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A Romantic Destination Jewish Wedding at Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy

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Naomi and Nathan, Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy

We love a Jewish wedding in Tuscany! And Montreal couple Naomi, a luxury travel concierge and planner, and Nathan, an accountant, had one of the best.

Their big day at Villa Medicea di Lilliano featured the chicest mismatched bridesmaids, a Mamma Mia-inspired flash mob, the most incredible kosher catering by Cantina Giuliano, and so much more.

To make the celebration of their dreams a reality, the couple opted to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Sandro Poli of The Couplers. In Naomi’s words,

If you’re Jewish and getting married in Italy he’s the guy for you!! He’s so amazing and super helpful. He really helped us with everything from A-Z. It was truly amazing working with him especially since he spoke Italian and is also Jewish so he really knew the ins and outs of everything. I couldn’t recommend him enough. He truly became family.

Sandro, who worked in fashion before becoming a wedding planner, even sewed sleeves onto Naomi’s dress 20 minutes before the chuppah!

Don’t miss the wonderfully stylish photos by Isabella Pratesi – they’re truly something special.

Read on for all the details in Naomi’s own words…

Naomi and Nathan, Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy Naomi and Nathan, Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy Naomi and Nathan, Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy Naomi and Nathan, Villa Medicea di Lilliano, Tuscany, Italy

How We Met

Naomi, the bride: Nathan and I grew up in Montreal and are the same age. The Jewish community of Montreal is incredibly special and everyone kind of knows each other. Growing up we always kind of knew of each other (we went to different Jewish schools though). The summer of 2021 my best friend suggested going on a trip to Greece with a couple of her friends. At the time she was seeing Nathan’s cousin so she invited him and he invited his friends. We ended up doing a big trip to Greece! There is where Nathan and I’s friendship started. And then once we got back we pretty much fell in love right away. We started dating two weeks later.

Funnily enough earlier that summer Nathan worked for my dad (my dad owns a kosher pizza restaurant) and Nathan was doing deliveries as a summer job! So my dad already loved him and he was accepted into the family pretty quickly. On our way back from Greece we were all supposed to go to Israel but due to Covid our flights got cancelled. Him and his friends ended up going to Paris (they are all from there) and by fluke I ended up stuck in Paris for 3 days. We hung out every day. Honestly we’ve been inseparable since.

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A Lazaro Bride for an Interfaith Jewish-Catholic Wedding at Castello di Meleto, Tuscany, Italy

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Danielle and Greg, Castello di Meleto in Gaiole, Chianti,Tuscany, Italy

We love a Tuscan wedding – and today’s is really something special. New Yorkers Danielle, a manager at a boutique management consulting firm, and Greg, the COO and CCO at a hedge fund, are passionate travelers and dreamed of a wedding surrounded by rolling vineyards and world-class wines.

It’s no easy feat to plan a wedding from thousands of miles away, and the couple turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Tuscan Wedding to help make the day of their dreams a reality. In Danielle’s words:

The Tuscan Wedding team truly exceeded all expectations. Daniela and Katia were our main planners, and their combined expertise, creativity, and connections brought our vision to life. Daniela’s industry knowledge and relationships paired perfectly with Katia’s fresh ideas and unwavering support. They truly listened to what we wanted and turned it into reality. Thoughtful, kind, and full of great energy, they struck the perfect balance between offering guidance and letting us shape our dream wedding. By the end of it all, they felt more like lifelong friends than just our planners.

Danielle and Greg themed their day around The Tuscan beauty surrounding them, showcasing the bold colors and stunning natural landscape. They incorporated lots of local color with details like an espresso bar after dinner and a surprise appearance by an opera singer during dinner. Their gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com was chosen to beautifully complement the wedding’s color scheme. Don’t miss all the special details in the stunning photos and video by Aberrazioni Cromatiche Studio!

Read on for the full story in Danielle’s own words…

Danielle and Greg, Castello di Meleto in Gaiole, Chianti,Tuscany, ItalyDanielle and Greg, Castello di Meleto in Gaiole, Chianti,Tuscany, Italy Danielle and Greg, Castello di Meleto in Gaiole, Chianti,Tuscany, ItalyDanielle and Greg, Castello di Meleto in Gaiole, Chianti,Tuscany, Italy
How We Met

Danielle, the bride: We first met in January 2020 at Perry Street, a restaurant in the West Village, during Restaurant Week in Manhattan. Our mutual friends had organized a big dinner to take advantage of the great deals at some of the city’s best spots. After dinner, we spent the night bar-hopping through the West Village, talking, laughing, and getting to know each other. That night, we both started to feel like there was something worth exploring. A few weeks later, Greg asked Danielle on their first date—a New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. Sitting in the stands, caught up in the energy of the game, it became clear that this had the potential to turn into something special.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Berta Bride for a Jewish Wedding at Borgo Stomennano, Tuscany, Italy

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Yael-and-Joel-Borgo-Stomennano-Tuscany-Italy

There’s no question that Tuscany is one of the world’s most gorgeous destinations for a Jewish wedding – and Yael and Joel’s special day is just beyond!

