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A David’s Bride for a Dreamy Outdoor Jewish Wedding Just Before Lockdown at HaGiva, Giv’at Brenner, Israel

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Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Naomi and Daniel are one seriously lucky couple. Their ridiculously gorgeous Jewish wedding in Israel took place as the COVID-19 crisis was becoming increasingly more serious, just days before the country banned gatherings of more than ten people. And while the bride, a physics teacher, and the groom, an aerospace engineer, didn’t have their big day go untouched by coronavirus – there was plenty of stress about increasing restrictions and whether family and friends from the UK would be able to make it, and in the end many guests weren’t able to make the trip – their close relatives made it out to Israel in time, and most of the wedding went to plan.

And it was an awesome plan! We’re in love with the garden vibes of their gorgeous venue, Giv’at Brenner, and we’re obsessed with the efforts these two made to personalize their day, like making a list together of seven things to pray for and then reading and praying for one item each time Naomi circled Daniel under the chuppah, and finding ways to honor female guests in their Orthodox ceremony.

And how cute is it that the couple got matching personalized Converses to wear for the reception?! The photos from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman Photography are so full of love and emotion, with each moment captured so beautifully.

Now over to the bride, who looked radiant in her simple David’s Bridal dress (the first she tried on!), which she had altered to add in sleeves and a higher neckline…


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How we met

Naomi, the bride: We both grew up in London, with similar social circles, same year group but never knew each other, it wasn’t until we both made aliyah that we met!

We first met at a party in Jerusalem a few days after I had made aliyah, we chatted for about 5 minutes and Daniel wanted to ask me out but felt it wouldn’t be fair on me as I needed time to settle into the country. Over the next couple of months he hadn’t forgotten about me but some friends had told him they knew a girl who they thought would be good for him.

He agreed to meet her at a Purimseudah but thought to himself that if it didn’t go well he would try to find the number of the girl from the party. But when he walked into the Purim seudah he was surprised and delighted to find the girl from the party, me, sitting there. The rest is history! He proposed to me in September and I proposed to him in October. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Outdoor Jewish Wedding at Texas Discovery Gardens and Butterfly House, Dallas, Texas, USA

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We always love featuring the weddings of our beloved STG Brides Club members, and the beautiful outdoor Jewish wedding of Mica, an otolaryngologist, and Gabriel, a general surgeon, is no exception.

And we’re so touched to hear that Mica found Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club a huge help in planning her big day, appreciating the supportive community and the ability to bounce ideas off other brides going through the same thing without having to bother her non-bride friends about wedding minutia!

If you want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club too, you can do so here. It’s the place to be for Jewish and Jew-ish brides-to-be!

And onto Mica’s wedding, there’s not much that sounds more romantic than a wedding in a  butterfly garden, and Mica and Gabriel’s gorgeous wedding doesn’t disappoint. Their venue provided such a stunning setting, especially for the glorious outdoor chuppah, and we love how the couple works butterflies in as a motif for their day, with everything from butterfly-shaped paper napkin ring holders to laser cut butterfly table cards. Maegan Rachelle Photography captured everything so perfectly!

Now over to the bride, who looked ever so romantic in Winnie Couture…

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HOW WE MET

Mica, the bride: We met almost 11 years ago on March of the Living (MOL). I am originally from Dallas and Gabriel is originally from Boca Raton. We were grouped together for MOL as the Southern region of the United States. We started dating near to the start of college though Gabriel was in college at Florida State University and I was in California at Stanford.

We both continued on to medical school – still long distance between New York and Florida. Finally for surgical residency, we both made it to Houston- the city that finally brought us together!

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A Limor Rosen Bride for a Festival Chic Jewish Wedding at The Q, Glil Yam, Israel

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When a bride who’s a design talent in her own right joins forces with a fantastic wedding planner to create an ultra-personalized destination wedding at one of Israel’s most gorgeous venues… well, you know you’re in for something special.

Designer bride Amy and groom Richard, who works in technology finance (#AmyGetsRich), opted to theme their big day around their shared love of music and festivals, and while festival-inspired weddings are by no means uncommon, these two really took theirs to the next level. They combined the basics – candles, gentle lighting, greenery – with some unexpected touches – Amy designed festival wristbands for guests, as well as making over 200 personalised mini dream catchers to use as the table plan/seating cards! And in true boho chic style, the couple’s chuppah was styled like a tent with lace dream-catchers hanging at the back.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the lovely details incorporated into this Jewish wedding, and the couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si, captured each and every one of them – not to mention the love between Amy and Richard and the action-packed party following their beautiful ceremony – in his trademark artistic style. As always, we’re obsessed with his stunning work. And videographer Guy Siman Tov’s trailer makes us feel as if we were right there experiencing it all alongside the guests.

