A very Happy New Year to all our Jewish readers as it is, of course, Erev Rosh Hashana tonight! We hope you all have some lovely family plans – we’d love to hear about them in the comments!
What better way to kick off the new year than with a beautiful Jewish wedding at one of our favorite London synagogues, Bevis Marks? Jenni and Rich’s celebration continued at The Underglobe, leading to a spectacular Shakespearean theme, drawing on elements of a Midsummer Night’s Dream for a dimly lit, magical atmosphere.
The venue even came with its own magical tree – what more could anyone ask for?
There’s so much to love about this lively and exciting celebration, which saw the bride being thrown in the air on a sheet, proving that on your big day, you can do anything – a flying bride!
All of the magic and detail was captured with expert ease by Miki Studios, including the romantic floral arrangements on the low-lit tables, centered with gorgeous gold candelabras.
Let’s hear from bride Jenni, who looked every bit the boho babe in her lacy David Fielden dress! Take it away, Jenni!
How we met
Jenni, the bride: Richard and I met at King Solomon High School when we were 16 and 17 years old. We were together till we left school and went out separate ways. Richard attended golf college, while I went on year course to Israel. Once I returned we reunited, and the rest is history.
A venue with a magical tree
We got married at Bevis Marks Synagogue followed by the reception at Shakespeare’s Globes event space called The Underglobe.
I always wanted to get married in Bevis Marks as my great nana, Rae, got married there and always told me how beautiful it was in there, and she was not wrong. Getting married in The Bevis Marks means We were part of an amazing history that the synagogue has to offer.
Having the reception in The Underglobe was a pretty easy and quick choice to make. The venue had a huge magical tree at the bottom of the stairs… who wouldn’t want a tree in their wedding venue!
A very Shakespearean year
We didn’t use a wedding planner. However, I spent endless nights on Pinterest and turns out we were in for a very Shakespearean year!
My husband started working on a new project in Shoreditch called The Stage, which was associated with a newly discovered Shakespeare’s theatre. We also found out that it the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
My entire Pinterest page consisted of burned paper-edged scrolls, roses, and wedding favors in a cored mini bottle! We had no color scheme, as I choose dimmed lighting which subtly changed from yellows to greens to blues and then pink creating a magical theme around the tree!
Invitations with a hint of magic
I was obsessed with having tea-bag colored, burned-edge. scroll-like invitations with some sort of lace or ribbon tied around it. We even purchased an old-fashioned red stamp with our initials to seal the envelopes!
With the stamp still in its wrapper today, we ended up going with a fantastic company called Big Day Designs, who took great care of us and our invitations. We had a midnight summer theme invitation, which gave our guests a slight indication of what our venue had to offer. Big Day Designs helped us keep our invites classic with a hint of magic.
Wedding morning pampering
I had a bouncy blow dry with hair extensions, styled in a half-up, half-down ‘do in grips, which my go-to girl, mobile hairdresser and nail wonder, Lauren Stern of Bella Bellis, found on Facebook and Instagram. I strongly recommend her.
I had a few mobile makeup artists come to the house for wedding makeup trials. I ended up choosing a very lovely and very talented girl called Olivia Sandy. I now have Olivia do my makeup for every wedding and occasion mum and I attend.
She was very patient as she tried out all of the makeup ideas I had on my wedding Pinterest board. I knew she would be perfect for me on the wedding day, as she was very calm and this wasn’t her first rodeo; she was a pro!
I had made ‘Team Bride’ zip ups for all my bridesmaids to wear while having their hair and makeup done, and they were easy to take off without messing up their hair. Bagels, fruit platters and champagne flowed all morning while a rota of hair and makeup was taking place.
A David Fielden dress
I am a petite size 8-10 and always wanted a layered tulle boho-style dress with detail on the back. I have always loved Vivienne Westwood dresses and the Israeli designer Galia Lahav.
I went to a lot of boutiques, and tried on several styles, as I was considering having a bespoke dress made. Disliking myself in every dress (which came as a shock to me as I love shopping, and rarely walk out empty handed) I delayed my wedding dress search. Time was ticking, and I was leaving it very late!
