Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Home > USA > Page 40

A BHLDN Bride for a Literary Jewish Wedding with DIY Touches at the Bride’s Parents’ Family Home in Falmouth, MA, USA

by

Jewish-wedding-bride’s-parents’-family-home-in-Falmouth-MA

We love it when a couple makes their Jewish wedding 100% truly THEM. And that’s exactly what Leah, a project manager, and Alex, a lab tech and soon-to-be nursing student, did in their literary-themed backyard wedding, which celebrated the pair’s love of reading, family, and of course their beloved cats!

Their wonderful wedding planner, Luba Gankin from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Primavera Dreams, helped them pull all these strands together to make one ultra-memorable day. We can’t get enough of all the fun details like centerpieces made of old books and escort card bookmarks made of recycled book pages – plus the super colorful chuppah canopy, made from a piece of traditional Egyptian wedding tent cloth the bride brought back with her after spending three years living in Egypt! Photographer Alex Gordias captured it all so beautifully.

Oh, and did we mention that the bride – who looked lovely in her wedding dress from BHLDN – baked the wedding cake (for 150 guests) herself?!

Now over to the couple…

Jewish-wedding-bride’s-parents’-family-home-in-Falmouth-MA Jewish-wedding-bride’s-parents’-family-home-in-Falmouth-MA
How we met

Leah and Alex, the bride and the groom: The bride and groom first met 16 years ago at age 15 when they were competitive Latin ballroom dancers in high school! The groom claims he had a crush on the bride at the time.

Fast forward 14 years, and the groom moved in with one of the bride’s closest friends completely by chance. When the bride came to visit her friend, she was surprised to find Alex there but impressed with the excellent job he’d done growing up. And the rest is history! True to their roots, the bride and groom performed a sensual tango to Leonard Cohen’s ‘Dance Me To The End of Love’.
Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An International Egalitarian Waterfront Jewish Wedding at Two Rivers Country Club, Williamsburg, VA, USA

by

Jewish wedding Two Rivers Country Club in Williamsburg, VA , USA_0407

Chag sameach, smashing readers! We hope you’re having a wonderful Rosh Hashanah, however you choose to celebrate – to paraphrase our tag line, your Rosh Hashanah, your way!

Speaking of which – we just love it when a couple merges their backgrounds into a Jewish wedding that’s so perfectly them it couldn’t possibly be anyone else’s. Like Lauren and Josh. American bride Lauren, who works in communications, and English groom Josh, can accountant, wed in the most beautiful waterfront spot in Lauren’s home state of Virginia.

Combining the bride’s Reform Ashkenazi background with the groom’s Sephardi Orthodox upbringing was paramount for these two – as was crafting a fully egalitarian ceremony – and we think they did a fantastic job working both of their traditions plus their shared modern values into their beautiful ceremony. For instance, their gorgeous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com displays the traditional text with the Liebermann clause included, alongside an English translation of the couple’s choosing. And while mostly keeping the ceremony traditional, the pair opted to exchange rings and to skip out on circling. We’re obsessed with Maria  Grace Photography’s joyous, emotional shots of  the chuppah – and the whole fantastic day.

And how sweet is it that Lauren’s father built the couple’s simple birch chuppah, which Lauren and Josh covered with both of their tallitot from growing up!

We can’t let you go without mentioning how much we love that Lauren found her fab dusty rose bridesmaids’ dresses right here on STG – we’ll let her take it from here…

Jewish wedding Two Rivers Country Club in Williamsburg, VA , USA_0379Jewish wedding Two Rivers Country Club in Williamsburg, VA , USA_0379 Jewish wedding Two Rivers Country Club in Williamsburg, VA , USA_0379Jewish wedding Two Rivers Country Club in Williamsburg, VA , USA_0379
How we met

Lauren, the bride: We met one summer during university; Josh decided to do a summer work program in America and somehow ended up working as a lifeguard at a water park in Virginia. We became friends later in the summer and decided to go traveling together the following year once we finished uni. We ended up dating shortly after the start of our travels and spent our first year of dating traveling around Europe, Australia and the US.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Carolina Herrera Bride for an Elegant Modern Jewish Wedding at Beth Torah, Aventura, FL, USA

by

Jewish wedding at Beth Torah Aventura FLorida USA_0117
What a chuppah! We’re obsessed with the cool modern acrylic chuppah – complete with luxe hanging white blossoms – Samantha, a kindergarten teacher, and Justin, co-head of corporate outreach for global real estate company Tishman Speyer, chose to marry under. That elegant all-white look, complemented by the bright pops of color from the bride and bridesmaids’ bright pink bouquets – wow! We’re still picking our jaws up off the floor after scrolling through all of Emily Harris Photography’s vibrant, joyous photos.

For that matter, ALL the flowers in this gorgeous wedding were totally wow – don’t miss the incredible ombre flower wall, or the upside down hanging tulips and calla lilies that hovered over the reception ballroom! And in keeping with the bright colorful look, Samantha and Justin chose a wonderful, colorful ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Anna Abramzon, which they now display proudly in their home as a reminder of their big day and their commitment to one another.

