TOMS Archives - Smashing the Glass

A BHLDN Bride for an Exuberant Jewish Wedding on the Beach at Paradisus Cancun, Mexico

21/03/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Here at Smashing The Glass we talk a lot about enjoying your day your way and embracing the fun of the wedding day, but today’s bride takes it to a whole new level: gorgous Eden jumped into a pool in her wedding dress straight after her ceremony! #wecouldntloveheranymore

Eden, a kindergarten teacher at a Jewish day school (and a former wedding planner!), and Matan, who runs a construction company, planned a delightfully free-spirited day focused around all the things they love: an intimate day with only those closest to them, a gorgeous beach setting, a rocking party, and color color color—white flowers were forbidden, and groom Matan donned a bright red suit!

The LA-based couple chose to wed at the Paradisus hotel in the beachy wonderland of Cancun, Mexico, where Eden’s parents were living. In keeping with the laid-back beachy theme of the day, Eden opted for a stunningly simple two-piece gown from BHLDN. For the full-on tropical paradise vibe, she even went barefoot for her outdoor ceremony. Photographer Michael Segal did such a fab job capturing the exuberance of the day!

Following the ceremony, the couple took a dramatic plunge into the Paradisus’s gorgeous pool, fully decked out in their wedding attire! From there on out, the day transitioned into a full-on, chilled-out pool/dance party—which was the couple’s favorite thing about their wedding weekend. Eden says it felt like being at summer camp—now over to the bride herself…

How we met

Eden, the bride: You know how sometimes all it takes is a minute to fall in love? Well, for us all it took was some red velvet pancakes on a Saturday morning. I was 20, and definitely didn’t think I needed help from my mom to get a date. So when she texted me “I gave your number to my client with a cute brother,” I was NOT excited. But, I figured what’s done is done – if nothing else it’s a free meal. He insisted on picking me up for breakfast the next day (which at the time was super creepy in my mind but is now the most romantic) and ordered us red velvet pancakes. I guess the rest is history.

A Blush and Rose Gold Color Scheme for a Romantic Jew-ish Wedding at The Ballroom at Ellis Preserve, Philadelphia, USA

19/01/2018 by Karen

Today’s real wedding is a very special one – and not just because it’s an absolute beauty (which it TOTALLY is) but because dear Gillian is one of our much-loved real blogging brides of 2017! It’s such an honor and a privilege to finally be able to share her and Pete’s Jew-ish wedding day.

We love a Jew-ish wedding where both cultures and backgrounds are represented, and Gillian and Pete’s mixed-faith ceremony saw their priest and rabbi working together to create something that truly represented them – too beautiful!

Beautiful bride Gillian looked a million bucks in her Tara Keely gown, which she paired with meaningful and custom-made accessories, with a little help from her dad, who is a tailor, and also made Pete’s midnight suit.

A color scheme of blush shades and rose gold is, of course, the ideal excuse to rock that mismatched bridesmaids look, and the overall effect was absolutely stunning.

The couple had so many unique and borrow-able ideas, such as cute-as-a-button custom acrylic signs and the most adorable postcard guest book idea. Guests wrote their good wishes for the couple on postcards, which are still being posted on to them by family to this day. What an excellent way to make your big day last!

The story of the day was captured by the brilliant Blaise Szallasi, whose spread of images you can see below, and the totally stunning cinematic videography is by Wise Films.

We’ll leave you in Gillian’s capable hands for her brilliant writeup. We’ve loved having Gillian’s upbeat voice on the blog, so please give her a standing ovation. Take it away, Gillian!

How we met

Gillian, the bride: We met in graduate school getting our masters in OT.
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A Greenery-filled Rustic Jewish Wedding at Aquatopia, Ottawa, Canada

04/12/2017 by Karen

Greenery is the Pantone Color of the Year 2017 and it seems that Taylor & Dovi intentionally, or unintentionally, took a huge note of that! Just look what you can achieve with well-placed greenery! We’ve just spent our whole morning swooning over Taylor and Dovi’s nature-inspired Jewish wedding, and with very good reason! The whole effect was just enchanting, and the perfect setting for a heartfelt family day.

These gorgeous high school sweethearts held their simply beautiful, rustic-look wedding at Aquatopia in Ottowa, Canada. Incorporating beautifully-placed greenery, rustic signs and romantic lanterns, the décor was understated enough to let the natural surroundings of the venue shine, but still stunning in its own right. Absolutely dreamy!

We literally gasped when we saw the magical chuppah design, with vines hanging down, framing the happy couple. Such a unique idea and so well executed – we’ll definitely be filing that one under ‘totally steal-able’!

