Red Archives - Page 2 of 14 - Smashing the Glass

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Modern Rustic Jewish Wedding at The Grove Hotel, Chandler’s Cross, Hertfordshire, UK

07/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s always a special day when we get to blog the real Jewish wedding of one of our wonderful Brides Club members, and today it’s Sami’s turn!.

Sami and Toby (#happilywebberafter) had the most wonderful big day, and we’re so thrilled to be able to share it with you. We’re also totally blushing at Sami’s kind words about the club:

“It was so heart-warming to have lots of lovely ladies around you sharing the build up and excitement. I feel like it is one big family and everyone wants the best for everyone else and their wedding!”

We think Brides Club is pretty special too – and the doors are open for new members to join (we now have almost 200 members!). Do come on in and join us too! If you’re planning a Jewish or Jew-ish wedding, it’s truly an incredible resource and community and we are offering 30 free days to every bride-to-be if you join before this Monday 11 June!

But back to Sami’s wonderful wedding – we’re pretty jazzed that she and Toby worked with so many of our very favourite UK-based Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, from the amazing Jonny Mosesson, who sang during the chuppah (and we totally agree with Sami’s description of him as having the voice of an angel!) to The Function Band, who created an electric atmosphere that kept everyone dancing from start to finish, and videographer Denee Motion, who not only captured the emotion and energy of the wedding so perfectly (don’t miss their trailer!) but also developed a wonderful friendship with the couple over the buildup to their wedding.

We’re thrilled that Sami had a fantastic experience shopping for her Monique Lhuillier gown at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club – she’d had a preventative double mastectomy prior to the wedding, so it wasn’t a given that wedding dress shopping would be smooth sailing. In fact, Sami’s experience was so wonderful that since the big day she’s left her old job in fashion buying to work for The Wedding Club, where she’s now store manager and runs operations for both of their London boutiques!

As joyful as this wedding was, the fact that Sami’s mum tragically passed away from cancer 5 and a half years prior cast a bittersweet shadow. We love that Toby bought Sami a locket with a photo of her mum to attach to her bouquet so they could still walk down the aisle together – what a meaningful touch.

There’s so much more to this fab celebration, but you’ll have to read Sami’s beautiful writeup (and immerse yourself in Paul Toeman’s wonderful photos) for the rest…

How we met

Sami, the bride: Toby and I met in a club in Birmingham, he was in his first year of university and I was on my gap year. We got on straight away, although at the time I was with somebody else. It started as an incredibly strong friendship, and after a year and a half (by which time my other relationship had ended), it turned into love, and we haven’t looked back since.

A BHLDN Bride for an Elegant Boho Jewish Wedding at District Winery, Washington, DC, USA

10/05/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s boho chic celebration shows you don’t need an unlimited budget to put together a memorable Jewish wedding.

Janice, a production manager for TV, and Samuel, an AV technician, planned a totally stunning DC bash at District Winery, filled with beautiful waterfront views and plentiful greenery, vines, and succulents – that coordinated perfectly with the couple’s whimsical ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubata (which also features a beautiful English text that speaks to the couple’s relationship story)

Janice purchased both her classic lace ceremony gown and simple open-backed party dress from BHLDN – a great option for stylish bridal attire on a budget. Photographer Adam Mason of Mason Photography did an incredible job capturing not only all the lovely details but, most importantly, all the energy and love of the big day.

These two also had an incredible heirloom chuppah cover, made out of fabric from the wedding dress worn by the bride’s mother and grandmother. There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to Janice…

How we met

Janice, the bride: We met through mutual friends while we were in college and home for the summer. We lost touch for most of the next few years and ran into each other over Thanksgiving break when my husband was living at home after college and I was home visiting from New York. A couple months later he moved to New York and we’ve been together ever since.

A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Kosher Chrismukkah Jewish Wedding at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK

01/05/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

A kosher Christmas wedding?! Sounds unlikely, but somehow Claire, a therapist, and James, who works in recruitment as a consultant in the City, pulled it off.

With a wedding date just a week before Christmas and the bridesmaids dressed in an unintentionally Christmassy hunter green, the pair decided they might as well go all out with their newfound Chrismukkah theme – even opting for a kosher Christmas dinner for the meal!

We’re also obsessed with Claire and James’s very cool chuppah – made out of copper pipes and decorated with a mix of flowers and hanging bulbs. It was a perfect fit for their stunning Victorian venue, the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. All of the emotion and elegance of the day was captured so perfectly by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Blake Ezra, whose calm attitude on the day ensured Claire and James enjoyed their wedding photography to the max.

