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An Amsale Bride for a Summer Camp-Themed Jewish Wedding at Kamp Kohut, Oxford, Maine, US

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Jewish Wedding Kamp Kohut Oxford Maine USA
Gather round the campfire and get those s’mores on the go, because we have Julie and Greg’s summer camp-themed Jewish wedding to tell you about this sunny Monday morning!

It is fitting that this gorgeous wedding was submitted by videographer Daniel at Latimer Studios, because we’re big enough to admit that the wedding video (below) genuinely made us ugly cry. 

We’ll get to the aesthetics of this very beautiful big day in a moment, but first, what struck us so profoundly about Julie and Greg as a couple was their charm, their intelligence, their sparkling sense of humour and their deep and sincere love for one another. Watching their cinematic wedding film, it’s abundantly evident that they are the real deal and then some. With such articulate loved ones speaking so eloquently about the happy couple, we’re treated to a real insight into their unique and wonderful connection to one another, and we feel privileged to watch.

Julie and Greg planned a fun summer camp theme at Kamp Kohut in Oxford, Maine, which is run by the bride’s parents. The theme juxtaposed the venue’s natural leafy greens, with a pretty pastel color scheme and stunning metallic accents (that CAKE!) and fabulous florals (that CHUPPAH!!). 

The couple described their meaningful Jewish ceremony as a ‘dream ceremony’, which is just a delight to hear. The day was bursting with personal meaning – a prime example of how to do things your way, and make a wedding all about who you are as a couple.

We’ll hand over to beautiful bride, Julie, for her full writeup on the day, along with the fabulous spread of images by photographer, Lara Kimmerer. Enjoy!

Jewish Wedding Kamp Kohut Oxford Maine USA

Jewish Wedding Kamp Kohut Oxford Maine USA_0037

 Jewish Wedding Kamp Kohut Oxford Maine USA_0037
How we met

Julie, the bride: We met on the dating app, Hinge. We both swiped right on each other, and began our conversation. We had three friends in common, so that helped us feel more comfortable.

Our first date was over coffee and sweets at a coffee shop in Los Angeles, and from there we were off to the races. We very quickly knew that we had found our person.

After two months, we were both thinking to ourselves that we would marry this person. After six months, we decided to move in together. We got engaged at a year, and then married a year later. Our officiant was one of our mutual friends from Hinge, Benji Samit.
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Real Jewish Brides – Mel: Family Really is the Most Important Thing

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Today on the blog it’s the 2nd post from Mel who will be marrying Mitch on Sunday 18 March 2018, in a Jewish wedding at Warren Weir at Luton Hoo, UK.

THREE FACTS: (1) Mel and Mitch met online on JDate (2) Their Jewish wedding will be classy and traditional with plenty of modern touches  (3) Mel is a member of Smashing The Glass’s private Jewish & Jew-ish Brides Facebook Group. Not yet a member? Come join us here!

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Involving our families

As I write this post, we are just 9 months away from our wedding. Planning is picking up again with our focus now on our invitations.

Throughout our planning so far, our family has been very involved; visiting venues, meeting vendors, giving their input, etc. Mitch and I are both really close to our parents so it’s important for us that they are involved. We are so lucky that our parents are happy for us to have the final say over everything.

I come from a fairly large family on my dad’s side. Mitch’s family is much smaller. Despite the size, we are both very close with our family and always have been. Family is one of the most important thing, and at our wedding, we obviously want all of our loved ones round us to celebrate the happiest day of our lives.

Family-at-weddings
Fear becoming reality

It would be the worst thing in the world if someone close to us wasn’t able to be there with us. Unfortunately, that fear almost became a reality. Twice.

In October 2016, 4 days before Mitch and I got engaged, my uncle went missing. No one had seen or heard from him for 10 hours, which was very unlike him. With a lot of rallying around and the use of a private investigator, my uncle was found the next day; 15 hours after last contact. He felt ill at the wheel, pulled over and had suffered a major stroke.

It hit us all really hard. Particularly the fact that he was one of the healthiest people I know and life and soul of the family. Thank G-d he survived but his recovery is still ongoing.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Henry Roth Bride for a Magical Rock Garden Jewish Wedding at The Mount, Lenox, Massachusetts, USA

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Jewish Wedding The Mount New York USA_0040
Today’s visually arresting real Jewish wedding marries black tie-chic with a quaint, English country garden theme. Using a soft color palette of nudes and greys, and an abundance of sprawling floral arrangements, Alexandra and Nicholas created an absolute vision of wedding pretty.

