We’ve got something really special to share with you today: the gorgeous Jewish wedding of Dan to Ruthie, who is the marketing manager at Smashing The Glass Recommended Venue Kimpton Fitzroy London (where we’re currently running an amazing competition to win a luxe romantic stay for two — do check it out if you haven’t yet entered!).
Ruthie’s Australian, Dan’s Scottish, they live in London, met in Tel Aviv, and got married in sunny Spain (the closest they could come to matching that glorious Aussie sunshine without making their guests fly to the other side of the world) — how’s that for an international wedding?!
Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Optimum Weddings helped the couple plan the joyous, laid-back, and, above, all, totally breathtakingly gorgeous celebration of their dreams, and we love how much attention went into the details…
…From the eucalyptus chuppah (in honor of Ruthie’s Australian background!) to the stunning invitations from STG Recommended Vendor Bigday Designs, with intricately adorned with flowers of the exact same types and shades as the ones in the gardens at the venue!
And we love that the couple placed top priority not only on music for their reception, but also for the ceremony —and it doesn’t get any more special than soulful Jewish tunes from STG Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson, who added that extra bit of wow factor to an already incredibly special ceremony (Pssst… Brides Club members – Jonny is doing a Jewish Wedding Music live singing + Q&A inside the private Brides Club Facebook group later today… not to be missed!)
Photographer Mireia Cordomi and videographer Antonio De Perez captured all the emotion and fun of the day so wonderfully — not to mention the lush setting, exquisite details, and that coveted Spanish sunlight.
Now over to Ruthie, who looked so glam in her beaded Hayley Paige…
How We Met
Ruthie, the bride: Daniel and I met when I was living in Tel Aviv and he was there on holiday. We were introduced by two mutual friends who both quite literally sat on me until I agreed to go and meet him. We had our second date in Paris and then our third date in London. The rest is history!
Spanish Sunshine
We got married on a beautiful property called El Molino Del Duque, located just outside of Marbella, Spain. The main house is surrounded by acres of stunning gardens, so we were able to have the ceremony, reception and dinner all outside in a different space on the property, each one with its own unique look and feel.
I am Australian, and I always wanted to get married outside in the sunshine. Since the Australia was a little too far to ask the majority of our guests to travel, we opted instead for some sunshine a little closer to home.
A Fab Planner
Daniel and I both wanted our wedding to be a big party, with a very relaxed atmosphere. We used Dyana (who we adored) and her lovely team Sara and Jessica from Optimum Weddings to help us create the wedding of our dreams.
As soon we told Dyana the type of wedding we wanted, she introduced us to the most amazing suppliers who made our dreams a reality. We couldn’t have done it without her.
Because our venue was surrounded by gardens and so naturally beautiful we wanted to keep the whole style of the wedding within the same garden theme. The colour palette was inspired by the main house which was a very light pink, and the colours of the trees and flowers in the garden — including greens, whites and pinks.
What ‘Smashing The Glass’ Did For Us
Looking at the real Jewish weddings really helped me so much, as did your list of suppliers. I always looked there first before any other sites because I know they are tried and trusted by you.
Floral Invitations
We wanted our guests to experience the feeling of the wedding, before the day, so we picked our invitations to match the theme. The invitations were adorned with flowers, in the exact type and shades of the flowers in the garden of our venue. We used Bigday Designs who were so creative, helping us design the perfect invitations.
A Hayley Paige Dress
My dress was Hayley Paige and it was fitted by Satish from Elite Alterations. I originally wanted a very simple lace or silk dress, but every one I tried on just wasn’t right. My best friend then picked out the Hayley Paige dress and made me try it on.
It was completely beaded with a very intricate pattern and not at all what I was looking for — but as soon as I tried it on, I knew it was the one. The dress was very fitted with a slight fish tail at the bottom with a beautiful train, shoe string straps and a low back.
Minimalist Accessories
Because my dress was incredibly detailed, I kept my accessories to a minimum. Daniel’s mum leant me a pair of diamond earrings, which I paired with a tennis bracelet. I also wore a beautiful Hayley Paige cathedral length veil (with extra length added on).
Kurt Geiger Shoes
I kept it simple with nude strappy Kurt Geiger heels. As our wedding was on grass, I went with a block heel, they were so comfortable I was able to dance all night in them!
Hair + Makeup
I had the most incredible makeup artist, Nicola McGeorge. We were on the same page from the moment we met, and she is just amazingly talented. I wanted to look like me, so I kept my makeup quite natural with a golden glow.
Hair was by the magnificent Alex Harrocks and was soft curls swept to the side. Because my dress was quite dramatic, I kept my hair down with a touch of glam, and it was just perfect.
Nicola and Alex make the perfect team, and I cannot recommend them both highly enough to any bride getting married in Spain (or abroad!).
The handsome groom
Daniel wore a gorgeous three-piece light navy blue suit from Suit Supply with a very light Ted Baker tie to match the bridesmaids’ dresses.
Pastel Bridesmaids
I wanted my bridesmaids to be comfortable on the day, so they chose their own dresses, my only brief was that they be a pastel colour. They both ended up picking the same colour dress from the same label, in a style that suited them.
My third bridesmaid was Daniel’s sister, and as she was walking him down the aisle with his mum, she went with a Diane Von Fustenberg jumpsuit in a vibrant shade of orange.
Eucalyptus Chuppah
Since we were married in a garden filled with beautiful trees and flowers, we wanted the chuppah to match with the surroundings. I wanted to incorporate a little bit of Australia, so the greenery included multiple varieties of eucalyptus leaves. We also included olive leaves, pistacia and ivy, with pops of white and light pink garden roses and hydrangeas.
