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Rustic Chic Jewish Wedding Heaton House Farm_0678

How we met

Meredith, the Bride: Dave is British (he’s from Manchester) and I’m American (born and raised in New York) and we met though a mutual friend. My brother’s friend introduced me to his wife, who is from Manchester. We became friendly and she set me up with dave. This is really meaningful to us, as Dave never got to meet my brother Gregg, who passed away in 2008. In a way, it feels like Gregg brought Dave into my life. Dave reminds me a lot of my brother and having this connection to my brother is very special.

One of the reasons I’m in love with my job as editor and curator of Smashing The Glass is that weddings are the ultimate fusion of creativity, traditions and of course true love – three things that I adore – and this divine wedding has all three in buckets.

When an email from Danny and Julie of Minty Slippers popped in with a link to Meredith and Shoshana’s incredible wedding film, below, I had a massive ‘this is why I cherish my job’ moment. It’s so very moving, and their devoted love for each other is so apparent – I literally whooped, hollered and clapped my hands with glee in anticipation of blogging Danny and Julie’s fabulous work, and Meredith and Shoshana’s love story.

It’s a tale of long-distance desire with the pair first meeting in 2011 when Shoshana, from London, was studying at the New York Film Academy and Meredith was working at a Manhattan advertising agency.

Shoshana eventually returned to London after her studies, and being thrown suddenly into a long distance relationship, they decided to make videos to remind them of the fun they shared together. Their videos are super creative and fun and will fill you in a little more on their love story.

But on to the wedding itself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen brides who smiles as much as Meredith and Shoshana did on their big day; honestly their infectious grins are enough to make even the most miserable, rainy Mondays seem like Happy Hour in the Caribbean.

They were married at Notley Abbey in Oxfordshire, a beautiful venue that was once the home of Sir Laurence Olivier. There is a Stephanie Allin AND a J.Crew gown, both as beautiful as each other. There is a singing harpist, an immense naked cake, outdoor games and stunning florals . There are hand-painted favours by Shoshana (who is an illustrator by trade) of each guest’s name painted and presented on miniature easels. There are some fantastic ideas for a really meaningful wedding ceremony.

But most of all? Most of all there is L.O.V.E

The beautiful moments on film below were captured by Minty Slippers, whilst the immense photography is courtesy of Mark Cachia.

The venue

Meredith and Shoshana, the Brides: We chose Notley Abbey in Oxfordshire, for its tree-lined entrance, the castle like turrets, the beautiful gardens and the stunning contemporary mix with 13th century architecture – need we say more, it was perfect!

‘Global travel meets art’

Our wedding theme would be best described as ‘global travel meets art’ – that’s what we arrived at in the end! We didn’t have a colour scheme but we definitely thought about colour throughout the process. We didn’t use a wedding planner, we had too much fun planning it ourselves!