The Mount, chosen, in part, for its literary history, provided the perfect backdrop for a vintage-inspired, English garden aesthetic. The rock garden, in which the pair exchanged vows, was an idyllic setting for a truly magnificent, flower-heavy chuppah, which genuinely looked like a permanent part of the magical garden.

Beautiful bride, Alexandra, looked simply incredible in her Henry Roth gown and skyscraper Christian Louboutin heels, surrounded by bridesmaids in gorgeous grey.  

The brilliant photography you see below was provided Cling&Peck, and the fabulous write up by bride, Alexandra. We hope you love soaking in all of the overwhelmingly stunning details as much as we did! 

Jewish Wedding The Mount New York USA

Jewish Wedding The Mount New York USA

Jewish Wedding The Mount New York USA


How we met

Alexandra, the bride: Nicholas and I met online through Match.com.
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Real Jewish Brides: Dawn’s final post… all about her Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party!

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Today on the blog it’s the final post from Dawn who will be marrying Harley THIS Sunday 9 July 2017, in a Jewish wedding at the Delray Beach Marriott in South Florida, USA!

THREE FACTS: (1) Dawn & Harley met on JDate (2) Dawn is having 11 bridesmaids. (3) This is Dawn’s last post *sniff*. She has been blogging her wedding plans on Smashing The Glass for the last 12 months and we are SO excited for her wedding this Sunday (that final paragraph from Dawn in her post below means so much to us… we love you Dawn!)

REAL-JEWISH-BRIDES_Dawn
We’re almost there…

This. Is. It. Only 19 days to go! My Wedding Wire app just reminded me. Our lives have been completely consumed with vendor meetings, dance lessons, Etsy orders, dress fittings, and the most meaningful task of all… filling out what I call “The Why We Love Each Other” packet for our Rabbi. I truly wouldn’t have it any other way and am not sure what I will do with all the extra hours in my day when the best day of our lives has come and gone. So why don’t I just ignore the fact that our beautiful engagement is coming to an end by sharing with you some of the fun pre-wedding festivities that I DIDN’T have to plan… my Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party!

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Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Leah + Zak… How They Met to the Present Day

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Today on the blog we’re introducing our 6th amazing bride from our crop of 2017 and 2018 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Leah who will be marrying Zak on 1st June 2018 at Masia Notari in Spain.

THREE FACTS: (1) Leah knew she wanted to convert to Judaism long before she met Zak. She feels that having a Jewish wedding is another milestone in her Jewish identity and is an opportunity for some of her family to experience new traditions. (2) Leah & Zak met on JDate (3) Leah and Zak are planning a beautiful black tie destination wedding in Barcelona, Spain

REAL-JEWISH-BRIDES_Leah
How We Met

Now that we’ve been together over 4 years (and are engaged!), we are so much more open to admit that we met on JDate. In the early days of our relationship, whenever anyone would ask how Zak and I met, we’d often look at each other, shrug, and mumble quickly “online… JDate…” and hope to move on to a different line of questioning. This was pre JSwipe, Tinder, Bumble, etc so admitting that we met online wasn’t as normal as it is now.

I had just moved to North Texas for work and after moving four times in less than three years (all for the same company) I told myself I was going to try to settle in and make somewhere feel more like home. I found a shul where I felt comfortable and finally committed to something I always knew I wanted to do: converting to Judaism.

Around this time, a friend of mine was telling me about all of her awful JDate experiences. I figured I’d give JDate a try and worst case scenario if the dates were bad, we could laugh about them! Believe it or not, Zak was the second date I ever went on! I had seen his profile come up a few times and was intrigued when he messaged me. We messaged back and forth on JDate and finally when I was certain I wanted to talk to him, we exchanged numbers. 

Our First Date

I still remember the day he called me and asked me out to dinner later that week. A proper date?! Yes, please! I knew it was a good sign when we didn’t want the conversation to end at dinner and kept talking for hours after.

The very next day, Zak called me and asked me out again! We went to a movie and out for coffee after and talked for so long, they shut the restaurant down around us!

At the time, we lived 25 miles away from each other and we both left on trips soon after our second date which forced us to spend more time talking on the phone. I was so childishly excited to see him when we got back! There was never a day after that I wanted to be with anyone else!

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