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A Reformation Bride for a DIY Jewish Wedding at Littlefield, Brooklyn, New York, USA

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DIY and NYC aren’t the first two things we think of as going together when it comes to Jewish weddings. But super cool (not to mention resourceful) couple Grace and Barry proved us wrong with their charmingly eclectic indoor garden party celebration in Brooklyn, beautifully captured by the amazing Mandee Johnson Photography — their outdoor photoshoot in the streets of Brooklyn is serious #weddinggoals.

With some help from their families — Grace and her mom DIY’d the floral arrangements, while Barry’s mother fashioned a beautiful, simple chuppah canopy from an old lace curtain — and fun touches like string lights and a BBQ buffet, these two prove that it’s totally possible to craft a memorable wedding on a budget, even in the most expensive of cities.

And how cool does Grace look in her dress from Reformation (which happens to be a fantastic option for brides on a budget who don’t want to compromise on style)?  We’ll leave the gorgeous bride and groom to fill you in on the rest…

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Jewish Wedding Littlefield, Brooklyn USA_0012

Jewish Wedding Littlefield, Brooklyn USA_0028Jewish Wedding Littlefield, Brooklyn USA_0028
How we met

Grace and Barry, the bride and the groom: Barry is on stage, performing. Grace is in the audience, audience-ing. After the show, she cracked a joke about his shoes, he laughed, that was that.

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An Ines Di Santo Bride for a New York-Meets-London Jewish Wedding at the Gramercy Park Hotel, NYC, USA

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Where do we even start with this epic Jewish wedding? Catherine’s sensational bridal style? The way she and now-husband Perry, combined their NYC (hers) and London (his) backgrounds? The ceremony they crafted to reflect their “Judaism Lite” approach to religion? The editorial-style photography from Christopher Lane Wedding?

Or maybe the fact that the bride is a beloved member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club?

Okay, we’ll go with that last one… Catherine has the absolute sweetest things to say about the advice, tips, and resources she found through being a member of our Brides Club (and also her SMASHED IT bag for her smash glass)!

In Catherine’s own words: 

“Karen (founder of Brides Club) was absolutely SMASHING in everything from her one-on-one advice inside Brides Club, to daily tips, and as neither my husband and I are very religious, the vast breadth of Jewish related questions and answers I was able to get answered was priceless.”

So back to Catherine’s bridal fashion sense… this super stylish bride, and she had not one but TWO gorgeous dresses: for the ceremony, an uber-glam long-sleeved Ines di Santo, and for the reception an edgier custom gown by the bride’s friend designer Paul Raymond — and we’re TOALLY obsessed with both looks.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll let the bride take it from here…

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New York Meets London

Catherine, the bride: We got married a the Gramercy Park Hotel in NYC. I had wanted to get married in the UK as my husband is from London… plus who doesn’t want to be an English countryside bride?!

However, my mother put the kibosh on that (after we had already traveled to and picked the venue in England), claiming the wedding should be in the bride’s hometown. As I am born and bred NY’er, there was no shortage of venue options. We decided on the GPH as it embodied the perfect symbiosis of New York City glamour and London chic. Additionally, my parents’ first apartment was also on Gramercy park and the rooftop terrace has a Robert Mapplethorpe by Andy Warhol portrait… given my mother was Robert’s publisher while he was alive, it further supplanted the idea that the GPH was the venue for us.

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A BHLDN Bride for a Jewish Wedding with a Remarkable Love Story at The Folly, Capistrano Beach, California, USA

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Jewish wedding The Folly Capistrano Beach California USA_0043
With Valentine’s Day coming up this week, we thought it was the perfect time to share this beautiful Jewish wedding with a very special love story behind it.

Just after they got engaged, Deborah  and Adam found their commitment put to the ultimate test when Deborah was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer.

For four years, Deborah endured surgeries, chemo, radiation, and a bone marrow transplant — all with Adam by her side. And when the couple got the amazing news that Deb was cancer-free in July 2018, they knew it was time for the wedding of their dreams.

Believe it or not, they planned this beautiful, meaningful wedding in just three months! We’re in love with the quintessentially California vibes, from the enchanted garden beachside setting to the Spanish Colonial architecture, all captured so beautifully by photographer This Modern Romance.

