Oh my goodness, this is one elegant Jewish wedding. Lauren who works in public relations, and Ross, a chartered surveyor, wanted the day to reflect all the best elements of a classic English wedding with a contemporary twist.
The couple chose Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jenna Keller as their wedding planner (who is offering an exclusive 10% discount to all our VIB Club members!) and she helped them bring their super glam vision to life at Capesthorne Hall, a beautiful stately home in Cheshire.
We just love a floral chuppah, and Jenna came up with just the chicest variation! Lauren wanted something unique but not over-the-top, and the refined white floral canopy atop translucent poles set against the all-white marquee fits the bill exactly. It’s contemporary while embracing tradition, sophisticated and refined, just like the rest of this wedding.
To make their ceremony even more special, Lauren and Ross booked much-loved STG Recommended Vendor Boutique Chupah Music, adding to the emotional and intimate atmosphere.
Planner Jenna pointed the pair toward their wonderful photographer, Robert Shack. He did an amazing job of capturing their glamorous day, and videographer Rebecca Reville caught the festivities in live action.
Speaking of things that are glamorous, isn’t Lauren’s lace gown exquisite? It fits her like a glove, and that train! She found her Carolina Herrera stunner at yet another fabulous STG Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club in London–but she almost missed out on the dress of her dreams. At the end of a long day of shopping, Lauren was ready to call it quits after having found solid gown options at the first three of four appointments she had scheduled.
Her mum encouraged her not to cancel that final appointment, though, and luckily Lauren listened, because the very first dress her Wedding Club stylist brought out for her turned out to be the one. This goes to show that it’s always worth taking the time to check out that one last shop (or venue, or any vendor really), because you just never know where you’ll find the one! Now over to the bride herself . . .
How we met
Lauren, the bride: We first met at Habonim Dror Winter Camp in 2007 when we were both camp leaders. I remember getting on so well; however nothing romantic happened at the time!
We met again in 2011 at Birmingham City University. We were both in the same halls and decided to join forces for drinks one night during freshers’ week. We have been together ever since!
A Stately Home
We got married at Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire. When we first got engaged we talked about having the wedding in Israel, since we go a lot and my family has a holiday home there. But we decided that there are so many elements to an English wedding that we love, and I wanted the venue to reflect that. The grounds were huge, and our marquee where we had the chuppah looked out on a beautiful lake. We used the stately home for the reception.
Glamorous in Rose Gold
My sister got married last year and used Jenna Keller as her wedding planner. Jenna’s organization and attention to detail was incredible, so when we got engaged she was one of the first people we called! Jenna is a breath of fresh air. I told her certain visions that I had and she built on all those ideas, making it the most perfect day.
Our color was rose gold. This was reflected in our invitations, charger plates, tablecloths, and bridesmaid dresses.
The chuppah was both classic and contemporary, in a white marquee overlooking the lake, and the rest of the wedding had an amazing party atmosphere.
As the grounds were so large, we decided it would be a good idea to have golf carts to take guests around. The drivers all wore t-shirts and hats with our L&R initials on it – it was a lovely touch.
We had a bespoke Perspex bar and a matching DJ booth, inspired by a wedding we saw in LA. The bar had garlands of orchids hung above it, and we created a mirrored back bar shelf area housing all the spirits for the night. Lots of shelves, including the bar, were filled with candles and orchids.
We decided to have round tables and opted for a round dance floor with our initials foiled in the center. We had a giant central round chandelier and a large stage for the band with rounded steps coming into the dining room. All of the round elements made the large marquee feel soft and extremely elegant. Ross and I sat at a raised mirrored oval sweetheart table at the front of the dance floor. Our families were at the tables surrounding us, but it gave us an opportunity to share a few moments together and take in everything.
Laser Cut Invitations
I looked at a lot of different wedding invitations on Pinterest, as I wanted something that my guests may not have seen before. We decided on laser cut, which I thought was really elegant and beautiful, and we also added a small teardrop-shaped crystal on to the invitation.
Embedded in the laser cut was L&R: our initials were a theme throughout the night, and we had them on our dance floor, benchers, and all place cards.
The company that brought our stunning invitations to life was Design the Day, based in Northwich.
All the Hair Trials
I must have had about 10 different hair trials. I couldn’t decide if I wanted my hair down, half up and half down, or just up. On my final trial I left my hair in and saw Ross that evening for dinner. As soon as he saw me he said, “What have you done to your hair? I absolutely love it.” I told him I just threw it up after the shower and he believed me! He said “If you had your hair like that on the wedding day, you would make me the happiest groom in the world” – after that the decision was easy!
Sarra Slimane of Artiste did both my hair and makeup on the day. She is amazing and I wouldn’t have had anyone else!
A Carolina Herrera Gown
My dress was from The Wedding Club in London. It was a Carolina Herrera dress and it was honestly the dress of my dreams. It was everything I could have wanted in a wedding dress and more!
I had gone down to London to go dress shopping with my mum, and we had booked four appointments in different places. In both the second and third shops I found dresses that I really loved. I was absolutely exhausted by then and told my mum to cancel the final appointment. She said, “No way, we’re here and we may as well go,” so we did. I got to the shop and chatted to the lady in there for five minutes and she said, “I have the perfect dress for you.”
I tried it on, and there was absolutely no doubt that it was the one. I had never seen a dress like it before and knew that it would have to be the dress I married the love of my life in!
A Veil with Crystals
I had a veil to go with my dress. It was quite simple with some tiny crystals in. I decided not to use any hair accessories as the dress spoke for itself and didn’t need anything else!
