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Inspired Jewish Weddings

An Ultra-Personal Chanukah Jewish Wedding Micklefield Hall, Hertfordshire, UK

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Ella and Aaron, Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, United Kingdom

We love a Chanukah wedding, and Ella and Aaron’s is one of the best we’ve seen! Their vision for their winter Jewish wedding was “twinkly winter wonderland with lots of doughnuts, latkes and joy,” and they worked with the most talented team – including a number of beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors – to bring it to life.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Uptown Events planned the day to perfection, recommending vendors – including the couple’s stunning venue, Micklefield Hall, after their original location fell through – and making sure everything ran smoothly on the day. They also guided Ella and Aaron to choose a DJ Live act when it came to entertainment – and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Twentysomethings ended up being “such a hit that they’ve since become the unofficial band for our whole group, with two other couples booking them since!”

Ella and Aaron made all the stationery themselves (with their small business It IS Personal) – including the most adorable dreidel-shaped reserved seating signs and matchbox place cards in honor of Chanukah. Also perfectly on theme? The duo’s wedding menu, which included latkes, a full salt beef bar, and savoury pulled beef doughnuts (in addition to the sweet kind). Don’t miss all the fabulous details in the exquisite photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel, who captured all the emotion and joy of the day so beautifully.

Another Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Carmel Designs, painted the couple’s wonderful custom ketubah, merging their vision for a design in keeping with their rustic wedding vibes, incorporating the Tree of Life and reflecting Ella and Aaron’s love of animals.

Read on for the full story in Ella’s own words…

 

Ella and Aaron, Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, United Kingdom Ella and Aaron, Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, United Kingdom Ella and Aaron, Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, United Kingdom Ella and Aaron, Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, United Kingdom

How We Met

Ella, the bride: We met the way so many modern couples do these days – on good old Hinge! We first met in June 2022, when Aaron was finishing his teacher training year, and Ella was working at her local synagogue. Aaron is now Pastoral and Wellbeing Manager at his old Jewish secondary school, and Ella works as Children and Family Educator at the synagogue we’ve joined together, while training to be a therapist. Our professions are an example of how well our values align – something we were both aware of when we met, and is one of the many reasons we instantly clicked and fell for each other so quickly! Not even a month into dating, we’d booked our first holiday to Israel together for Chanukah that year.

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A Mia Pava Bride for a Naturally Elegant Jewish Wedding at Gavriel, Nes Tziona, Israel

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Yael and Avichai, Gavriel, Nes Tziona, Israel

There’s nothing like an Israeli chuppah, and we are so delighted to be sharing the beautiful Jewish wedding of Yael and Avichai, whose big day at Gavriel in Nes Tziona was the perfect blend of natural elegance, thoughtful design, and heartfelt meaning.

From the very beginning, Yael and Avichai knew they wanted a wedding that felt intentional without being overdone – elegant, warm, and entirely unforced. Gavriel proved to be the ideal setting, with an outdoor chuppah set on the water and framed by fruit trees and soft greenery.

What makes this wedding especially moving is the context in which it took place. Just one week before, war with Iran broke out, and there was real uncertainty about what the day would look like. That only deepened the significance of the moment, transforming the chuppah into not just a union, but an expression of gratitude, resilience, and joy.

To capture the day, the couple chose Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman, whose natural, emotive style was exactly what they were looking for. Yael and Avichai can’t stop raving about the calm, supportive presence Herschel and his team brought to the day, and we love that after the wedding the celebration continued with a magical night photoshoot in Jerusalem, giving Yael and Avichai even more unforgettable memories to treasure.

Read on for all the wonderful details of this very special day in Yael’s own words…

Yael and Avichai, Gavriel, Nes Tziona, Israel Yael and Avichai, Gavriel, Nes Tziona, Israel Yael and Avichai, Gavriel, Nes Tziona, Israel Yael and Avichai, Gavriel, Nes Tziona, Israel

How We Met

Yael, the bride: Some love stories unfold by chance. Others begin with quiet certainty.

For Yael and Avichai, the spark was neither accidental nor immediate—it was orchestrated by someone who understood, long before they did, that their worlds were meant to meet.

Yael, an art therapist, and Avichai, newly returned from army service and immersed in his family’s business, had lived parallel lives for years. The bridge between them came in the form of family—specifically, Yael’s brother-in-law, Nadav Zilberstein. Through a mutual musical community, he came to appreciate Avichai in a way that was both personal and profound.

With unwavering confidence, he made the introduction—placing identical calls to each of them, insisting simply: “You have to meet.”

They both said yes.

Their first date was a picnic, set against the relaxed backdrop of Herzliya overlooking the port, was understated yet quietly transformative. There was no grand moment—just an immediate sense of ease, as though something long in motion had finally settled into place.