Amy and Richard knew it wouldn’t be easy implementing their creative ideas all the way from their home in England, and so they decided to work with beloved wedding planner and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Vicki Rosen (described by Amy as “the most organised lady you will ever meet”) to make sure everything went to plan, as well as to source the perfect vendors to make the day a success.

Now over to the bride, who looked stunning in her gown by Israeli designer Limor Rosen…

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How We Met

Amy, the bride: Our lives have been intertwined for many years – unbeknownst to either of us we went to Leeds University and graduated on the same day. We even stayed in the same halls of residence in first year. It’s extremely likely we had been in each other’s flat at some point.

However, our paths didn’t quite cross. In our mid 20s we both lived opposite each other in West Hampstead without realising it. But most bizarrely, about four years ago Richard made an offer for a small flat in Kilburn. It turned out someone else had already been successful and had trumped him. Guess who that was? We were in each others lives all along, the world was just waiting for the right time.

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An Essense of Australia Bride for an Interfaith Jewish Wedding at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, UK

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How was your first night of Hannukah last night? We’re so excited for the Festival of Lights and together with all our STG Brides Club and Smashing Life members, we lit our Chanukiahs together inside our Facebook group last night and it was magical!

Not yet a member of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club? You can join here – we’d love to have you inside our community (and of course also help save your time, your money and  your sanity on your way to creating your day your way).

Speaking of Brides Club members, we are totally in love with today’s real Jew-ish wedding of Brides Club member, Bethany, an assistant merchandiser, to Gavin, a project coordinator.

They held their wedding at Trinity Buoy Wharf, a stunning warehouse venue in London, And with the city skyline as the dramatic backdrop to their big day, what a celebration it was!

We love the way the interfaith couple – Gavin is Jewish, while Bethany was brought up Christian – followed their civil ceremony with a personalized religious blessing they crafted alongside their rabbi to reflect their shared values and beliefs. We’re also obsessed with Voyteck’s emotional-packed documentary-style photography, which captures the essence of the day so perfectly.

And with top-notch ‘sharing style’ catering from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Adam Nathan – who the bride praises for going above and beyond in his willingness to run with any idea, no matter how out there (not to mention his delicious food, which guests are still raving about) – served alongside beer and damson gin the couple made themselves (!), we’re experiencing serious FOMO that we didn’t get to attend ourselves. (Also, how perfect is it that Bethany and Gavin named their beer“How Amaze is this Porter” to tie in with their wedding hashtag, #howamazewedding?)

Now over to the bride, who looked beautiful in Essense of Australia…

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A London Wedding

Bethany, the bride: We got married at Trinity Buoy Wharf. It was a long search for a venue as we were determined to not have a wedding/party in a hotel ballroom and additionally we wanted a venue that none of our friends had been to! We did a lot of searching for venues, but it was all worth the wait! We also chose this venue as we knew that if we were going to get married in London then we actually wanted to be able to see London (Bethany grew up in the Suffolk and Shropshire countrysides, so that was an option too!).

We didn’t want all of our guests who were coming from across the world to come to our wedding and then be in a room which could have been anywhere. So we found a lighthouse on the Thames, opposite the O2 with the city in the background, it was perfect!

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An Essense of Australia Bride for a Sunset Jewish Wedding at Cochav Hayam in Caesarea, Israel

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Okay, we just can’t even with that sunset chuppah. Truly the stuff Jewish wedding dreams are made of. But would you believe it if we told you that wasn’t even the most remarkable thing about the incredible wedding of STG Brides Club member  (and blogging bride) Lindsay, an insight manager at a media agency, to groom Dan, an account manager working in corporate events?

So first of all, we’re OBSESSED with Lindsay and Dan’s table plan: they got a polaroid of every guest, then wrote a personal note on the back. These were all laid out for guests to collect as they came in and find their table numbers. Genius!

We’re also super inspired that these two worked with non-profit Israel Blooms, an organization that will collect flowers leftover at the end of the wedding and repurpose them into small arrangements that they distribute in hospitals and old age homes. What a meaningful (and easy) way to spread the joy of your big day!

The couple’s photos from Idan Canfi and video from Ruslan Shane are simply sensational, and we love that Lindsay and Dan opted to have a separate couple’s photoshoot a couple of days after the wedding – this allowed them to get some dreamy portraits without them having to take time out of the wedding for photos. Such a smart idea!

Oh, and did we mention that Lindsay and Dan are working with the incredible Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Abby Taubman of Colletts Travel to plan their honeymoon to Australia and Thailand next year?

Now over to the bride, who looked lovely in her Essense of Australia dress…

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How we met

Lindsay, the bride: We met through my cousin’s wife. She was an old school friend of Dan’s and decided that we would be a great match – and she was right!

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