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A Winnie Couture Bride for a Summer Jewish Wedding Where Old Hollywood Meets the Mediterranean at Bel Air Bay Club, California, USA

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Have we got a gorgeous Jewish wedding for you today! The Mediterranean meets Old Hollywood in Sophe and Alex’s big day at Bel Air Bay Club, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and we are here for it. Every detail of their summer celebration reflected elegance and sunshine—from the light, summery color palette to the joyful florals in shades of pink, yellow, and orange.

Tragically, Sophe lost her beloved father seven years prior to the wedding, and including him in the day was a top priority. Sophe’s 95-year-old paternal grandfather walked her down the aisle, did a grandfather-granddaughter dance, and made a toast where he handed over Sophe’s dad’s hat to Alex – how special is that?

Jordan Elizabeth Photography and Loufas Films captured every moment of the day so beautifully, and we’re in love with Sophe and Alex’s gorgeous personalized ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rabbi Leah Richman of Ketubahs and More, featuring the most exquisite blue Mediterranean tiling design.

Read on for all the details in Sophe’s own words!

 

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How We Met

Sophe, the bride: Our story begins in August 2016 as young 23 year olds trying to figure out the real world. Only two weeks after moving to Los Angeles to do Teach For America, Sophe’s school did an overnight retreat for the teachers in Malibu and at the end of the night she decided to go on Bumble to see if she came across any celebs or cute surfers. Even better, she came across a handsome Greek man and Sophe immediately recognized him from their alma mater Chapman University (and swiped right).

Fortunately for Sophe, Alex was living in Calabasas (right over the hill from Malibu) so she was in his geographical range because Alex refused to drive more than 5 miles in LA traffic. The joke was on him as Sophe actually lived in West LA and was a 1.5 hour drive after work (aka we were long distance dating in LA).

Soon text conversation turned into a first date where Sophe and Alex got kicked out of the sushi restaurant because they stayed so long. From then on, Sophe and Alex became inseparable. A few months into dating they decided to add each other on social media, only to find out that they were already Facebook friends. Turns out they became Facebook friends in 2011, as college freshmen, and Alex even wrote “Happy birthday :)” on Sophe’s wall for her birthday in 2012. The jury is still out on if they ever did talk at some college party or if Alex always had his eye on Sophe. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Inclusive Modern Orthodox Jewish Wedding at Congregation Beth Shalom, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

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Rachel and Ben’s Pittsburgh Jewish wedding was all about celebrating with loved ones – and we adore the way they centered their celebration around including family and friends.

Rachel, an intensive care nurse, and Ben, who  works in healthcare tech, chose to wed at Congregation Beth Shalom, Rachel’s family synagogue, and they were married by Ben’s family rabbi. They knew they wanted an inclusive yet traditional Modern Orthodox wedding, bringing in gender equality through touches like having a male and female guest read each of their Sheva Brachot – first in Hebrew, and then in English translation.

Rachel and Ben chose incredible Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Portraits by Sean as their photographer, and they couldn’t be more thrilled with their choice. In the bride’s words,

We spoke to Sean several times on the phone throughout our planning process and were so impressed with his profound interest in Jewish traditions, us, our families, and in helping us have a beautiful wedding. I was particularly impressed by his commitment to help my father (who has some mobility issues) and give him back some dignity in pictures. Sean and his staff were kind, professional, respectful, and flexible when our timelines when they did not go according to plan! 

Read on for all the details of this very special day…

 

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How We Met

Rachel, the bride: We met at a Rosh Hashana dinner at Brandeis University, where we both went to college. We met in 2016 and officially started dating in 2017. We were long distance for several years in between Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, and Wisconsin.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Rita Vinieris Bride for an Indoor-Outdoor Jewish Wedding with an Heirloom Chuppah at Crossed Keys Estate, New Jersey, USA

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Today’s Jewish wedding features one special chuppah! Talia and Benjamin chose to wed at Crossed Keys Estate in New Jersey, where they were able to have the indoor/outdoor day of their dreams – including a stunning garden spot for their chuppah.

We absolutely love the fact that Talia’s parents created their chuppah as a new family heirloom, with the inside featuring a family tree that gets added to at each wedding. Since Talia has three siblings, each of the four sides of the chuppah belongs to one of them – and as each sibling gets married, along with their partner they add a quote to their side of the chuppah.

Talia and Benjamin chose Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alex Knight for photography and videography – when they met Alex, they knew he was someone they’d enjoy spending time with on their big day, and the results absolutely speak for themselves.

Read on for all the gorgeous images – plus the full story of the special day in Talia’s own words…

 

 

 

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How we Met

Talia, the bride: We met in high school choir and have been together since then! We dated for 10 years – among them 5.5 yrs of long distance!

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A Same-Sex Jewish Wedding Celebration Extravaganza at Temple Kol Ami Emanu-El, Plantation, Florida, USA

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This wedding is just chock full of Jewish joy – and we are here for it! It was a no-brainer for Sam, an attorney and the Vice President of Instruction and Online Education for BARBRI, and Mark, the Cantor and Co-Senior Clergy at Temple Kol Ami Emanu-El in Plantation, Florida, to marry at their home congregation – where Mark just celebrated his 30th anniversary as Cantor!

Sam and Mark worked with Beverly Diane of Beverly Diane Party Consultants to plan the day – or rather, multi-day wedding celebration extravaganza – of their dreams, and in the grooms’ words, “She understood the assignment and really wanted to capture “us” authentically when designing and planning.”

The wedding weekend started with a Shabbat service and dinner, followed by a day of togetherness with loves ones from near and far a the couple’s home.  Sunday was the big day, with a morning ceremony followed by a brunch for all the guests. In the evening, the duo wrapped things up with a 5-course dinner party for their closest loved ones, featuring toasts and roasts from guests and an impromptu musical welcome speech from the grooms. The whole day was filled with so much love and laughter, beautifully captured on photo and video by Bells and Whistles Studios.

Read on for all the details in Sam and Mark’s own words…

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How We Met

Sam, and Mark, the grooms: We first met in 2009 at a guest house in Key West while both in other relationships. In 2020, Sam reached out to Mark out of the blue (both were single by then). After catching up, we discovered that, by pure coincidence, we had both made reservations at the same guest house in Key West where we originally met, a few weeks apart. The rest is history.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Ines Di Santo Bride for a Zionist and Proud Jerusalem-Meets-Florida Jewish Wedding Aventura at Turnberry Jewish Center, Florida, USA

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We cannot get enough of the love for Israel that shines through every single moment of today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding! Florida couple Shirley, an in-house attorney with a corporation that specializes in government contracting for emergency management, and Jared, a Florida lobbyist, planned to get married in Jerusalem on October 19, 2023.

After October 7, they knew they needed to pivot – and while the war required a change of venue, there was never any doubt that the “rescheduled wedding needed to be even bigger, even more Jewish, and even more Zionist-and-proud.” And though the location changed from Jerusalem’s Olmaya to Florida’s Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, the theme of “Yerushalayim shel zahav” (Jerusalem of gold) remained.

Shirley and Jared made every planning decision with the aim of bringing Jerusalem to their guests, including a delicious Middle Eastern-inspired menu and olive branch décor – there was even a centerpiece olive tree, serving as both homage to Jerusalem and a symbol of peace. During the chuppah, the couple wrapped themselves in the flag of Israel while their rabbi sang Hatikvah, and Israeli flags and Magen Davids were all over the big day – don’t miss these wonderful touches of Jewish pride in the photos by The Light and Color and trailer by Senderey Videography.

For their ketubah, Shirley and Jared turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Brit Colors, who handcrafted a stunning design inspired by the iconic doors of Olmaya, the duo’s original Jerusalem venue. Featuring embroidery and gold foil, it’s truly an exquisite piece of art.

There’s so much more to say about this very special, Jewish joy-packed day – read on for all the details in Shirley’s own words…

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How We Met

Shirley, the bride: We met in law school in 2017, when I sat behind Jared in Wills and Trusts. We now realize how foretelling that was of us spending the rest of our lives together.Continue ReadingContinue Reading