I stumbled across David Fielden‘s fashion show online and loved some of his boho dresses. I booked an appointment and before I knew it was I standing in there with my mum, aunty, grandma and mother-in-law to be.
We had decided on a dress that was a tight-fitted lace number. Offering a decent price and good dressmakers onsite, we signed on the dotted line and I was due for my first dress fitting in a few weeks!
A last-minute change of shoes
I was going to wear Valentino shoes, which were a present from the husband-to-be just before he popped the big question. A few months before the wedding, I tried them on for size during a dress fitting and panicked that the lace would catch on the Valentino studs on the dance floor. In the end, I matched a pair of £30 John Lewis wedding shoes to my Valentinos’ heel size!
The handsome groom
Rich wore Jack Bunney… what a suit! Jack Bunney is a suit hire shop with talented tailors and fantastic customer service. We ended up hiring all of the groom’s party’s suits and having Rich’s custom made.
A clean-cut, stunning, three-piece, black-tie suit was made to perfection with a large black bow tie and white pocket square.
Fabulous fabrics
I had seven bridesmaids keeping me sane on the day. All different shapes and sizes with their own individual styles and tastes. With this in mind, I provided the fabric and the dressmaker, and the rest was up to them!
I own a fabric shop in east London, Stitch Fabrics M Rosenbergand Son. It’s a family business, so I grew up with fabrics understanding how to drape and hang on the body.
I choose a dove grey triple-crepe fabric, which created seven unique dresses. This was matched with a pink Italian silk hand-painted burn-out fabric, out of which we made a scarf for their shoulders to be covered during the ceremony.
I had two little flower girls who wore a simple cute shift dress McCall pattern and a pink floral fabric to match the pink flowers and pinky scarves for the bridesmaids. The men’s kippot were a selection of dove grey and dusty pink.
A simple chuppah design
We kept our chuppah design simple. Bevis Marks is full of beauty and history, and we didn’t want to go OTT and take away from where we were.
Funky Flowers provided roses, peonies, hydrangeas, orchids and ivy. Soft pinks, subtle peach and white just for an added pretty touch.
A Bevis Marks ceremony
The bridesmaids and groomsmen were set to work making sure every man received his kippah, and every person received a booklet of the ceremony. Big Day Designs helped me keep the booklets consistent with the invitations, which I loved.
The booklet was a very lighthearted explanation of the ceremony with a few personal touches that our nearest and dearest would find funny and endearing.
We also hired three big red coaches to take our guests from The Bevis Marks to The Underglobe. The groomsmen worked hard making sure a glass was never empty whilst a very overwhelmed married Mr & Mrs made their way to their 1930s Rolls Royce again with very full champagne glasses courtesy of the groomsmen.
Getting the party started
All of our 200 guests were standing on the dance floor with the lights dimmed, when Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk burst through the speakers and that was our cue to enter down the stairs, past the magical tree and greet our guests.
It was the perfect song to start a great party. Our first dance was to Maroon Five’s Sunday Morning, as that was a meaningful song to us and always will be.
We went for a dinner dance, so the first music section catered to every age group. The next selection of music was when the real party started. We had spent many evenings making playlists and late nights driving around London singing together for inspiration, jotting down songs to add.
B-Live, run by Brett Warren was no doubt what made our wedding so much fun. From the Israeli dancing music to the garage and R’n’B we choose for the end, they truly made our wedding. We also had Brett Warren himself sing a few of our favourites during meals to create our ambiance.
Romantic floral arrangements
The Underglobe had an amazing events team who helped me create my centerpieces. We had long gold candelabras which were loosely decorated with soft pink large roses, ivy and foliage.
The foliage and rose petals flooded onto the tables creating a romantic effect. We also had pink petals and tea lights on the bar along with old-fashioned weathered Shakespeare books on the bar to prop up drinks and shots!
Our fabulous photographer and videographer
The handsome, professional and extremely talented Mick Shah of Miki Studios was an absolute dream to have at our wedding. He took Richards cousin’s wedding pictures a few years back.
