New York City Jewish Wedding Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Neon Jungle Jewish Wedding at the Mandarin Oriental, New York, New York, USA

05/08/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We are totally obsessed with the neon jungle theme Jessica and Brant chose for their Jewish wedding – it was just the most perfect way to bring the vibe of the tropical destination wedding the couple initially hoped for to their hometown of New York City, where they ended up marrying to keep the big day accessible to their friends and family.

Bride Jessica says she knew from the moment she got engaged she wanted her wedding to be unique, and did she ever pull it off! With bright colors galore, plenty of palms, a tequila bar, neon signs, and so many more Instagramable touches than we even have room to list here, it’s safe to say she achieved her goal of making her guests feel as if they were transported to the chicest jungle. Don’t miss the photos from The Day by Nathan Smith.

Obviously their stunning chuppah was the pinnacle of jungle chic, and we love that, wanting to get the maximum enjoyment out of it, Jessica and Brant opted to repurpose it for the party, displaying their gorgeous cake and a cool neon sign under it.

But don’t let the fab aesthetics make you think these two skimped on the ceremony – far from it. They made it a priority to honor their late grandparents – they used Brant’s grandfather’s tallit under the chuppah, and Jessica’s wedding band originally belonged to her great-great-grandmother (and has been used by all of the women in her family ever since!) – and even got their dog involved with a walk down the aisle. They made it a priority to find a beautiful ketubah that could serve as a cherished piece of art in their home, and opted for a totally stunning paper cut design from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay.

We’ll let Jessica – who looked stunning in Monique Lhuillier – fill you in on the rest…

A New York Wedding

Jessica, the bride: We got married at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. Brant and I always thought about having a warm climate destination wedding, and we looked almost everywhere. However, after a few months of looking, and keeping friends and family in mind, we thought Manhattan (our hometown) would be the best and easiest. Me being born and bred in Manhattan, and Brant growing up on Long Island, the city was our perfect destination. When we walked into the Mandarin ballroom for the first time and looked out those huge windows to see Central Park and the city skyline, it took our breath away.Continue Reading

A Vera Wang Bride for a Magical Forest Jewish Wedding in the City at the Hilton Midtown Hotel, New York City, New York

08/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Okay, we’re still picking our jaws up off the floor from this INCREDIBLE chuppah. I mean… wow. Bride Rebecca says she felt like she was in a magical forest, and we can’t really think of a better way to put it than that. You don’t want to miss the exquisite photos by Cristina Calvi and Hy Goldberg.

Rebecca and Eric, who both work in finance, wanted to bring the outdoors in to their big day – despite getting married smack dab in the center of Manhattan – and did they ever. The fairytale trees and flowers surrounding the couple under their chuppah, amidst an uber-romantic background of flickering candles, was just beyond.

The flowers for the rest of the wedding were totally outstanding, too – the arches of hanging ombre wisteria that formed the backdrop of the badeken, the luxe tablecenters, even the flowers adorning the couple’s gorgeous wedding cake.

Now over to the bride…

How we met

Rebecca, the bride: We grew up only a few blocks from each other and were one grade apart, but we “officially” met and starting dating in high school (Rebecca’s junior year, Eric’s senior year) and we have been together ever since. We only figured out years after we started dating that we had been on the same bus in elementary school!

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Modern Classic Jewish Wedding at Cipriani 25 Broadway, NYC, New York, USA

26/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Every so often, we come across a wedding trailer that truly moves us – one that captures all the emotion and beauty of the day so well, we feel as if we’d been there ourselves.

That’s certainly true of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kiss the Bride Films’ beautiful coverage of the Jewish wedding of Jess and Brett. The couple emphasize how important it was for them to pick vendors they enjoyed spending time with, and we’re not at all surprised that working with Kiss the Bride was “a dream come true” for the pair, or that their comfort with and confidence in their video team helped them enjoy their big day stress-free.