And we are totally and completely obsessed with the couple’s low-key yet elegant chuppah, which they designed themselves with some inspo from Smashing The Glass! With dark wood, simple lines, sheer fabric, and some asymmetrical pops of color courtesy of florals, it’s effortless yet totally memorable.

Now over to Deborah, who looked epically elegant in BHLDN… 


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How We Met

Deborah, the bride: We’d been looking for each other our whole lives… we just didn’t know it. We’d kissed our share of frogs, but none were our prince or princess. On our first date, in a beautiful sandy-beached cove, as the setting sunlight sparkled on the water while dolphins splashed just offshore, we thought “Oh! Well this is definitely a sign…”

So much so, that when the time was right (and Adam could turn it into a big surprise!) we went back and got engaged there on “our” beach!

By the way, we met on JDate.com. 

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A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Nature-Inspired Jewish Wedding at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Illinois, USA

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We love a good garden wedding. And we love it even more when a couple really goes all out in making the most of their natural surroundings, like Jane, an actor and a voiceover artist, and Adam, who works in digital distribution.

Elegance meets rustic in this beautiful Jewish wedding, inspired by the pair’s love of nature and celebration of the changing of the season from summer to fall at their September celebration, from a seasonal, produce-driven menu (incorporating recipes the foodie duo put together themselves!), earthy clay kiddush cups, anda gorgeous painted ketubah reflecting their love of nature and the changing seasons by artist Jessica Kraft, purchased from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor  Ketubah.com.

And speaking of beautiful wedding design, Jane and Adam were lucky enough to work with one of our fave

luxury stationers, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor E.Y.I. Love, on their invitations. We’re obsessed with the minimalist chic invitations they came up with together, featuring gold foiled text and gilt edging, a custom cactus print envelope lining, and forest green calligraphy on each envelope. If you love the look as much as we do, be sure to enter the competition we’re running to win your wedding stationery from E.Y.I Love. It closes in a few days – so make sure you don’t miss out!

Now over to Jane, who looked stunning in her beaded strapless princess gown by Monique Lhullier, which she found at wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club in South Kensington, London…

Jiho Park from Lilly Photography and Hunter Floyd from Hunter Floyd Films captured all the emotion and elegance of the day so perfectly. Enjoy!


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A Garden Wedding

Jane, the bride: We got married at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois, in the USA (2 September, 2018). The venue is located close to the bride’s family’s home. Though then it seemed like a far-away dream, when Jane was around 7, she told her parents that she “would marry either a South-African or British man and get married at the Chicago Botanic Garden.” And so it was, she married a British man and got married at the Botanic Garden!

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An Amy Kuschel Bride for a Jewish Wedding at the American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

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We love a good museum wedding. We also can’t get enough of edgy post-industrial venues. Today’s Jewish wedding — in a super cool whiskey factory-turned-art museum — combines both, so we’re doubly into it! Exposed brick for daaaaays — don’t miss Sachs Photography‘s pics!

Allison, a nonprofit strategic communications consultant and speechwriter, and Andy, a postdoctoral fellow, also had a super clever idea to make sure their Hora ran smoothly: they assigned three of the bride’s cousins as “hora captains”! The captains were tasked with things like making sure no one brought out chairs too early, using the good chairs that the caterer provided when it was time, and bringing the couple water at the end. Highly recommended!

Oh, and did we mention their stunning ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ruth Mergi, combining a fantastic modern papercut design with a lovely watercolor background in soothing blues and greens?

We’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked beautiful in her petal pink strapless dress by Amy Kuschel…

Jewish wedding The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD USA_0044

Jewish wedding The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD USA_0020Jewish wedding The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD USA_0020Jewish wedding The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD USA_0020
How We Met

 
“The two met as high school seniors in 2005 while waiting for a flight to an event for prospective Brown University students. The two were at BWI Marshall Airport.

“It was the only place close to Norfolk that offered a direct flight,” Allison said.

There were four prospective students on the flight that day, according to Allison. “He was the only cute one,” she said.

Upon landing, Allison asked her aunt and uncle if they could give Andy a ride to campus with her. They agreed. The two met up again in the fall. By Valentine’s Day, they were an official couple. They have been together since.”

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