Ruth Mergi Archives - Smashing the Glass

Your Ketubah, Your Way: Our Top Ketubot for 2019

17/01/2019 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Brooklyn Ketubah | Ink With Intent | From $280 | (10% off for members of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club)

One of my favourite wedding industry developments since I founded Smashing The Glass is the abundance of beautiful, lovingly crafted ketubahs to suit every style you could possibly imagine.

It used to be that your rabbi would set you up with a plain, standard ketubah – or if you really wanted to go all out, you might strike out on your own and find something a bit more ornate, maybe a traditional floral border. Even ten years ago, the range of possibilities was truly nothing like it is today.

Now, there are so many incredible ketubah artists putting their personal stamps on the ancient Jewish marriage contract. Whether you go for contemporary or traditional, whether you’re a minimalist or a maximalist, whether you love bright colours, pastels, or neutrals – there’s a ketubah for you. In fact, there are probably lots of ketubot for you.

And it’s not just design that can be customized to suit your style, either. So many ketubah creators offer a range of text options beyond the traditional, whether you’re looking for something interfaith, same sex, egalitarian, or just a little more modern – or maybe you even want to provide your own text that the two of you have written together! These days, the sky is truly the limit.

I’m privileged to work with some amazing ketubah artists, and I want to draw your attention to some of my very favorite pieces I’ve spotted recently – so here are just a few…

Silver Jewel Ketubah | Danny Azoulay | Price available upon request

This exquisitely elegant paper cut ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay is truly a work of art. Like museum quality. It’s a true heirloom, with an incredible level of detail.

Geometric Bouquet Ketubah | Ketubata | From $125

If you’re after something with a more playful look, you couldn’t do better than to check out Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubata. Think gorgeous watercolors, sweet botanicals, and totally modern geometric shapes.

An Alexandra Grecco Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding with Bright Florals at Tribeca 360, New York City

04/01/2019 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

There’s nothing like an NYC wedding. The views. The awesome streetscape photo ops. The cobblestones. And did we mention the views?!

Alie and Mike’s downtown Manhattan wedding at Tribeca 360 does not disappoint – they really did get views of the city from every angle, and we can’t stop swooning over the NYC-perfect portraits Kathleen Fox Photography shot of the couple in the beyond picturesque neighborhood surrounding the venue.

The views inside were pretty fantastic too, especially with that lovely floral chuppah – we love the bright playful colors, and it just goes to show that you don’t need an unlimited floral budget to craft a memorable floral design for your canopy.

They also had a gorgeous papercut ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ruth Mergi, and rather than the traditional text Alie and Mike went for a modern version that focused on marriage as entering into a partnership – we love that they were able to incorporate their own values this way!

We also love that Alie emphasizes a topic we feel pretty strongly about: day-of coordinators. Even if you’re a Type A DIY-er like Alie, a day-of coordinator can give you that extra reassurance to enjoy the big day worry-free. From dealing with the venue to making sure the day ran to schedule to saving some of the (delicious) wedding food for the coupe in their bridal suite afterward, these two can’t stop singing the praises of their coordinator, and they say hiring her was some of the best money they spent in planning the wedding.

Now over to Alie, who looked beautiful in her dress by Alexandra Grecco…

A Manhattan Venue

Alie, the bride: We got married at Tribeca 360 in downtown Manhattan. We live in NYC and are both from the area, so we knew we wanted to get married in Manhattan or Brooklyn.

We loved the views of the city from every angle, and liked how the space was set up to flow easily from ceremony to cocktail hour to reception. We also liked that food and tables, settings, etc. came with the venue, so that we didn’t also have to find a caterer. (And people are still telling us how good the food was!)

A Mira Zwillinger Bride for a Garden Oasis Jewish Wedding at the 1 Hotel, South Beach, Miami, Florida, USA

10/12/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re experiencing some hardcore dress envy today. Seriously, HOW exquisite is bride Alyssa’s soft, whimsical Mira Zwillinger gown? It’s so dreamy, and just the right level of princess-y without being over-the-top. The story of how she ended up choosing it from beloved SoFla bridal boutique Chic Parisien is pretty epic too!

And how about Alyssa and Leon’s AMAZING chuppah?! Constructed from manzanita branches and strewn with a bed of orchids (!), it’s incredibly special – and absolutely perfect for the couple’s natural aesthetic, with a focus on greens and woods accented by bright whites.

This gorgeous wedding featured a seriously star-studded array of vendors, from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ruth Mergi, who provided the couple’s beautiful modern chuppah, to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ana Paz Cakes, who crafted an oh-so-elegant orchid-studded white tiered cake, to photographer Emily Harris, who captured some incredibly emotion (not to mention a whole lot of pretty).

