pretty cool in its own right.

We also love that Sarah chose to depart from the bridal script and walk down the aisle to… a tango! How’s that for a dramatic entrance (you know, to go with that cape)? Turning it over to the gorgeous bride, Sarah…

How we met

Sarah, the bride: I am French but grew up between Paris and Madrid and moved to New York 11 years ago. Uri grew up in Hertzlyia in Israel, and moved to New York 6 years ago.

We were set up by our only friend in common at the time, we kissed on our first date. 2 years later Uri proposed in the middle of Washington Square Park where we had wandered around on our first date. Our matchmaker was our witness at our civil wedding in New York.Continue Reading

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Tradition-Meets-Brooklyn-Style Jewish Wedding at Greenpoint Loft, Brooklyn, New York, USA

12/09/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Combining Jewish tradition with your own 21^st-century style isn’t always easy. That’s one of the reasons Smashing The Glass was founded. So we’re always excited to see couples finding creative ways to merge their contemporary lives with Judaism’s beautiful, if sometimes baffling, traditions.

Today’s couple, a Leigh, middle-school teacher and Ian, an attorney, did SUCH an amazing job of it with their Jewish wedding. Their wedding, at super cool Greenpoint Loft in the trendy Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood by the same name, exudes contemporary cool at the same time as it embraces tradition.

The couple found a kosher caterer able to provide a fun, of-the-moment menu featuring herb and bitters infused cocktails, bao buns, and chicken and waffles. And their music? This duo had a cantor, a klezmer band, AND a DJ to play all their favorite current hits.

Their understated, nature-inspired chuppah, wrapped in greenery with some accent florals, is totally Brooklyn chic, too–and guests got to watch the sun set over Manhattan through the windows behind the couple during the ceremony!

We also adore Leigh and Ian’s playful approach to the day — you’ve GOT to check out their impromptu Oktoberfest photo shoot, brilliantly captured by Unique Lapin Photography. And you won’t want to miss the super fun story of how it all came about.

Leigh, who looked so beautiful in her romantic, long-sleeved lace dress from Monique Lhuillier (purchased from STG favorite Kleinfeld), will fill you in on that, and the rest of the fab details…

How We Met

Leigh, the bride: Although we usually don’t admit it, we met on a dating app, way before they became the dating “norm” that they are today!

A Vintage Bride with an Heirloom Gown for an Outdoor Wedding at Wente Vineyards, Livermore, CA, USA

13/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Jewish wedding Wente Vineyards in Livermore, California USA_0004
Today’s Jewish bride has got one of the most incredible wedding dress stories we’ve encountered yet. Her gorgeous vintage gown was worn not only by her mother, but by her grandmother and aunt too.. I mean WOW!

It’s hard to believe that Alana’s dress dates all the way back to 1949 (!) — but with some modifications, which the dress’s previous wearers kindly permitted, it’s the perfect blend of contemporary and vintage, and just the thing for an outdoor winery wedding. You’ve got to check out all the lovely details in Nightingale Photography’s pics.

Alana, a customer success manager, and Ben, a landscape architect, initially planned on renting their synagogue’s chuppah, but it turned out it was broken and out of commission! This setback turned out to be a blessing in disguise, since it prompted Ben to build one from scratch — and it turned out just tremendously. We love the modern design, and those flowers in the corners? Perfection!

Now over to Alana for the rest of their gorgeous Jewish wedding story…

Jewish wedding Wente Vineyards in Livermore, California USA_0025

How we met

Alana, the bride: We met online on Jdate!

A Super Luxe Laduree-Fuelled Interfaith Jew-ish Wedding at the Shangri-La, Paris, France

20/04/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s SO MUCH to love about today’s stunner of a Jew-ish wedding, but I’m particularly obsessed with how they incorporated one of my all-time favorite patisseries into their day…

New York-based Melissa, who works in luxury marketing, and William, in finance, opted to wed in Paris, where William lived for many years. The city played an important part in the development of their relationship — as did one of its most delicious exports, Laduree.

Known for the tastiest macarons around (seriously, once you try one of theirs you won’t want to bother with any others), as well as exemplary presentations of classic French pastry, Laduree has long been a favorite Parisian haunt of the couple’s. So much so that when William proposed — in the City of Love, naturally — he did so over a bag of Laduree goodies (seriously, we love this guy!).

In a nod to their engagement, the pair opted to forgo cake in favor of something quintessentially French: a croquembouche. But not just any croquembouche. A rose lychee flavored croquembouche from Laduree. I’m positively drooling over here just thinking about it!

Instead of a traditional guest book, Melissa and William asked their guests to sign a Laduree macaron book. Each page featured a different flavor, and guests could choose one to sign. Oh, and the favors? Laduree macarons, in a selection of the bride and groom’s favorite flavors.

Even their venue, the mega-opulent Grand Salon at the Shangri-La Hotel, kind of resembles one of Laduree’s beautiful salons (although unlike my local Laduree, the Shangri-La comes complete with a straight-on view of the Eiffel Tower). The place is just dripping with old-school Parisian glamour.

Claire Morris Photography and videographer Zen Film Works captured the day beautifully — you’ve got to see the portraits of the couple at iconic spots all around Paris.

It was important to Melissa, who is Jewish, and William, raised Catholic, to find a ketubah vendor who offered texts suitable for interfaith couples, and they ended up with a beautiful papercut from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com.

Now I’ll turn you over to Melissa could not have looked more elegant in her showstopper of a gown, custom designed for her by Sharon Wilkes (who we adore, and just happens to her best friend’s mother).

How we met

Melissa, the bride: We originally met in the summer of 2006, while we were both participating in a summer pre-college program at Georgetown University following our junior year of high school. As I was from New York and William was from Paris, seeing each other after the program was quite unlikely, but we were smitten with each other.

We kept in touch on and off for the next 5 years, and resumed speaking after a long hiatus around February 2011 when William, who was working in finance but had retained his teenage passion for writing, had written a short story and asked me for my thoughts.

In May of 2011, I had just graduated early from university and was traveling through Europe, while William was on a summer break from his master’s program in Paris. William asked me to meet him for a spontaneous trip in southern Spain, and I said no at first, nervous about seeing him after all those years.

But in my heart I felt that I should go, and a few weeks later I flew to meet him in Andalusia, where we spent five days traveling together and began to fall in love. After the trip, we decided to give things a real shot and began dating long distance. This lasted for four years, with me in New York and William in Paris and London, before William could finally move to New York in June 2015.