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A Helena Kolan Bride for a Colorful, Multicultural Jewish-Hindu Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA

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Get ready to be BLOWN AWAY by the incredible Jewish-Hindu wedding of our beloved Brides Club member Jaime, who has an online fitness business, and Varun, who is CEO of a tech company. These two wanted a one-of-a-kind day that felt larger than life, and did they ever achieve that goal – thanks in no small part to the expertise of their wedding planner, Leora of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Best Bride, who Jaime describes as “the best wedding planner on the planet. Period.”

Blending two different faiths and cultures is no small feat, but Leora made it a breeze, working with Jaime and Varun to craft a jam-packed day – and we do mean a full day; this wedding went from noon until midnight! – including two ceremonies (one Hindu, one Jewish), a positively mouthwatering bicultural food experience featuring Israeli and Indian street food, and, of course, a rocking party to end things off.

The results were thoroughly, breathtakingly beautiful – we’re equally obsessed with the color and energy of the Hindu ceremony and the romance and drama of the sunset Jewish ceremony. And how beautiful is the couple’s floral ketubah, created by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush?! Jaime can’t stop raving about her experience working with founder Rachelle to create the perfect design to match the color and décor scheme for her Jewish ceremony.

You really, really don’t want to miss the fantastic photos from Clane Gessel and Sanaz Photography. Because their day had so much going on, planner Leora encouraged Jaime and Varun to hire two photography teams to make sure none of the good stuff went undocumented, and Jaime is SO glad she followed that advice. And the trailer by AndHer Visuals is equally unmissable.

Now over to the bride, who had not one, not two, but THREE dresses for the big day – her gorgrous, vibrant dress for the Hindu ceremony was made by Vama Designs, and her gown for the Jewish ceremony was custom made by Israeli designer Helena Kolan (who also created Jaime’s reception dress)…

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How we met

Jaime, the bride: We met on OKCupid in San Francisco when we were both working in the start up scene. 

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Real Jewish Brides: Charlotte on planning in lockdown

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Charlotte will be marrying Adam on 25th April 2021 at Swynford Manor in Newmarket, UK. Click here to read all Charlotte’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Adam proposed to Charlotte on holiday in Cyprus (2) Charlotte and Adam met at work in London (3) Charlotte is a member of STG Brides Club!

CHARLOTTE AND ADAM
Just before my last blog was written and posted we were plunged in to lockdown and the world as we knew it became a very different place. When I wrote my first blog I was so excited for the wedding, excited that we would be able to celebrate our marriage, that we would no longer be separated from our families but now, 3 months later, the excitement is somewhat distant.

Thinking back to a few months to the beginning of February we had our engagement party. Adam and I were not particularly bothered one way or the other if we had an engagement party but my parents thought it would a nice idea, and looking back, we are so glad we did! We had the most amazing night and created some unforgettable memories with our friends and family.


With the looming thought that we might not be able to celebrate our marriage in a similar style we are so happy that we took the opportunity to celebrate our engagement so we have memories we can treasure and to keep us going through this strange and emotionally unsettling time. It really has taught us not to take things for granted and to cherish to moments we have with our family and friends.

Adam and I are fortunate that our wedding is planned for April 2021 so we have not had to postpone. The wedding planning is still taking place but the processes we are taking are not what we expected.    

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An Allure Bridals Bride for a Jewish Wedding with Light Up Sneakers at Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus, Aventura, Florida

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We’re obsessed with this Jewish wedding. Why? Because Aliza, who runs online bar and bat mitzvah tutoring business Hebrew Hangout, and Michael, who works in digital marketing, had the brilliant idea to wear light up sneakers when they were introduced as husband and wife!

We knew this idea was a winner as soon as Aliza shared it in Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club shortly before her big day – and so did the couple’s parents, who got in on the action themselves. They all had their shoes blinking during the hora, and it was INCREDIBLE – don’t miss the photos and video from Miami Wedding Center.

And how gorgeous is Aliza and Michael’s copper chuppah? We’re loving the understated modern look, with just some light floral accents. And then there’s the couple’s gorgeous paper cut ketubah by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Noa Attias! It’s a true piece of art – and it also happens to coordinate perfectly with the breathtaking blue sky and ocean in some of the pair’s dreamy outdoor portraits.

We’ll leave it to Aliza, who looked so elegant in Allure Bridals, to tell you the rest…

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A Blank Canvas 

Aliza, the bride: Our venue was Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus in Aventura, FL. Originally we didn’t want this venue. My sister got married there and it was important to me to do things very differently than she did but in the end, after looking at some other venues, we decided that financially it just made the most sense. We’d get what we knew would be really delicious catering. Eric, the event planner and caterer there, has been doing this for years and KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING!

He is so busy and for good reason. We love that the event space there is already set up with all the lighting you would ever need and it’s got a white floor and the entire room is draped in white so it’s really a blank canvas. You can do so much with the space. 

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Real Jewish Brides: Maggie on Planning during Covid-19

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Maggie will be marrying Danny on 6th June 2021 at Stone House of St. Charles in St. Charles, Missouri. Click here to read all Maggie’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Danny proposed to Maggie on his birthday! (2) Maggie is in the process of converting to Judaism (3) Maggie is a member of STG Brides Club!

Blogging Bride Maggie and Danny

Planning During COVID-19

Planning a wedding is known to be one of the most stressful times for a couple besides having a child or buying a home. This becomes even more stressful when you add a global pandemic that leaves one of you unemployed and unable to work for at least 3 months. My heart does go out to all the brides who have had to postpone their wedding, booking new vendors for your wedding in 2021 is not easy either.

We are getting quotes from caterers and supposed to put a deposit down without ever trying their food. Florists deal with technical difficulties for meetings where it’s hard to pull out your Pinterest to show them what you are thinking. Danny and I are big believers in hiring vendors who we can relate to. Thankfully for us we were able to attend some bridal shows in January and met some people from each of the vendors we are looking at. The real event caused by COVID-19 that sent me on a crazy breakdown was having to postpone saying yes to my wedding dress. 

  

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Real Jewish Brides: Orli On Yoga and Brides Club Quarantine Camp

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Orli will be marrying Ben on 6th September 2020 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!

It’s crazy to think that my last blog was in the middle of March just before lockdown began. Going into lockdown, I realised how much time I was saving everyday by not commuting that I started thinking of new ways to fill my time. Whether it was a banana bread recipe, a new live fitness class or reading deeper into the yoga philosophy and drafting new routines.
 
I realised that it was likely that a lot of us in Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club had some extra time on our hands, so came up with the initial idea to reach out to the Karen for me to start running some yoga classes. Karen couldn’t have been more supportive and was so excited by my idea of asking different members of Brides Club to run all different sessions. 

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