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5 of Our Favorites: Spectacular NYC Jewish Weddings That Capture the Best of the City

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Ali + Andrew, Ziegfield Ballroom, New York, USA

Ali and Andrew‘s NYC Jewish Wedding at Ziegfeld Ballroom, New York, New York | Photo by Sarah Marian’s Photography

Have we got a treat for you! This week, we’re diving into the vibrant energy and timeless elegance of the Big Apple and showcasing 5 of our favorite NYC Jewish weddings. 

New York City is a place like no other, offering a perfect blend of modern style, cultural richness, and iconic venues. From chuppahs with sweeping skyline views to chic ballroom receptions in the heart of Manhattan, these weddings showcase the best of what NYC has to offer.

Each celebration is uniquely inspired by the city’s dynamic spirit, while staying true to the beauty of Jewish traditions. We’re thrilled to share these unforgettable NYC weddings with you and offer some incredible ideas for your own city celebration!

book-themed wedding at the New York Public Library

Jesse and Craig‘s NYC Jewish Wedding at the New York Public Library | Photo by Dave Robbins

Jesse and Craig’s Jewish Wedding at the New York Public Library

It doesn’t get much cooler than Jessie and Craig’s New York City nuptials. Their Jewish wedding has it all. The glamour, the style, the chic, and the unique. 

book-themed wedding at the New York Public Library

Jesse and Craig‘s NYC Jewish Wedding at the New York Public Library | Photo by Dave Robbins

And what with getting married in the iconic New York Public Library, I haven’t even begun to tell you about how well-executed their literary bookish theme is. I’m talking real-life librarians helping guests find their seats, library card catalogue escort cards, and a chuppah made entirely out of antique books! But wait, it gets better. Their chuppah was topped with hundreds of lightbulbs, so when it came to smashing the glass at the end of the ceremony, the groom picked out a light bulb from their chuppah to smash, and swiftly stamped on it. 

book-themed wedding at the New York Public Library

Jesse and Craig‘s NYC Jewish Wedding at the New York Public Library | Photo by Dave Robbins

Ali + Andrew, Ziegfield Ballroom, New York, USA

Ali and Andrew‘s NYC Jewish Wedding at the Ziegfeld Ballroom | Photo by Sarah Marian’s Photography

Ali and Andrew’s Jewish Wedding at Ziegfeld Ballroom, New York, New York

Ali and Andrew’s Jewish wedding was just SO gloriously NYC, and we are here for it! They opted to make it official at the iconic Ziegfeld Ballroom, and took advantage of the prime Midtown location for some incredible couple’s shoots on the streets of NYC and in Central Park. Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Sarah Merians Photography captured it all so perfectly!

Ali + Andrew, Ziegfield Ballroom, New York, USA

Ali and Andrew‘s NYC Jewish Wedding at Ziegfeld Ballroom, New York, New York | Photo by Sarah Marian’s Photography

We’re also obsessed with Ali and Andrew’s exquisite Art Deco-inspired chuppah, featuring florals in blue, purple, pink, and white – and we love that the pair opted to have their chuppah in the round so everyone could feel like part of the ceremony.

Ali + Andrew, Ziegfield Ballroom, New York, USA

Ali and Andrew‘s NYC Jewish Wedding at Ziegfeld Ballroom, New York, New York | Photo by Sarah Marian’s Photography

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A Monique Lhuillier Bride for an Autumnal Luxe Jewish Wedding at Cipriani 42nd Street, Manhattan, NY, USA

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Julia and Max, Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan, NY
Okay, HOW incredible is this tree chuppah dreamed up by Julia and Max for their New York Jewish wedding? Despite getting married smack dab in the heart of Manhattan, the couple, both of whom work in finance, love autumn in New York (who doesn’t?) and wanted to bring the feel of the city’s most beautiful season to their decidedly indoor affair.

And they really, really did, through the creative use of lots and lots of gorgeous indoor trees decked out with those signature autumn leaves. That’s where the chuppah comes in – and is it ever a stunner! – but the autumn tree effect extended to the couple’s wonderful centerpieces as well. The overall feel was totally magical – almost like an indoor walk through Central Park on a beautiful October day. Don’t miss Andrew Henderson’s beautiful photos of the day.

And as if that weren’t enough NYC fabulousness for one wedding, we’re also smitten with Julia and Max’s adorable invitations by Bella Figura, featuring whimsical sketches of classic NYC icons – like a subway train pulling away with a “Just Married” sign! Too cute!

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave it to the bride – who looked ravishing in Monique Lhuillier – to fill you in on the details…

Julia and Max, Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan, NY Julia and Max, Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan, NY Julia and Max, Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan, NY Julia and Max, Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan, NY Julia and Max, Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan, NY
How we met

Julia, the bride:  Max and I met over a summer internship at Morgan Stanley while still in college. The two of us were alphabetically seated next to each other during a week of training in Manhattan, and immediately thought the other was special. Even though we had planned to work on different coasts post-graduation, we made our relationship work long distance. A few years later, Max joined me in California where we’ve now been living together for 4 years.  

