Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Home > Online dating success story > Page 17

Real Jewish Brides: Erin on planning during Covid-19

by

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!

So, it’s been a while since I actually talked about my wedding. (Mostly thanks to COVID-19 and how it’s turned life upside down.)

In late February, my fiancé and I went to Boston (him for a work trip, me to visit one of my best friends/bridesmaids.)


My friend and I cheesing in the gift shop of the Museum of Fine Arts, in Boston.

While we were in Boston, I took the chance to go to several bridal stores. One of the ones that was definitely on my list was BHLDN. I had a wonderful appointment there (probably aided by the fact that I had religiously stalked their website for months), and I ended up saying “yes” to the dress. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Brides: Orli on the Upside of Postponement

by

Orli will be marrying Ben on 30th May 2021 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!

2020 the year of our wedding. At least that was what we had thought…

Looking back to the beginning of the year, I had imagined exactly how the year was going to pan out. I knew when I had to do each task with wedding planning and how every aspect of our wedding would look. Never could I have imagined that it would not be going ahead due to a pandemic. 

Everyone kept saying to us was that it would be fine, it was totally unprecedented, there was nothing we could do but wait, and have we’d have nothing to worry about because September would be absolutely fine. So, that’s exactly what we did. We patiently waited and then we waited a little longer. The more we waited the more we realised the importance of what we wanted out of our wedding and how we wanted to be surrounded by the people closest to us and not having any restrictions on who we could hug. 

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Brides: Jos on the Coronacoaster

by

Jos will be marrying Daniel on 1st November 2020 at Hackney Town Hall, London, UK. Click here to read all Jos’ planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Before meeting Daniel, Jos was known for her torrid dating tales – so much so that her friends used to call her Bridget Jonestein! (2) Daniel proposed to Jos in the Greek island of Naxos! (3) Jos is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!


Coronacoaster
Verb

The ups and downs of your mood during the pandemic. You’re loving lockdown one minute but suddenly weepy with anxiety the next.

“It truly is an emotional coronacoaster”.

My two favourite activities are making plans and making lists. Before Coronavirus hit, I would fill our diaries weeks and months in advance, and like all the other extroverts, this long period of ‘social isolation’ is quite hard. We also made the unsurprising decision to push back our wedding a few weeks ago.

It became increasingly clear that it would be unlikely that we would be able to have our wedding as we planned it, and it was most important to us that our friends and family felt safe celebrating with us. What is most difficult is living with uncertainty. Will things be ok, will we need to push back again, and frankly, how do we need to rethink our carefully laid plans in order that we don’t continuously delay our future.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Elia Vatine Bride for a Ketubah Artist’s Egalitarian Vegan Jewish Wedding at the Great Barn at Headstone Manor, UK

by

Rachelle-and-Elan-Great-Barn-at-Headstone-Manor-UK
We love seeing what kinds of choices our favorite wedding vendors make for their own Jewish weddings, so naturally we couldn’t wait to hear all about ketubah artist Rachelle’s big day. Rachelle is the mega-talented artist behind Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush, and we knew from the getgo that her wedding to Elan, who’s a sales director for a tech company, was going to be something special.

And was it ever! We’re in love with everything from the gorgeous, vibrant colors and florals to the historic venue (which once belonged to Henry VIII!) to the wonderful rustic wood chuppah supplied by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Happy Chuppah People to the egalitarian ceremony, featuring touches like seven personalized English blessings written by one of the bride’s sisters and read by the bridesmaids.

Then there’s the ketubah. Rachelle is known for her nature-inspired designs, featuring trees, mountains, oceans, and more, and we adore the willow leaf design she chose for her own ketubah. And this busy bride didn’t stop there – she also designed all of the stationery for the day herself! We’re in love with the way photographer Frances Sales and videographer Pristine Videography captured all the exquisite details of this fantastic day.

Scrolling through the images, you’d never know Rachelle and Elan’s wedding took place on March 15, 2020, just as coronavirus was getting serious in the countries where most of this Israeli-British-American couple’s guests reside. In the end, half the couple’s guests were unable to attend – including Elan’s sister, who watched the ceremony via a live stream set up by a friend.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to Rachelle, who looked stunning in her secondhand Elia Vatine dress…

Rachelle-and-Elan-Great-Barn-at-Headstone-Manor-UKRachelle-and-Elan-Great-Barn-at-Headstone-Manor-UKRachelle-and-Elan-Great-Barn-at-Headstone-Manor-UKRachelle-and-Elan-Great-Barn-at-Headstone-Manor-UK
How we met

Rachelle, the bride: We met on Tinder 4 years ago – our first date was at Tel Aviv University’s student day! We were a couple from day one.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Bride: Sarah on The Wedding Day that wasn’t, and Looking Forward

by

Sarah will be marrying Rich on 20th June 2021 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!


The Wedding Day That Wasn’t and the Wedding Day That Will Be

I always thought that when I wrote this blog post I would be bathing in the bliss of being a newlywed (perhaps with a hangover and sore feet!). However, I am writing it as an excited bride to be, filled with hope and positivity about my wedding day on June 20th 2021.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading