Scottish Jewish wedding Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Flora Bride for a Fairy Tale Destination Jewish Wedding at Cluny Castle, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire Scotland, UK

31/01/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple goes out of their way to make their guests feel extra loved at their Jewish wedding – especially when they’ve traveled across the world to celebrate together. But today’s couple, Anna, an architect, and Nir, a PhD student in economics with an online tutoring business, Israelis who opted to wed in Scotland, really amped it up to the next level.

With an intimate crew of just 26 guests, who traveled from Israel, the US, and Canada, Anna and Nir went all out, planning not just a wedding weekend but a full wedding week of classic Scottish activities, from Highland games and clay shooting to visits to Loch Ness and distilleries – and castles.

Although given the venue – not only was the wedding held at the majestic Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Cluny Castle, but the guests were also able to stay at the castle for the entire week – it’s hard to see a need to leave the grounds of this stunning spot. Catom Photographers captured the splendid setting in all its glory – not to mention the love and emotion of the big day.

Anna and Nir couldn’t possibly have picked a better place to make their guests all feel like princes and princesses for the week – and in pursuit of this goal, they even hired makeup artists and hairstylists to take care of each and every one of their female guests on the wedding day!

Now over to the groom, who’ll fill you in on all the details…

Theme

Nir, the groom: The theme was a “fairy tale” and Scottish wedding. We tried our best to make sure each guest would feel like a price/princess for the entire week. We planned a schedule for the week so each day would include a classic Scottish activity: Highland games, distilleries, clay shooting, castles, Lochness etc. The guests even saw her majesty the Queen and Prince Charles from a very close range at the highland games.

A Limor Rosen Bride for a Jewish-Scottish Wedding at Winter Gardens Botanical Gardens and West Brewery, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

01/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

When Tel Aviv chic meets Scottish tradition… We’re crazy about the way STG Brides Club member, Arden and Steven brought modern Tel Avivian colors and geometrics into their very Scottish venues, and we can’t get enough of PJ Phillips’ wonderful photos and videographer Sandy Butler’s gorgeous trailer.

Arden, a writer originally from Florida, and Steven, a Scottish developer, both work in tech in Tel Aviv, but they opted to marry in the groom’s hometown of Glasgow.

We love how they incorporated both Jewish and Scottish customs into their humanist ceremony – the traditional handfasting is really not to be missed! And neither is the gorgeous ketubah from wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubata.

And how perfect were their favors: mini bottles of oh-so-Scottish whiskey and gin from Tel Aviv’s own Milk & Honey Whisky Distillery?!

Arden, who looked stunning in Limor Rosen, will fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Arden, the bride: We actually met at AM:PM (convenience store) in the neighborhood we used to live in! Not long after meeting, a friend connected us on Facebook and we started dating shortly after.

An Essense of Australia Bride for an Enchanted Autumn Jewish Wedding at Garnethill Synagogue and Oran Mor in Glasgow, Scotland, UK

24/08/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s always a good day when we hear from couples who loved used Smashing the Glass to plan their Jewish weddings — like today’s fab couple, Stephanie, an architect, and Darren, a retail director for Aspinal.

We’re so pleased that the bride was a loyal reader of STG in the lead up to her big day, even finding fantastic videographer Velvet Wedding Studio on the blog! He and photographer David Grant Simpson did the absolute best job of capturing the magic of the couple’s enchanted autumnal wedding (over Halloween weekend, no less!).

As an architect, Stephanie was focused on getting married in a beautiful space — and she ended up with not one, but two of them! With the chuppah at the majestic 19^th-century Garnethill Synagogue and the evening party at super cool converted church venue Oran Mor, this wedding was basically non-stop architectural splendor.

We love how Stephanie and Darren decided to include a ceilidh in their big day as a way of honoring the bride’s Scottish background and providing some familiarity to balance out the novelty of the Israeli dancing for their non-Jewish guests. Good sport Darren even let Stephanie cajole him into putting on a kilt for the Scottish dancing!

