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A Helena Kolan Bride for a Tarrytown-Meets-Tel Aviv Jewish Wedding at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, New York, USA

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Tel Aviv-based couple Maya, who works in marketing, and David, who works in tech as a front end developer, opted to get married in Tarrytown, close to both of their hometowns. But naturally they wanted to bring the epic vibes that come with a good Israeli wedding all the way to New York – and did they ever pull it off!

First off, how elegant is Maya’s dress from Israeli designer Helena Kolan, purchased at her atelier in Tel Aviv?! And we love that Maya and David flew in an Israeli singer to perform their favorite Israeli pop hits and help cultivate that unmistakable Israeli wedding atmosphere. The pair even incorporated some Middle Eastern style foods into their menus for the cocktail hour and dinner!

We’re so in love with Maya and David’s incredible trailer from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kiss the Bride Films and photos by Amy Sims. We’re obsessed with the way, as Maya says, both teams captured the special “in-between” moments of the day, with so much emotion and love.

Now over to Maya…

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How we Met

Maya, the bride: We met in college through a very close mutual friend, thanks Taco! We were friends for a few months before we started dating.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Anne Barge Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding at Gotham Hall, NYC, New York, USA

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Remember when weddings could be inside? And have triple-digit guest counts? Hopefully the day when weddings no longer have to be socially distanced will come sooner rather than later… but until then, feast your eyes on the gorgeous pre-pandemic Jewish wedding of Caroline, who runs operations at a diagnostics start-up, and Alex, a chemist-turned-management consultant.

These two worked withwedding planner Susie Blumenfeld of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Pink House Productions to craft their perfect Manhattan glam celebration – complete with the perfect grand midtown venue, Gotham Hall; classic letterpress invitations designed by the multi-talented  Susie Blumenfeld of Pink House Productions; and an elegant Anne Barge gown purchased from none other than Kleinfeld! And, in one of those quintessential only-in-New-York moves, at the end of the night the couple capped things off with a 3 AM visit to a Korean restaurant for a late night snack – still wearing their wedding clothes. Don’t miss Rebecca Weiss Photography’s images of the whole NYC-perfect day.

We also love that Caroline and Alex each had their own tisch before the ceremony, where they could gather with their friends and family to get the celebration started. Alex didn’t have a ton of demands for the big day, but the one thing he was set on was having at least three types of herring at his tisch – and in the end, the venue (who also handled catering) supplied eight!

We’re also obsessed with the couple’s minimalist ketubah by the wonderful Stephanie Caplan of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Ketubah. Featuringa simple circular design with coppery-gold detail, it bears a quote from the Book of Ruth across the top: “Ki el asher telchi eilech,” “Wherever you go, I will go” – the same quote that’s inscribed on the inside of Alex’s ring.

We’ll leave it to the bride to fill you in on the rest…

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How we Met

Caroline, the bride: We met through OKCupid, a dating app, in 2018.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Rebecca Schoneveld Bride for a Magical Backyard Jewish Minimony in New York, USA

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We’ve seen our fair share of backyard micro Jewish weddings, and each and every one has been beautiful, but the nuptials of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Lilia, who works in arts philanthropy as a grants manager, and Alex, a digital solutions manager for an international publishing company, take it to a whole new level.

These two postponed their plans for a big wedding due to COVID but still wanted to make things official, and so they went forward with a micro celebration in Lilia’s parents’ backyard that was nothing short of magical. It doesn’t hurt that Lilia’s mom’s garden is totally stunning, and we love the way the couple ran with the vibe in planning their décor – for instance, how awesome is their chuppah?! Don’t miss Rachel Rodgers’ luminous photos of it, and all the other details of this ultra-memorable day.

Beyond the exquisite aesthetics, we love how much thought Lilia and Alex put in to making their minimony special in a way that wouldn’t leave them feeling like the bigger wedding they have planned for the future won’t feel “like just a performance.” To that end, they opted to leave some traditions, like circling and their ketubah, for Wedding 2.0. In place of a ketubah, the couple decided to write their own take on tenaim (a traditional Jewish engagement document that stipulates the conditions of the marriage that both families need to maintain prior to the chuppah), featuring promises to each other – kind of like vows!

