optimum weddings Archives - Smashing the Glass

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

20/03/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

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…

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 Reading

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

08/01/2020 by Smashing The Glass

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!

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

05/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

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!

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

08/05/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

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.

A Hayley Paige Bride for a Garden Jewish Wedding with a Eucalyptus Chuppah at El Molino Del Duque, Marbella, Spain

20/03/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We’ve got something really special to share with you today: the gorgeous Jewish wedding of Dan to Ruthie, who is the marketing manager at Smashing The Glass Recommended Venue Kimpton Fitzroy London (where we’re currently running an amazing competition to win a luxe romantic stay for two — do check it out if you haven’t yet entered!).

Ruthie’s Australian, Dan’s Scottish, they live in London, met in Tel Aviv, and got married in sunny Spain (the closest they could come to matching that glorious Aussie sunshine without making their guests fly to the other side of the world) — how’s that for an international wedding?!

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Optimum Weddings helped the couple plan the joyous, laid-back, and, above, all, totally breathtakingly gorgeous celebration of their dreams, and we love how much attention went into the details…

…From the eucalyptus chuppah (in honor of Ruthie’s Australian background!) to the stunning invitations from STG Recommended Vendor Bigday Designs, with intricately adorned with flowers of the exact same types and shades as the ones in the gardens at the venue!

And we love that the couple placed top priority not only on music for their reception, but also for the ceremony —and it doesn’t get any more special than soulful Jewish tunes from STG Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson, who added that extra bit of wow factor to an already incredibly special ceremony (Pssst… Brides Club members – Jonny is doing a Jewish Wedding Music live singing + Q&A inside the private Brides Club Facebook group later today… not to be missed!)

Photographer Mireia Cordomi and videographer Antonio De Perez captured all the emotion and fun of the day so wonderfully — not to mention the lush setting, exquisite details, and that coveted Spanish sunlight.

Now over to Ruthie, who looked so glam in her beaded Hayley Paige…

How We Met

Ruthie, the bride: Daniel and I met when I was living in Tel Aviv and he was there on holiday. We were introduced by two mutual friends who both quite literally sat on me until I agreed to go and meet him. We had our second date in Paris and then our third date in London. The rest is history!