We met for a rehearsal photo shoot, which Richard and I both felt a little strange and uneasy doing however after 10 minutes into meeting Miki we both understood why we were there. He made us feel comfortable and calm together in front of the camera, and gave us a few handy tips.
On the day, Miki turned up dressed to the nines perfect to fit in with our London black-tie wedding. He stayed right to the end capturing the pretty, the sweaty and the shoeless bride. Natural pictures are his forte, and we couldn’t be happier with how he captured our day.
It was Miki who recommended Ben Foster of The London Wedding Film Company and it was a match made in heaven.
A delicious dessert station
We ended up having a dessert station instead of a cake, as getting the cake from A to B in one piece and on a Sunday was providing me with unnecessary stress.
Instead, I looked forward to the cupcakes, brownies, coconut balls, square cheesecake and all the rest of the sugar-rush treats I had chosen.
A flying bride!
B-Live by Brett Warren entertained us all evening with his very talented 10-piece band, which was adored by all age groups. Everyone danced all evening, and Brett and his band created the most brilliant atmosphere, which we will never forget.
We had a photo booth provided by Megabooth organized by the owner directly, with a fantastic level of service. We had four confetti cannons that, thanks to Miki Shar, made the most amazing picture!
During the Israeli dancing, the sheet came out. Richard had requested there to be no sheet at all as being thrown up in the air hot and sweaty is not ideal. Boys being boys, the sheet appeared. All of his friends were in a circle all holding the sheet out nice and tight for Richard to launch himself onto. Instead, he walked over to the mad circle of women jumping and dancing around, tapped me on the shoulder, pointed to the waving sheet and asked if I could go on it! I took a breath, gave my shoes to my sister-in-law and took a run and jump and flew up and down on the sheet.
I couldn’t believe I flew so high and had so much fun doing it. Totally spontaneous,. I recommend all brides to fly in the sheet. I couldn’t be happier that my go-to girl, Lauren, who did my hair, also happened to be a guest at the wedding!
Fun favors
During a girlie day out with my lifelong bestie, we randomly found ourselves at a florist in north London. We found glittery masks and lots of them. Sitting cross legged on the floor, having a slight hyper fit with excitement, we gathered 10 of each color as wedding favors.
Richard and I also spent the day before the wedding making different alcoholic drinks and decanting them into 200 mini corked bottles.
Sweet speeches
My dad did a short, sweet and emotional welcome speech, followed by an amazingly hilarious best man speech.
Richard then pulled in everyone’s heart strings and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. This flowed nicely into out first dance, which wasn’t as cringe as I had expected.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
I was calm and excited on the day, because I had made endless spreadsheets, so I was on top of everything.
Remember, Google is your friend. Shop around for the best prices, as it all adds up.
I loved using Pinterest for ideas and reading blog after blog.
Remember you can’t control the weather!
Get to know your suppliers. I developed a friendly relationship with the florist, caterer, photographer, venue etc so I knew on the day they wouldn’t let me down.
Include your closest friends as much as possible – after all, you most probably wouldn’t have met your husband without them!
At some point during the dancing, go off with your new husband and take a long look at your friends and family enjoying your wedding. Everyone is there to celebrate you both, and there is no nicer feeling than that. Brides… eat breakfast; it’s the longest day of your life!
Jenni & Rich’s little white book
Photographer – Mick Shah of Miki Studios
Videographer – The London Wedding Film Company
Venue – The Underglobe
Bride’s dress – David Fielden
Bride’s shoes – purchased at John Lewis
Groom’s attire – Jack Bunney
Bridesmaids – Stich Fabrics and McCall
Hair – Bella Bellis
Makeup – Olivia Sandy Makeup
Flowers – Funky Flowers
Band –B-Live
Photobooth – Megabooth
Invitation – Big Day Designs
Toastmaster — Jamie Paskin
Transport – Rolls Royce
Wow, such a beautiful couple and looks like a fun filled wedding! So many details – the flowers look amazing! Photos are incredible!
Wonderful!!The information about Jewish wedding is so adorable.The pics show how much fun you had during the marriage.The outfits are really good.