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A Jewish Outdoor Wedding with a Hand-Embroidered Chuppah at Stellenbosch Winelands, Cape Town, South Africa

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As far as romantic and dreamy destination weddings go, a dusty, beautiful vineyard in South Africa is definitely up there! And that’s where we’ll be whisking you off to today to celebrate Jenna and Blake’s moving Jewish wedding.

Jenna and Blake are living proof that long-distance relationships can definitely have their happily ever after. Being apart for nine years, Jenna and Blake demonstrated how good things certainly come to those who wait.

Family was at the heart of this gorgeous big day – with a chuppah hand embroidered by Blake’s mother, which now serves as a quilt in the couple’s home, and Jenna’s moving tributes to her own mother, who had sadly passed away. 

Gorgeous bride Jenna looked like a vision in her La Sposa gown – unsurprising, given that she owns a small clothing boutique and really knows her stuff. We particularly loved her advice on finding the perfect wedding dress.

All of the details and whimsical couple shots were captured by Organictales Photography, and the cool and cinematic trailer below was created by Latsky Multimedia.

Jenna’s wonderful writeup is full of pearls of wisdom, so take a moment out of your day and dig into this stunning South African wedding! 

Jewish wedding Stellenbosch Winelands, Cape Town, South AfricaJewish wedding Stellenbosch Winelands, Cape Town, South Africa Jewish wedding Stellenbosch Winelands, Cape Town, South Africa
How we met

Jenna, the bride: Blake and I met straight out of high school in 2002 while he was visiting from Johannesburg for summer vacation. We started dating the following year, and had a long-distance relationship for nearly nine years until he moved to Cape Town. He proposed in October 2015 and the rest, as they say, is history.

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A Jewish-Indian Wedding with an ‘East Meets West’ theme at Sopwell House, St Albans, UK

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Jewish-Indian wedding, Sopwell House, UK_0047
What happens when you blend two beautiful, family-oriented cultures? The Jewish-Indian wedding of the year, that’s what! 

Sharon and Simon took their favorite elements from their respective upbringings and brought them together for a gorgeous cultural fusion, celebrating their globetrotting history as a couple, and culminating in an epic party, led by our sensational Recommended Vendor, The Function Band. Check out their incredible dance floor-filling mashup in the video below!

Catering a Jewish-Indian wedding, of course, meant enough food to feed a small army – with a delicious ‘East meets West’ catering theme. We’re getting hungry just thinking about it.

Beautiful bride, Sharon, looked absolutely sublime in her traditional Indian dress, adjusted to incorporated western colors, adorned with antique-inspired accessories, against the picturesque backdrop of her blush pink, navy blue and ivory color scheme. 

The inclusion of family was very important to the happy couple, with thoughtful groom Simon and his family performing a surprise Bollywood dance for his bride.

All of the action was captured by photographer, Ed Godden, and was written up below by Sharon herself. We’ll pass you over to her now for the full story! 

Jewish-Indian wedding, Sopwell House, UK_0047 Jewish-Indian wedding, Sopwell House, UK_0047Jewish-Indian wedding, Sopwell House, UK_0047 Jewish-Indian wedding, Sopwell House, UK_0047
An ‘East meets West’ theme

Sharon, the bride: We got married at Sopwell House in Hertfordshire. We wanted a venue that could accommodate 200 guests, and Sopwell House was perfect for us, as they are very experienced with dealing with big weddings and have different options of venue rooms, as well as beautiful gardens.

We also had in mind that we wanted the day to bring elements of both of cultures together. We had an idea that we would like to have an ‘east meets west’ theme for the food, and Sopwell House were amazing in creating a bespoke menu that added Indian elements to the dishes.

As we wanted the ceremony and reception to be held in one place, we were conscious that we didn’t want our guests to be confined indoors for the entire day. Sopwell House, as a venue, brings the perfect balance of luxury hotel with a country feel. The gardens were perfect for the drinks reception, and there were lots of great choice for the backdrop of our photos.
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A Jewish Destination Wedding with a Surprise Flashmob at Beit Andromeda, Jaffa, Israel

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There is no better introduction to Israel than a good Israeli wedding – and that’s exactly how Molly and David lured their friends and family out to the Holy Land! 

Their Mediterranean-themed big day combined the laid-back Israeli attitude with some of the more formal elements of an American wedding, and perfectly married the two cultures. So much so, that they managed to source peonies for Molly’s bouquet – in December – in Israel! 

As you all know, at STG, we LOVE a twist on tradition, and we adore gorgeous bride Molly’s choice to have her own Tisch, a great way to get pumped up and energetic before the ceremony. 

And STG Recommended Vendor Caliente rocked the party to perfection with their live music entertainment with everything from Jewish music to Latin Jazz to Israeli pop – we love these guys — they are SO good!

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Jewish wedding without a few surprises, and thoughtful groom, David, surprised his lovely bride with a flashmob, getting friends and family involved to honor her favorite musical! Superb! 

The sensational spread of pictures was taken by none other than our wonderful STG Recommended Vendor and top Israeli photographer, Idan Milman, for whom the couple had nothing but gushing praise. 

