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A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Dog Lovers’ Barnyard Jewish Wedding at Red Gate Farms, Savannah, Georgia, USA

17/01/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We love a good barn wedding. And a wedding with pets. AND a Jewish wedding where the couple goes the extra mile to personalize their ceremony. Put all those things together, and you’ve got one incredible day.

Jacqui and James pulled off the perfect laid-back barn wedding – the bride wanted all the guests to feel “like they were hanging out in their own backyard,” and based on the gorgeous photos from Sarah Diller, we’d say she definitely succeeded.

And how cute is it that the couple got their beloved dogs in on the fun? We’re obsessed with the pics of the pair walking back down the aisle with their sweet pups in tow.

Although Jacqui and James’ wedding was not religious – they were married by a friend, not a rabbi – we love the way they incorporated Jewish traditions in a way that was authentic and meaningful to them as a couple, opting to wed under a chuppah and sign a gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com, while forgoing the traditional ceremony in favor of one the bride wrote herself!

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll let the bride, who looked lovely in Maggie Sottero, take it from here..

Venue

Jacqui, the bride: I have always dreamed of an outdoor, barn yard, casual wedding. Red Gate Farms located in the beautiful, historic city of Savannah, GA was the absolute perfect location!

A David’s Bride for a Rustic DIY Backyard Jewish Wedding on a Budget in Door County, Wisconsin, USA

13/12/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We were sold on this DIY Jewish wedding on a budget from the moment we read in the brides writeup, “We wanted the wedding to be about the community coming together.” Because isn’t that really what it’s all about?

Super crafty couple Federica and Nathan did nearly everything either themselves or with the help of family and friends – from building their own birch chuppah (from fallen trees on the groom’s family’s property!) to creating their own playlists to setting up on the day. Nathan’s mother grew and picked the flowers, and designed Federica’s bridal bouquet. Even the photographer, Mandelette, just happened to be the groom’s cousin!

And Federica did her own hair and makeup, baked her own wedding cake, AND designed and illustrated the invitations, on the day stationery, and ketubah – talk about a triple threat!

It’s really touching to hear how this wedding brought the couple’s friends and family together – with the bridal party, the families, and the couple themselves all pitching in to help with setup the morning of the wedding. But we’ll let the bride, who looked stunning in her Davidʼs Bridal dress, tell you about that…

How we met

Federica, the bride: We met in 2013 attending Ulpan in Israel. The first time I saw him he had just gotten off his Aliyah flight and still had his suitcase with him. We went from the small Kibbutz where we met to living in Tel Aviv, from Tel Aviv to northern Italy and now Rome.

A WToo by Watters Bride for a DIY Jewish Wedding at Newhall Mansion, Piru, California, USA

02/12/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Jewish-Wedding-Newhall-Mansion-Piru-California-USA

By now you probably know there’s very little that warms our hearts like a couple planning a wedding that’s 100% THEM. Which is exactly what Brides Club member Samantha, a writer, and groom Jeff, who’s in finance — as Samantha says, “our careers are as disparate as our heights!” – did.

Their wedding was so full of unique DIY touches, we’re not even sure where to begin! Well, we could tell you that Samantha made ALL the décor herself – and she so enjoyed crafting chalkboard signs explaining everything from the game board guest book (yep, another personal touch) to the unplugged ceremony that she’s started a side business for wedding décor and stationery, Lettered in LA!

And how lovely is it that the couple used Samantha’s late grandma’s lace tablecloth as their chuppah canopy? Set atop birch poles and adorned with wildflower arrangements, it not only had sentimental value but looked totally stunning – see the beautiful pics from Rachel Stelter Photography for evidence!

We also love that Samantha and Jeff wrote their own ketubah text – which they then had Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink with Intent turn into a true piece of art (and, as a Brides Club member, Samantha even got a great discount!) – just as much as we love that the pair opted to flout tradition by waking up together on their wedding day and exchanging cards they’d written to each other. Awww! We’re not surprised Samantha reports this was one of their favorite parts of the entire day – and it just goes to show, it always pays to follow your heart in wedding planning.

