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Top Jewish Wedding Planning Tips

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Jewish wedding Osea Island, Essex, UK_0041
Jasmine & Brett’s wedding featured on Smashing the Glass | Photo by Claudine Hartzel

So you’re planning a Jewish wedding – mazal tov! Wedding planning is exciting, no question, but it can also be seriously overwhelming. There’s so much to learn, so much information to sort through and, in many cases, so many opinions to contend with. 

But having the right tools goes a long way! And that’s why we tapped into our fabulous network of wedding planners to share their top tips for a smooth wedding planning journey. Read on for some essential Jewish wedding wisdom!

Charlotte from La Fete says

Make sure that you are really clear with your parents from the start on their involvement in your big day. Are they expecting certain things – do you have any non-negotiables? The clearer you are earlier on, the easier and smoother the whole process will be. 

Rebecca & Emmanuel, Villa Luisa, Seville, Spain

Rebecca & Emmanuel‘s wedding featured on Smashing The Glass | Photo by Juan Luis Morilla

 Michelle from Elegante by Michelle J says

We are very fortunate that the Jewish marriage ceremony is very poignant and meaningful;  so my advice to all of my couples is to make it especially so,  the highlight of your wedding day. It’s all too easy to get caught up with the dinner florals, the entertainment, the food and of course they are important (and as a wedding planner I also love to get caught up in all of these details). But everyone is gathering together to witness the two of you entering into the commitment of marriage. So this should be considered “the main event”. Everything else that follows is a celebration of the beautiful wedding that your guests have had the privilege of witnessing.

Chloe & Danny‘s wedding featured on Smashing The Glass | Photo by David Bastianoni

Yana Andreev from Craspedia Events says

Create an email account that will be designated for wedding things only. That way you’ll have all the corespondence in one convinient location, you both have access to and it won’t mix with work and personal stuff. 

Jewish wedding Bayaar, Hadera, Israel

Shelly & Harel‘s wedding featured on Smashing The Glass | Photo by Noa Magger

Luba from Primavera Dreams says

My #1 tip for a destination Jewish wedding: Make sure that your planner knows the traditions, understand the particularity of a Jewish wedding and can actively help to source what may be needed (from chuppah and rabbi to challah, to kosher food and wine, etc. if needed). Or it may cost you a lot of money and stress.

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Rita & Daniel‘s wedding featured on Smashing the Glass | Photo by Tatiana Blanco Photography 

Dyana from Dyana Dessar says

Do remember why you are getting married, because you love each other!  it is not a military manoeuvre and whilst it is important to have a good timeline don’t sweat the small stuff, stop take a moment and take the day in as it will be over all too soon, and to make sure it all runs smoothly employ a professional wedding planner! 


Jolanda & Jack‘s wedding featured on Smashing the Glass | Photo by The Love Hunters

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A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Fantastically Floral Jewish Wedding at Hacienda del Alamo, Malaga, Spain

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How much do we love Jolanda and Jack’s exquisite floral chuppah? SO MUCH. A symphony of soft shades of coral, pink, cream, and sage, it is just absolute perfection – and perfectly fits the bride’s brief of “flowers, flowers, flowers” without overwhelming its stunning outdoor surroundings. You do NOT want to miss The Love Hunters beautiful photos.

No doubt about it, this is one knockout of a Jewish wedding, from start to finish. And we’d expect no less, given that it was planned by the amazing team at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor optimum weddings. The couple can’t stop raving about how much they loved working with Dyana, Sara, and Jessica, who made their big day not only beautiful but also totally stress-free.

And would you believe that Jolanda’s own nuptials marked her very first time attending a Jewish wedding, after converting to Judaism during her engagement?! Unsurprisingly, she was head over heels for the whole experience – and reports that her friends and family, many of whom were new to Jewish weddings as well, loved the day so much “we had half of them wanting to covert by the end of the ceremony”!

