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An Allison Webb Bride for a Gluten-Free Jewish Wedding at El Caribe, Brooklyn, NY, USA

06/04/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re so excited to be blogging the beautiful Jewish wedding of STG’s very own features writer, Sam Levitz! We got to know Sam as a beloved member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club, and based on her talent for writing, wise words of advice, and great sense of humor, we realized she was just the person to join Team STG.

Sam, who in addition to serving as STG’s features writer works in publishing, and Ethan, a patient coordinator, had a totally gorgeous, 100% heartfelt wedding that also happens to have been 99% gluten free! Both bride and groom are GF – and Sam, who’s been allergic to wheat her whole life, never thought she’d be able to eat cake at her own wedding. But thanks to the baking wizardry of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor By the Way Bakery, the pair were able to have their (gluten-free, dairy-free, and kosher pareve) cake and eat it too! They can’t stop raving about what a delight By the Way’s owner Helene was to work with – or how scrumptious the cake was! Plus, how cute is that rubber duck cake topper, which now sits proudly in Sam’s prized rubber duck collection?!

Lest you think this wedding was all about the food, Sam and Ethan also had an exceptionally moving ceremony. The two incorporated lots of personal touches: they wrote and read their own vows, were wrapped in the groom’s late father’s tallis under the chuppah, and instead of Sam circling Ethan seven times per tradition they each circled each other three times and then simultaneously did a circle together – symbolizing their equal partnership. We also love the beautiful Lori Loebelsohn ketubah they ordered from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com.

We’ll leave it to Sam, who looked positively ravishing in her Allison Webb gown, to fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Sam, the bride: We met on OkCupid right before New Year’s Eve going into 2017. We were a 98% match, but because of different traveling obligations we couldn’t meet up for almost 3 weeks after meeting. After that first date we were pretty much inseparable.

A Lis Simon Bride for a Homecoming-Themed Jewish Wedding at the University of Missouri, Colombia, Missouri, USA

27/03/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

In uncertain times, there’s nothing like a return to the familiar. Which is why the homecoming-themed Jewish wedding of Savannah, who works as the development director at a Jewish nonprofit, and Josh, who’s starting law school this fall, who opted to wed at the University of Missouri (also known as Mizzou), where they met as college freshmen.

These two truly followed STG’s motto of “your Jewish wedding, your way.” They worked together to craft an ultra-personal ceremony that paired the traditional structure with the couple’s egalitarian values. Since lots of the guests had never before attended a Jewish wedding, Savannah and Josh also put together a program explaining the ceremony – which doubled as a fan, perfect for keeping cool in the Missouri heat! They even FaceTimed the bride’s grandma in, since she couldn’t travel to attend in person – this is such a great way to include long-distance loved ones, and in light of COVID-19 its’s something we’ll probably start seeing a lot more of.

And how special is it that Josh’s dad built the couple’s chuppah, and his mom decorated it? They even made it so it can be taken apart and moved easily, and Savannah and Josh have since repurposed it as a sukkah! Don’t miss it in the beautiful photos from Chase Castor and Cam Wiley of Kindling.

We’re also in love with the couple’s cool contemporary ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent. It’s a true piece of art, which now hands proudly outside Savannah and Josh’s bedroom. These two even wrote their own ketubah text, based on the egalitarian structure with some personal touches thrown in.

There’s so much more we could say about this joyous Jewish wedding, but we’ll let the bride – who looked beautiful in Lis Simon Bridal – tell you the rest…

How we met

Savannah, the bride: Josh and I met as 18-year-old college freshmen at the University of Missouri. We were set up accidentally by a mutual friend, Clayton, and I didn’t even think Josh liked me that much! I complained to Clayton that I was bored — he was out of town — and he told me to see what Josh was up to. So, that was the first time I talked to Josh one-on-one, and we then proceeded to get locked out of our dorms in the rain.

We spent all night talking outside our dorm and because it was 3 a.m., our friends weren’t answering their phones and the dorm assistant on call was asleep. We were truly locked out until the early risers woke up! The next day, Josh asked me out on our first date, where our friend (and my bridesmaid), Katie, picked out both of our first date outfits without telling either of us. So, thanks to Clayton and Katie, we’re now happily married!Continue Reading

A Vera Wang Bride for an Elegant Spring Jewish Wedding at Pleasantdale Chateau West Orange, NJ, USA

23/03/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Because we can all use a bit of springtime cheer right now, we’re excited to share the beautiful Jewish wedding of two high school sweethearts: Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Elizabeth, a lawyer, and Bernie, a doctor (#cantTARASaPART).

It’s always a pleasure blogging the weddings of our Brides Club members, and we’re so touched by the bride’s kind words about how the group helped her plan her big day. Elizabeth especially loved the personal vendor referrals Team STG provides to Brides Club members on a daily basis – we connected her with her fab planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Amy Katz Events, who did SUCH an incredible job bringing the couple’s vision for their day together and keeping everything running smoothly on the day, as well as the couple’s ketubah designer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Melanie Dankowicz – the gorgeous floral papercut she created was the absolute perfect fit for the soft springtime vibes that characterized the day.