After recovering from a serious car accident, the couple knew their top priority was spending quality time together with their loved ones – and so they decided to make a full wedding weekend of it at beautiful Borgo Stomennano, a picturesque historic estate nestled in the rolling hills of Tuscany.

The couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ronen Boidek, captured the day in all its glory. Yael says that Ronen “has so much talent and has this special capability to catch the essence of people’s personalities in his pictures,” and we couldn’t agree more!

Yael also looked absolutely radiant in her stunner of a gown by beloved Israeli bridal designer Berta – read on for the full story in her words…

Yael-and-Joel-Borgo-Stomennano-Tuscany-Italy Yael-and-Joel-Borgo-Stomennano-Tuscany-ItalyYael-and-Joel-Borgo-Stomennano-Tuscany-Italy Yael-and-Joel-Borgo-Stomennano-Tuscany-Italy
How We Met

Yael, the bride: We met at the wedding of our good friends Jenija and Steph in Tel Aviv, in 2017. Jenija and Yael went to kindergarten together and Joel and Steph met playing tennis together as kids while on holiday in Israel, a few decades ago.

Bride and groom thought we’d be a great match and had planned to seat us next to each other on their wedding at the singles table, but we already ‘found’ each other a few days before at their pre-party at the bar and have been inseparable ever since.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Lihi Hod Bride for an Enchanted Garden Jewish Wedding at Villa Orlando, Torre del Lago, Tuscany, Italy

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Natasha-and-Marc-Villa-Orlando-Torre-del-Lago-in-Tuscany-Italy

Today we’re thrilled to be sharing our first Jewish wedding of 2024, and is it ever a stunner! UK couple Natasha and Marc had the most exquisite lakeside Tuscan Jewish wedding, and we are OBSESSED.

To plan the day of their dreams abroad, the couple opted to work with Michelle Jacobs of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante by Michelle J, and she brought their vision of an enchanted candlelit garden wedding to life – including introducing them to their fabulous venue, Villa Orlando, and sorting everything from generators to furniture and beyond to transform the outdoor spaces.

We love the couple’s on-the-day stationery from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bigday Designs, and we can’t get enough of the elegant white and green color scheme – and that floral chuppah! Don’t miss it in the wonderful photos by James Mason and video by Whites Film.

There’s so much more to say about this very special day, but we’ll leave it to the bride – who looked ever so chic in her gown by Israeli designer Lihi Hod – to fill you in on the rest…

Natasha-and-Marc-Villa-Orlando-Torre-del-Lago-in-Tuscany-ItalyNatasha-and-Marc-Villa-Orlando-Torre-del-Lago-in-Tuscany-Italy Natasha-and-Marc-Villa-Orlando-Torre-del-Lago-in-Tuscany-ItalyNatasha-and-Marc-Villa-Orlando-Torre-del-Lago-in-Tuscany-Italy
A Wedding in Tuscany 

Natasha, the bride: Our venue was Villa Orlando which is in Torre del Lago in Tuscany, Italy.  I always wanted to get married overlooking a lake/water and our wedding planner took us on our venue search trip to Italy.

I knew it was the one immediately.  It’s a privately owned villa on the edge of the lake.  Our guests all stayed about 20 minutes away in Viareggio which is one of Tuscany’s coastal resorts and we held our welcome party in a beach club .

We kept the venue a secret and arranged coaches to bring all our guests to the wedding.

Our wedding venue was the Orlando family’s private home and we had access to all of the outdoor spaces; we could not have done it without a wedding planner as everything had to be brought in, including generators,  toilets,  kitchen equipment, furniture and all of the sound and lighting.

We also had a marquee on hold in case of rain, though thankfully we did not need it.

We used different areas of the property for each part of our wedding –  so the chuppah was in front of the villa, by the lake, the aperito was by the boat house and the wedding dinner was at the side of the villa. It was an unusual space and it took a lot of discussion to agree how it was going to work including where to place the stage, dance floor and the bar.  It ended up being quite an unusal layout with our top table at the side of the dance floor,  but it worked really well.Continue ReadingContinue Reading