Neutrals Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Jew-ish Industrial Vintage same-sex wedding with a Lyn Ashworth gown at St Pancras Renaissance, London

16/01/2017 by Karen

Tissues at the ready, folks, because I guarantee that you won’t make it through this gorgeous lesbian Jew-ish wedding without welling up — especially if you watch the tear-jerker of a wedding video at the bottom of this post, artfully and sensitively shot by Love Storage.

Charlotte and Ellie wanted a dramatic and industrial meets romantic, dark florals-vibe for their big day, and they found the perfect venue in the iconic St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. The story of the day was expertly captured by fantastic photographer, Dale Weeks.

We simply adore the moody aesthetic and jewel-toned theme; Charlotte and Ellie’s vintage-industrial look made their whole day so quirky and unique, but still so chic and stunning.

The attention to detail from artistic bride Ellie was simply phenomenal. Each item was carefully and lovingly picked with the theme in mind: the home-designed invitations, the rust-coloured chairs, the Victoriana table decorations and whole flower stems strewn down the aisle. The style extended to the brides’ outfits, which were simply beautiful and perfectly in keeping with the tone and theme of the wedding.

We love the birch pole Chuppah, complete with Charlotte’s grandfather’s tallit, and that the start of the Jewish ceremony was signaled with one of our all-time favourite wedding songs, Sunrise Sunset. Could there be a more perfect or sincere way to conduct a Jewish ceremony?

Over to Charlotte and Ellie to fill us in on all the details from their divine wedding day.

When you know, you know

Charlotte: Ellie and I met online. There was no woo-ing and no long conversations. Ellie sent me a message saying “Shall we go for a drink then?” and when I agreed she informed me that I had to choose the location.

I chose The Bridge in Hoxton and we met outside Hoxton station that Saturday afternoon because we both already had evening plans.

We sat side by side in the boudoir-like surroundings, drinking coffee and chatting for hours. It felt very natural from the start, like we’d known each other for years. It didn’t take long before we were spending every spare day together!

A literary-themed Jewish wedding at the West London Synagogue and the V&A Museum of Childhood, London, UK

19/07/2016 by Karen

It’s a blistering heatwave here in London today and I am soaking up every last ray whilst working outdoors on my Macbook’s anti-glare screen (a must-have for any sun-loving blogger!). It’s a fabulous day, not only because I’m lucky enough to be working al fresco, but also because I have been immersing myself in every last detail of Simone and Micah’s brilliant Jewish wedding at a venue I’ve always wanted to feature, the V&A Museum of Childhood.

I love unusual wedding venues, especially museums and galleries (I got married in one myself) as guests can wander around, interact with the exhibits, and talk about the work with fellow guests which can be a great ice-breaker.

This wedding is full of wonderful details, like Micah’s father officiating the service, and a lively post-chuppah musical ‘Jew-down’ as Micah calls it (I LOVE that terminology!). I’m also obsessing over the centrepieces that included scattered confetti cut from illustrated editions of Winnie the Pooh and Peter Rabbit, to tie in with the children’s books theme, and desserts as canapà©s by Ben Tenenblat that were served during the after-dinner dancing.

Simone and Micah have written their wedding report together (well actually the vast majority of it is by Micah) and it’s wonderful to hear from a groom who had so much input into the big day — a trend I’m seeing more and more of. In fact, Micah had me at hello when he first submitted the wedding. He wrote:

I’d like to submit a wedding! Your blog already features my brother’s wedding (Yoni & Missy) and the wedding of our friends Debbie & Eyal so – yeah – we thought we’d join in too.

I love a groom submission! Welcome to the Smashing family, Simone & Micah! (And thank you to the wonderful Enchanting Wood for today’s images).

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A laidback Israeli wedding at Kalamata and Neve Schechter Center, at Neve Tzedek and Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel

08/07/2016 by Karen

Orit and Ido had a simple, contemporary wedding with a calming subtle blue colour scheme that was small, intimate, informal, and unquestionably stylish.

They decided to do away with many wedding traditions in favour of creating a day that reflected them as a couple as well as making it an amazing experience for all their friends and family, and I have to say that looking at their super stylish photos it definitely made for the most wonderful, personal day.

