Manolo Blahnik wedding shoes Archives - Smashing the Glass

An Allison Webb Bride for a 1920s Glam Jewish Wedding at the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, Chicago, Illinois, USA

13/07/2020 by Karen Cinnamon 3 Comments

We could not be more excited to be sharing the gorgeous vintage glam Jewish wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Jacklyn, a registered nurse, and Jeffrey, who owns a real estate company!

Taking cues from the old-world luxury vibe of their ca. 1929 venue, the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, Jacklyn and Jeffrey turned the hotel’s already stunning ballroom into an eclectic fantasyland, full of luxe florals and pampas grass, in a neutral color palette with pops of gold – including an absolutely stunning gold chuppah, which the couple covered with the groom’s grandfather’s tallitot. Don’t miss Erin Hoyt’s moody, classic photos and This Charming Heart’s wonderful trailer.

We also love the creative approach Jacklyn and Jeffrey took to structuring their day: Jacklyn wanted to be sure everyone would see her in her dress for the first time as she walked down the aisle, so to help with the flow of the day the pair opted to have their ketubah signing the night before the wedding. This turned into a very special gathering for an intimate group of 20, including family and friends who’d flown in from Poland and Dubai, beautifully photographed by the bride’s friend, fashion photographer Anna Stokland.

And we’re in love with the couple’s ketubah, a replica of an Italian ketubah dating from 1768 which they purchased from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com! (PSA to all history lovers: in addition to their fantastic collection of contemporary designs, Ketubah.com also has a wonderful collection of historical designs based on ketubot from all over the world, some dating back to the 1500s.)

There’s so much more we could say about this exquisite wedding, but we’ll leave it to Jacklyn, who looked like an absolute supermodel in Allison Webb, to share the rest…

How We Met

Jacklyn, the bride: We met through mutual friends. Went on one date and we instantly knew, that night, we were each other’s “one”.Continue Reading

An Oscar de la Renta Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

17/04/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s nothing like a museum wedding. And you couldn’t ask for a more stunning setting than the Cleveland Museum of Art, where Dara, who works in entertainment and is the founder of her own fragrance and design company, L’or de Seraphine, and Max, an attorney, opted to hold their Jewish wedding.

Full of refined details befitting the elegant setting, this wedding took full advantage of the majestic spaces – both indoor and outdoor – the museum offers. These two had an absolutely stunning outdoor ceremony with a twelve-foot(!) garden chuppah made of boxwood. And we love the emotion and spirit of the ceremony. Don’t miss the exquisite photos from Genevieve Nisly Photography and video from Making the Moment.

And you won’t want to miss the giant puppets Dara and Max brought in for their afterparty, either. But we’ll leave that to the bride, who looked oh so elegant in Oscar de la Renta…

A Museum Wedding

Dara, the bride: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio is the city where my family is deeply rooted. The ceremony was held on the South Terrace just before sunset. The guests entered through the 1916 building and were invited into the Ames Family Atrium. The Atrium is the majestic centerpiece to the museum’s recently completed eight-year expansion and renovation project, designed by Rafael Viñoly. The soaring, three story high ceiling accentuates the grandeur of the glass-enclosed space, centrally located in the heart of the world-renowned galleries of the museum.

A Vera Wang Bride for an Elegant Spring Jewish Wedding at Pleasantdale Chateau West Orange, NJ, USA

23/03/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Because we can all use a bit of springtime cheer right now, we’re excited to share the beautiful Jewish wedding of two high school sweethearts: Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Elizabeth, a lawyer, and Bernie, a doctor (#cantTARASaPART).

It’s always a pleasure blogging the weddings of our Brides Club members, and we’re so touched by the bride’s kind words about how the group helped her plan her big day. Elizabeth especially loved the personal vendor referrals Team STG provides to Brides Club members on a daily basis – we connected her with her fab planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Amy Katz Events, who did SUCH an incredible job bringing the couple’s vision for their day together and keeping everything running smoothly on the day, as well as the couple’s ketubah designer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Melanie Dankowicz – the gorgeous floral papercut she created was the absolute perfect fit for the soft springtime vibes that characterized the day.

Speaking of springtime vibes, how about that chuppah?! We adore the profusion of roses and peonies in soft pinks, corals, and whites – and those hanging floral strands just add that little something extra. The mirrored frame keeps the whole structure looking contemporary, too – don’t miss it in the wonderful photos from Maya Myers and video from Motoko Fukayama of Love in Progress.