Bride Molly loves the lost art of letter writing, and that shines through in every word of her articulate and moving writeup below. We’re you’ll enjoy reading it as much as we did! 

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How we met

Molly, the bride: I had been working as a fundraiser and program planner at Boston’s Jewish Federation for years before David got a job there, also as a fundraiser.

When he came in for an interview, a friend said, “Oh Molly, your type just walked in the door!” We became fast friends especially when the office cubicle rearrangement put our desks right across from one another — our coworkers assumed we were dating long before we were.

In the years since, we’ve taken family to Israel, started new jobs, built a life in Tel Aviv and are now moving back to Boston for the next few years to get second degrees.

A few years ago, before I convinced my then 82-year-old grandfather to come to Israel (getting my cousins on a Birthright trip at the same time was key), he had said to me, “Molly I’ll only come to Israel if you get married there!” A few years later, challenge accepted!

David and I had both spent time living in Israel before we met and when David found a job here that he loved, he convinced me to move here too. We got engaged in Israel and, even though we’re both from the same suburb outside of Boston, we knew we wanted to get married in Tel Aviv.

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An Elegant Jew-ish Winter Wedding at Bendooley Estate, New South Wales, Australia

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At Smashing The Glass, we love nothing more than taking you around the world, to celebrate the very best of Jewish and Jew-ish weddings, and today’s winter-elegance-themed beauty comes to you all the way from apparently not-so-sunny Australia.

Stacey and Michael met at another wedding, and the rest is history – the power of love, guys! They planned their entire Jew-ish winter wedding themselves, with countless DIY projects, and the constant involvement and presence of friends and family. 

As a result, everything about the day perfectly represented the couple, from the eclectic bottles they had collected, to their personalized origami fortune tellers; from bridesmaids in Stacey’s favorite shade of blue to the couple running through an AFL banner to start the hora.

If it looks like beautiful bride Stacey’s dress was made just for her, it’s because it was. Her glamorous Erin Clare gown came with personal attention from the designer herself, and a bespoke matching veil – and I think we can all agree that Stacey looked an absolute vision in both. 

All of the heartfelt moments and details were captured by photographer, Milton Gan, and Stacey’s writeup below gives a fabulous insight into the divine day in all its glory. Over to Stacey!

Jewish Wedding Bendooley Estate New South Wales Australia Jewish Wedding Bendooley Estate New South Wales Australia 

Jewish Wedding Bendooley Estate New South Wales Australia

Jewish Wedding Bendooley Estate New South Wales Australia

How we met

Stacey, the bride: We met at a wedding in Melbourne. An old school friend of mine was marrying Michael’s cousin. Michael’s sister had planned to set him up with another old school friend at the wedding, but when she introduced them the match was not meant to be, and Michael and I ended up chatting for the most of the night.

At the very end of the wedding, I saw Michael striding over to me out of the corner of my eye, and I was overcome with butterflies. He asked for my number and a date once we were both back in Sydney and the rest, as they say, is history.

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A Marchesa Bride for a Stunning Jew-ish Destination Wedding with a Fabulously Floral Chuppah at Villa Aurelia, Rome, Italy

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Destination Jewish Wedding Villa Aurelia Rome Italy

Some real weddings just have it all. Diane’s and Teddie’s big day was, without a doubt, one of those weddings. A beautiful blend of cultures? Check. A breathtaking, historical destination venue? Check. A chuppah so awe-inspiringly gorgeous that we mayyyy have spent half of our morning just gazing lovingly at it? Check, check, check.

Today’s supermodel of the Jew-ish wedding world (of course it had to be Italian) was planned by none other than our fabulous Recommended Vendor, Wed in Italy. 

The couple, who first met in London, had such diverse backgrounds, with Diane being American and with Chinese heritage, and Teddie from Finland, decided to have their dreamy multicultural destination day on neutral territory.

With a 17th Century grand, historical venue the heart of Rome, with its impeccable, manicured gardens and ornate sculptures, the couple would have been forgiven for letting the venue do the talking when it came to dà©cor, but they went one better.

An abundance of fluffy floral arrangements in hues of pink adorned the venue, culminating in a chuppah sprawling with soft, blush pink roses, and one of the most simply stunning backdrops for a big day that you could possibly imagine.

Yet, despite all of the high-end dà©cor, bride Diane still managed to steal the show in her sweeping Marchesa Bridal Couture gown – what a beauty!

The romantic and cinematic video below was created by videographer, Paolo Manzi, and all of the divine details were captured by photographer, Lucy Tanner. We just know you’ll love this big day as much as we did. 

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Destination Jewish Wedding Villa Aurelia Rome Italy

Destination Jewish Wedding Villa Aurelia Rome Italy
How They Met

Raffaella Alflatt from Wed In Italy, the wedding planner: Diane and Teddie first met in London, United Kingdom. Both of them were far from home. Diane had come over to work from America, and also has Chinese origins, with both her parents being from Hong Kong.Continue ReadingContinue Reading