A Soulful Ceremony
Sadly, Daniel’s father is no longer with us, so we were married under his tallis, which was incredibly special for us and our family.
We wanted our ceremony to be filled with love, light and soulful music, which our rabbi and chazan really captured. Standing under the chuppah with our parents and siblings, surrounded by our closest family and friends in the most beautiful setting was just amazing. We loved every single part of it.
An Amazing Chazan
Having a wedding filled with music from the moment people entered the grounds of the venue to the moment they left was so important to us.
As our guests entered, they were welcomed with a glass of Champagne and love songs were playing in the background. When they were taking their seats our amazing Chazan Jonny Mosesson sang one of my favourite songs, ‘Jerusalem of Gold’.
Daniel walked down the aisle to ‘Katonti’ and I walked down the aisle to ‘Erev Shel Shoshanim’ which was my Saba’s favourite song. Jonny has the most beautiful and soulful voice, and he really made our ceremony so special.
Our first dance was to ‘Walking in Memphis‘, which was one of Daniel’s father’s favourite songs.
White Flowers
For my bouquet I kept it simple with white peonies with white hydrangeas as the base of the arrangement. My bridesmaids had white peonies and very light pink and white garden roses. Daniel wore a white rose with eucalyptus as his button hole.
Our dinner was held in another garden on the property, next to a stunning swimming pool, surrounded by palm trees and bougainvillea. Because there was so much greenery and flowers in the garden, we kept the table arrangements simple and used glass pots filled with jasmine, lavender, mint, thyme and rosemary, surrounded by an abundance of different sized white candles. All the trees were hung with fairy lights and the garden filled with storm lanterns, which gave it such a magical and ethereal feeling.
Our florist, Unique by Roberto Silvosa, was incredible. They guided us throughout the entire process with the help of our wedding planner Dyana, and really created the wedding of our dreams.
Photographer and videographer
For photography I used the incredibly talented Mireia Cordomi. As soon as we met, we clicked and she got our vision instantly. We wanted our wedding photos to capture the emotion of the day, which Mireia did exceptionally.
For videography we went with Antonio De Perez who made us feel so at ease and comfortable all day.
I cannot recommend both of them highly enough!
Donut wall
We didn’t have a cake, instead opted for a donut wall and a dessert buffet of chocolate cake, macaroons filled with cream and raspberries, and a tropical fruit and berry buffet with fresh cream and ice cream.
We also had a late-night snack of cheese burgers and French fries and fish and chips.
All about the Music
Our band was BM Artists headed up by the uber talented Brendan Mills. We wanted our wedding to be a big party and as soon as we met Brendan we knew he was the one to make it happen.
Our Chazan Jonny really kicked off the party with an incredible live set of Israeli dancing, backed up by Brendan on sax and James on keys.
Lorna then took over on vocals supported by Brendan, Jonny and James and they had all the guests up on their chairs before the MC had even (officially) welcomed the guests!
They kept the party going well into the night with all our guests partying until the early hours of the morning. We were forced onto the buses around 3am, after our guests (led by Daniel) jumped in the pool. The party didn’t end there though, with everyone singing the entire bus ride home, and the party continuing back at the hotel.
Two bars
We had two bars. One dedicated to spirits and the other to a cocktail bar serving Lychee Martinis, Aperol and Campari Spritz, Strawberry and Lime Mojitos and Negronis throughout the whole wedding.
The cocktail bar was headed up by Mixologist Andres from Pro Shakers and him and his team were amazing. Half way through the night, they put on a fire show (which we were not expecting) – fire twirling, mixing cocktails on fire and fire breathing, it was incredible!
Family and friends from around the world
Daniel and I were lucky enough to be able to plan the wedding we wanted, with both parents being very supportive of our vision for the day. But what truly made our wedding so special were our guests. We opted for a wedding with an intimate feel, where every single one of our guests felt included in the day.
Our guests flew in from all around the world — Australia, America, Israel and of course the UK. As a result, the majority of our guests all arrived up to a week before the wedding and stayed in the same hotel, so everyone got to know each other before the big day. We also held a pre-wedding beach party at Puro Beach which ended up in sets of Israeli dancing and Daniel and I up on chairs. It was magnificent!
Special speeches
Having my closest friends flying in from Australia was also incredibly special, with my oldest friend of 31 years making a beautiful speech. Getting married on the other side of the world was a difficult decision to make, so my friends coming and supporting us, just made the whole wedding truly incredible.
My brother, dad, Daniel and his best man Dave also gave the most touching speeches which had the crowd in fits of laughter and quite a few (happy) tears.
Minimoon in Majorca
We wanted to spend as much time as we could with all of our guests, so we opted to spend more time in Marbella after the wedding and then had a mini moon in Majorca, staying at the gorgeous Hotel Hospes Maricel. We are planning a honeymoon for 2019.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Enjoy every single moment, even the moments that feel stressful at the time, because it is over in the blink of eye. Also, this is your and your husband-to-be’s day. Plan the wedding you want, not what you think others want you to have.
Ruthie & Dan’s little white book
Photography — Mireia Cordomi
Wedding planner — optimum weddings {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Chazan — Jonny Mosesson {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Invitations — Bigday Designs {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videography — Antonio De Perez
Venue — El Molino Del Duque
Bride’s dress and veil – Hayley Paige fitted by Elite Alterations
Bride’s shoes – Kurt Geiger
Groom’s attire – Suit Supply and Ted Baker
Hair + Makeup — Alex Bridal International and Nicola McGeorge
Florist — Unique by Roberto Silvosa
Band — BM Artists
Catering — Fiesta Sol
Cocktail bar – Pro Shakers
Minimoon – at Hotel Hospes Maricel