On the fashion side, I’m totally coveting Orit’s custom-designed dress and those beautiful bronze shoes — the perfect accompaniment to the scenic backdrop of sunnies skies and golden beaches.

I love how tuned in these two were to their own desires and so much so, they chose not one but three different venues that they frequent regularly. One of them, Dallal, is one of my all-time favourite Tel Aviv brunch spots so I’m super happy to be featuring it today on the blog!

With thanks to the lovely Danielle from Danielle Yashar Photography for submitting the eye candy. Happy Friday folks!

A wedding that reflected us and the things we love doing

Orit, the Bride: As we started planning our wedding, it was clear to us that we wanted it to be our day. For us that meant doing things we like the most, surrounded by our family and closest friends.

We wanted our event to be intimate and we wanted to have the opportunity to spend time with each one of our guests. We started our morning in the Dallal Bakery at Neve Tzedek where we regularly meet friends for coffee at the weekend. We strolled along the beach to Jaffa, which is so beautiful at this time of the year, and there we met our family for a brunch at Kalamata restaurant (one of our favourite restaurants) which is located in old Jaffa over looking the Mediterranean sea.

Just before Shabbat we gathered our family and closest friends in a nearby synagogue at Neve Schechter-Legacy Heritage Center for our chuppah. After the exchange of rings we kissed our family goodbye and returned to Kalamata for a festive and upbeat lunch with our friends. To close the day, we invited everybody to a private concert by one of our favourite artists and whilst taking in the sunset at the Old Jaffa Port.

A 50’s inspired bride for a chic Jewish wedding at New London Synagogue and the Royal Institute of British Architects, London, UK

05/07/2016 by Karen

Rachel and Stephen won their wedding photography through a competition on this very wedding blog, and when their fabulous photographer, Kate Nielen, excitedly emailed me with the resulting gorgeous photos, I couldn’t wait to post them! Part of what Kate Nielen and I loved about Rachel’s winning entry was what she wrote below:

A Jewish wedding ceremony is steeped in tradition, ritual and spirituality. These are the elements I want to capture at the beginning of the ceremony whilst RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) is a classy and classic venue. We also have a New Orleans jazz band who will be playing klezmer.”

To me, this epitomises a Smashing The Glass couple. The desire to blend wonderful ancient Jewish wedding rituals with twists like a New Orleans jazz band playing traditional Jewish klezmer. I just wish I could have been a guest at the wedding myself!

There were so many lovely personal touches, like the mother of the bride creating a beautiful painting that was incorporated on all the stationery and was also displayed on a screen at the entrance of their gorgeous reception venue, RIBA, in the heart of central London. She also made their very arty three-tier wedding cake – what a talented mama!

One of the best things about this job is how uplifting it is to look at images of people in love. And I think it’s fair to say that Rachel and Stephen are insanely, crazily, and meant-to-be-together-forever in love. That besottedness radiates from every image captured by Kate Nielen. Enjoy this one folks!

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A Valentine’s Day Jewish Wedding in the snow, at The Liberty Grand, Toronto, Canada

24/06/2016 by Karen

I first saw today’s wedding on photographer Assaf Friedman’s Instagram feed. I was totally smitten by Danielle and Aaron’s couple portraits in the snow, and I just knew I had to feature their entire Valentine’s Day affair on Smashing The Glass.

Danielle and Aaron are a super stylish couple with really great taste — I’m particularly loving their accessories! I’d like Danielle’s leather jacket AND her heart-shaped sunnies please. And Aaron looks dapper with his slick tux, patterned socks, and polka dot pocket square (and he wore the coolest pair of personalised Nike Hi-Tops that Danielle surprised him with too).

Aaron and Danielle chose to engrave each other’s wedding bands with a surprise inscription and decided that neither of them would see this message until after the ceremony when they were finally man and wife. And would you believe it, they had both engraved each other’s rings with the same beautiful message! These two are meant to be together…

Read on for lots more treats, surprises, advice, tips and a really wonderful account of a truly stylish, luxe Jewish wedding.

How we met

Danielle, the Bride: Aaron and I met online. We had our first date at a small craft beer bar in Toronto. On our third or fourth date, Aaron asked me if I was dating other people. At that point, we decided to be exclusive. Things moved fairly quickly and I think that after a few weeks of dating we knew that one day we would get married.