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Indo-Italian-Jewish wedding at The Garden City Hotel, Long Island, New York, USA

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One of my main aims when I started Smashing The Glass was to ensure there would be an abundance of Jew-ish wedding inspiration, by which I mean interfaith wedding inspiration for readers who are marrying out, marrying in (or anywhere in between for that matter) — I call it Jew-ish!

Prior to starting the blog, I remember hearing the same complaint over and over again from friends who were marrying the love of their loves who were of another faith. They desperately wanted a ceremony that embraced both their and their partner’s religion / culture, but there was simply no inspiration, online or offline, for how to create a meaningful fusion Jew-ish wedding.

As a result the blog covers an array of topics from 5 ways to incorporate Jewish’ into a non-Jewish or Interfaith wedding to a diary of a Jewish bride who ‘married out‘, to spotlighting awesome Smashing Suppliers like Rabbi Paul Glantz who has lovingly officiated countless beautiful interfaith Jewish weddings.

It therefore goes without saying that I love blogging mixed faith Jew-ish weddings as part of this focus. I’ve showcased several Indian-Jewish weddings on the blog before, and they are often very colourful affairs, but today’s W Day takes brights and rainbow hues to another level and should definitely be viewed with your sunglasses on!

Ritu, of Indian heritage, and Greg, who’s Jewish, very much wanted a single ceremony versus two separate ones. They found that many of their individual traditions were able to be seamlessly intertwined eg. the chuppah / mandap structure is both a symbol of the home that they would build together (chuppah) and the universe (mandap) and the framework of each is very similar. This blending of both their cultures into one meaningful ceremony meant a lot to them (and by the way, I have a post going live this Friday on how to successfully mix two faiths into one beautiful ceremony… watch this space!).

This entire wedding is magnificent, and not only do we have the images from Priyanca Rao Photography, but also the wedding video from Unique Visions Studio. Ritu’s wedding report is super fun to read too. Don’t miss a beat!

Indo-Italian-Jewish wedding at The Garden City Hotel, Long Island, New York, USAIndo-Italian-Jewish wedding at The Garden City Hotel, Long Island, New York, USA
How we met

I am not sure this story makes me look all that good! My friend (and eventual bridesmaid) Claudia and I were at a party for The Brooklyn Rugby Club’s final game of the season. I was a little hesitant about going in the first place… I had been sorta casually spending time with one of the rugby players and that dalliance had recently ended in a full on crash and burn! But Claudia convinced me to accompany her. And then I met the new guy on the team — Greg Aguele. He followed us to another bar and struck up a conversation with me. I was definitely stand-offish — I didn’t want to be the Brooklyn Rugby Groupie! But I will never forget him saying “I get it. But listen, I am a nice guy, and I think we should get to know each other”. And so we did.

Indo-Italian-Jewish wedding at The Garden City Hotel, Long Island, New York, USA
The perfect  Venue

You know how often the first dress a bride tries on is  THE dress? Well that was the the case regarding our venue. The Garden City Hotel was actually recommended by my father. The second I met with the team there, led by Jerry Rizzo, I was in love. We wanted a place that was close to where we both grew up and where both our families could easily get to. And we loved that all of our events (an Indian wedding can have quite a few) could be in one central place where all guests could also stay.

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A bride in a green wedding dress for a rustic Jewish wedding at Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, USA

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Any bride who chooses to wear a green wedding dress is an absolute winner in my book, but Claudia takes it one step further with the cutest little green veil! Definitely a superstar in my book for daring to go against the grain and wear whatever maker her feel best for her big day.

And then there’s the florals (seriously, have you seen the chuppah?). And the super cool stationery. And the warmth and love radiating from every single image by Allison Williams Photography. And…. you get the picture – this wedding is very, very special.

