Today on the blog we’re introducing our 3rd gorgeous bride from our crop of 2020 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Sarah, who will be marrying Rich on 21th June 2020 at Tikitano Beach, Marbella, Spain.
THREE FACTS: (1) Sarah knew Rich was the one when he brought a gift of dog treats for her toy poodle Nuala along to their fourth date! (2) They are crafting an amazing destination wedding weekend in Marbella with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended vendor optimum weddings as their planner. (3) Sarah is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!
How We Met
My fiance Richard and I met on the dating app J-Swipe. At that time, Richard was treating dating like a prospective business transaction and I was totally over the dating scene! However, my best friend was determined for me to meet someone and so she took my phone and signed me up to J-Swipe without even asking me! Before I knew it, she was swiping “yes” to all the prospective men that she deemed suitable and Rich was one of them!
I was acting at the time and once we got chatting and Richard’s opening line to me on J-Swipe was, “If you could play any character in a TV show or film, who would it be?” I replied, “the fierce and sassy Olivia Pope from Scandal!” I was secretly impressed with his different opener and thought he was worth a shot!
The Dating Period
Our first date was pretty unique… Richard had chosen to take me to a fab little cocktail bar in London called Reverend JW Simpson. He had given me a Saturday night slot and chosen a cocktail bar over a pub, which apparently was a great honour!
However, he nearly regretted that decision when I was 20 minutes late and he saw me stomping up and down the street in the worst mood because the bar was hidden and had no sign or door number, so I couldn’t find it! He thought I was a stroppy Jewish princess and apparently said to himself “oh no what have I done and when can I leave?!”
Anyway, we went downstairs and when the lady said we only had an hour before we had to move tables or leave we both said “great!” as neither of us thought it would be going anywhere!
Fast forward four hours, a few delicious cocktails and conversations about everything from food to politics and the rest is history! I knew he was a keeper on date four when he came over for dinner and brought be flowers and chocolates AND a selection of dog treats for my little toy poodle Nuala…love me, love my dog right!
The Proposal
Rich proposed in the most sentimental place – my dad’s old racehorse stud. I lost my dad when I was five years old and most of my memories of him are from our weekends spent on the stud. So, he booked to take me to Norfolk for three days and each morning I got a present!
Day one was a stunning four wick candle before we left and then a beautiful bouquet of red roses (my favourite!) which were waiting in the room for us when we arrived.
Day two was a stunning pair of earrings and day three was the matching necklace to the earrings.
On day four we left Norfolk and stopped off on the way home at Dad’s old stud to meet the new owners and have a tour of the stud. Rich then took me for a walk and he told me about some really sentimental things which he had promised dad when he visited his grave about eight months earlier.
He then got down on one in knee in one of the paddocks overlooking the whole stud farm and popped the question! It was so special that he did it in my dad’s favourite place so that he could be a part of our special moment and we both felt that he was definitely with us in spirit.
Our Orthodox Jewish wedding on the beach
We are planning a Marbella beach wedding! Tikitano (our venue) is on the beach and the most beautiful venue. We wanted something a bit more relaxed than the black-tie London weddings and we didn’t want a hotel wedding.
I have been going to Marbella every year for the past 31 years and it’s like home to me and Rich lived in Madrid for the year so we both knew we wanted to get married in Spain.
We are having a Jewish wedding – Rich and I are both Orthodox/United in that our families brought us up that way and so we wanted to get married under the Orthodox rules so that we can continue the tradition for our family. We are more progressive and definitely don’t go to synagogue as much as we probably should but for us it’s about the tradition as much as anything. Instead of getting kosher caterers in, we have a rabbi from Malaga who is going to marry us and kosher the kitchen at Tikitano so that we can have their fabulous chefs cook our wedding meal.
We are keeping it simple re the decor with white flowers and green palm leaves to match the surrounding trees as we don’t want to detract from the natural beauty of the venue and its surroundings.
We are heading back to Marbella in September to meet with the prospective florist.