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A Cool-Meets-Elegant Jewish Wedding Featuring a Bride in Pajamas at Nodo, Toronto, Canada

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Paige and Mark, Nodo, Toronto, Canada

We see a lot of brides changing into a second outfit for the reception, but we’re pretty sure today’s Jewish wedding is the first time we’ve ever seen a bride change into pajamas! Yes, really – after the first dance, bride Paige traded her Paloma Blanca gown for PJs, which not only allowed her to dance the night away comfortably but was also totally adorable.

Paige and Mark’s Toronto Jewish wedding at Italian restaurant Nodo was chock full of fun, quirky touches, and we’re pretty obsessed. From the beginning, they knew they wanted their day to be relaxed and fun, and the non-traditional vibe came through in everything from their bright pink and orange color scheme to the aforementioned outfit change (to go with the theme, the duo also handed out slippers to their guests late at night!). Catch it all in the wonderful images by Julia from 515 Photo Co.

Paige and Mark also had THE cutest logo, featuring two fish kissing, a playful nod to their last name, Fishman, and to Mark’s love of fishing – and an “It’s O-Fish” mirror decal. Read on for more fun details in Paige’s own words!

Paige and Mark, Nodo, Toronto, Canada Paige and Mark, Nodo, Toronto, Canada Paige and Mark, Nodo, Toronto, Canada Paige and Mark, Nodo, Toronto, Canada

How We Met

Paige, the bride: We went to the same high school, but weren’t friends. Mark would try to talk to me at parties, but I wasn’t interested. He was persistent, and we finally connected on our grade 12 grad trip in Punta Cana. We love our love story!

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A Lee Grebenau Bride for a Timelessly Elegant and Deeply Personal Jewish Wedding at the Rosewood, London, UK

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Eli and Zac, Rosewood, London, UK

Today’s London Jewish wedding is filled with tons of beautiful personal touches, and we are here for it. Bride Eli, a nutritionist and Zac, a lawyer, met while living in Israel – and while they’ve since moved back to the UK, so much of their day was shaped by their time in Tel Aviv (including Eli’s choice to wear Israeli designer Lee Grebenau).

The pair wove in so many elements that felt uniquely them, from modern Hebrew music that, to a hand-designed ketubah crafted by the groom’s father and filled with symbols from the couple’s life together, to fresh fruit layered into the floral design as a nod to both the bride’s work as a nutritionist and the duo’s shared love of food. Catch all the gorgeous details in the wonderful photos from Susie and Harley of Barker Evans and trailer by Denee Motion!

We also love that Eli and Zac opted to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor XS Showband, who, in Eli’s words,

completely exceeded every expectation. The band were nothing short of sensational. From the moment the dancing began, the energy in the room was incredible and it never dipped for a second. The dance floor stayed full all night, exactly as we had hoped, and so many guests have since told us it was one of the best wedding bands and parties they had ever experienced.

We also worked closely with Fran from XS on all the production, including the dance floor, staging and lighting. She was an absolute pleasure to work with, genuinely lovely, hugely helpful and incredibly professional. The entire team made everything feel seamless from start to finish, which meant I felt calm and relaxed knowing it was all in safe hands.

Now over to Eli…

 

Eli and Zac, Rosewood, London, UK Eli and Zac, Rosewood, London, UK Eli and Zac, Rosewood, London, UK Eli and Zac, Rosewood, London, UK

How We Met

Eli, the bride: We met at a wedding in Israel. Zac had moved from London to Tel Aviv a year earlier, and I was just about to make the move myself. What followed was an incredible year living in Israel together before we eventually decided to return to London to be closer to our families.

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A Sophia Tolli Bride for a Winter Jewish Wedding in Pink at Sopwell House, St Albans, UK

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Hannah and Luke, Sopwell House, St Albans, UK

Gorgeous chuppah alert! Bride Hannah, an account manager for a SAAS company, loves all things pink, so when it came time to plan her Jewish wedding to Luke, a research analyst for an asset manager, it was a given that the color would play a prominent role. That included the chuppah – and we are here for the floral romance in shades of rose crafted by the couple’s florist, Sonia of Amber Rose Flowers.

Hannah and Luke wanted to make sure their wedding had an amazing vibe with everyone up dancing all night, and they chose Totem – which happens to be owned by Hannah’s uncle Brett! – to make it happen.

We also love that the couple, who’ve been together since they were 15, had their rabbi from school under the chuppah with them officiating – and we’re also obsessed with the way they brought in all kinds of personalized touches incorporating their design and logo! Catch it all in the wonderful candid photos from Rachel Takes Pictures.

Read on for all the gorgeous details in Hannah’s own words…

Hannah and Luke, Sopwell House, St Albans, UK Hannah and Luke, Sopwell House, St Albans, UK Hannah and Luke, Sopwell House, St Albans, UK Hannah and Luke, Sopwell House, St Albans, UK

How We Met

Hannah, the bride: We have been together for 13 years – we met at school and started going out when we were 15 in March 2013, and then went on to get married on 25th Jan 2026! We clicked from the day we met from such a young age and knew we were soulmates straight away – we couldn’t imagine life without each other.

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