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A Galia Lahav Bride for a Relaxed Jewish Wedding All About the Party at Riverpark, New York, USA

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When they set out to plan their Jewish wedding, New Yorkers Samantha, a software engineer, and Alex, an endocrinologist, knew they wanted their big day to be all about dancing and celebrating.

They turned to their phenomenal planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Andrea Adelstein of NYLUX Events, and she went above and beyond in making the day of their dreams a reality. She helped them find the perfect NYC venue, Riverpark restaurant, and craft the perfect relaxed evening full of dancing and fun.

A few special touches we can’t get enough of: the gorgeous birch chuppah, the 11 PM espresso martinis and fries, and the fact that Samantha and Alex each smashed a glass at the end of the ceremony! Oh, and we can’t forget Samantha’s stunner of a gown from beloved Israeli designer Galia Lahav!

Take one look at Karlie Louise’s wonderful photos and you can tell what a blast the duo – and everyone around them – was having! Read on for the rest of the story.  


How We Met

Alex and Samantha met at a math competition in high school, where they were both competing. Samantha offered to put her number in Alex’s calculator and the rest is history. 14 years later, they are newlyweds. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Alyssa Kristin Bride for a Very NYC Jewish Wedding Inspired by Art Deco and Old Hollywood at Carnegie Hill, New York, USA

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Kara and Ian, Carnegie Hall, New York, USA

Today’s Jewish wedding is just so quintessentially NYC, and we are obsessed! Kara is the Sr. Manager of Video Programming Operations at Vogue & British Vogue, and Ian, who’s in property management, adore the city, and their choice of Carnegie Hall as their venue allowed it to play a starring role.

The couple dreamed of a chic, elegant day inspired by Art Deco and Old Hollywood – with a few musical odes to Carnegie Hall thrown in for good measure. Their amazing planner, Andrea from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Nylux Events, brought the vision to life SO perfectly – Laura Huertas captured all the details exquisitely in her photos.

We’re in love with Kara and Ian’s minimalist, architectural chuppah – and we love that they chose to sign their ketubah, which they purchased from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com, in front of all their guests right before the ceremony began!

There’s so much more to say about this fab day – we’ll leave it to Kara, who could not have looked chicer in her Alyssa Kristin gown, to tell you all about it…

Kara and Ian, Carnegie Hall, New York, USA Kara and Ian, Carnegie Hall, New York, USAKara and Ian, Carnegie Hall, New York, USA Kara and Ian, Carnegie Hall, New York, USAHow We Met

Kara, the bride: We met in college, no crazy story 🙂Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Matilda Ndrecka Bride for a Persian-Ashkenazi Jewish Wedding at Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation, Long Island, New York, USA

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Nicole and Jordan, Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation, Long Island, NY, USA

Well, here it is… our last real Jewish wedding of 2023! And we’re going out with a bang with the joyous, multicultural wedding of Nicole and Jordan at Long Island’s Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation.

Both bride and groom are very connected to their Judaism and cultural backgrounds – hers Persian and his Ashkenazi – and from the beginning they knew they wanted to incorporate elements of both traditions into their Jewish wedding. You’ve got to read on – and scroll through Amanda of Swiger Photography’s wonderful images – to see it all for yourself, but we’re especially in love with the couple’s Hana-Bandoon, or henna party, and their traditional Persian procession, which Nicole describes as “a giant family dance party,” complete with Nicole’s cousins serving as flower-men!

It was important to Nicole and Jordan to find a ketubah that honored both their backgrounds and their artistic vision, and they loved working with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Britt Yudell from Brit Colors, an incredible artist based out of Israel, on a custom piece. In Nicole’s words, “Britt is so talented, professional, artistic and dedicated to her craft. Britt worked patiently with us and listened to all of our ideas. From that, she created a stunning piece of unique art work that we will cherish forever!”

There’s so much more to say about this very special day – read on for the full story in Nicole’s own words…

Nicole and Jordan, Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation, Long Island, NY, USANicole and Jordan, Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation, Long Island, NY, USANicole and Jordan, Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation, Long Island, NY, USA Nicole and Jordan, Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation, Long Island, NY, USA 
How We Met

Nicole, the bride: Like so many couples of the 21st century, we met online. We met during the pandemic. At the time, Jordan, who was a data analyst, was working from home and had barely left his apartment in months while Nicole – who was an intern physician in New York- felt like she hadn’t left the hospital since the start of the pandemic. Each felt like the other was a breath of fresh air.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Pioneering Modern Orthodox Same Sex Wedding at Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, New York, USA

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Max & Zach, Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury, New York, USA

We are so in love with today’s stunning same sex Jewish wedding! New Yorkers Max, Director of Startup Ecosystem Development at SAP, and Zach, Director of Artist Relations + Partnerships at Great Bowery’s Trunk Archive, crafted a day that perfectly blended Jewish tradition with impeccable contemporary style.