Before we turn you over to Lilia, we want to leave you with her beautiful words about her experience as a member of our Bride’s Club:

I have found the group to be SO warm and welcoming, and a joy to be a part of. Karen has been such a great help – she even helped brainstorm ideas for when we were reimagining a wedding with no dancing (which is my favorite part of weddings!). It has been so wonderful to have so many knowledgeable brides and brides-to-be at my fingertips, and I’m so grateful to be part of the community.

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How we met

Lilia, the bride: We met on OKCupid in 2017.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Magic Secret Garden Backyard Jewish Micro Wedding in Chappaqua, New York, USA

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Okay, HOW amazing is Samantha and Brandon’s uber-dramatic chuppah for their Jewish wedding?! These two built a raised platform above a hot tub in the groom’s parents’ backyard, where they wed, to form a dramatic perch from which they got to look out at all their guests while making it official. Samantha says they went “a little over the top,” but we think they got it just right. Don’t miss it in Mindy Briar’s epic shots!

The custom chuppah platform is also the kind of thing that would probably be hard to pull off in a traditional venue. The couple, who had originally planned a big black-tie wedding, pivoted to something much more intimate so that they could marry on their original date ofOctober 3, 2020, and we love that they took advantage of all the options afforded them by their Plan B. Gathering with just local family, and including loved ones from outside the New York area via Zoom, Samantha and Brandon shifted gears to pull off the magic secret garden-themed wedding of their dreams – and it was all inspired by their amazing custom ketubah!

These two had a clear vision of what they wanted, and they worked with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tallulah Ketubahs to bring their dream ketubah to fruition – and then some! Founder Rachel was ultra-attentive to the couple’s wishes, and, in addition to the gorgeous, colorful hand-painted florals framing the text, she incorporated ultra-personal touches, like the pair’s cats, and passports to represent their love of travel. The level of detail is just phenomenal – we bet you’ll be just as blown away as we are!

Now over to Samantha, who’ll fill you in on all the other special details of the day…


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How We Met

Samantha, the bride: Brandon and I grew up about five minutes down the street from each other and attended the same middle school and high school, but had never crossed paths. I knew who he was because he was the cute, albeit slightly obnoxious, boy in my freshman math class. When he showed up on my Tinder 15 years later I couldn’t resist swiping right. Once we started talking we just never stopped!

Brandon is a Finance and Business Operations Manager for WeWork and I am the President and Creative Director at Auburn Jewelry, a custom jewelry company based in New York. We spend our free time together cooking, baking, dancing, gardening, hanging out with our two rescue kitties and enjoying each other’s company.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Sareh Nouri Bride for an Elegant Urban Jewish Micro Wedding at Gramercy Park Hotel, New York, New York, USA

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How NYC chic is the gorgeous Jewish micro wedding of Amy, who works in marketing for a real estate developer, and Adam, who works in finance for a media company?!

These two had a big NYE wedding planned, but the pandemic forced them to reimagine their big day. With the help of the fabulous Joanna Greenfield of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ruby J Events, Amy and Adam opted for an ultra-intimate celebration – the guest list was limited to immediate family and one friend each for the bride and groom – at the elegant Gramercy Park Hotel.

Amy went into planning without much of a vision for her micro wedding, but Joanna honed in on what she was looking for and put together the day of her dreams. Amy worked with Joanna independently to plan the day, and the details ended up being a surprise to all – even her mother! Needless to say, the results were nothing short of breathtaking – don’t miss the joyous images from Steven Young from Stak Photography. Due to Amy and Adam’s tight schedule once they set their new date, they needed a ketubah fast – and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com’s selection of beautiful “quick ship” options came to the rescue, as it so often does for couples facing a time crunch.

Now over to the bride, who looked luminous in Sareh Nouri…

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How we Met

Amy, the bride: We met in 2008 at Penn State University. Adam knew then that I was going to be his person; I had no idea; thought I just had a new friend. We remained friends until 2016 when we started dating.

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