Online dating success story Archives - Smashing the Glass

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

06/04/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

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…

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.

A Berta Bride for a Spiritual Glam Jewish Wedding at the Millennium Biltmore, Los Angeles, CA, USA

01/04/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Is this #chuppahgoals, or is this #chuppahgoals? Yep, we’re totally obsessed with the luxe, glam Jewish wedding of Heather, a dermatology resident, and Alex, lawyer who specializes in litigation defense. These two made the wise decision to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Best Bride to bring their divergent tastes and traditions – the Ashkenazi bride wanted enchanted garden vibes, while the Persian groom preferred to keep everything white and sophisticated – together into one seamlessly perfect day.

This incredible chuppah – featuring abundant white flowers and lush greenery – was the stunning compromise Leora, founder of Best Bride, helped the pair settle on. Don’t miss the gorgeous photos from Katie Beverley! And Leora’s also a master when it comes to combining different backgrounds, so needless to say the cross-cultural elements of the wedding went without a hitch.

We also love that these two put as much thought into the spiritual side of their wedding as they did to the aesthetics. Heather was especially moved by the idea of a Jewish bride serving as a source of blessing on her wedding day, and decided she wanted to pray for as many people as she could on the day – so she shared a Google doc on Facebook and let her friends submit prayer requests for anything, anonymously. Such a smart idea! We’re equally obsessed with Heather and Alex’s gorgeous papercut ketubah by Enya Keshet, which they purchased through Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com.

Now over to the bride, who looked simply ravishing in beloved Israeli designer Berta gown…

How we met

Heather, the bride : I moved from the East coast to Los Angeles in the summer after my third year of medical school to pursue a dermatology research year at USC. I thought that making a Hinge dating ap profile could be a good way to meet people in general. Alex was my first date in Los Angeles! The rest is history.Continue Reading

Real Jewish Brides: Erin’s Corona Edition

31/03/2020 by Smashing The Glass Leave a Comment

Erin will be marrying Josh on 1st November 2020 at Congregation Beth Israel, in Charlottesville, VA, USA. Click here to read all Erin’ planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Erin and Josh are planning an outdoorsy fall wedding on a budget in Virginia’s Shenandoah mountains. (2) Erin recently completed her conversion to Judaism, and she and Josh are looking forward to filling their big day with Jewish traditions while keeping it enjoyable and understandable to friends and family from all backgrounds. (3) Erin is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

Every day we’re getting new updates about the Coronavirus, and we’re learning how to adapt to each new change.

Being in the midst of wedding planning is a strange place to be. How do you plan for a wedding when you don’t know what life will be like in the next few weeks or months?

I’ve seen brides making tough decisions to postpone their weddings and try to pick new dates in the future. I’ve seen brides go through with their weddings, albeit much altered from what they planned on doing. Both of these decisions have shown me how strong and brave these people are, and at the end of the day, how love is what matters most.

Real Jewish Brides: Orli On Finding A Moment Of Peace Amongst The Crazy

25/03/2020 by Smashing The Glass Leave a Comment

Orli will be marrying Ben on 6th September 2020 at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK. Click here to read all Orli’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Orli and Ben met on Jswipe. (2) Although their venue, the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, couldn’t be more quintessentially London, Orli and Ben are going for a countryside feel. (3) Orli is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

Coronavirus In Our Lives

It’s hard at the moment for the coronavirus not to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind. You get on the train and you grab a Metro and it’s on the first page in bold. You look at your phone first thing in the morning and BBC news pops up with the latest figures.

You check your Instagram and someone’s talking about it, Facebook it’s the same. We catch up with friends, we talk to colleagues and we find ourselves slowly broaching the subject, how are they feeling about it. I am guilty of refreshing BBC news every half an hour or so to find the latest information. Yet the more I look, the more I know, the more I feel in control of the situation but the more I know the more I realise it is.

Now this post is not about the coronavirus, it’s really about what we can do to take a step away from all of the news and to find a mindfulness moment, a moment away from the stress of the news and a moment to breathe.

Real Jewish Bride: Sarah on Planning a Wedding During Coronavirus

18/03/2020 by Smashing The Glass Leave a Comment

Sarah will be marrying Rich on 21th June 2020 at Tikitano Beach, Marbella, Spain. Click here to read all Sarah’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Sarah knew Rich was the one when he brought a gift of dog treats for her toy poodle Nuala along to their fourth date! (2) They are crafting an amazing destination wedding weekend in Marbella with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended vendor optimum weddings as their planner. (3) Sarah is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

When you plan a wedding you always expect there to be bumps along the way, such as family dilemmas, issues with the band, the logistics of an abroad wedding, and so on. What you don’t plan for is a worldwide pandemic three months before you are meant to say “I do”!

The Coronavirus has become a talking point like no other. It is the only thing that people want to talk about, and when it is mentioned in the same sentence as your wedding then it is never a good scenario!

I started off a little anxious about it but then I decided to be positive because it is out of my control and I can’t worry about something which I cannot control. However, that is all well and good until you have people calling you and asking you what your contingency plan is and if you are going to postpone the wedding!