A fun filled weekend
We are having around 170 guests and we are putting on a welcome cocktail party for all the guests at Besaya Beach which is another stunning beach venue in Marbella the night before the wedding.
We are also having a Friday night dinner for 70 of our family members which my cousins are very kindly and generously hosting at their place in Marbella.
Essentially, we want this to be a fun filled weekend and one big party! One of the best things is that Tikitano has its own private nightclub downstairs which opens up onto the beach and so when the live band finishes at 12:30am (as per Spanish regulations), we have a DJ playing in the club underneath the restaurant until 3 am. We will also be providing some yummy late-night snacks to keep the party goers fuelled up!
With the help of our planner
We have planned so much already but honestly, this would not have been so easy to plan had it not been for Dyana our incredible wedding planner! Dyana (optimum weddings) planned my cousin’s wedding in Marbella a few years ago and came highly recommended from my cousins and honestly, we just love her and her amazing team!
She is so on the ball, so focussed, so incredibly friendly and it feels like we are planning it with her and she quickly became a friend after only a couple of meetings!
Sara who is one of her team actually designed our website for us which is great! Jessica is the other member of our team and she is also just the friendliest and most on the ball person.
They are literally a trio of formidable event planners and they have taken away any stress that I might have had and made the whole process a lot of fun!
Our Vendors Booked So Far
We have already picked most of our vendors and other than the band, chuppah singer and the invitations/wedding stationery, they are all based in Marbella.
We have already sent out our Save the Dates and we used Michael from Simcha Invitations. Michael has the most incredible portfolio of work and he immediately understood the laid back and colourful destination wedding vibe that we were after.
We have booked One Entertainment as our band – I was at a wedding where they performed a few years ago and then again this summer and they are just insanely good as well as really knowing how to keep the guests dancing all night. Lauren who manages the band is quite possibly the friendliest and easiest person to deal with and we adore her!
Our Chuppah singer is JJ Hodari – he is not a chazan but his voice is incredible and just so unique. He also performed at my cousin’s wedding and he is used to performing with our band and that chemistry is really important.
We are having Antonio De Perez as our videographer and his wife Nani De Perez as our photographer. I love their work as it is unique and breathtakingly beautiful and I knew I wanted them the minute we decided to get married in Marbella.
I have booked Alex Harrocks for my hair and the bridal party – she came highly recommended by our wedding planner and I really love her work. I have booked Nicola McGeorge to do my makeup and the bridal party. Nicola also came highly recommended by our wedding planner and I had already seen some of her work on STG and knew her subtle elegant style was exactly what I wanted.
What Marriage Means to Us
I believe that marriage is an extension of what is or should already be a true romance and a wonderful friendship. I don’t believe that everything changes just because you are married, but I do believe that it is a life step and an important one in any relationship.
Richard is ten years older than I am and I know that he believes the same and also felt that it was worth waiting for the right person even if meant waiting that bit longer. Personally, I have always thought of it as settling down with the person I love to start a new chapter and hopefully one day a family.
One of the things which Rich loves the most about marriage is that he sees it as combining two great families to make a stronger and bigger family unit. He believes that it adds a new and fresh dynamic to both families when they join as one.
I always felt that I wanted to marry not only my love but also my best friend because I think that a solid friendship is very much a good foundation for a relationship and a marriage.
I also believe that marriage is a sense of commitment to each other as well as a sense of comfort and security, and I feel incredibly lucky that Richard has provided me with just that!
See you all soon for my next blog post! X
Click here to read all Sarah’s planning posts to date.
Sarah and Rich’s Wedding Vendors booked so far:
Venue – Tikitano Beach
Photographer – Nani De Perez
Wedding Planner – optimum weddings {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videographer – Antonio De Perez
Stationery – Simcha Invitations
Chuppah singer – JJ Hodari
Band – One Entertainment
Hair + Makeup – Alex Harrocks and Nicola McGeorge
Welcome Party – at Besaya Beach
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