Ryan, the groom, converted to Judaism and embraced Claudia’s family and Jewish traditions emphatically. I loved seeing their modern take of all the Jewish wedding traditions in the wedding film at the bottom of the post. Have a peek – it’s an absolutely gorgeous film

In a slight deviation from the norm, the narration of this W-Day comes directly from Carlene Smith of  Naturally Yours, Claudia & Ryan’s super talented wedding planner.

Enjoy! This wedding may very well make you green with envy (could not resist, but you’ll excuse me because it’s a Friday, right?). Happy weekend everyone!

A bride in a green wedding dress for a creative Jewish wedding at Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, USAA bride in a green wedding dress for a creative Jewish wedding at Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, USAA bride in a green wedding dress for a creative Jewish wedding at Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, USA
How they met

Carlene Smith, their Wedding Planner: Despite attending the same college, Claudia and Ryan didn’t meet until they attended a serendipitous goodbye party for a mutual friend in New York. After their initial conversation, Ryan instantly felt moved by Claudia. He asked her out, but she said no!

In the form of an email, Ryan laid out a convincing argument as to why she should go on a date with him – and she agreed! Fast forward a few years later, Ryan planned an elaborate proposal that involved a cute scavenger hunt (including their friends and family from all over the country) that ended with him on one knee on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Building.

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A Jewish Scandi-Danish wedding, with Israeli influences, at Calhoun Beach Club, Minnesota , Minneapolis, USA

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This is the love-filled, creative Jewish wedding of Talia and Yoni. Talia’s wedding report is fabulous, as are her artistic talents — she designed all the wedding stationery and each and every painting that graced the reception tables.

There is so much meaning and symbolism to this wedding to reflect the couple and their loves ( and when I say ‘loves’ I mean in the sense of what they adore, and their nearest and dearest).

So for instance, they had originally dreamt of a small, casual, wedding in Israel, but being surrounded by family and community trumped this desire. So whilst they chose to have a wedding on their home turf of Minnesota, they channeled an ‘Israeli style’ by having their guests standing around them informally during their ceremony, open seating during the meal, a buffet lunch filled with fruits, veggies, fresh breads and pastries, and  plenty of Israeli music on their playlist.

Absolutely every detail was thought through and beautifully styled, but I must just take a moment to single out Talia’s bouquet, flower crown, and the chuppah. They really are to die for — just so gorgeous, natural-looking, colourful and creative.

The love and happiness radiates from every single image by Lauren Renee Designs, and it’s a joy to see and hear about so many orthodox Jewish wedding traditions embraced by a very modern couple. An (abridged) example, in Talia’s words, is as follows:

Yoni and I choose to partake in the Jewish wedding tradition of not seeing each other for one week before our wedding. This was absolutely worth navigating some tricky logistics for, as the build up allowed so much raw emotion and excitement to show in ways we could never have anticipated.”

Do take a moment to read through Talia’s beautifully written account of her planning, prep, and what the traditions meant to her and Yoni. There are some really useful tips and a big dose of super advice all the way through.

Jewish Wedding at Calhoun Beach ClubJewish Wedding at Calhoun Beach Club
How we met

Talia, the Bride: We met a Hebrew speaking, hummus tasting event that I had organised with my roommates called “Hebrew Shmebrew.”  I was initially intimidated by his fluent Hebrew, so we hung out a couple more times with friends before he called to ask me out. We happened to live three blocks away from each other, so the rest is history!

Jewish Wedding at Calhoun Beach Club

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A Berta Bride for an interfaith Jewish wedding (with four guys smashing the glass!) at Riverbend, Kohler, Wisconsin USA

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I bet you’re intrigued by the idea of four men breaking the glass under the chuppah, right? Well let me explain…

The groom in today’s wedding has three wonderful boys from a previous marriage and all three were included in the vows (the Bride created a set that she recited just for them). Then when it came to the big moment, all the boys joined in with their father for the smashing of the glass. Um – how brilliant is that? I absolutely love how symbolic and meaningful that is, and Molly Michel from M Three Studio captures the moment perfectly in the image below.

