You know we’re all about “Your Jewish wedding, your way” here at Smashing The Glass. It’s really our mission, and while all the weddings we blog are chosen for their authenticity and individuality, sometimes one really blows us away with its inventiveness.
That’s definitely the case today. Rachel and Josh packed their festival-themed Jewish wedding so full of unexpected fun, from the ball pit (!!!) to the BBQ-style mezze menu to the mini golf course!
Since a festival is nothing without fantastic music (and plenty of it), the pair booked multiple musical acts, including Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, the incredible Totem.
Our hats are totally off to Rachel (who owns the photo booth company Megabooth!) and Josh for crafting such an utterly unique day, and one that is so obviously, unabashedly them. You won’t want to miss Tom Webb and Dan McCourt’s glorious photos of this one-of-a-kind wedding… or Rachel’s writeup of the “mad party,” as she says!
How we met
Rachel, the bride: My husband and I were set up by mutual friends. However, the proposal was an interesting one! We got engaged in the desert on a stargazing tour, went for a walk, saw a shooting star, and then he got down on one knee!
A Country Wedding
We got married at Brook Farm Cuffley, Hertfordshire. It just seemed like the perfect space for us.
Pearl Tent (Marquees) supplied by The Arabian Tent Company.
A Wedding with a Ball Pit!
I just decided that nothing was too crazy or out there. I wanted a ball pit so we had one, and so on.
We had dreams of how we wanted our wedding to be, so we just made it happen, no matter how crazy the idea seemed! We didn’t have a wedding planner; I did it all myself in a fairly short time frame.
The whole day was special to us because it was exactly what we wanted, and it was so much fun.
Cactus Place Cards
I made the invitations myself, and had the menu written on a large mirror as a unique touch.
The place cards were little cactuses; we wanted something that wasn’t standard for a wedding so we tried to incorporate individual touches wherever we could.
Hair + Makeup
Natania Rafaelie did my hair and makeup. She was incredible; I’d 100% recommend her.
A Custom Dress
I had my dress custom made to fit exactly what I wanted. I didn’t feel like a lot of typical bridal dresses really fit my style, so this was perfect.
Bridesmaids in H&M
The bridesmaids also wore H&M!
Festival Flowers
Flowers by Elena created everything floral for us and was incredible, she completely understood the festival vibe of our wedding and brought all of our ideas to fruition.
Our Fabulous Photographers
We had two photographers, Tom Webb and Dan McCourt.
BBQ-style Mezzes
Our caterer was Philip Small, who created something completely unique. We didn’t want a standard wedding meal, we just didn’t feel as if it fit, so we had a BBQ-style mezze meal with lots of small eats and dips to tuck into throughout the day.
Entertainment for Miles
We had two bands: Dat Brass and Totem.
To fit in with our festival theme, a huge element of fun had to be the entertainment. We just wanted it to be a mad party, so we had a ball pit, crazy (aka miniature) golf, and even an ambulance serving drinks as a bar.
We had the lake lit up by torches, and sunflowers everywhere. We also put a photo booth in a hippy van and had some bohemian style tents.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
I looked at blogs for everything, and even picked photographers from there. I would say don’t stress, and don’t let anything limit your imagination. Nothing was too mad for us to achieve.
Rachel & Josh’s little white book
Photography – Tom Webb and Dan McCourt
Videography – Juno Wedding Films
Bands – Totem and Dat Brass
Marquee – The Arabian Tent Company
Venue – Brook Farm Cuffley
Planning – Batsheva Dominitz at Simply Events BB
Bride’s shoes – Amazon
Bridesmaids – H&M
Hair + Makeup – Natania Rafaelie
Catering – Philip Small
Photobooth – Megabooth
