Ruth Mergi Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Smashing the Glass

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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A Romantic Jewish Wedding Bringing the Outside Inside, at The Grove, Hertfordshire, UK

16/06/2017 by Karen

Every marriage faces its tests, but for Jenna and Nick, their dedication to one another was tested very early on in the relationship, when Jenna faced medical and family hardships – and Nick proved to be her rock, and a total keeper.

One conversion later, and Nick, now a fully fledged member of the tribe, and Jenna, said “I do” in front of their nearest and dearest. His moving wedding speech can be heard in the special stills video below by much-loved Recommended Vendor, Adams Photography, who also shot the wedding in full. Tissues at the ready, guys….

We love the romantic story about how these two chose their dream venue – going on atmosphere and instinct, which proved to be a magical moment in itself.

To mirror the venue’s ethos of ‘bringing the outside inside’, Nick and Jenna did exactly that, creating a bloom-filled dà©cor scheme, with an abundance of delicate gypsophila, soft pink roses and a stunning tree-inspired table plan.

We’ll leave you in Jenna’s capable hands for the full recap, including a fortuitous find at David’s Bridal – clearly this big day was totally meant to be!

How we met

Jenna, the bride: Long-ish story! We met on Plenty of Fish! I basically was unsure, at first, about dating a non-Jewish guy, so I kept Nick a secret until I was sure it was something serious.

A week after Nick and I started talking, I was working on a film in Newcastle, and I slipped on some ice and really hurt my back. I flew back to London (barely able to walk) and went to see a specialist, who told me if I didn’t have surgery the next day, I could be paralysed. The following day I had surgery, and four days later my grandmother passed away.

I was left alone in my hospital bed in London, and Nick was a rock to me during that time. He was so supportive (be it over the phone) and we really got to know each other inside out. I understand it was not the most conventional way of dating, but once I was back on my feet, we met up and it felt like we had known each other for years. It just felt so right.

Six months later, I introduced him to the family. A few months after that, Nick came to me and asked me how I would feel if he was to convert to Judaism. I was really surprised by his question, but also felt a lot of admiration towards him. It was very important to Nick that when we were to have children that we are all on the same page and part of a family unit. Nick spent 18 months converting to Judaism, he learnt Hebrew, he had a circumcision (now that is commitment!) and after all of that lengthy process, Nick is now a proud Jew and I am, of course, very proud of him!

A black-tie-meets-rustic Masorti Jewish Wedding at Manor by the Lake, Cheltenham, UK

08/05/2017 by Karen

Tissues at the ready, folks, because if you don’t well up within the first 30 seconds of Sam and Jonny’s stunning wedding video (just below) then you’re made of stone!

Sam and Jonny met on the job as lawyers, and their meeting of minds blossomed into true love. Together, they planned every detail of their black-tie-meets-rustic wedding, and ensured every element, from the Masorti ceremony, where the couple circled each other and smashed the glass together, to the bride’s speech, and even this write up, was completely equality driven.

The moving celebration was captured on film by Velvet Wedding Studio, and in beautiful stills by our much-loved STG Recommended Vendor, Blake Ezra – and what a stunning job they both did.

Sensational bride, Sam, looked every bit the A lister in her show-stopping Louise Marie gown – and she did an astounding job with her own makeup. What a beauty!

Sam and Jonny did a beautiful job describing their big day in detail, so we’ll pass you over to them now (note how well they talk about each other’s big day experience – a masterclass in marital listening).

How we met

Sam, the bride, and Jonny, the groom: Jonny and Sam first met briefly at a law firm, on a law summer placement scheme in 2009 (whilst actually competing for a job!). Jonny and Sam then became close friends whilst attending law school in London, but it wasn’t until they worked at the same firm, when they became more than just friends.

Jonny and Sam got engaged in April 2014. Jonny proposed in a photo booth, and the couple plans to return to the same photo booth annually to capture each year of marriage.

Art Deco Jewish wedding in an airport museum and hangar, at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum, Houston, Texas, USA

14/06/2016 by Karen

It goes without saying that your choice of venue is one of the most important pieces of your wedding puzzle. I personally love unusual wedding venues so when Elisheva Golani‘s submission dropped into my inbox, and I saw a wedding that took place in an Airplane Museum and hanger, I literally squealed with joy!

And it gets better — one of Talia’s bridesmaids was Balushka of the incredible Balushka Paper Floral Artistry who created an abundance of paper flowers to adorn the chuppah as well as decor for the entire space. Her work is totally and utterly gorgeous, and the paper floristry fills the space brilliantly.

There’s also a blush-coloured wedding gown, a surprise bottle dance choreographed by the groom and his friends, a sparkly confetti canon, and a bride and groom entrance from a vintage airplane to the sound of Rocky’s Theme Tune!

Talia and Barry are one super cool, super creative couple and I cannot wait to show your their W Day. Fasten your seat belts folks!

How we met

Talia, the Bride: Ours is an interesting story – we were first set up 10 years prior to our engagement, by my dad and his tennis partner in 2005. We went on our first date and Barry took me to an Ethiopian restaurant, opened doors, brought me flowers… the whole 9. He was a total gentleman, but alas I was just beginning to explore life as an adult and so was he – needless to say we were both very different people back then. After one date, he called, but I wasn’t interested. Of course, years later, he stuck in my mind as being the kind of guy I needed to date, we reached out to each other on a few occasions- but we were never able to meet up. Finally, we were able to meet for coffee and we were together ever since… He proposed 10 years to the day of our first date- we even went to that same Ethiopian Restaurant! (good thing about engineers is that they keep EVERYTHING).