By now, you know all about the crowd-favorite tradition of breaking the glass, but do you know what your groom is actually breaking? Yes, he needs glass, but what kind and where do you get it and can you do anything with it after it’s broken?
Yentas readers, you asked for it and now you’re getting it: Today you’ll learn about what glass to use, where to get it, and how you can use it to commemorate your wedding day!
So, a lot of people say that you should use a wine glass. Sure, you can, but they’re not that easy to break. In fact, how many times have you, um, enjoyed a little too much wine from your glass, acquired a case of butter fingers, and dropped the glass? Hopefully it’s not a regular occurrence, but you might find that a fallen wine glass that reaches the floor may not even break, and if it does, the stem will probably just snap off the bulb. But that crunchety-crunch of glass will not emit from the fall, so a stomp probably won’t accomplish it either. Look, I’m no physicist — ha! Far from it! Please, I’m a nerdy Jewish writer! — but something tells me that a wine glass is just not the item you want to place under your groom’s foot. Plus, a wine glass is big, it can roll away, and it’s a wine glass!!! Surely, you have better things to do with it… like drink from it.
Well then, what can you use? You can purchase glass that’s hollowed out and sized perfectly for the hyped-up stomp. Many Judaica stores sell these blown-out glass pieces intended for this tradition. ModernTribe, BFFs of The Wedding Yentas, sells this variety of glass and it’s a great way to go! Plus, they’re pretty!
Pick the color of glass you want your groom to smash and make sure your coordinator or venue manager picks it up for you to take home for after your wedding. You can use the smashed glass to include in your home or Jewish custom items. For example, you can insert your smashed glass shards into a mezuzah or Shabbat candlestick holders. What a beautiful way to bring some of your wedding day love back into your home and serve a reminder for why we smash the glass in the first place (one of the reasons: love is fragile; treat it with care).
For some extra crunch, take sandwich baggie and stick a used lightbulb in there and shove it in the bag that has the decorative glass. It’ll give your groom’s stomp an extra crunch. You could probably use a lightbulb or two alone, but then if you had lifelong dreams to include your smash glass in your Judaica, then that won’t work because there’s really nothing that pretty about a dead, smashed lightbulb. So supplementing your colorful glass with a lightbulb gives you some enhanced noise for additional ruach (spirit), making for a heartier “mazel tov” that your guests will enjoy shouting!
Take it a step further and include a Mazel Tov Stone in your glass smashing! A Mazel Tov Stone is a beautiful piece to add to this rich tradition. The artists work with you to completely customize your slab of Jerusalem limestone that can have your names, wedding date, and other details inscribed. Placing a Mazel Tov Stone under the glass guarantees the glass will break (ohmygosh, how embarrassing if it doesn’t, right?) no matter where you two are standing. Beach wedding on the sand? Garden wedding in the grass? Mazel Tov Stone saves your day… and your stomp.
You and your groom should now be equipped to purchase decorative glass, select a piece of Judaica in which to keep the glass, and include a personalized element that can assist his stomp that you two can keep as a memento from your wedding day. Get smashed with your wine glass on game night with friends, and instead, on your wedding day, smash glass that will evoke the prettiest and loudest “mazel tov!” from all of your friends and family!