Now over to the bride, who looked beautiful in her WToo by Watters gown…

How we met

Samantha, the bride: We met at a dinner party with friends about a year before we started dating. We were friends and then one thing led to another and we haven’t looked back – 6 years into our relationship and 6 weeks into our marriage, we’re both still as in love as we were at the beginning.

A Reem Acra Bride for an Enchanted Forest Jewish Wedding at Gotham Hall, New York City, USA

15/11/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

As Karen wraps up her whirlwind tour of NYC, we’ve got another New York-tastic Jewish wedding for you to celebrate her first trip out here on official Smashing The Glass business.

Today’s couple, Charlotte and Nate, went for classic Manhattan glam with a touch of Midsummer Night’s Dream fantasy. First off, can we talk about their chuppah?! In honor of the bride’s love for greenery, the couple’s florist basically created a mini enchanted forest right in the middle of their grand, old-school venue.

With hanging greenery, white blossoms, birch poles, and tons of sparkling lights, it’s truly something to behold. And keeping the magical vibes going strong for the guests, these two even had trees to match placed in the middle of the seating area! Even their gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com featured a tree! And the photography team from Fred Marcus Studio and videographers at Current Films captured everything so perfectly.

We’re also obsessed with Charlotte’s gorgeous, classic gown from Reem Acra – with a gorgeous beaded jacket on top for that little something extra. We’ll let this stylish bride take it from here…

A New York City Wedding

Charlotte, the bride: Gotham Hall is a classic new york city venue that I think stands out from all the rest. It is a super glamorous and grand venue but still achieves the charm and intimacy that I was looking for. I also loved working with the Gotham Hall team, they are all fantastic.

A Carolina Herrera Bride for an Elegant Argentinian-American Jewish Wedding at the Gramercy Park Hotel, New York City, USA

11/11/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s real Jewish wedding is just SO very NYC… which is appropriate, because this week Karen’s taking the Big Apple by storm! All of us at Team STG are VERY excited for her first official STG trip to the greatest city in the world – check out our Instagram Stories for the next few days to see what she’s up to!

But back to the wedding… wonderful Brides Club member Julie and groom Guillermo got married at the Gramercy Park Hotel, which is also where they went on their first date! The fact that it’s got killer NYC views didn’t hurt either.

Everything about this wedding was perfectly NYC chic, from the understatedly elegant floral chuppah to the simple, timeless ketubah the couple chose from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor (and East Village local!) The Ketubah to the artsy, creative photography by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si (who Julie and Guillermo loved so much they flew him in from Tel Aviv – and no wonder, his style was such a perfect fit for their big day). The pair even brought in quirky entertainment like a tarot card reader and a poet to write personalized haikus for guests!

And in true New York tradition, this wedding was delightfully multicultural, with all kinds of touches incorporating Guillermo’s roots in Argentina, from Argentinian dance music to late night empanadas.

As always, we’re so happy to hear that Brides Club helped make this wedding the smashing success it was – Julie loved our planning resources and vendor recs, and she was able to take advantage of a bunch of amazing discounts offered just to members of the club!

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll let Julie, who looked stunning in Carolina Herrera, fill you in on the rest…

Venue

Julie, the bride: We got married at the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City. We chose this venue because it is where we had our first date! The story goes… I was moving from Boston to NYC, and while on a trip to NYC for work/apartment hunting, I stayed at the Gramercy Park Hotel. We connected through an app the day I arrived in the city and arranged to meet one week later (my last day before returning home). I asked if he could meet me at the hotel bar, since I needed to grab my bags before heading to the train.

Two hours before the date, I got an unexpected job offer in London, which was a city I’d been dreaming of living for 10+ years. I debated with my friends if it was more rude to cancel last minute or to show up and say I was moving to London! Good thing I didn’t cancel 🙂 One year later, we celebrated our engagement with a night at GPH and dinner at the hotel restaurant where we had our first date.

Aside from its significance, we loved the venue because it provided stunning views of New York City and a unique floorplan. Rather than a standard ballroom, the hotel has an outdoor terrace surrounding multiple interior rooms. We did not want to follow the typical wedding structure (skip the long sit down dinner, and let’s get right to the party), and this venue naturally lent itself to something less traditional. Bonus: it is also covered in incredible modern artwork from Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Jean-Michel Basquiat and more.