Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Home > New York City Jewish Wedding > Page 2

A Carolina Herrera Bride for an Elegant Argentinian-American Jewish Wedding at the Gramercy Park Hotel, New York City, USA

by


Today’s real Jewish wedding is just SO very NYC… which is appropriate, because this week Karen’s taking the Big Apple by storm! All of us at Team STG are VERY excited for her first official STG trip to the greatest city in the world – check out our Instagram Stories for the next few days to see what she’s up to!

But back to the wedding… wonderful STG Brides Club member Julie and groom Guillermo got married at the Gramercy Park Hotel, which is also where they went on their first date! The fact that it’s got killer NYC views didn’t hurt either.

Everything about this wedding was perfectly NYC chic, from the understatedly elegant floral chuppah to the simple, timeless ketubah the couple chose from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor (and East Village local!) The Ketubah to the artsy, creative photography by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si (who Julie and Guillermo loved so much they flew him in from Tel Aviv – and no wonder, his style was such a perfect fit for their big day). The pair even brought in quirky entertainment like a tarot card reader and a poet to write personalized haikus for guests!

And in true New York tradition, this wedding was delightfully multicultural, with all kinds of touches incorporating Guillermo’s roots in Argentina, from Argentinian dance music to late night empanadas.

As always, we’re so happy to hear that Brides Club helped make this wedding the smashing success it was – Julie loved our planning resources and vendor recs, and she was able to take advantage of a bunch of amazing discounts offered just to members of the club!

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll let Julie, who looked stunning in Carolina Herrera, fill you in on the rest…

Jewish weddingGramercy Park Hotel in New York City, USA_0061 Jewish weddingGramercy Park Hotel in New York City, USA_0061 Jewish weddingGramercy Park Hotel in New York City, USA_0061
Venue

Julie, the bride: We got married at the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City. We chose this venue because it is where we had our first date! The story goes… I was moving from Boston to NYC, and while on a trip to NYC for work/apartment hunting, I stayed at the Gramercy Park Hotel. We connected through an app the day I arrived in the city and arranged to meet one week later (my last day before returning home). I asked if he could meet me at the hotel bar, since I needed to grab my bags before heading to the train.

Two hours before the date, I got an unexpected job offer in London, which was a city I’d been dreaming of living for 10+ years. I debated with my friends if it was more rude to cancel last minute or to show up and say I was moving to London! Good thing I didn’t cancel 🙂 One year later, we celebrated our engagement with a night at GPH and dinner at the hotel restaurant where we had our first date.

Aside from its significance, we loved the venue because it provided stunning views of New York City and a unique floorplan. Rather than a standard ballroom, the hotel has an outdoor terrace surrounding multiple interior rooms. We did not want to follow the typical wedding structure (skip the long sit down dinner, and let’s get right to the party), and this venue naturally lent itself to something less traditional. Bonus: it is also covered in incredible modern artwork from Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Jean-Michel Basquiat and more.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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

by

Jewish wedding Mandarin Hotel NYC USA_0043
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 ReadingContinue Reading

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

by

Jewish wedding New York Hilton Midtown USA_0053

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…

Jewish wedding New York Hilton Midtown USA_0053 Jewish wedding New York Hilton Midtown USA_0053
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!

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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

by


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…

Jewish Wedding Cipriani 25 NYC USA_0178 Jewish Wedding Cipriani 25 NYC USA_0178
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 ReadingContinue Reading

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

by

Jewish wedding The Pierre NYC USA_0020
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

Jewish wedding The Pierre NYC USA_0020 Jewish wedding The Pierre NYC USA_0020 Jewish wedding The Pierre NYC USA_0020 Jewish wedding The Pierre NYC USA_0020
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.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading