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A Vintage Bride for an Eco-Friendly DIY Jewish Wedding on a Budget, San Juan Island Grange Hall, Washington, USA

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Emily & Jason, San Juan Island Grange Hall, Washington State, USA

We couldn’t be more delighted to feature the gorgeous DIY Jewish wedding of our Brides Club member Emily to Jason! The couple, who live on a sailboat and run a sailing business, planned a laid-back eco-wedding totally in keeping with their values and lifestyle – and in line with their tight budget.

How’d they do it? With a little help from their friends. Emily and Jason asked guests to pitch in on wedding prep in lieu of gifts, and it made for such a special day – from the food cooked by guests to a chuppah constructed from local driftwood by the Boy Scout troop Jason leads! Don’t miss it in the gorgeous images by Nyama Photography.

We loved following Emily’s wedding planning journey during her time in Brides Club, and we’re so touched by her kind words about the community:

“I loved being a member of Brides Club, joining after I got engaged was a no brainer for me because I’d already been in Karen Cinnamon’s Smashing Life and love the community she has created there. I found our ketubah, yarmulkes and invitation/wedding website through Bride’s Club. I received so much support and love in this group.”

Another thing we’re obsessed with? Emily’s gorgeous vintage dress, ordered from Etsy! The classic ‘50s styling is SO chic, and going vintage is such a great eco-friendly option.

Now over to the bride…

Emily & Jason, San Juan Island Grange Hall, Washington State, USA Emily & Jason, San Juan Island Grange Hall, Washington State, USA Emily & Jason, San Juan Island Grange Hall, Washington State, USA Emily & Jason, San Juan Island Grange Hall, Washington State, USA
How we Met

Emily, the bride: We started dating after Emily moved to Bellingham, WA from New York City. Jason quickly told her that he would never live on land again. Emily started taking to life on sailboat having admired sailboats from a far for much of her life. Emily bought a ballet school on San Juan Island and moved to Friday Harbor.

After a brief time living on land and loving hosting large dinners (which Jason especially loved), Emily and Jason decided to move back full-time to the sailboat, where they are very happy and looking forward to extended cruising. We are loving life on our boat and started a sailing business, Essential Sailing Industries. Jason with an emphasis on battery and solar systems, electrical work and generally meeting and helping people work with their boats and solving their boat problems. Emily is putting her years of sewing to work making canvas for boats.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Gozde Karadana Bride for a Tel Aviv-Meets-London Jewish Wedding at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK

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Alex & Fyodor, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK

Happy 2022! We wanted to start off the year with a bang… and how better to do that than with the ultra-chic Jewish wedding of Alex, who works in PR, and Fyodor, who’s in digital marketing – which you’d never guess was planned in just 2.5 weeks!

Due to COVID, the couple – who’d originally planned to wed in Tel Aviv – ended up having to change their plans three times, and by the time they settled on London’s St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, their third venue, they didn’t have much time to pull things together.

But thanks to a fantastic team of vendors – many of whom came recommended through Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club, of which Alex was a member – they pulled it off and then some.

Even after changing countries from Israel to the UK Alex and Fyodor still wanted to include some touches of Tel Aviv – and their florist, Liz Inigo Jones from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Blue Sky Flowers, helped them pull it off, combining palm leaves with bold autumnal colors complementing the Gothic Revival style of the venue.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Liam Smith Photography is behind the couple’s gorgeous pics, and we couldn’t be any more obsessed with his non-posed, documentary style shots. And another wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Matt from York Place Studios, handled videography in a similarly fresh, candid style.

Last but certainly not least, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jam Hot Showband managed the music for the entire wedding – and not only was their performance “phenomenal,” they were a joy to work with from start to finish.

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll leave the rest to Alex, who looked uber-glam in her Gozde Karadana gown…

Alex & Fyodor, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK Alex & Fyodor, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK Alex & Fyodor, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK Alex & Fyodor, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK
How we Met

Alex, the bride: We met in Poland at a Jewish trip called March of the Living.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Caroline Castigliano Bride for a Whimsical English Countryside Jewish Wedding at Langley Park, Cotswolds, UK

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Alice-Micael-Langley-Park-Cotswolds-UK

We couldn’t think of a better way to close out the year than with the fabulous English countryside Jewish wedding of STG Brides Club member Alice, who works in advertising, and Micael, founder and CEO of a licensed medical cannabis producer!

The pandemic forced these two to postpone four times, and to make a pretty drastic pivot in locale from Israel to the UK – but you’d never know it from how absolutely picture-perfect their big day turned out! While COVID meant a long-haul destination wedding wasn’t in the cards, Alice and Micael opted to keep that destination feel by booking Langley Park in the Cotswolds for an all-weekend bash.

Alice was a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club during her wedding planning, and we’re so touched by her kind words about the group:

The biggest thing in Brides Club was the support network. During the pandemic, it felt as though we would never have a wedding. It was very reassuring to be amongst people going through the same thing and there were lots of resources to help navigate through it the best way possible! We also got a discount with the brilliant Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Big Day Designs, who printed our invitations. It was the first Jewish wedding for the majority of our vendors and Smashing the Glass was great for giving them all the information they needed.

We’re absolutely obsessed with the glam photos by Elena Popa and second shooter Emily Rose Hamilton – can you believe it was their first time photographing a Jewish wedding?!

There’s so much else to say about this beautiful day – from the surprise South African touches Alice added for Micael, who had lots of guests from home who sadly weren’t able to attend in person due to the pandemic; to the incredible private badeken the pair shared after not seeing each other for a full week; to the sweet custom illustrations Alice and Micael commissioned from The Millustrator. But we’ll leave it to Alice to fill you in on all that…

Alice-Micael-Langley-Park-Cotswolds-UK Alice-Micael-Langley-Park-Cotswolds-UK Alice-Micael-Langley-Park-Cotswolds-UK Alice-Micael-Langley-Park-Cotswolds-UK
How we Met

Alice, the bride: We usually just say long story! But we met in 2009 at a party in London. He is South African and was visiting his cousins who live in London. He never actually spoke to me on the night but later messaged me on Facebook. We dated long distance for several years whilst he was at university in Israel. He finally moved to London and we had a few make ups and break ups before getting engaged in 2019.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A David’s Bride for an Interfaith Jewish Wedding with Tons of Personal Touches at Swynford Manor, Newmarket, UK

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Charlotte-and-Adam-Swynford-Manor-Newmarket-UK

We’re so thrilled to be sharing the beautiful wedding of our Brides Club member Charlotte to groom Adam! We so loved following Charlotte’s wedding planning journey in the group… and we’re so touched to hear she loved her time in the club just as much as we did!

In Charlotte’s words,

I loved being part of Brides Club. It is the most supportive community. There are so many resources, checklists and guides to read through to help you prioritise and make sure you haven’t forgotten anything major! There is support for the wins and when planning is difficult there is always someone in the group who completely understands what you are going through who can help you through it.

Awww! We’re so glad to hear it – and even gladder to see what an absolutely gorgeous wedding Charlotte and Adam planned! We love their focus on keeping the day relaxed and fun – for their guests, and for themselves. One of Charlotte’s coolest comfort-first moves has got to be her choice to wear her awesome bridal trainers for the whole day, rather than waiting til after the ceremony to change into them! Not that the trainers stopped her from looking totally glam, as you’ll see if you have a scroll through Point and Click Photography’s wonderful photos.

Charlotte, who’s Jewish, and Adam, who isn’t, also opted for modern English versions of the traditional Sheva Brachot, personalized to represent their love and hopes for their future life together – and they chose seven VIPs who read one blessing each.

We’re also crazy about the fact that these two had all kinds of fun touches like garden games (who doesn’t love a giant Connect 4?), and a doughnut wall (featuring flavors like Biscoff and pistachio!), and even a piñata – a surprise from Charlotte’s parents, designed to match the couple’s wedding cake!

We’ll leave it to Charlotte, who looked beautiful in her White by Vera Wang dress from Davids Bridal, to fill you in on the rest…

Charlotte-and-Adam-Swynford-Manor-Newmarket-UK Charlotte-and-Adam-Swynford-Manor-Newmarket-UK Charlotte-and-Adam-Swynford-Manor-Newmarket-UK Charlotte-and-Adam-Swynford-Manor-Newmarket-UK
How we Met

Charlotte, the bride: We met in October 2014 when a mutual friend brought Adam in to provide support in my workplace. Adam was living in Southampton, I was living in North London and long-distance dating was how our relationship started.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A David’s Bride for a Colorful Jewish Wedding with Handmade Touches at Maiden’s Barn, Chelmsford, UK

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Sophie-Josh-Maidens-Barn-Chelmsford-UK

We’re so thrilled to be featuring the beautiful Jewish wedding of our beloved Brides Club member Sophie today! Sophie married Josh in a colorful, exuberant barn wedding with some wonderful handmade touches – and lots of inspo from her fellow Brides Club members!

In Sophie’s own words, “Brides Club was totally invaluable to me! The introduction videos about where to start and guides such as ‘Questions to ask your Venue’ were excellent resources… It’s also been lovely connecting with other brides and making new friends around the world!”

Brides Club even inspired one of Sophie’s very coolest DIY touches: hand-crocheting ALL of her wedding kippot! Inspired by another member of the group, Sophie lovingly handcrafted kippot in fuchsia, orange, yellow and lilac to hand out on the day – which also became lovely keepsakes for guests to take home with them!

Sophie and Josh also found their chuppah supplier, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People, through Brides Club. They opted to rent the large Finchley chuppah, and didn’t it look just perfect in their rustic barn venue? Don’t miss it in Amanda Ward’s wonderful photos!

The pair also opted to work with another beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Toastmaster Jango, and they call booking him “one of the best decisions we made.” Jango “made us feel at ease from the first conversation and told us how he’d look after us as if it was his own children’s wedding” – and it goes without saying that he kept the day running smoothly so the bride and groom could enjoy their wedding stress-free.

Sophie and Josh added so many other fun touches to their big day – we love that they had a sweet cart in honor of Josh owning a real-life sweetshop, and how cute is it that instead of a guest book the couple asked their guests to fill in ‘Tips for the Newlyweds’ cards?! – but we’ll leave it to the bride, who looked beautiful in her David’s Bridal gown, the rest…

Sophie-Josh-Maidens-Barn-Chelmsford-UK Sophie-Josh-Maidens-Barn-Chelmsford-UK Sophie-Josh-Maidens-Barn-Chelmsford-UK Sophie-Josh-Maidens-Barn-Chelmsford-UK
How we Met

Sophie, the bride: We met on J-Swipe at the end of June 2017 when Josh was working as a sports journalist and I was working for a gift experience company. As he told everyone during his wedding speech, he was sitting on the toilet when he first saw me and decided to swipe right!

We went on our first date on 1st July 2017 and decided to meet at dinosaur crazy golf in North London. This turned out to be a great first date as it was relaxed and fun without any awkward silences! After I beat him, we decided we wanted to continue getting to know each other and drove to a pub for drinks which then turned into dinner!

We played “Who Jew you know” and surprisingly we had no mutual friends! However, after a few dates my mum was questioning me about my new mystery man and it turns out she used to work with his dad!

A few months after we met, Josh had a career change and now owns an old-fashioned sweet shop in a shopping centre and I work as an assistant to an account manager.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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