We love that Alyssa made the bold decision to dress her bridesmaids in white – it’s not for everyone, but the shots of the bridal party all together are pretty stunning!

Take it away, Alyssa!

Garden Oasis

Alyssa, the bride: We got married at The 1 Hotel. I chose this location because it is absolutely breathtaking. The decor in the hotel is exactly my style and the theme I wanted to portray—everything is green, wooden decor, earthy and organic feeling.

The live green plant wall in the reception room was also a major selling point for me. It really added to the room and made for a great photo back drop for all of my guests!

Also, every time I walked into the hotel I felt like I was in some sort of garden oasis. I wanted my guests to feel like they were at a destination wedding on vacation and I really felt like the 1 Hotel provided that feel.

Our Top Ten Must-Have Ketubah Designs for 2018/2019

12/04/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Aside from photography and videography, your ketubah is one of the only parts of your wedding that you get to take home with you at the end of the day. And just like your favorite wedding photos, your ketubah is a beautiful way to display your love and commitment to each other in your home forever after.

Luckily, these days there are so many beautiful ketubot to choose from, whatever your personal style. One of my absolute favorite sources is ketubah.com, a really wonderful site featuring an astounding variety of both designs and texts (including the choice to write your own!). They truly have something for every couple, whether Orthodox, interfaith, LGBTQ, or for just about any other permutation of Jewish (or Jew-ish) ceremony you could imagine.

Ketubah.com is a longtime favorite with Smashing The Glass readers, and so many of our Real Weddings feature ketubot from the site. Couples rave about their top-notch customer service and spectacular selection of exclusive curated designs.

They’re also offering a 10% discount to members of our VIB [Very Important Bride] Club, where my team and I offer round-the-clock support and advice, in addition to discounts and free gifts from handpicked vendors. Click here to join.

Today, I’m SO excited to be sharing our top ketubah styles from this fab site for 2018/2019. We’ve got jaw-dropping papercuts, dreamy watercolors, metallics galore, supercool 3D designs – and that’s just the 10 we could fit into this post. Honestly, I’m just drooling over these beauties and wishing I were getting married again (to Mr. STG, of course!) so I could have one for my very own. Keep reading for some serious eye candy!

A Vera Wang Bride for a Super Luxe Floral Jewish Wedding at New York Botanical Garden, The Bronx, New York, USA

28/08/2017 by Karen

Hands up who loves flowers! For the record, we had both our hands in the air, but we had to put them down to type. The sentiment, however, remains. Danielle and Joshua’s gorgeous Jewish wedding was packed full of fabulous florals, and was submitted by genius florist, Fleurs NYC. Appropriate, given that it took place at The New York Botanical Gardens.

From the table arrangements (gasp) to the chuppah, which looked like something out of an enchanted woodland, flowers played an integral role in the day. In fact, the considerate couple took care to provide a flower-wrapping station for their guests, so none of the beautiful blooms went to waste.

Gorgeous bride, Danielle, wore a stunning Vera Wang gown and embellished veil, and, as she is Director of Public Relations for the Kenneth Cole, she was lucky enough to work directly with the designer to create a bespoke pair of luxurious heels. We’re not jealous, you’re jealous!

Of course a wedding this luxe and gorgeous could only be photographed by the best of the best. Andrew Kelly of the world-renowned Christian Oth Photography, provided the divine spread of images below.

The stunning wedding film by Hart Pictures is also a must-view – click below to take it all in! We’ll now hand you over to bride, Danielle, for even more details – take it away, Danielle!

How we met

Danielle, the bride: It all began one night out in NYC in March, 2011. There was lots of dancing and some face paint involved, the rest was history. We share a mutual friend – my friend since kindergarten, and Josh’s friend from the University of Wisconsin – which made it easy for Josh to get my number. We began talking, became good friends, and fell in love.

We got engaged on November 20, 2015. I thought that I was going to a Soulcycle class at the TriBeCa studio. I was invited by the PR agency that I work with, and thought that it was a work-related event.

There were industry names on the sign-in sheet and all. I walked into Studio B for class, and Josh was there surrounded by lots of candles and playing My Girl through the sound system. He danced around and unzipped his sweatshirt to reveal a t-shirt that said “Will you be my soulmate?” Then, he got down on one knee and popped the question!

Our families were waiting for us down the street at our favorite restaurant, Tutto il Giorno. The celebrations continued with friends at their neighborhood spot, Casa Nonna.
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