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A Groundbreaking Same-Sex Orthodox Jewish Wedding with Tons of Personal Touches at Rochdale Town Hall, UK

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Jay and Michael, Rochdale Town Hall, Rochdale, UK

We have a really special Jewish wedding to share with you today! London couple Jay, who runs a scientific consultancy business, and Michael, a chartered accountant working in risk management, were the first same-sex couple to be married by an Orthodox rabbi in the UK, and we are here for it!

It’s so exciting to see the rise of same-sex Orthodox Jewish weddings, and we loved hearing about how Jay and Michael crafted their entirely bespoke halachic ceremony. When the pair were planning their wedding, they joined our Brides Club (yes, guys can join too!), and we’re so thrilled to hear how much they valued our own Karen Cinnamon’s advice throughout the process.  

Jay and Michael’s wedding was absolutely chock full of wonderful personal touches. For starters, inspired by their shared love of musical theatre, Jay and Michael commissioned a wedding booklet designed to replicate the Playbill programs distributed in Broadway theatres, featuring illustrations of the couple in their wedding attire, a “cast list,” and a five-act synopsis of their love story. Don’t miss it in the wonderful documentary-style photos by David Stubbs!

And we love that Jay and Michael chose a ten-piece band (accompanied by a chuppah singer) from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Twentysomethings for their entertainment. The couple loved working with the band, and they couldn’t get enough of the Israeli dancing set. Also, how awesome is it that their first dance was to Elvis’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis in Yiddish, sung by one of the pair’s best women, accompanied by the band?!

There are so many more wonderful details of this beautiful and meaningful day – read on for the full story in the grooms’ own words…

Jay and Michael, Rochdale Town Hall, Rochdale, UK Jay and Michael, Rochdale Town Hall, Rochdale, UK Jay and Michael, Rochdale Town Hall, Rochdale, UK Jay and Michael, Rochdale Town Hall, Rochdale, UK

How We Met

We met thanks to the “shadchan of the 21st century”, the dating app Hinge.

Our early romance was complicated by geography, as Jay was dividing his time between London, Vienna and Jerusalem. Our first date took place at Tuk Tuk in London, but despite the initial spark, the practical challenges made us doubt that the relationship would develop further. An unexpected encounter at Hendon Central tube station set the relationship back on track and we both took this as a sign not to give up.

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Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained – Breaking The Glass

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Breaking-the-glass-Jewish-wedding
All imagery by Blake Ezra Photography. This is part 6 of the 8-part Jewish Wedding Traditions Explained series.

This is it, the time has come. With so much preparation carried out for this very moment, the ring placed upon the finger, every guest in the room hurriedly preparing their iPhones to take a shot, and clearing their vocal chords to shout “Mazal Tov”, it’s time to break the glass!

Such is the synonymy between Jewish weddings and smashing a glass, that we hear the most uber-cool Jewish wedding blog has been named after this very tradition. This site wasn’t named ‘Dancing the Hora’ or ‘Eating the Canapes’, but Smashing The Glass, as this is THE moment of the Jewish wedding. We hear time and time again from members of our Brides Club community that smashing the glass is one of the most memorable traditions of the whole beautiful day.

The glass, usually wrapped up in a cloth or napkin, is placed on the floor in front of the groom. However before it is smashed, it’s traditional at most Jewish weddings for the Rabbi or Chazan (Cantor) to sing a Hebrew song called Im Eshkakech Yerushalayim, or in English… ‘If I forget you, Jerusalem’. This commemorates the falling of Jerusalem and destruction of the two Jewish temples that once stood there.

It’s said that whenever Jewish people experience immense joy, they should also remember the less joyous times in their ancestry. With celebration comes commemoration. So once the less beautiful times have been remembered, the time comes for the groom to break the glass. Why is this done? Great question.