Stephanie, who looked stunning in her Essense of Australia dress, will fill you in on the rest of the fantastic details…

How We Met

Stephanie, the bride: I never ever thought I would try online dating, but as time went on I just realized that it was now the ordinary way to meet someone and gave it a go. We both have stressful jobs, which can make it difficult to find time to date. I still can’t believe that I met my now-husband on Jswipe but I guess that’s modern day romancing for you!

So many people ask me when we knew we wanted to get married. About a month into the relationship after coming in from a night out with, Darren we were laughing about something and then told me he would marry me tomorrow. I know it was a passing comment after I made him laugh, but I guess in the back of our minds we both knew that we wanted to settle down. It sounds odd to many but I think when you meet someone in your thirties you have both already seen the world, been around the block and essentially are in a totally different mindset when you are getting into a relationship. Online dating is literally like modernâ€day matchmaking! I guess in a way you could say it was love at first sight, or love at first selfie.

A Modeca Bride for a Multicultural Jewish-Scottish Wedding at The Principal Hotel, George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland

09/05/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s Jew-ish wedding features a wonderful blend of the couple’s Jewish and Scottish heritages, with so many heartfelt personal touches. Leigh (@Leighjshhh), a personal assistant and team secretary, and Steven (@Hunter941), an ammunition technician in the British Army, married at The Principal Hotel in Edinburgh.

Leigh, who is Jewish, and Steven, who is Scottish, crafted an ultra-personal day that combined their two cultures seamlessly. They paired their registrar-run legal ceremony with a Jewish blessing from a rabbi they worked with closely to create a very personal service.

We just love how this couple strove to run their day in a way that was true to who they are, individually and as a pair, and that would feel inclusive to all of their guests. They had an archway of flowers instead of a chuppah; they didn’t have a ketubah but did smash the glass — and to make sure everyone could follow along, Leigh made a program explaining the Jewish traditions. In a very cool nod to Steven’s Scottish heritage, the color scheme of teal and gold was taken from his family tartan.

But we think our favorite way Leigh and Steven blended their backgrounds is through music — and dance. Their DJ, Graeme Barrie Entertainment, not only played music for the Israeli dancing; he also served as ceilidh caller (instructor) for their Scottish dancing! Check out Cro+Kow Photography’s stunning shots of the couple and their guests in action.

Now over to Leigh, who looked beautiful in her strapless ivory Modeca gown…

How we met

Leigh, the bride: We met at a mutual friend’s wedding. We both knew the groom, and after both of us enquiring about the other we started chatting and knew almost instantly that this would be a conversation that would never end!

Nearly four and a half years later, after an entire long-distance relationship, we got married ourselves and now start our new journey together as husband and wife – and finally living together!

A Garden-Themed Jewish Wedding with an Allure Bridals Gown at Duntreath Castle, Blanefield, Scotland, UK

02/03/2018 by Karen

Today’s Scottish stunner of a Jewish wedding is right out of a fairy tale. Nicole and Jonny’s day at Duntreath Castle in Scotland was chock full of dreamy florals, with the elegant grounds and gardens serving as a stunning backdrop to the festivities.

These two made the most of their Scottish setting, with a piper greeting guests as they arrived at the castle, creative Scottish-themed canapà©s (mini glasses of Irn-Bru, anyone?!), and a whisky bar featuring bottles of malt from each of Scotland’s whiskey regions. Love it!

The couple planned their wedding all the way from Sydney. Luckily, Nicole’s parents in Glasgow had just retired at the time of the couple’s engagement, and they were able to devote themselves to wedding planning fulltime!

From meeting with vendors in the couple’s place to building the chuppah–Nicole’s dad made it from scratch, and her mum turned her own wedding dress into the canopy! This wedding was truly a family affair…

Photographer Ashley Coombes documentary-style work captured the day perfectly. Now over to Nicole to fill us in on all the details.