Beautiful bride, Taylor, looked like a whimsical woodland princess in her two-piece gown, comprised of designs by Saja Wedding and Wtoo respectively. We LOVE the idea of combining two designs to create the dream dress!

There were unique touches galore: ‘meant to bee’ honey pot Rosh Hashanah favors, marvellously mismatched bridesmaids, a Polaroid guestbook and one very emotional bride’s speech!

The story of the day was captured with aplomb by photographer Agatha Rowland and the wonderful writeup is by bride Taylor, who we’ll hand over to now for the full report! Enjoy – and don’t forget to Pin the pictures you love.

How we met

Taylor, the bride: We met in high school ten years ago!
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A Jew-ish fairy princess garden wedding with an Allure gown at Old Red Museum, Dallas, Texas, USA

13/02/2017 by Karen

We love a bit of magic and whimsy on STG, and what could be more whimsical and delightful than a fairy princess garden theme?

Evan and Jeremy met at college where they became friends, and were later reunited when a work opportunity brought them back together.

Evan was adorned with precious family heirlooms, including her mother’s veil and jewellery from both grandmothers and her great-great grandmother, and shoe lovers who lack self control should shield their eyes now (don’t say we didn’t warn you) because you’re definitely going to want to splash out on a pair of the bride’s stunning, crystal-embellished Badgley Mischka heels. Can we say ‘bling’?

The couple had a Jew-ish wedding – an interfaith ceremony that integrated both Christian and Jewish traditions, honouring both the bride and groom’s respective backgrounds.

This gorgeous fairy princess garden themed wedding took place at idyllic venue, Old Red Museum in Texas, USA and all the details were expertly captured by AR Photography.

Let’s hand over to Evan to fill you in on every last detail!

How we met

Evan, the bride: Jeremy and I met at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX when he was a junior and I was a freshman. We became instant friends, and had a great (completely platonic) friendship for the rest of my college career. When spring rolled around my senior year, Jeremy reached out to me in regards to a job opportunity at his company.

He was living in Houston, Texas and I was targeting Austin, Texas. I got the job in his company’s Austin office. Shortly after, we began talking consistently. He then asked me to meet up with his friends and go camping one weekend. After that, the rest is history. Four months later he got a job offer in Seattle, and that is where we decided to start our lives together. A year and a half on from our move, he proposed.

A Modern Trousseau Bride for an intimate ‘dinner party-style’ Jewish wedding at Kettle Cove and Five Fifty-Five Bistro, Maine, USA

13/09/2016 by Karen

Lauren and Aaron met online (they’re actually one of several online dating success stories featured on STG!), and Lauren says she knew by the second date that she wanted to meet Aaron under the chuppah… 😉

…And when it came to deciding how they would celebrate that eventual meeting under the chuppah, they knew they didn’t want a traditional wedding with bridal parties or first dance formalities. All they truly wanted was simply to marry one another with the people they love close by their sides.

I love it when couples make their weddings a representation of who they are and feel free to remove anything that just doesn’t fit them, and Lauren & Aaron’s Big Day is exactly that – a wedding that reflects who they are and what they wanted, which was a truly intimate outdoor ceremony on the water, followed by a small ‘dinner party style’ reception at a local restaurant.

From the farmhouse they rented in Southern Maine that housed their closest friends for a week,to the intimate ceremony on a peninsula jutting out into the foggy Atlantic, and the cosy dinner in downtown Portland, Maine where they could turn in their chairs to talk to anyone in attendance, their entire wedding was an intimate, homely, warm affair.

And since their wedding was held in a public park (Kettle Cove), they knew that they needed a simple chuppah that they could transport, put up, and take down easily. They ended up purchasing four tall birch branches and using Aaron’s tallit for the top of the chuppah. Aaron is great at engineering solutions and mechanical design, so he created a tension-free system using twine, the tallit, and four small hooks in each of the birch branches to create the chuppah of their dreams. Who said Jewish boys are no good at DIY?! (Oh, and if you want to build your own chuppah for your wedding, there’s a lovely tutorial on the blog, right over here).

Lauren and Aaron joke that their wedding theme was a “wedding-themed dinner party.” They knew that they wanted to be able to spend quality time with their families and closest friends, and wanted their ceremony to incorporate the beauty and experience of the outdoors, with a cosy reception with great food where they could spend time appreciating their family and guests.

All the pretty and emotion has been captured perfectly by Sarah V. Martinez. Enjoy!

How we met

Lauren, the Bride: Aaron and I met via a dating website and exchanged a few witty emails before meeting in person at a coffee shop called ‘The Thinking Cup’, right off of the Boston Common. After coffee and tea, I asked Aaron if he was hungry, to which he replied “of course,” and we walked through the Common to a pizza shop on Charles St. The rest is history…