Speaking of springtime vibes, how about that chuppah?! We adore the profusion of roses and peonies in soft pinks, corals, and whites – and those hanging floral strands just add that little something extra. The mirrored frame keeps the whole structure looking contemporary, too – don’t miss it in the wonderful photos from Maya Myers and video from Motoko Fukayama of Love in Progress.

We’ll let Elizabeth, who was a total knockout in Vera Wang, take it from here…

A Chateau Wedding

Elizabeth, the bride: We got married at Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange, NJ. We are both from NY so neither one of us had any particular ties to NJ, but we were struggling to find a venue that spoke to us. Then someone suggested Pleasantdale and we fell in love from the moment we walked in.

A La Femme Bride for a Rainbow Glitz Jewish Wedding at The Rattlesnake Club, Detroit, MI, USA

14/02/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Happy Valentine’s Day! In honor of February 14, we’re bringing you something extra special today – the Jewish wedding of Amy Becker, who you may know as the inventive foodie behind What Jew Wanna Eat and online Judaica emporium ModernTribe, and groom Andrew, a tech executive.

Amy’s known for colorful (literally!) recipes like rainbow challah (which made an appearance at the wedding) and Jewnicorn hot chocolate, so it’s no surprise she and Andrew cooked up a totally rainbowtastic wedding. The bride describes the wedding theme as “rainbow gold glitter formal,” and in keeping with that vibrant ethos went for a non-traditional and super fun pink La Femme wedding dress. Photographers Holly and Erik and videographer Dustin, both from Mike Staff Productions, captured the day in all its glory.

This wedding was totally, 100% Amy and Andrew, and we’re obsessed with Amy’s advice on going all out to make your big day just the way you want it:

A few people advised us to pick a timeless wedding look, but we did the opposite! Don’t worry about picking something trendy or unique if that’s what you want. We added lots of colored lanterns and a Funfetti cake and neon table numbers and it felt totally us. It may look dated one day, but who cares as long as it reflected you on your special day.

And would you believe that Amy and Andrew planned the whole thing in just four months, and long-distance too?! We’re so touched that Amy credits our very own STG Brides Club with having helped them pull it off. In her own words:

I especially enjoyed bouncing ideas off other brides in the STG Brides Club Facebook group. The girls and Karen feel more like friends, and have the best ideas so you don’t have to nag your friends for feedback. I also stalked the Smashing the Glass website and got so much inspiration from the other wedding posts and the checklists were invaluable.

If you’d like to get in on the Smashing The Glass Brides Club magic too, now’s your chance! We’re currently offering a free 30-day trial so you can check out this wonderful community for yourself – but it’s only valid until Monday 17 Feb at 23:59 PST, so sign up now and see what all the fuss is about!

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Everything Bagel Forever

Amy, the bride: We met on the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel when we both lived in San Francisco, and from that day forward I was “Amy Bagel” in Andrew’s phone. Our first date was at the club Andrew is a member of, where he convinced me to try a booze-heavy Vesper instead of my usual red wine. After a few drinks and lots of laughs, we moved onto late-night oysters and talked for hours. On our third date, Andrew made me a multi-course dinner complete with a Funfetti cake to win me over, and it totally did. I was smitten and impressed.

After a month of travelling separately, we reunited on New Year’s Eve 2018, when Andrew changed his flight from Michigan to come back early to celebrate with me. He also brought me back corned beef. I knew he was a special one, and we were exclusive from then on. A few months later he proposed we move to Puerto Rico for a job opportunity, and a year after that he proposed we get married. Both were easy questions to say “yes” to. I’m still “Amy Bagel” in Andrew’s phone, and now I’m his everything bagel forever.

A Pronovias Bride for a Windy City-Themed Jewish Wedding at The Shapiro Ballroom, Chicago Illinois, USA

10/02/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re so excited to be featuring the beautiful Jewish wedding of STG Brides Club member Leah, a food scientist, and Scott, a middle school science and social studies teacher – and these two might just have the coolest venue story we’ve EVER heard.

You see, back in the ‘60s, Leah’s grandfather owned a movie theater in Chicago, The Alvin – it’s such a big part of the bride’s family’s story that her father was even named Alvin in its honor! After many years of abandonment, just a few years ago the theater was finally renovated and turned into… wait for it… a wedding venue! What more perfect place for these two to wed – especially given that they themed their big day around their love for their home city of Chicago? #livinlavidavenus indeed!

This is just one of the many amazing personal touches that added up to make Leah and Scott’s wedding truly one for the books. How cute are the mini Heinz (in honor of the bride’s workplace, Kraft Heinz, as well as her love for ketchup) ketchup bottles with personalized labels they gave out as favors? And of course we adore the pair’s tree of life ketubah by the wonderful Rachelle of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush!

Jamie & Eric Photography captured all the details – not to mention the emotion – exquisitely, and we can’t get enough of the shoot they did with the couple at all of their favorite Chicago landmarks.

Now over to the bride, who could not have looked more elegant in her classic Pronovias ballgown…