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A Galia Lahav Bride for an Industrial Rustic Jewish Wedding at Knockdown Center, Queens, New York, USA

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This is SUCH a New York wedding, and we are all over it. Jenny, who works as an associate media director at an ad agency, and Zach, who works in real estate development at a private equity firm, brought the city vibes to their Jewish wedding with everything from their choice of venue – the super cool Knockdown Center in Queens, which manages to combine industrial chic while being able to bring in greenery and rustic sophistication seamlessly – to their decision to bring in iconic NYC eats like Robertas Pizza andthe Shake Shack food truck.

And how incredible is the couple’s floating chuppah?! With all four sides open – so all 375 guests seated in the round could see the couple clearly – it brings some serious enchanted forest vibes to an otherwise urban setting. Photographer Tory Williams captured everything so perfectly.

Now over to Jenny, who looked stunning in Galia Lahav – one of our fave Israeli designers!

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Industrial Rustic

Jenny, the bride: We got married at the Knockdown Center in Maspeth Queens.  We were looking for a venue that was “us” and not typical.  We wanted a place we could create what we wanted but that had natural beauty.  Zach works in real estate and loves finding raw spaces and making them beautiful.  This space had the perfect contrast of industrial chic while being able to bring in greenery and rustic yet sophisticated beauty.

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An Eve of Milady Bride for a Magical Jewish Wedding with a Floating Cake at Temple Beth El, Cedarhurst, NY

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Eliana-and-Eric-Temple-Beth-El-NY
We throw the word “magical” around a lot when talking about the beautiful Jewish wedding we’re privileged to feature… but this one brings it to another level! You see, the groom, Eric Wilzig, is a professional magician and illusionist, and the big day took its cues from his background – with some fun inspired by Eliana’s career as a gymnast, gymnastics coach, and manager at a gymnastics gym.

The couple’s “floating” chuppah (thanks to lucite columns) is pretty cool, but there’s no question that the piece de resistance was the couple’s wedding cake, which was actually levitating – no strings or wires involved.

Not many bakers could pull off a cake like this, but luckily Eric and Eliana found the dream team at Peboryon, lead by Christine and and Phil Jenson, and they worked out a design that would allow the top tier of the cake to float and spin. The couple were so taken with their concept and craftsmanship they ended up flying the Peboryon team out to New York from the UK to make it happen… and 228 (no, that’s not a typo) hours of work later, they did! Don’t miss the incredible pics from White Light Photo!

There were plenty of other magical touches to this one-of-a-kind wedding, but we’ll let Eliana, who looked ravishing in Eve of Milady, tell you about all of that…

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How we met

Eliana, the bride: We met through a mutual friend in NYC. A few minutes after Eric met Eliana, he did a magic trick to get her phone number…true story!

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An Allison Webb Bride for a Gluten-Free Jewish Wedding at El Caribe, Brooklyn, NY, USA

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Allison-Webb-Bride-El-Caribe-New-York
We’re so excited to be blogging the beautiful Jewish wedding of STG’s very own features writer, Sam Levitz! We got to know Sam as a beloved member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club, and based on her talent for writing, wise words of advice, and great sense of humor, we realized she was just the person to join Team STG.

Sam, who in addition to serving as STG’s features writer works in publishing, and Ethan, a patient coordinator, had a totally gorgeous, 100% heartfelt wedding that also happens to have been 99% gluten free! Both bride and groom are GF – and Sam, who’s been allergic to wheat her whole life, never thought she’d be able to eat cake at her own wedding. But thanks to the baking wizardry of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor By the Way Bakery, the pair were able to have their (gluten-free, dairy-free, and kosher pareve) cake and eat it too! They can’t stop raving about what a delight By the Way’s owner Helene was to work with – or how scrumptious the cake was! Plus, how cute is that rubber duck cake topper, which now sits proudly in Sam’s prized rubber duck collection?!

Lest you think this wedding was all about the food, Sam and Ethan also had an exceptionally moving ceremony. The two incorporated lots of personal touches: they wrote and read their own vows, were wrapped in the groom’s late father’s tallis under the chuppah, and instead of Sam circling Ethan seven times per tradition they each circled each other three times and then simultaneously did a circle together – symbolizing their equal partnership. We also love the beautiful Lori Loebelsohn ketubah they ordered from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com.

We’ll leave it to Sam, who looked positively ravishing in her Allison Webb gown, to fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Sam, the bride: We met on OkCupid right before New Year’s Eve going into 2017. We were a 98% match, but because of different traveling obligations we couldn’t meet up for almost 3 weeks after meeting. After that first date we were pretty much inseparable.

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