Now over to the bride, who looked so classically elegant in her timeless gown from Suzanne Neville…

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How we met

Jolanda, the bride: We met at the Blue Marlin beach club in Ibiza. It was truly beshert! I wasn’t supposed to be there and neither was he, but due to changes in circumstances (he had a friend visiting from Australia and didn’t want to spend it in London and I had a rearranged girls trip) we both ended up there at the same place at the same time. We chatted for about 15 minutes and didn’t see each other again until our first date a few weeks later in London. He raced back from a day at Ascot to be on time, and I was 40 minutes late – and yet here we are today!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Bride: Sarah Had A Weekend of Fun Planning Her Destination Wedding

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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!

Richard and I both knew that we wanted a destination wedding from day one! We have been to so many weddings in London which are fabulous, but we wanted a more relaxed atmosphere with a huge party and no one having to worry about waking up early for work the next day!

With a destination wedding there is a lot more to think about! Since we are asking people to come out to another country and spend that much more on our wedding, we felt that we needed to provide them with a weekend of fun to make it all worthwhile!

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A Liz Martinez Bride for a Beachside Destination Jewish Wedding at La Cabane, Los Monteros, Marbella, Spain

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We just might have a new all-time favourite chuppah. Seriously, could you imagine anything more perfect for a sundrenched Spanish seaside wedding than this symphony in white and green? We’re pretty sure we can’t.

Georgia and Joel’s big day is really something, from start to finish. Despite living in London and not being able to get out to Spain as often as they would’ve liked, the wedding was planned perfectly down to the very last detail thanks to the wonderful Dyana of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor optimum weddings. The bride reports that Dyana and her team were “amazing from start to finish” – even sticking around all night until the wedding ended at 3 AM!

This is truly a stunning wedding – you don’t want to miss the gorgeous, luminous photos and trailer from The Love Hunters (recommended by Dyana). And we’re obsessed with Georgia’s stunning dress by Israeli-French designer Liz Martinez.

And whilst we’ve got you, you MUST tune into SmashingTheGlass.com tomorrow, Thursday, for a very special announcement with amazing freebies for every bride-to-be! See you back here, tomorrow, Thursday – same time same place for the big reveal!



How we met

Georgia, the bride: Joel and I went to the same high school but did not know each other during this time. It wasn’t until he left the school that I became friendly with his group of friends! We then met outside of school and dated for 9 years before he proposed!

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A Louise Marie Bride for a Sunshine Party Jewish Wedding at Finca La Concepcion, Marbella, Spain

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This glorious Jewish wedding in Spain is truly the stuff destination wedding fantasies are made of – and no wonder, given that Charlotte, an EA at a financial services firm, and Simon runs his own business, SB Jewellery, assembled a total dream team to help them pull off planning from abroad.

From Dyana Dessar Simmons and her team at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Optimum Weddings – who led the couple to their jawdroppingly gorgeous venue – to photography by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jeremy Standley and his assistant Ruth Blamire-Brown – who captured everything from that smashing the glass moment to the wild Israeli dancing perfectly – Charlotte and Simon had all the Jewish wedding expertise (not to mention creative talent!) you could ask for.

Getting the Jewish element just right was extra important to these two given that the bride had recently converted to Judaism, and she wanted to make sure her family felt included in the big day despite being new to Jewish weddings.

Happily, these two had a super supportive rabbi, who made sure everyone felt a part of the ceremony – and we love how they made some of our favourite Jewish wedding traditions their own, with lovely touches from a birch chuppah to a beautiful bespoke ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay that the couple picked out when visiting his shop on a trip to Jerusalem.

Now over to Charlotte, who looked stunning in her bespoke lace gown from Louise Marie…

How we met

Charlotte, the bride: Simon and I met and University of Birmingham both doing a Chemistry degree, it wasn’t until our final year that we got together after being friends from the start.

We had been together 4 years when Simon proposed in the Four Seasons in Johannesburg the first night of our holiday in South Africa just before starting our safari. He arranged the whole thing with the hotel to have our room all decorated and champagne and canapes laid out for us. It was perfect and I really was surprised.

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