Navy Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Vera Wang Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding in the Hamptons, Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa, New York, USA

09/04/2018 by Karen Cinnamon 1 Comment

We see a lot of beach weddings at Smashing The Glass, but this one really goes all out with the seaside theme! NYC-based Jessica (@jessschein) and Evan (@evanschein) wanted to get married in Montauk in the Hamptons, their go-to weekend getaway from their hectic lives in the city. They chose Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa for its extraordinary views of the ocean – and the stunning sunsets over the water. Totally stunning, right?!

Jessica and Evan wanted to keep their day open, airy, and focused on the gorgeous setting. To complement their surroundings, the pair opted for a very nautical white and navy blue color scheme.

You’ve got to check out their out-of-this-world” blooms all in white – there’s something so dramatic about keeping the flowers to a single color.

And Jessica and Evan’s chuppah for their outdoor ceremony continued the theme – light and airy, it was adorned with the most beautiful white flowers – hydrangeas, orchids, and more – with sheer white side panels, so as not to interfere with the ocean view in the background. Doesn’t it look romantic against that backdrop?

Photographer A Day of Bliss did a wonderful job documenting the day, and the couple sing their photographers’ praises not only for their flawless shots but also for being fantastic to work with on the day. Videographer Keith Brady Media captured the feel of the day perfectly too!

Jessica looked so elegant in her lace fit-and-flare Vera Wang gown, with an exquisite long train. She and Evan wanted their day to be sophisticated and chic with modern flair, and it really was. Now over to the bride…

How we met

Jessica, the bride: “I am so happy my teacher is going to be my Aunt!” – (Evan’s 8-year-old niece, and yes, Jessica’s former preschool student) said, the night Jessica and Evan got engaged.

Our story began in October 2012, on a little known dating site, called JDate. However, I was already part of Evan’s family – he just did not know it yet!

Let’s rewind…

I came across Evan’s profile, and after going back and forth with the usual 21 questions, we realized it was a very small world. It turned out that I was a preschool teacher at the school Evan’s niece attended. But wait, there’s more… Evan’s niece did not just go to the preschool where I taught, I was actually Evan’s niece’s teacher – 2 years earlier!

Evan told me that he needed to get his niece’s approval before committing to a date. (I thought to myself that the chance of going on their first date lay in the hands of a 4-year-old!) As it turns out, I got an A+ rating, his niece saying, “Miss Jessica was the best teacher ever!” This was a fact confirmed by Evan’s brother and sister-in-law, who later admitted they always wanted to set me up with Evan. The rest is history!

A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Super Chic Seaside Jewish Wedding at Rosh Hashanah, Bait al Hayam, Jaffa, Israel

30/03/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Can you believe it’s Erev Passover this evening? How did that happen already?! And what are you doing for seder night tonight? I’m on holiday and we’re having our Seder in Tel Aviv, celebrating with my family in Israel, so it seems appropriate to post a gorgeous Israeli wedding today!

And today’s real Jewish destination wedding fully embraced another beautiful Jewish holiday: Rosh Hashanah.

London-based bride Jamie, a PR and marketing manager for a cancer charity, and groom Joel, who works in finance, opted for a chic outdoor destination wedding in sunny Jaffa, Israel, during the High Holiday season.

Opting to marry at gorgeous seaside venue Bait al Hayam, the couple had an outdoor rooftop chuppah overlooking the city of Jaffa and the sea, with the party in a beautiful air conditioned room beneath – a big deal given the Israeli climate!

In honor of Rosh Hashanah, Jamie and Joel had mini honey pots and apples at each place setting – isn’t that sweet?! We love that this couple incorporated Jewish tradition into their day in ways that were totally authentic to them.

For instance, even though, as Ashkenazi Jews it would have been customary for them to have their badeken separately from the chuppah, they chose to do it on the aisle, because that’s what spoke to them.

And the pair opted to follow the Jewish tradition of not seeing each other in the week leading up to the wedding… that takes some real dedication!

Their wedding also had some incredibly cool touches inspired by sources other than Jewish tradition: for one, as part of their entertainment they had a flower stall where guests could have flower wreaths, bracelets, hair slides, and boutonnieres made! Isn’t that lovely? And a great alternative activity if you’re not into some of the more standard options like photo booths.

Photographer Ronen Boidek captured the day in all its effortless elegance and the insanely talented STG Recommended Vendor Portnoy Brothers brought emotion out of all of the guest through their incredible acoustic sound and beautiful traditional songs. We can’t recommend the Portnoy Brothers enough, one of our absolute favourites! Jamie, who looked super glam in her old Hollywood-style silk Suzanne Neville gown (seriously, we’re all a little bit obsessed with it at STG Towers), will fill you in on the rest.

Hag Sameach – enjoy your matzoh ball soup wherever you’re celebrating this evening!

How we met

Jamie, the bride: I always knew of Joel… I lived with his brother at university, but I met Joel properly once I moved to London, at a friend’s birthday. He carried me out of the bar over his shoulder and we’ve never looked back! 😉

Natalya & Alex | Wine-themed ‘vintage glam’ Jewish wedding at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, Sonoma, California

26/08/2014 by Karen

Oh my! I have a sneaking suspicion that you are going to fall in love with this morning’s California vineyard wedding. To Natalya and Alex (both originally from Russia), their big day was particularly special to them, as their parents didn’t get a chance to get married in a traditional Jewish ceremony, under a chuppah, in the former Soviet Union.