Photographer Roey Yohai was equally fabulous – Jess and Brett say he’s known for bringing out the realest smiles in his couples, and judging from theirs that certainly seems like an accurate statement!

One thing’s for sure: there was plenty for the photo and video teams to capture, from the majestic venue – an Italian neo-Renaissance masterpiece with 65-foot ceilings – to the breathtaking white orchid chuppah. We love how the couple picked transparent lucite poles to represent “the openness and transparency of our future home, our relationship and our hearts.” Awwwww! (And if that didn’t already put you into cuteness overload, did we mention that Jess and Brett even got their sweet puppy Jojo in on the action?)

There’s so much more to say about this exquisite wedding, but we’ll let Jess – who looked radiant in Monique Lhuillier – fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Jess, the bride: We first crossed paths in October 2010 at an AEPhi and APES mixer during our sophomore and senior years at Emory University. We made an instant connection and soon started dating. When we met up over winter break that year, our families suspected we were a perfect match – as our date involved shopping at Bloomingdale’s!

Brett graduated in 2011 and moved to NYC and two years later was reunited with Jess when she graduated from Emory and started dental school at NYU. 24 hours prior to their joint commencement, as Brett graduated with a master’s from NYU on the same day as Jess, Brett popped the question atop Bow Bridge in Central Park much to the surprise and excitement of Jess.

Continue Reading

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Glam Jewish Wedding at The Pierre Hotel, NYC, USA

10/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple lets the location of their Jewish wedding inspire their choices for the big day. And today’s wonderful couple, Jessica and Jonathan, did just that. First off, they chose NYC’s iconic The Pierre Hotel as their venue, and let the city chic vibes set the stage for their aesthetic.

Then there’s the swoon-worthy portrait session in Central Park with Nate from The Day capturing the glorious scenery (not to mention the glam couple!) photographically and Reuben Hernandez from The Day on video.

Jessica and Jonathan even made “best of NYC” welcome picnic baskets for their out-of-town guests, filled with favorites like Le Colombe coffee, rosé wine, Murray’s cheese snacks, and black and white cookies.

And while this has nothing to do with NYC, we love how they had their orchestra arrange customized music for each person walking down the aisle, to evoke their meaning to the couple, or a special memory. So special!

We’ll let Jessica, who looked stunning in her soft, romantic Monique Lhullier gown, fill you in on

The Pierre

Jessica, the bride: We got married at The Pierre Hotel in New York City. We are both originally east coasters with the majority of our family living in New York and Connecticut so figured NYC was not only logistically easiest but we also loved the idea of getting married in the city we call home.

We chose The Pierre as the venue because Jessica’s grandfather always said it’s the best and papa knows best! Also, we love the French flair of the hotel and even though it is an iconic New York City hotel, it very much felt like a private, intimate venue.

A Reformation Bride for a DIY Jewish Wedding at Littlefield, Brooklyn, New York, USA

22/02/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

DIY and NYC aren’t the first two things we think of as going together when it comes to Jewish weddings. But super cool (not to mention resourceful) couple Grace and Barry proved us wrong with their charmingly eclectic indoor garden party celebration in Brooklyn, beautifully captured by the amazing Mandee Johnson Photography — their outdoor photoshoot in the streets of Brooklyn is serious #weddinggoals.

With some help from their families — Grace and her mom DIY’d the floral arrangements, while Barry’s mother fashioned a beautiful, simple chuppah canopy from an old lace curtain — and fun touches like string lights and a BBQ buffet, these two prove that it’s totally possible to craft a memorable wedding on a budget, even in the most expensive of cities.

And how cool does Grace look in her dress from Reformation (which happens to be a fantastic option for brides on a budget who don’t want to compromise on style)? We’ll leave the gorgeous bride and groom to fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Grace and Barry, the bride and the groom: Barry is on stage, performing. Grace is in the audience, audience-ing. After the show, she cracked a joke about his shoes, he laughed, that was that.