Same sex Orthodox weddings are still in their early years, and we love that Max and Zach – along with their officiant, Rabbi Avram Mlotek – are at the forefront. The pair worked with their rabbi to craft a ceremony that aligned with their values as Modern Orthodox Jews AND as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

While much of the ceremony looked like any traditional Jewish wedding, one difference is that instead of a traditional ketubah, Max and Zach opted to use a Shtar Shutafut, a Halachic Partnership Contract, to formalize their marriage. The couple worked with Rabbi Mlotek on the text. They also exchanged rings under the chuppah, and each smashed a glass.

It’s so heartwarming to see how Max and Zach were able to craft the wedding of their dreams, without having to compromise on any aspect of their identities – and you can really see the joy in each and every shot by photographer David Perlman.

There’s so much more to say – like how much we love that the duo named their signature cocktail the Goldie Spritz, after their rescue dog! – but we’ll turn you over to the grooms for the rest…

Max & Zach, Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury, New York, USA Max & Zach, Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury, New York, USAMax & Zach, Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury, New York, USA Max & Zach, Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury, New York, USA
How we Met

Max and Zach, the grooms: We first matched in November 2018 when we were both home visiting our families on Long Island, NY for Thanksgiving. We instantly clicked on our first date in December 2018, which coincided with the second night of Chanukah. We were engaged on March 13, 2022 and the rest is history.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Made with Love Bride for an Autumnal Jewish Wedding Weekend in the Catskills at Stone Tavern Farm, New York, USA

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Ruthie-Aaron-Stone-Tavern-Farm-New-York-USA

There’s something so special about whisking your nearest and dearest off for a weekend away from it all, in gorgeous surroundings, centered around celebrating your love – which is exactly what NYC couple Ruthie and Aaron did for their Jewish wedding!

The pair found the perfect venue in Stone Tavern Farm in the Catskills, a stunning natural setting full of earthy elements of wood, stone, and greenery; plenty of opportunities for hiking and connecting with nature; and, most important of all, lodging so everyone could stay on-site and enjoy the full weekend experience together!

Inspired by the splendid natural surroundings, Ruthie and Aaron worked with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rachelle of  The Delicate Brush to create a custom ketubah including elements like a starry night sky, a tree with two branches twisting together to form a singular canopy, and mountains representing where they got married. In Ruthie’s words, “Rachelle is such a talented artist who truly takes the time to get to know her clients and ensure their hopes, personalities and priorities are reflected in her work.” Don’t miss it in Christine Ashburn’s wonderful photos!

To make it all even more personal, Ruthie and Aaron also customized their own ketubah text to represent their intentions for their marriage – and they read it aloud to each other during the chuppah! How special is that?! The couple credit their Reform rabbi, Rabbi Rena, who they found through Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor 18doors, with helping them figure out which traditions were meaningful to them – and giving them the freedom to incorporate those traditions in ways that felt authentic.

There’s so much more to say about this wedding – like, how elegant did Ruthie look in her Made With Love gown?! – but we’ll let her take it from here…

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How We Met

Ruthie, the bride, and Aaron, the groom: In July 2020, Aaron had recently moved to Hoboken, NJ and Ruthie was living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The pandemic was in full swing, so Aaron was focused on building his accounting and financial advisory business as founder and CEO, and Ruthie was adjusting to working from home full-time, now leading the HR team supporting Global Technology at a Fortune 100 company.

They connected through Hinge, a dating app: Text messages quickly became phone calls and facetime, all very open, natural, interesting, and light-hearted. A few weeks after initially connecting, Ruthie suggested that she and Aaron meet up. It was a hot summer day, but outdoor activities were a requirement, so they took a walk on the Hoboken waterfront. Despite the sweaty circumstances, their multi-hour conversation flowed, and they laughed a lot.

On their first date, Ruthie had mentioned that she was assessing her home office setup, fully accepting that this work-from-home arrangement was not short-term. On their second date the following weekend, Aaron showed up at Ruthie’s apartment with a spare computer monitor and webcam and proceeded to install both. After the sushi and wine were long gone, they continued talking for eight hours from opposite ends of Ruthie’s long couch, still attempting to social distance. Some topics of this conversation included comparing grocery sanitation habits and extensive family trees. At the end of the evening, they shared their first kiss.

After that, Ruthie & Aaron spent more weeknights and weekends together, taking drives, city walks, nature hikes, cooking meals, watching movies, and much more. They quickly confided deeply in each other about their hopes, fears, struggles, families, professional aspirations, life experiences, and personal goals. They repeatedly commented on how natural it felt to be together, how they never grew tired of spending time together and laughter and silliness punctuated almost every conversation.

Starting in January 2021, Ruthie & Aaron worked and lived together full time. They regularly shushed each other when their conference calls conflicted (there was no door between the living room and bedroom), and sometimes ended up wearing the same outfit. They took long walks on the waterfront, cooked elaborate meals in their tiny kitchen, and worked together to design and renovate the apartment they planned to move into in April 2021. They regularly spoke of their future together, the family they wanted to build, adventures they wanted to take, and goals they wanted to achieve. It was always about them together, as a team, and they commented regularly about how supported, loved, and connected they felt.Continue ReadingContinue Reading