Natalya is BEAUTIFUL with delicious bridal accessories to match – I mean you just can’t help but gawp at her super sparkly Jimmy Choo shoes and that divine necklace on her bare back.

It’s s perhaps one of the most eloquently executed themed wedding I’ve seen on these pages from the grapevine-themed stationery to the wine bottle cork place cards to the olive oil favours. I also love all the vintage-glam touches, particularly the EPIC portrait shots by in that super sexy 1962 Buick Electra .

Also, I must add that I love that Natalya’s niece wrote her toast on Jenga pieces, as Natalya and Alex met playing Jenga…

OK enough from me, take it away you gorgeous pair!

A BEAUTIFUL VINEYARD VENUE
Natalya, the Bride: Our wedding was in Sonoma, CA at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards. We knew we wanted to get married in the wine country. It is a place we love coming to any time of year. We also wanted our guests to have a relaxing weekend with us away from the busy city life. As our wedding was in April, we chose a venue with options for both indoor and outdoor events. The building at Jacuzzi Winery is beautiful from an architectural standpoint, and the property has what seems like a never-ending vineyard in the back.

Tali & Dan | ‘Gin in teacups’ 1920’s Jewish Wedding at Heatherden Hall, Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, UK

16/06/2014 by Karen

Blake Ezra, one of our Smashing Suppliers, always captures bucket loads of love and emotion in his wonderful photography, and this is most definitely true of Tali and Dan’s big day which I’m beyond excited to be featuring on the blog today.

This stylish pair were married at Heatherden Hall at the legendary Pinewood Studios, just outside London, and this has got to be one of the most iconic wedding venues to have yet graced the pages of STG. Pinewood has been home to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows, commercials and pop promos but is most famous as the home of the Carry On, Superman, James Bond and Harry Potter film series. What a perfect venue for film buffs!

Despite the fantastically cool venue, this wedding is all about the people – you can see joy in every singe image, and Blake Ezra tells me that, “there was a massive emphasis on friends throughout the day with their big crowd of amazing mates getting involved in all aspects of the ceremony, music and general entertainment.”

You can really see the fun factor complete with comedy DJs, barber shop routines, drum circles, dancing, a fire show (and a very moving ceremony) in the wedding film by the uber-talented Charlotte Armitage right at the end of the post.

Tali’s bridal style is to die for… I am expecting plenty of pinterest action for her vintage dress which incidentally was made entirely out of sustainable and ecological fabrics.

And lastly I must mention that Dan, who is a journalist, recorded a message to Tali from Boris Johnson as part of his speech (see 10:38 in the film at the bottom of the post). I’m a big Boris fan – that’s immense!

So come and have a look at this gorgeous ‘I Do’ jointly narrated by the bride and groom.

VENUE
Tali, the Bride, and Dan, the Groom: Tali and I chose to get married at Pinewood Studios in Gerard’s Cross. We wanted a ‘London’ wedding so it was accessible for elderly family and all our friends, and Pinewood had indoor and outdoor space, was very cool, and they allowed us to do whatever we wanted.

Gabby & Gareth | Super-stylish and relaxed Jewish wedding at Katathani Beach Resort, Phuket, Thailand

03/06/2014 by Karen

This afternoon we are off to Thailand! I’m not exaggerating when I say that this wedding totally and utterly takes my breath away. The incredible natural scenery, the use of light, the feeling of warmth and joy that radiates from Hilary Cam’s delicious imagery… it’s all so very stylish yet wonderfully informal.

Gabby’s bridal style and her mermaid-esque colour palette of turquoise,navy, purple and lime green are a dream, and there are lots of lovely personal touches to be inspired by too. My favourite is that at each table the couple placed an extra two chairs so that they could actually sit and eat or drink up close and personal with everyone of their guests. I’ve not heard of that before and I think it’s a really lovely idea.

Gabby and Gareth met over 13 years ago at a house party in Sydney, Australia. She was on holiday from South Africa and they both new as soon as they set eyes on each other that they had met their match. Gabby says. “Gareth always tells me as soon as he saw me walk through the door he knew I was the one. I went back to South Africa and we kept in contact until I eventually immigrated a year later.”

Why not pour yourself a cup of Asian tea and savour this gorgeous W-day… oh and if you’re a destination bride-to-be, make sure you take in Gabby’s excellent device right at the end.

A ‘HOLIDAY’ VENUE AND A SENSE OF RELAXATION
Our wedding was at the Katathani Beach Resort in Phuket Thailand. We chose this destination for a few reasons. One being we both are originally from South Africa and still have lots of family and friends there. We also have family and friends in the UK, US and Israel. We wanted to be able to not only share our magical day with them but thought it would be an amazing opportunity to get people together who haven’t seen each other in years and have a holiday at the same time.

We wanted it to be relaxed like the beautiful surroundings and in terms of a colour scheme I took inspiration from my bridesmaids dresses (turquoise,navy, purple and lime green)