Manolo Blahniks
I am a bit shoe-obsessed, so my wedding shoes had to be perfect! I don’t normally go for comfort when it comes to choosing a pair of heels but I knew that I had to be sensible with these shoes!
I bought a pair of bridal Jimmy Choos home and then took them to one of my fittings. They were pretty but didn’t have the wow factor and they weren’t very comfortable, so I took them back!
I tried on the Manolo Blahnik white satin Hangisi shoes and I knew they were the perfect pair – classic, timeless, and surprisingly comfy! I bought them with the intention that I would dye them a different color after the wedding so I could wear them again, but I love the white and now just want to buy more in every color!
The handsome groom
Ross wore a Hugo Boss black tuxedo with a shawl collar. Underneath he had a slim fit evening shirt from Eton along with a Hugo Boss silk bow-tie and some classic Mont Blanc cuff links. To finish off he wore shiny leather black brogues from Loake Shoemakers.
Bridesmaids in Rose Gold
I had four bridesmaids, one maid of honor, and a little flower girl. I wanted all of my bridesmaids to be comfortable in what they wore so decided as long as it was all the same fabric and color they could choose the style they wanted.
We went to Philip Armstrong in Liverpool and he made everything so easy. He understood what all the girls wanted and sketched everything out so we could see. The color of the dresses tied in with our color scheme.
A Floral Chuppah
I knew that I wanted the chuppah to be totally striking, yet not over the top. I wanted it to be something that people hadn’t seen before. Jenna, our wedding planner, totally got my vision. It was absolutely perfect!
A Bespoke Ketubah
We decided to have a bespoke ketubah made. A family friend recreated the look of our chuppah on parchment and the Hebrew writing sat inside. It is very beautiful and is hung up in our house to remind us of our special day!
You Make It Real
We had Boutique Chupah Music at our chuppah. I had wanted the Portnoy brothers to sing at our wedding ever since they started performing. Their voices are so unique, and they really set an incredible and emotional atmosphere.
Ross walked down the aisle to Mi Adir in the tune of Hallelujah as did the rest of the procession. Then I walked into Boi Veshalom; I swear that song makes me cry every time I listen to it! When I walked around Ross seven times they sung the song Birkat Chuppah to the tune of John Legend’s All of Me.
We wanted our first dance to be special and meaningful, not just some soppy gushing love song! It took us months and months to decide. One day I was listening to a random playlist and James Morrison’s You Make It Real came on. I knew straight away that it was the perfect song.
White Flowers
Verdure was the incredible florist that brought everything to life. We decided to keep all of the flowers white, since too much color isn’t really my thing!
Our fabulous Photographer
When my wedding planner sent me a list of photographers to look through, I just had to take one look at Robert Shack‘s website and Instagram page before getting him booked. Each wedding he had photographed had a completely different style, and he really injected the bride and groom’s personalities into the photos.
He was an absolute delight to be around on the day; he was so friendly and made me feel so calm and so at ease. Choosing our album was extremely difficult as we loved every single photo!
…and videographer
We used Rebecca Reville as the videographer. My sister had used her the year previously for her wedding, and I thought her work was flawless.
Music All Night
We had the band Muzika – they were incredible. They knew exactly what the guests wanted to hear and worked the whole room throughout the night. I remember at one point looking over and seeing a whole table of guests standing on their chairs and singing with them – obviously Ross and I ran over to get involved!
It was important to us that guests would continue partying until the early hours, so we had a DJ, Jonny from Muzika, to carry on the party when Muzika were done.
Hilarious Speeches
Ross is the youngest of three brothers and was the first one to get hitched. His two older brothers were his best men, and the speech was absolutely HILARIOUS! They both got up on the stage wearing t-shirts which said “Please G-d by me” and everything they said had the whole room in fits of laughter! Even the rabbis struggled to keep a straight face!
A Real Gourmet Meal
Ross and I are big foodies, so we wanted to make sure that the menu was one to be remembered. At our reception we had a pate bar, which had lots of different breads and toasts, pate and chutneys and jam – Ross still to this day says he is so upset he wasn’t at the reception to eat it! To start we had marinated seared duck breast with home-pickled fresh cucumber pieces and crispy fresh radish, served under a dome of smoke with a duck bon bon, a little hoisin sauce, and a mini tankard of Pimms on the side – it was amazing watching everyone’s faces as this came out! For the main course we had herb-crusted loin of lamb with confit lamb potato slice, roasted baby carrots and parsnips, crushed peas with mint, and a lamb and mint jus. Our dessert was tonka bean panna cotta which was served with honeycomb, mini meringues, marinated strawberries, strawberry sorbet, and basil cress.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
The only advice I can offer to other brides is to keep calm and enjoy the planning, build up, and of course the day! Don’t stress about the little things. Everything always ends up perfect! Remember the day is about you and your new husband, so be sure to take that in!
Ross and I made sure to step to the back of the room during the night and take in everything that was going on around us – it was a special moment.
Lauren & Ross’s little white book
Photography – Robert Shack
Videography – Rebecca Reville
Wedding planner – Jenna Keller Events
Bride’s dress – Carolina Herrera purchased at The Wedding Club
Bands – Boutique Chupah Music and Muzika
Venue – Capesthorne Hall
Bride’s shoes – Manolo Blahnik and Nike
Groom’s attire – Hugo Boss, Eton, Mont Blanc and Loake Shoemakers
Bridesmaids – Philip Armstrong
Hair + Makeup – Artiste
Flowers – Verdure
Catering – Celia Clyne
Invitation – Design the Day
Such a gorgeous wedding and a beautiful couple, The gown is just perfection! Great set of images too, really love the photography!