Claire looked stunning too, in her simple, sophisticated Suzanne Neville dress and her effortless natural makeup by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Philippa Louise.

And the fun didn’t stop once the big day was over: Claire and James went on an epic honeymoon to India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, organised by Claudia Newman at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Colletts Travel in London. Claudia made sure the honeymoon ran smoothly and even threw in some extra special touches, like leaving a framed picture of the couple on their wedding day waiting for them in one of their hotel room.

Now over to the couple…

How we met

Claire and James, the bride and the groom: We went to the same university but never met there, we met at a close friend’s birthday party. The friend actually wasn’t sure it was going to work but is very happy now that it did – and was part of the wedding as a bridesmaid and witness to thank her for bringing us together!

An Idan Cohen Bride for a Colorful Modern Rustic Jewish Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

04/03/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

What. A. Wedding. We’re honestly STILL busy picking our jaws up off the floor from this one. One of our very favorite California venues, a truly breathtaking floral chuppah, colored smoke bombs, a magical, glittering gown from a fab Israeli designer… Jewish weddings don’t get much chicer than this.

Shaina and Shahab hit the bullseye when it came to combining their affinity for bold, bright, statement-making colors with the rustic-luxe vibes of the wonderful Hummingbird Nest Ranch. Their vibrant aesthetic really stands out from the pack — this is seriously one for the books! Photographer Katie Beverley did an epic job capturing all the gorgeous details and emotion of the big day.

Lucky Shaina just happens to be BFFs with mega-talented wedding planner Leora Soleymani of Best Bride (who did double duty as a bridesmaid on the day!), and we are totally blown away by how perfectly she pulled the vision for the day together.

Oh, and did we mention they picked the coolest ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com? They chose the beautiful papercut design because it features a gate that reminds them of the one at their venue! Love that.

There’s so much more we could say about this exquisite day, but we’ll leave it to the bride — who looked oh-so-stunning in the custom sparkly princess gown she worked with Israeli designer Idan Cohen to design — to fill you in on the rest.

Hummingbird Nest Ranch

Shaina, the bride: We got married at Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Simi Valley. From long before I was even engaged, I knew I wanted to get married there. I wanted something different, something magical, something natural. The ambiance and surroundings made me feel at peace, it had so much to offer.

I had also never been to a wedding there so it was exciting and unique to me. I wanted a blank canvas where I could design from scratch, and that’s exactly what Hummingbird gave me the opportunity to do. The entire property is breathtaking, from the mansion to the field, you can create whatever you dream. Shahab knew it would be a lot of work, but wanted a happy bride and went with the idea!

A Francesca Miranda Bride for a Romantic Jewish Wedding with a Touch of Edge at Ronit Farm, Kfar Shmariyahu, Israel

18/02/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Wow. This Jewish wedding. It really doesn’t get much better.

Some couples want a delicate, romantic wedding. Others want their big day to be a massive party. May, the marketing manager of a co-working space for doctors, and Yaniv, who’s in real estate investment, managed to make their beautiful Jewish wedding both of those things — with some help from much-loved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Naama Raicher.

Naama, her colleague Yael Kfir Frumkes, and the rest of the team brought the duo’s dream wedding to life, providing their trademark finesse to every stage of the process from the very beginning to the day of – so much so that May reports that choosing Naama Raicher was “the best decision we made” during planning.

Naama and Yael helped the couple formulate their plan of action: first, an intimate late afternoon ceremony, set outdoors at the idyllic Ronit Farm, full of soft colors and romantic touches — like a totally stunning floral chuppah adorned with delicate white flowers.

Then, for the reception, things got a little edgier: May and Yaniv brought a hit of club style to their outdoor dinner and dance party, with moody colors galore — they even brought in professional dancers (who went through four costume changes throughout the night!) to perform on stages set on the sides of the dance floor to set the mood.

May’s Francesca Miranda gown easily made the transition from ceremony chic to party mode: made from 200 meters (!) of tulle and covered with thousands of hand-embroidered butterflies, this dress is most definitely soft and whimsical… but it was also the perfect lightweight bridal attire in which to dance all night.

We’ll turn you over to May in a second, but before we do we want to alert you to the fact that she and Yaniv provided one of the best favors we’ve yet encountered: loaves of fresh challah! Um, yes please!

How we met

May, the bride: I was jogging on the beach one day and Yaniv noticed me running. He then found a mutual friend of ours and asked her to make the connection, and the rest is history.