But this wedding was about so much more than aesthetics. We love how these two incorporated their beloved late grandparents into their ceremony, with Samantha’s grandfather’s tallit used in the chuppah canopy, a kiddush cup belonging one of her grandmothers used during the ceremony, and the bride’s bouquet wrapped in lace from her other grandmother’s veil.

Now over to the bride, who looks so elegant in her Carolina Herrera gown…

Jewish wedding at Beth Torah Aventura FLorida USA_0097Jewish wedding at Beth Torah Aventura FLorida USA_0097 Jewish wedding at Beth Torah Aventura FLorida USA_0097Jewish wedding at Beth Torah Aventura FLorida USA_0097
How we met

Samantha, the bride: My dad and Justin’s grandpa set us up. We were both students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Justin was a senior and I was a freshman. We went out one night and had mutual friends and started talking. We dated for the second semester of his senior year and my freshman year. He was moving to New York after college, and I got back together with my ex-boyfriend. We didn’t communicate for three years.

Towards the end of my senior year at Madison, I started to think of Justin again. He posted a picture on Instagram one night and I messaged him on Facebook because I lost his number. We started talking a little and the next month after I graduated college I was in New York for a weekend visiting my sister. Justin took me out on a date that Friday night May 23rd, 2014 and we’ve been together ever since. For us, timing was truly everything.

I was in the middle of my masters program when we got married and I was working at a school. To say I was busy going to school, working and planning a wedding was an understatement.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Anna Maier Bride for a NOLA-Meets-Texas Interfaith Jewish Wedding at Race & Religious, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

by

Jewish wedding at Race and Religious New Orleans Louisiana USA_0063

There are few cities more atmospheric than New Orleans, the city that bride Jordan, the executive director of Bayou City Waterkeeper, a Houston-based environmental nonprofit that works to protect and restore the waters around the region, lived in for nearly a decade and calls her “heart home.” She moved back to her home state of Texas to be with groom Kent, the owner and manager of Whitener Ranch, one of the oldest continuously family-owned ranches in Texas, but always new she’d want to marry in NOLA.

The couple merged their love of New Orleans and their Texas roots in their breathtaking interfaith Jewish wedding at the breathtakingly eclectic Race + Religious, a breathtaking, eclectic New Orleans venue. They went for a full-on old world vibe, full of deep gem tones of burgundy, gold, indigo, and purple, lush greenery, old wood, and candle light.

Guests entered the venue through a magically wild gate, covered in vines and foliage, the couple’s atmospheric chuppah in deep autumnal shades is one for the books, and the couple’s beautiful ketubah by Enya Keshet for Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com featured exquisite papercut menorahs and detailed artistry illustrating verses from the Song of Songs. An eight-piece brass band, New Orleans jazz, Creole food, sparklers, rounded out this memorable day – we’re obsessed with the gorgeous photos from Heather Schneider of Dark Roux Photography.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll let the bride, who looked stunning in Anna Maier Couture, tell you the rest…

Jewish wedding at Race and Religious New Orleans Louisiana USA_0063Jewish wedding at Race and Religious New Orleans Louisiana USA_0063Jewish wedding at Race and Religious New Orleans Louisiana USA_0063
How we met

Jordan and Kent, the bride and the groom: Jordan and Kent met in Austin, Texas in 2014 after literally running into one another at a downtown bar. After exchanging playful remarks, they realized they had a lot in common. Despite living a whole state away for a year – Jordan living in New Orleans and Kent in Austin – they started dating. Fortunately, Jordan traveled to Austin often for work, and Kent had no problem visiting New Orleans. In 2015, Jordan made the move to Austin and the rest is history!

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Sarah Seven Bride for a Rooftop Jewish Wedding at Fremont Foundry, Seattle, Washington, USA

by


There’s nothing like a rooftop chuppah. The great views, the chill outdoor vibes – they’re just the best. And we’re in love with the setup Rachel, a business integration project manager at Nordstrom, and Elliot, a commercial associate at Bank of America, came up with for their beautiful Seattle Jewish wedding.

Their venue, Fremont Foundry, has the most wonderful rooftop space, and the couple wisely opted for a simple wood chuppah adorned with plenty of greenery and accented by ivory roses – the perfect complement to the view. We can’t get enough of Katie Parra’s gorgeous photos capturing it all.

We also love that rather than going for a traditional guestbook, Rachel and Elliot had a selfie book! They provided a blank book, an InstaMax camera, colorful tape, and markers, and asked that their guests take a selfie, tape it in the book, and write a note to the couple. What a fun idea!

Now over to Rachel, who looked stunning in Sarah Seven…

jewish wedding Fremont Foundry Seattle Washington USA_0006
jewish wedding Fremont Foundry Seattle Washington USA_0051jewish wedding Fremont Foundry Seattle Washington USA_0006

jewish wedding Fremont Foundry Seattle Washington USA_0006

jewish wedding Fremont Foundry Seattle Washington USA_0006
How we met

Rachel, the bride: We were introduced in high school by our close mutual friend. Our friendship quickly blossomed into a relationship and, eleven years later, we tied the knot!

Continue ReadingContinue Reading