#18 Stomping the Glass at the Jewish Wedding

Episode 18

Why does the groom stomp on a glass at the end of the Jewish wedding?
Some say they stomp on the glass to show that even on a joyous day, something was broken.  It is important to keep celebrating, especially when things get broken.  

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1. The Red Coat Ladies founded by Pat Blackwell
   
   
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Transcript

0:04 
Hello there, and welcome to Episode #18 of the Book More Jewish Weddings with Pat Blackwell Podcast.

0:18  
Likely it's one that you've seen. At the end of every Jewish wedding, the groom stomps on a glass and shatters it. Why does he do this? And how can those lessons help your business? Stick around to find out!

0:35  
As a Catholic farm girl from Minnesota, I certainly never expected to ever be the Jewish Party Maven. But 4400 parties and 26 years later, I am indeed an expert at Jewish parties.

0:48  
I am fiercely committed to helping the BEST vendors book more parties in this amazing, lucrative and incredibly loyal Jewish party market. Let's go.

2:18  
The glass that's used for the ceremony can be any type of glass, any shape, any color. It's important to be glass however, not ceramic and not China. Glass can be re melted and re blown. Just like humans can be broken or shattered, but can be reformed as new beings if need be.

2:39  
In a typical ceremony, the couple provides a glass for stomping, it might be some family heirloom, it might be $1 store light bulb. It can be anything. There are no rules about that. Some couples choose to take the shards from the broken glass and turn it into a keepsake, perhaps a photo frame or a mezzuzah for their front door of their new home.

3:04  
At the wedding ceremony, it's important that the glass be wrapped in a cloth or paper strong enough to contain the shattered shards.

3:13  
Some companies provide a special satin or velvet pouch to use on the big day. Other couples wrap the glass in a paper towel and secure it safely with a rubber band. Again, there's no rules about any of this. It's purely for ease of cleanup and safety of the groom's foot.

3:33  
Someone should be designated to retrieve that stamped glass after the ceremony. As a Red Coat Lady, we collect all of the family's personal items once the ceremony is over. At a wedding many many years ago, I came back after about 10 minutes after the ceremony to get that broken glass and I couldn't find it anywhere. Eventually I broke down and I had to ask the mom if she knew where that glass had ended up. She quickly pointed me in the direction of a special aunt. Turns out the aunt had plans to take those shards and make some artwork out of them. The aunt had gone up immediately after the ceremony and grabbed that little satin pouch. Mystery solved, but only after a lot of stress and searching on my part. So now I make sure I say I'll be collecting this glass just leave it right here.

4:37  
As a musician, the breaking of the glass is your cue to start the music for the recessional to begin. As a caterer the breaking of the glass, followed by the guest shouting Mazel Tov is the cue to open the bar and start the appetizers flowing.

4:54  
Like I said at the beginning of this podcast, the fragility of the glass represents the fragility of risk in relationships. If the relationship is not properly cared for, it might break. So what about your business relationships? Which ones of those are the most fragile and could use some extra care?

5:26  
Those of us in this wedding world who get the privilege of working these amazing celebrations learned the hard way in 2020.  That our business is not guaranteed tomorrow, either. 

5:39  
How did you get through? Are you stronger? Or leaner? Or did you get meaner? Bad things are going to happen. That's part of life. How will your business handle those bad things? What if something bad happens to you? What will happen to your business? What will happen to your family?

6:02  
Most of us in this party business take deposits when a client books a date. Some businesses keep those deposits in a separate account, and account for that money only when the event has concluded.  However, turns out that most of us in this party world are really good at customer service, but not necessarily good businessmen or women.

6:24  
Most of us entrepreneurs don't charge nearly enough for our services, and live on the edge financially. Many of us have had to face the fact that 2020 changed everything about business as usual. So I'll ask again, what will happen to your business if something bad happens to you? 

6:44  
Do you have key person insurance? This is a type of insurance that pays out if a key owner or a key officer dies. The money would go to keep things going while you train someone new, or perhaps the money would go to close down the business and refund client deposits.

7:45  
Hey, speaking of clients, my phone has been ringing like crazy. Wow, is that a wonderful sound? Yes, I love it. My fall calendar for the Red Coat Ladies party management business has been filling up fast. We manage weddings and bar mitzvahs all around the Metro Detroit Michigan area.

8:05  
I had a client recently write me to tell me that when she got off the phone with me, she could just feel the stress slipping away, and her shoulders relaxed for the first time in days.

8:16  
This is supposed to be a fun process, planning a major celebration. But most people only throw major celebrations once or twice in their entire lives. This wedding business has a lot of moving parts. And our Red Coat Ladies checklists help take the stress out of planning. And then we write in on our white horses with our red coats on your big day, and try and take care of everything behind the scenes. We help you cross all your I's and dot all your T's. Contact us to manage your party by going to our website RedCoatLadies.com and help will be on the way.

8:55  
Now back to that Tim Cook, quote. "Life is fragile. So give it everything you've got."

9:02  
What are your big goals for this year? What are you doing to improve your business? There are about 48,000 Jewish weddings in America each year. Are you ready for your new Jewish clients? Well, you're here listening to this podcast, working hard to learn about Jewish traditions. So good for you. CHA-CHING, I can hear that phone ringing already.

9:26  
Why should you trust me? Well, I've helped manage over 4,400 Jewish celebrations over the last 26 years. Yes, you heard that right. 4,400 parties. So I've learned a thing or two about Jewish parties. And still after all these years, I learned something new nearly every party. So if you already booked lots of Jewish parties, good for you. There's still likely something in each and every podcast for you. If you're new to the Jewish party world, then this podcast is just the starting point.

9:59  
Welcome, stick with me and we'll help your business grow. If you'd like to learn more, go to my new website JewishPartyMaven.com and sign up for our freebie. The 12 Jewish Wedding Words the BEST Vendors Know!  If that helps you understand that you've got lots more to learn. Then come to one of our workshops. I love teaching vendors, the beautiful traditions involved in Jewish weddings.

10:25  
Today we talked about Stomping the Glass and how fragile life is and how fragile your business can be too.

10:35  
That about wraps it up for today. But I hope you tune in next week when we talk about lots of things with the wonderful Eddie Babbage from Timeline Genius. Thanks for listening. I appreciate you!