Texas Jewish Wedding Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Romona Keveza Bride for an Elegant Jewish Pandemic Wedding at the South Congress Hotel, Austin, Texas, USA

16/04/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

We could not be any more delighted to be sharing the gorgeous Jewish wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Maiya, the executive director of Texas Hillel, and Jerry, a physician in the US Army and a fellow in gastroenterology in San Antonio.

These two firmed up their plans for a wedding showcasing Austin at its finest in early 2020, just before the pandemic hit the US. Even as the situation worsened, they were always clear that they wanted to wed on their original December 2020 date, at their original venue, the South Congress Hotel in Austin, TX.

In the end, while Maiya and Jerry did have to drastically scale down their in-person guest list, they were still able to throw a celebration that was nothing less than fabulous. We’re obsessed with their exquisite Ruth Becker ketubah, purchased from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com, and TwoFish Weddings’s luminous photos are positively magical.

Maiya and Jerry also set up a livestream for their family and friends who couldn’t be there in person, and over 150 ended up tuning in. We love that the week prior to the wedding, the couple mailed boxes filled with wedding goodies, including baked goods from the venue, favors, and personal notes, to their long-distance VIPs – what a fun way to make virtual guests feel a part of the action!

Now over to the bride, who looked super chic in Romona New York…

How we Met

Maiya, the bride: We met in 2018 in San Antonio at the Historic Pearl. Continue Reading

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

01/05/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

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…

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!

A Daalarna Couture Bride for an Autumnal Interfaith Jewish Wedding at Hotel Ella, Austin, Texas, USA

19/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Can you believe it’s Erev Passover this evening? How did that happen already?! And what are you doing for seder night tonight? I’ve just arrived home from 10 days in Israel on a family holiday, and heading to my in-laws in South London for our Erev Seder (I’ll be sharing snippets from our evening over on our Instagram Stories!)

And onto today’s gorgeous Texan interfaith Jewish wedding: Rachel, who works in marketing at Microsoft, and Joshua, an entrepreneur and founder of Standout Authority (#isntsheloveLEEatx), crafted a very special wedding reflecting the merging of their two backgrounds.

The couple had a totally gorgeous chuppah that perfectly combined tradition and modernity in some unexpected but beautiful ways – which Rachel felt was especially fitting in light of the pair’s interfaith relationship (she’s Jewish, he isn’t). Between the gold base, white drapery, and asymmetrical florals, they absolutely succeeded in their goal to come up with something just a little bit different – a perfect reflection of the new chapter of their lives marked by this wonderful celebration.

From the dramatic autumnal jewel tones to the emotion and love, photographer Misty Mclendon and videographer Lauren Maria did such a fantastic job capturing all the moments of this meaningful day.

We love what these two did for their “guest book”: they had a beautiful drawing of a tree and had their guests “leaf a thumbprint” to sign! Now, instead of a book that rarely gets opened, they have a unique piece of art to display in their home. Another great touch? Rachel and Joshua left a box for people to share their bucket list ideas!

Also, how cool is it that the rabbi wore cowboy boots? Doesn’t get much more Texas than that!

We’ll leave it to the bride – who looked so elegant in her Daalarna Couture gown – to fill you in on the rest… Oh, and before we go, Team STG wishes you a very happy Passover, however you’re celebrating!

An Austin Wedding

Rachel, the bride: Joshua and I got married at the Hotel Ella in Austin, Texas. We wanted a venue that was in Austin, not too far from the center of the city since we wanted to show our out-of-town family and friends what the city is all about.

We had seen about 5 places before going to the Hotel Ella and the second we saw the room, we knew it was it. We loved the mix of old and new – the colonial feel of the boutique hotel with the eclectic and modern design inside. It really represented our classic and modern attitude with Rachel being from Los Angeles and Joshua being from Texas.Continue Reading

A Kate McDonald Bride for a Book-Themed Jewish Wedding with His and Hers Rain Ponchos at the Julia Ideson Library in Houston, Texas, USA

19/10/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re totally in love with today’s literary-themed Jewish wedding. Rachel and Paul took full advantage of their library venue with some super cool touches, like library card save-the-dates (stamped with significant dates in their relationship — awwww!) and a library-style card catalog of place cards instead of a traditional seating chart. Is that the cutest, or what?!

Turns out Rachel, who is pursuing a PhD in art history, and Paul, who works for a marketing software company, are not only adorable, but also clever. They knew they didn’t want to miss out on their fantastic catering, and they also knew that couples often get so busy running around and greeting everyone they don’t get a chance to eat.

So they decided to eat their full dinner meal during their yichud during the cocktail reception, making the most of their special first moments alone as a just-married couple. The best part of all? To protect their wedding clothes from any spills, they opted to wear“His” and “Hers” rain ponchos while eating — you’ve got to check out Grant and Laine Daniels’ photos of this adorable moment.

Oh yeah, and Rachel wore a super cool gown from Kate McDonald, one of our favorite new-to-us finds at New York Bridal Fashion Week earlier this month! We are totally digging the cool damask fabric. Rachel picked out totally awesome (and unexpected) wedding shoes too — you won’t want to miss them! Now over to the bride…

How We Met

Rachel, the bride: We were set up by our close friends who thought we would hit it off, and I guess they were right! That was five years ago, and it was clear we were right for each other right away.

A Hayley Paige Bride for a Sparkling Winter Jewish Wedding at The Allan House, Austin, Texas, USA

30/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

You spend so much time and energy coming up with a beautiful chuppah design for your Jewish wedding — isn’t it a shame that it only really features for the duration of the ceremony?

Lindsay, who produces TV commercials, and Ben, a project manager for Google Fiber, thought so. And when you see the photos of their fantastic rose-strewn canopy, by Gia at Cory Ryan Photography, we think you’ll see why.

Loving the symbolism of the chuppah as their“new home,” after the ceremony they set up underneath it so that guests could come talk to them. They even stayed put under the canopy for dinner — such a great way to resolve that mealtime seating dilemma, right?!

Speaking of the meal, we just cannot get over Lindsay and Ben’s Fantastic Mr. Fox-themed wedding cake, inspired by the pair’s favorite movie. The cake topper, naturally, was bride-and-groom foxes, and the bottom layer featured the sweetest quote from the film.

Now over to the bride, who looked smashing in her striped dress by Hayley Paige…