We’ll let Elizabeth, who was a total knockout in Vera Wang, take it from here…

A Chateau Wedding

Elizabeth, the bride: We got married at Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange, NJ. We are both from NY so neither one of us had any particular ties to NJ, but we were struggling to find a venue that spoke to us. Then someone suggested Pleasantdale and we fell in love from the moment we walked in.

A Lee Petra Grebenau Bride for an Intimate Destination Jewish Beach Wedding Weekend at Aruba Marriot Resort and Stellaris Casino, Aruba

21/02/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s nothing like a destination wedding weekend – just you and your beloved and your very nearest and dearest friends and family, away from it all, coming together and getting to know each other and celebrating your love. That’s exactly what Jessica, a speech language pathologist, and Max, a manager for a pipe supply company (#masefourthwithbejess), did, jetting off to the Aruba Marriot and Stellaris Casino with an intimate crowd of 40 to party all weekend long.

These two threw a laid-back, informal centered around a huge dance party – and followed up with another party the next day on a private pirate boat! The couple flew in their photographer, Nela from Christian Oth Studio, and she was, in the bride’s words, a total Rockstar, snapping beautiful, artful photos from start ot finish.

And of course we’re obsessed with the bride’s incredible custom gown from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Lee Petra Grebenau. Lee is one of our very favorite Israeli designers, and Jessica was lucky enough to be able to work with her in person in NYC to create the dress of her dreams – something feminine yet edgy, appropriate for the beach yet not a beach dress – and above all, something with a big bow. Lee came through and then some – we could not be any more in love with the design she came up with for this beautiful bride.

And speaking of the beautiful bride, we’ll leave it to her to fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Jessica, the bride: We met at a bar in the Hamptons. My sister was dating Max’s best friend. After months of messaging my sister to set us up, I agreed to go on a date with him. We have been together ever since.

A Carolina Herrera Bride for an Elegant Argentinian-American Jewish Wedding at the Gramercy Park Hotel, New York City, USA

11/11/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s real Jewish wedding is just SO very NYC… which is appropriate, because this week Karen’s taking the Big Apple by storm! All of us at Team STG are VERY excited for her first official STG trip to the greatest city in the world – check out our Instagram Stories for the next few days to see what she’s up to!

But back to the wedding… wonderful STG Brides Club member Julie and groom Guillermo got married at the Gramercy Park Hotel, which is also where they went on their first date! The fact that it’s got killer NYC views didn’t hurt either.

Everything about this wedding was perfectly NYC chic, from the understatedly elegant floral chuppah to the simple, timeless ketubah the couple chose from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor (and East Village local!) The Ketubah to the artsy, creative photography by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si (who Julie and Guillermo loved so much they flew him in from Tel Aviv – and no wonder, his style was such a perfect fit for their big day). The pair even brought in quirky entertainment like a tarot card reader and a poet to write personalized haikus for guests!

And in true New York tradition, this wedding was delightfully multicultural, with all kinds of touches incorporating Guillermo’s roots in Argentina, from Argentinian dance music to late night empanadas.

As always, we’re so happy to hear that Brides Club helped make this wedding the smashing success it was – Julie loved our planning resources and vendor recs, and she was able to take advantage of a bunch of amazing discounts offered just to members of the club!

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll let Julie, who looked stunning in Carolina Herrera, fill you in on the rest…

Venue

Julie, the bride: We got married at the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City. We chose this venue because it is where we had our first date! The story goes… I was moving from Boston to NYC, and while on a trip to NYC for work/apartment hunting, I stayed at the Gramercy Park Hotel. We connected through an app the day I arrived in the city and arranged to meet one week later (my last day before returning home). I asked if he could meet me at the hotel bar, since I needed to grab my bags before heading to the train.

Two hours before the date, I got an unexpected job offer in London, which was a city I’d been dreaming of living for 10+ years. I debated with my friends if it was more rude to cancel last minute or to show up and say I was moving to London! Good thing I didn’t cancel 🙂 One year later, we celebrated our engagement with a night at GPH and dinner at the hotel restaurant where we had our first date.

Aside from its significance, we loved the venue because it provided stunning views of New York City and a unique floorplan. Rather than a standard ballroom, the hotel has an outdoor terrace surrounding multiple interior rooms. We did not want to follow the typical wedding structure (skip the long sit down dinner, and let’s get right to the party), and this venue naturally lent itself to something less traditional. Bonus: it is also covered in incredible modern artwork from Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Jean-Michel Basquiat and more.