But that’s just one of a ridiculous amount of reasons why I love today’s wedding.

Reason #2: I love that Leah and Phil only invited 20 guests. I’m a big advocator of not inviting too many people, as I highlight in my Top 5 Do’s and Don’t’s for the Perfect Jewish Wedding. Fewer and closely connected is far better than inviting a cast of unknowns, and makes for a much more meaningful, intimate atmosphere in my opinion.

Reason #3: Leah rocks a life-changingly gorgeous Berta gown. That plunging neckline! All that lace! It’s super sexy and daring, yet oh so feminine and elegant at the same time. And if that’s got you all green with envy just wait until you see reason #4, her snakeskin Jimmy Choo‘s!

OK, enough with my reasons, I’m going to hand you over to the Bride to hear the wedding story from her, but before I do, let’s hear from her wedding photographer, Molly Michel. She’s going to tell you a little bit about the ‘rai-ayy-ann on [their] wedding day’ as Alanis Morissette famously sang. And no, it’s not ironic, it’s really rather lucky, as Molly explains:

Rain was definitely not part of Leah & Phil’s plans as they created their wedding day. Watching the forecast that week, the rain stubbornly took hold on their day and refused to budge. By Saturday morning, there was no denying that buckets of rain (and all the luck that comes with it) was what would come to define their day. And then a funny thing happened. Their intimate wedding became more intimate. People huddled closer together to dodge the raindrops. They hugged to bring about warmth. They sat closer, shared stories, snuggled by the fireplace, stood arm in arm, swaying to the band, poured the wine a little more liberally. The intimate, close-knit wedding that Leah & Phil had hoped for was somehow even more so because of the rain. Lucky thing, those raindrops.”

breaking the glassKohler Wisconsin wedding
How we met

Leah, the Bride: Phil and I met through a mutual friend in September 2010. He put his number in my phone with the name “Mr. Wonderful.” After our initial introduction, we made plans to meet for drinks at NoMI at the Park Hyatt the following week. Leading up to the date, I was really nervous so asked if we could reschedule. He wouldn’t. He replied with, “I don’t take rain checks.” And, the rest is history!

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Art Deco Jewish wedding in an airport museum and hangar, at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum, Houston, Texas, USA

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It goes without saying that your choice of venue is one of the most important pieces of your wedding puzzle. I personally love unusual wedding venues so when Elisheva Golani‘s submission dropped into my inbox, and I saw a wedding that took place in an Airplane Museum and hanger, I literally squealed with joy!

And it gets better — one of Talia’s bridesmaids was Balushka of the incredible Balushka Paper Floral Artistry who created an abundance of paper flowers to adorn the chuppah as well as decor for the entire space. Her work is totally and utterly gorgeous, and the paper floristry fills the space brilliantly.

There’s also a blush-coloured wedding gown, a surprise bottle dance choreographed by the groom and his friends, a sparkly confetti canon, and a bride and groom entrance from a vintage airplane to the sound of Rocky’s Theme Tune!

Talia and Barry are one super cool, super creative couple and I cannot wait to show your their W Day. Fasten your seat belts folks!

paper decor flowersAirport Museum Weddingpaper flower decorFiddler on the Roof bottle dance
How we met

Talia, the Bride: Ours is an interesting story – we were first set up 10 years prior to our engagement, by my dad and his tennis partner in 2005. We went on our first date and Barry took me to an Ethiopian restaurant, opened doors, brought me flowers… the whole 9. He was a total gentleman, but alas I was just beginning to explore life as an adult and so was he – needless to say we were both very different people back then. After one date, he called, but I wasn’t interested. Of course, years later, he stuck in my mind as being the kind of guy I needed to date,  we reached out to each other on a few occasions- but we were never able to meet up. Finally, we were able to meet for coffee and we were together ever since… He proposed 10 years to the day of our first date- we even went to that same Ethiopian Restaurant! (good thing about engineers is that they keep EVERYTHING).

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