There are many reasons that Jewish grooms break a glass at the end of their ceremony, sealing the marriage to their bride. The first being, in keeping with the song that had just been sung, to commemorate the destruction faced by Jewish people over the past two thousand years, a nod to the suffering that had come before. After all, if you can remember the dark times even on the brightest of days, you’ll never allow them to be forgotten.

Breaking The Glass Jewish Wedding
Breaking The Glass Jewish Wedding
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Smashing The Glass Featured in Today’s New York Times!

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Karen Cinnamon
What an exciting day! I have been published in the New York Times — a publication with global influence and readership that I hold in very high regard.

The New York Times journalist, Hilary Sheinbaum, first got in touch with me about the story a few months ago and to see it finally in print today is a dream come true!

If you’re reading this in the USA you can read all about it in today’s New York Times ‘Sunday Styles’ section. If you’re not, click here to see the online version, and find out what I have to say about chuppahs, getting creative with yours, and how budget has absolutely nothing to do with it.

The chuppah symbolises the home you and your partner will build together during your marriage, but as well as using the chuppah to symbolize your home, I’m a big advocate of letting your personality shine through too!

Today The New York Times; tomorrow, the world!

Love,

It’s Our Birthday and To Celebrate Take 20% off our Smash Glass Pouches – Today Only!

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Smash-Pouch-Jewish-WeddingFive years ago I hit the ‘go live’ button on my very first blog post — the real Jewish wedding of my brother to his incredible wife, (and my one-in-a-million sister-in-law), Lee Ann… Just the most gorgeous wedding for very many reasons!

Five years later we are a fabulous team of five with gorgeous Maria, our fabulous editorial assistant; ever-wonderful Claire, our much-loved client relations manager; amazing Emily, our fantastic features writer, and amazing Megan; our very talented social media manager. And, of course, there’s me, Karen, the founder and editor!

We couldn’t let our 5th birthday pass without a little gift for you, so to celebrate we are slashing our coveted smash glass pouches for under the chuppah by 20%, but the special discounted price is for today only!

More about the Smash Glass Pouch

As founder of Smashing The Glass (and with a background in award-winning creative design and branding), I personally created this gorgeous lined Smash Glass Pouch with you in mind.

Enough already with those chuppah glasses wrapped in foil, a napkin, or an old-fashioned velvet pouch… Your Smash Glass Pouch should be as Instagrammable as the rest of your wedding, right?!

Smash Glass Pouch
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Smash Glass Pouches by Smashing The Glass!

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Smash-Pouch-Jewish-WeddingTo celebrate Royal Wedding week we have some SUPER exciting news! Yes, cue the squeals –  we’re delighted to announce that our coveted Smash Glass Pouches for under the chuppah are now officially for sale!

Wherever you’re having your wedding, and wherever you live in the world, you can now buy your Smashing The Glass Pouch right here!

Our beautifully made smash glass pouches were designed by me, Karen, founder of Smashing The Glass!) and were originally created exclusively for members of our VIB Club, but since we closed the doors to the Club for this quarter, we have had a ton of requests from readers to purchase the pouches themselves, and as with everything with Smashing The Glass — when you ask it, we make it happen!

We have also had many request from wedding planners around the world to buy them… so we’re delighted that we can make the fabulous planner community around the world happy too!

More about our Smash Glass Pouches

Say goodbye to the days of your chuppah glass wrapped in foil, a napkin, or an old-fashioned velvet pouch… your Smash Glass Pouch should be as Instagrammable as the rest of your wedding!

As founder of Smashing The Glass (and with a background in award-winning creative design and branding), I personally created this gorgeous lined Smash Glass Pouch with you in mind.

Smash Glass Pouch
Me personally? I’m obsessed with the hot pink lining and the contemporary feel, but the full technical specs are as follows:

Bag Measures approx: 8” x 10.3” (20cm x 26cm)
Fabric: 6oz bleached pre shrunk cotton
Lining 4.5oz pre shrunk dyed cotton
Handles: satin lace; 2 way pull

Pssst… it also makes a gorgeous engagement or bridal shower gift too!!Continue ReadingContinue Reading