Nargiz Ryan Archives - Smashing the Glass

An Enzoani Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding in White at Farmington Hills Manor, Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA

25/05/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s always a special day when we get to feature the Jewish wedding of one of our beloved STG Brides Club members, and we’re especially psyched to see the beautiful day Nargiz, an attorney, practicing criminal defense and real estate/business litigation, and Ryan, a mechanical engineer pulled off.

Nargiz did such a beautiful job chronicling her efforts to include her late mother in the celebration so movingly (which she wrote about in this moving blog post for STG) – not to mention the couple’s work to craft a day that reflected both the bride’s Azerbaijani Jewish background and the groom’s Ashkenazi American one.

She and Ryan also happen to have put together an absolutely gorgeous wedding. With an all-white theme – how elegant is that chuppah?! – and a glam mermaid gown by Enzoani, this pair’s aesthetic was on point, as captured exquisitely by photographer Visi Productions and videographer was Blue Racer Productions.

Getting married without a beloved parent is always a bittersweet experience, and we’re so moved by some of the special touches Nargiz worked in as remembrances of her mother, from attaching a picture of her mom to her bouquet to making a contribution in lieu of favors to the American Cancer Society and Mazon.

And we love how Nargiz brought her heritage into the day with Azerbaijani food (plus bottles of vodka on all the tables!) and Russian singers performing traditional Kavkazi songs.

As a member of STG’s Brides Club, Nargiz loved trading stories and advice with Jewish and Jew-ish brides from all over the world. If you want to join the Club too (we’re currently particularly supporting brides-to-be whose wedding plans are affected by the pandemic) click here.

We’ll let Nargiz – who blogged her wedding planning journey on STG – tell her story from here…

How me Met

Nargiz, the bride: We met through mutual friends 6.5 years ago.

Real Jewish Brides: Nargiz’s #NoRegrets Bachelorette Party in Vegas

07/08/2019 by Smashing The Glass

Nargiz will be marrying Ryan on 9th November 2019 at Farmington Hills Manor, in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA. Click here to read all Nargiz’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Nargiz was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the wedding will combine her family’s traditions – they are Mountain Jews, or Gorski, and their culture is a mix of Persian and Middle Eastern influences – and Ryan’s American Ashkenazi background. (2) Nargiz’s mother tragically passed away last summer, so she has been facing wedding planning without her mom by her side. (3) Nargiz is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

Final Check Off

We’ve been engaged for a year now and we have less than 4 months to go. So far throughout the wedding planning process, I never felt rushed or stressed because we have had so much time. It has been really nice to have the time to pick and choose vendors, to take the time to make calls and meet with people.

I met with my wedding planner June from A June Event last week. We went over a rough timeline of the wedding day and he gave me a list of things I still need to complete. So now that it is getting closer to the wedding day, I need to cross off more and more things off our to do list. Last week was a super productive week thanks to my planner who pushed me to do more like booking valet, party bus, shuttle service for the out of town guests, challah bread, our ketubah, etc.

Real Jewish Brides: How Nargiz Is Making Both Jewish And Non-Jewish Guests Feel Included

09/07/2019 by Smashing The Glass

Nargiz will be marrying Ryan on 9th November 2019 at Farmington Hills Manor, in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA. Click here to read all Nargiz’s planning posts to date.

Different cultures, religions and ethnic backgrounds

In today’s world, it is very common for people of different cultures, religions and ethnic backgrounds to cross paths. It’s not like how things used to be 100 years ago in Russia, Azerbaijan or nearby countries. Back then, people stayed in the same city and town where their parents were born, and where their grandparents were raised. As a result, people and different cultures were not integrated as much.

Today, more and more people have moved their families to different cities, countries and even different continents. Everyone has their own reason to do so.

Real Jewish Brides: How Nargiz Picked Out The Right Vendors

14/05/2019 by Smashing The Glass

Nargiz will be marrying Ryan on 9th November 2019 at Farmington Hills Manor, in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA. Click here to read all Nargiz’s planning posts to date.

How I choose my vendors

Nobody tells you the amount of time goes into finding and picking out the right vendors for your wedding, and that’s probably because everyone has a different experience.

Whether it is picking out the right band, photographer, videographer, florist, planner, hair stylist, makeup artist (the list is endless), some brides (and grooms) need only meet with one company and choose them.

Others, on the other hand (like me), have to meet and/or talk to at least three different companies or individuals before making up my mind.

Planning A Wedding Without My Mom

13/03/2019 by Smashing The Glass

Nargiz will be marrying Ryan on 9th November 2019 at Farmington Hills Manor, in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA. Click here to read all Nargiz’s planning posts to date.

Thank you, Mom!

Being engaged is overwhelming as it is, but being engaged and not having your mom by your side adds a whole other layer of emotions to the overall experience. It has only been a year and a half since my mom passed away, and sometimes my siblings and I still forget that she’s not here with us anymore.

I am thankful I had 28 years with my mom and I know there are others who’ve had less time or no time with their mother. Still, I can’t help but wish I had more time with mine, and the time we had together wasn’t enough.

She was looking forward to the day I got engaged. She loved Ryan and she was excited to watch us take the next steps in our relationship. Even on her last day on this earth, she thought about our engagement and our wedding. I know this because the morning of the day that she passed away, she gave me money for my wedding dress.

Despite the pain and the suffering, she was thinking about me and about my wedding dress. I didn’t think it would be her last day but I guess she felt it. We weren’t even engaged but she wanted to make sure that she would be part of the process even if she couldn’t physically be there for it.