music Archives - Smashing the Glass

Dancing the Hora: Everything You Need To Know

15/03/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Image: Blake Ezra Photography (Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor)

What is, hands down, the most fun and exciting part of any Jewish wedding? In the immortal words of Anthony from Sex and the City, the answer is: “the hora! THE HORA!”

The hora (sometimes called Jewish Dancing or Israeli Dancing) is a highly energetic Israeli circle dance, and guests are supposed to put as much vigor and enthusiasm into it as they would on their own wedding day. Danced to klezmer music, it’s usually the part of the wedding where you’ll see the happy couple lifted on chairs (equal parts exhilarating and terrifying), or being thrown about on a sheet!

At religious, Orthodox Jewish weddings, men and women dance the hora separately, with a dividing wall, while Reform, Liberal and Jew-ish weddings tend to keep the party in one place.

It’s an amazing challenge for any photographer, to capture the mayhem, and frankly, at this point, brides can forget about their hair and makeup, because things are going to get sweaty!

So, given how integral the hora is to a real Jewish knees up, how do you make it happen? Here are some tips to getting everybody at your wedding involved in this boisterous and brilliant tradition.

Image: David Pullum Photography (Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor)

Kick off with klezmer music

If your budget can stretch to it we highly recommend a live band. Whether it’s a live band who can play some klezmer classics, or a traditional klezmer band, it’s all in the music. If live entertainment is a little out of budget, we advise putting together a klezmer playlist or asking your DJ to dedicate a special portion of the evening to it.

There are many traditional melodies to choose from. If you’re not sure where to start, YouTube is a great source of inspiration for hora songs. This video alone is a medley of some of the most popular songs to dance the hora to, to get your playlist going.

Image: York Place Studios ( Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor)

Learn some basic hora steps

Chances are, if you’re having a Jewish or Jew-ish wedding, that you’re probably already a somewhat accomplished hora dancer. However, if you’re a little unsure of what happens when you dance the hora, why not brush up before the big day?

Whether you find a local Israeli dance class or teacher to help you out, or you use one of the many YouTube tutorials available, make sure you’re confident enough to whip up enthusiasm among your guests. They will, after all, be following your lead.

Image: David Pullum Photography (Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor)

Facebook Live Catch Up: Jewish Wedding music with Jonny Mosesson

01/07/2017 by Karen

On Wednesday evening we were privileged to host the BEST Facebook Live yet when we went live with the ridiculously talented Jonny Mosesson, the chazan who I had at my own wedding!

It was essentially a Smashing The Glass Unplugged for the June episode of our monthly STG show live from my apartment in London – Mr STG made Aperol Spritz’s for everyone, we had friends over at our place watching, singing and dancing in the background, and the neighbors even joined in!

It was was a ‘Jewish Wedding Music’ special and we were bowled over by Jonny’s musical talents and his wonderful accompanist, Jamie Noar. The live audience, from all corners of the world, expressed their love for the show with loads of hearts, likes and comments. Thank you for being such a great audience – we love the live interaction!

There were so many great songs played including the Hora medley with Siman Tov Mazal Tov (45 mins in), Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (9 mins in) Katonti (13 mins in), Shuvi Nafshi (22 mins in) Boi Beshalom (26 mins 30 secs in), Im Eshka’hekh (42 mins in), Eshet Chayil (38 mins in), and Erev Shel Shoshanim (57 mins in).

The show was absolutely brilliant and if you missed it, you can still catch up by watching the replay above. Jonny and Jamie were just fantastic and it’s an absolute must-watch if you’re still thinking of ideas for your Jewish wedding ceremony music

Our monthly STG shows air live on the last Wednesday of every month on the Smashing The Glass Facebook page at 8pm GMT (that’s 3pm EST, 12pm PST, and 9pm in Europe) to coincide with #WeddingWednesday. The next monthly show airs on Wednesday 26 July 2017.

Make sure you like the Smashing The Glass Facebook page to be notified of all future shows.

Image: Danielle Manson

Facebook Live Catch Up: Best Songs for your Wedding with DJ Knight

29/04/2017 by Karen

On Wednesday evening DJ Knight and I had SO much fun when went live for the April episode of our monthly STG show live from my apartment in London!

This month is was a ‘Wedding Songs’ special and we were bowled over by DJ Knight’s (otherwise known as Kwamé’s) fantastic recommendations for First Dance Songs, Smashing The Glass songs, Last Dance songs, and everything in between! There were so many good tunes mentioned (and played – DJ Knight brought along his decks!) that we’ve created a playlist below of every song brought up.

There’s a Spotify playlist for you to listen to and import directly, as well as YouTube links of every song. That’s how much we love you – and it’s all below!

The show was absolutely brilliant and if you missed it, you can still catch up by watching the replay above. Kwamé was just fantastic and it’s an absolute must-watch if you’re still thinking of ideas for your wedding songs!

We had SUCH a great reaction to this that we are going to follow up in June’s STG Live show with a ‘Best Hebrew Songs for Jewish Weddings’ special with chazan Jonny Mosesson – keep your eyes peeled for that one!

Make sure you like the Smashing The Glass Facebook page to be notified of all future shows.

Top 20 songs to play immediately after smashing the glass at a Jewish wedding!

22/01/2015 by Karen

Image by Dave & Charlotte

There’s no doubt about it, one of the theatrical highlights of any Jewish wedding is when the groom stamps his foot and smashes that glass (is it any surprise that it’s the Jewish wedding tradition this blog is named after?!).

For me, the breaking of the glass is THE moment of a Jewish wedding. With cries of ‘mazal tov’, cheering, clapping and hollering, it’s a great time to play your favourite party song to kickstart the celebrations, smooch your beloved for the first time as man and wife, and joyously embrace your loved ones.

You may want to choose a tune that’s personal to you as a couple, or perhaps something brilliantly traditional like Siman Tov U Mazal Tov or Hava Nagila, but if you want to pump up the party atmosphere, choose any one of following 20 songs.

The first 10 tunes are my top picks, whilst the following 10 come courtesy of Maya Bechor from Zebra Music, who’s an expert at gently encouraging couples to step out of their comfort zone of ordinary “wedding music”.

All 20 tunes are also handily compiled in this Spotify playlist for your entertainment pleasure.

Oh… and for the perfect accessory for smashing the glass, you’ll want one of our own-brand smash glass pouches!

Are there any other ‘breaking the glass songs’ you’ve you heard that really got the party started? Let me know in the comments section below!

1. Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Stevie Wonder

Top 10 Chuppah Entrance Songs

17/11/2014 by Karen

Image by Elisabeth Millay taken from Tory & Brooks’ beachside Jewish wedding

The original Top 10 Chuppah Entrance Songs that was written in 2013 is one of Smashing The Glass‘s most popular posts, but having been published over a year ago, I asked Maya Bechor from Zebra Music who complied the original piece, to write a ‘part 2’ with 10 hot new songs including some recent releases from 2014.

What I love about Zebra Music is that they’re great at encouraging couples to step out of their comfort zone of ‘ordinary wedding music’. They know exactly how to get the crowd pumped and the party started! So here are the Top 10 cool, new , unexpected chuppah songs for 2015 weddings and beyond!