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A Grace Loves Lace Bride for a Desert Jewish Wedding at The Lodge at Ventana Canyon, Arizona, USA

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Today we’re featuring the wedding of a very special Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Jenna! You see, way back in the Before Times, Jenna hosted the very first NYC Brides Club meetup – a challah bake at her place in Brooklyn, which, as a mega-talented baker, she also led!

During the pandemic, she and now-husband Mat (who’ve got a super cute how-they-met story, by the way) relocated from NYC back to their shared hometown of Tucson, Arizona, where they also held their wedding – and while I know the New York Brides Club crew misses Jenna’s generosity and baking prowess, after taking a look at the gorgeous landscape featured in She.We Studio’s photos, can you really blame her?!

Even before Jenna and Mat’s move back to the Southwest, they always knew they wanted their wedding to reflect the beauty of the region where they met and grew up. Their main requirement in a venue was epic mountain views, their ketubah featured watercolor mountains reminiscent of Tucson’s, their invites featured prickly pear cacti – Jenna’s bridal bouquet even featured succulents! And she found the perfect lightweight gown for Arizona climate at Grace Loves Lace, too.

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful wedding, and we’ll let Jenna tell you all about it in her own words – but before we do, we’ve got to share her kind words about her time in Brides Club:

“I joined the Brides Club because Smashing the Glass really is the only resource out there for modern Jewish weddings. The Brides Club was a way to have that same community I was seeing from other wedding resources, but with the added bonus of people actually understanding questions related to a Jewish wedding.  What I didn’t know was that I would meet so many wonderful women and make so many amazing friendships, which was especially helpful when Covid hit and caused so many of us to change or cancel our plans.  I honestly couldn’t have weathered two postponements without being surrounded by my friends and having Karen there for mental and emotional support.”

Awww! Doesn’t get much better than that, does it? Take it away, Jenna!

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How we Met

Jenna, the bride: I am a data analyst, currently working in retail, & Mat is a customer success manager in tech.  We actually met back in 1994 (we weren’t even two years old yet) at a tumbling class at a local park’s rec center.  We reconnected throughout life, as we both grew up in Tucson, AZ and belonged to the same synagogue (I even stole Mat’s birthday for my Bat Mitzvah date), but we happened to both be at a mutual friend’s high school graduation party (who ended up being our wedding videographer) one summer.

It turned out that Mat was going to be in the same freshman business mentorship program at our local university I had been in the year prior (I was a grade ahead of Mat in school) and was planning to attend the orientation that following week (University of Arizona is a large school with multiple orientation dates).  A few days later, I got a Facebook message from Mat saying “I got your book.”  Somehow, Mat got the book we read in the business mentorship program that I had signed – out of 60 from my year and 60 in his incoming year and of all orientation dates, he got my book!  When school started, I invited Mat to our school’s Chabad welcome back barbeque for free kosher food, and the rest is history (although, it would take us until March of the following year to start dating).Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Real Jewish Brides: Jenna on Slowing Things Down

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Jenna will be marrying Mat in November 2021 at The Lodge at Ventana Canyon in Tucson, Arizona. Click here to read all Jenna’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Jenna + Mat have known each other all their lives – they met when they were both one-year-old at a baby class! (2) Their relationship began at the University of Arizona in March 2012 (3) Mat proposed at Jenna’s parents house in December 2018


As many of you may know by now from my past blogging bride posts, we moved back to Arizona!  On top of that, I just started a new job on 4/12 (and loving it), we are trying to get back into the wedding planning, and we get our second Covid vaccinations this week.  A lot going on, but it all leads to us being able to have, not just the wedding, but the wedding we want. 

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Real Jewish Brides: Jenna on Postponing for the Third Time

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Jenna will be marrying Mat in November 2021 at The Lodge at Ventana Canyon in Tucson, Arizona. Click here to read all Jenna’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Jenna + Mat have known each other all their lives – they met when they were both one-year-old at a baby class! (2) Their relationship began at the University of Arizona in March 2012 (3) Mat proposed at Jenna’s parents house in December 2018


Things have been quite crazy these past few weeks! We packed up our apartment in Brooklyn & started a cross-country drive to move back home to Tucson, AZ. So thankful for pods-style moving services that let you pack up, then they ship the moving pods, & deliver when you’re ready!

We already have our hands full driving with a cat, I’m glad we don’t have to be driving a Uhaul. Can’t wait to be fully moved into our large, less expensive than our one-bedroom-NYC-apartment house! Our drive will have taken us through 12 states total & with 2 stops along the way to see people: one with a friend from college & a 2nd stop with my brother, sister-in-law, & nephews, just in time for Purim!

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Real Jewish Brides: Jenna on Moving back to Tucson, Arizona!

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Jenna will be marrying Mat on 13th June 2021 at The Lodge at Ventana Canyon in Tucson, Arizona. Click here to read all Jenna’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Jenna + Mat have known each other all their lives – they met when they were both one-year-old at a baby class! (2) Their relationship began at the University of Arizona in March 2012 (3) Mat proposed at Jenna’s parents house in December 2018


The news is official!  My fiancé, Mat, and I will be moving back home to Tucson, AZ! Like so many during these days, we are now both fully remote.  This means we can move out of our tiny one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn and to somewhere cheaper where we can rent much, much more space.  Our lease is up at the end of February, so we’ll be packing up a Pod (love this style of moving, as you pack it up, they drive it, and can even store it until you have a final delivery location), packing up the cat who will detest being stuck in her carrier that long, and heading out west.

Goodbye snow, cold, subways, small apartment – hello warm Tucson, those beautiful sunsets, stunning mountains, space (especially outdoor space), and Sonoran Mexican food (my personal favorite style of Mexican food)!

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Real Jewish Brides: Jenna on Keeping Busy

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Jenna will be marrying Mat on 13th June 2021 at The Lodge at Ventana Canyon in Tucson, Arizona. Click here to read all Jenna’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Jenna + Mat have known each other all their lives – they met when they were both one-year-old at a baby class! (2) Their relationship began at the University of Arizona in March 2012 (3) Mat proposed at Jenna’s parents house in December 2018

I have to say I struggled with this blog post.  There hasn’t really been any update in regards to my wedding planning progress, as we were set to be married on September 6, 2020 and postponed to June 13, 2021, so we have been mostly set with our planning process.  It has also been hard to get the little details done when my fiancé and I live across the country from where we are getting married.  Things feel pretty much the same as when I wrote my last blog post about our postponed wedding weekend and Mat’s birthday.

We have been doing things, like the occasional brunch outside, socially distant weekend afternoons spent with friends in our building, exploring our neighborhood by letting the streetlights tell us where to go on our walks, or taking the ferry between Brooklyn and Manhattan.  I guess the main life update for us has been regarding my job becoming a fully remote position.  That for sure has been a big change for me and has taken a lot to wrap my head around.  With so much changing in the world and my own life, I’ve needed things to keep me feeling grounded.

One has been cooking and especially baking (if you are not a member of the Bride’s Club, join and you will get access to the recordings of the Pumpkin Spice Roll Challah virtual bake I am leading on 11/7) and choir – well, virtual choir.

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