Gorgeous chuppah alert! If you love a floral chuppah, this is one Jewish wedding you’ve got to see. Londoners Katy, an advertising creative, and Jordan, who works in politics, describe the aesthetic of their big day at One Great George Street “as if Bridgerton and an English spring garden had a baby,” and we are all about it.
Katy’s colorful gown – she went for an exquisite handpainted dress from House of Savin, featuring beautiful pastel blossoms in shades of blue, lilac, pink, green, and white – formed the basis for the couple’s color scheme for both the chuppah and the entire day. Don’t miss it in the images by Ela Tatiana Photography!
Music was a huge priority for Jordan, and so the couple went for the best of the best: a 10-piece band from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jam Hot Showband. The couple can’t stop raving about how incredible Jam Hot was to work with.
This wedding is chock full of fabulous details – there’s the irreverent Jewish wedding ceremony guide Katy and Jordan put together for their guests, and the duo’s surprise entrance to the song “Where Is My Husband” with Katy on mic and Jordan holding plastic water guns full of tequila – but we’ll let the bride herself fill you in on the rest…
How We Met
Katy, the bride: Jordan and I met on Hinge in 2020 after the first Covid lockdown. But Katy was not the first David to meet Jordan.
Back in April 2019. A good 17 months before we matched on Hinge. Katy’s mum sends her a message…
“I met your future husband today.”
I reply with, “elaborate woman”
“Gorgeous guy…possibly working with us. We may offer him a job.”
“Name please”
“Jordan Newfield.”
Hmmmm. That name rang a bell. Ah yes. 4 months earlier we’d matched on Jswipe. Didn’t go anywhere though, because this ‘gorgeous guy’ ghosted Katy. He CLAIMS he went travelling. Huh. Yeah. Sure.
I’m sure you’re wondering, ‘Did Katy’s mum hire him?’ Well according to Jordan he never heard back. Still, Katy’s mum definitely called this one.
Venue
One Great George Street, Westminster. Right in the heart of London. The minute we saw the Great Hall, we fell in love with it.
Theme
Overall, we would describe the wedding aesthetic as…
If Bridgerton and an English spring garden had a baby in the middle of the best and most beautiful city in the world. We put alot of work into the stationary, colours which you’ll be able to see in the images. The plan for the stationary was parisian pastel chic – using lots of different patterns, shapes. We aren’t afraid of colour!
Our Chuppah was be the main floral focal point, bringing all the pastel colours together – blue, lilac, pink, green, white.
All of the colours and flowers were built around Katy’s non-traditional dress.
It started off as a very classy, black tie affair with a string quartet and a level of seriousness for the ceremony. The aim was for this to degenerate once everyone’s hit the booze.
The vibe:
Jewish dancing can get ROWDY to say the least. We supplied buzzballz cocktails (kosher certified!) as a unique little touch for the dinner. As well as baby guinness and tequila shots. It was a bank holiday, helping really commit. Jordan was super keen on live music to really create an atmosphere!
We also were keen to make sure we focussed on the details. We created a bespoke Jewish wedding ceremony guide, full of irreverent humour and personal jokes to make the wedding as inclusive as possible. and show off who we are as people. We planned a special entrance to the song ‘Where is my husband’ with Katy on the mic and Jordan holding plastic water guns full of tequila. Suffice to say, we got quite power mad shooting those guns in people’s mouths. To finish off the night, we provided pizzas for everyone on the way out. Can’t have anyone going home hungry!
Our amazing wedding coordinator was Natalie Brand of Events With Natalie.
Invitation/Stationery
Katy’s creative work partner designed the suite of stationary.
Hair + Makeup
Hair including a style change – Gintare Hairstylist. Makeup – Make Up by Helen Rose.
Dress
Picking a dress was one of Katy’s favourite parts. She never wanted it to end. Quite far into the process, her mum said that she’d be remiss if Katy didn’t try on coloured dresses. She wasn’t totally sold but we took a punt and made an appointment at House of Savin. Many of their dresses are handpainted which we fell in love with. Katy knew she wanted an a-line shape. She tried on their ‘Bloom’ dress which fit perfectly, with a stunning basque waist. She worried however that the colours were too dark and therefore made the dress less bridal. But as they were handpainted, she took a punt and asked if they could lighten the colours when mixing the paints. They did, and she got the pastel coloured dress of her dreams. After that, everything else fell into place. All of the colours were designed to match and her hairstyles were ethereal to suit the look.
Accessories
2 tier veil – Blossom and Bluebird.
Shoes
Shoes – Charles & Keith.
Bridesmaids
Our bridesmaids absolutely matched the theme. 2 girls per colour – lilac, blue and pink to match Katy’s dress. They all dressed in satin to add a level of uniformity.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Our favourite part of the ceremony were the Jewish wedding guides, placed on people’s seats. They were our way of expressing our tone of voice amidst a traditional orthodox ceremony where the bride and groom don’t speak much. We also chose a string quartet over a chazan. This was a personal preference, having instrumentals of traditional Jewish songs. Jordan walked down to Frank Ocean, Katy walked down to Max Richter with a badeken half way up the aisle.
The design of the chuppah fit the dress. With such high ceilings it needed to be big and have impact so we went as big as possible. We decided not to have a stage and let the beautiful wood floors shine through.
Our music choice
This was Jordan’s big priority. He wanted all live music, so we chose 10-piece band Jam Hot Showband. They were incredible to work with, helping us plan our surprise entrance and learning our first dance song. All we can say is its very obvious we are both 90s babies, as most of the music was 90s/early 2000s bangers. All the speakers walked into TV theme tunes that fit their personality i.e. Katy walked into the Peep Show theme tune and Jordan went for Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Flowers
Alina of Flowers by Alina did an amazing job picking seasonal flowers in all the colours. All the bouquets and buttonholes were a mix of the colours for balance. Katy’s bouquet had peonies as it was the perfect season for them. They featured strongly in the chuppah, filling the room with a stunning floral scent. We had a mix of high and low table arrangements along with 2 urns of flowers at the bottom of the staircase.
Photographer and videographer
Photographer – Ela Tatiana Photography.
We chose her for her elevated editorial style and especially her composition. Even the more traditional portraits were captivating.
From start to finish, the process with Ela was everything we hoped it would be. She was unbelievably attentive, detail orientated and an incredibly calming presence on the day. In the build up to the wedding, she took a great deal of time to get to know us, studying every detail of what we wanted and this really showed on the day. She put together a bespoke plan for us, based on our particular family dynamics and packed schedule. Our wedding had 200 guests, a huge, complex venue and multiple different aspects. Ela took this all in her stride and put in one hell of a shift. She never missed a moment.
Ela made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera, she coordinated our crazy family with great ease and style. We had certain requests, like sunset photos which she worked with our other supplier to make happen. And despite the time squeeze, every single photo came out beautiful. From candids, to portraits, her quality control is outstanding. We would absolutely recommend Ela not only for her clearly visible talent, but her warmth, professionalism and personality.
Videographer – Green Biscuit.
We chose Wayne because his videos were so beautifully balanced, he’s so invested in his couples, it’s clear he can ascertain the most meaningful moments and edit them together wonderfully. He’s captured the personlities of his subjects, striking the emotional moments with the lighter hearted ones with such elegance.
We haven’t received our video yet, but Wayne was so wonderful to work with. He fit seamlessly, capturing every moment almost unnoticed. He came from out of London, threw himself into a 200 person wedding with ease.
Wedding List/Registry
We used The Wedding Shop.
Extra Details
Katy had a kippah made out of her dress material to match for Jordan to wear on the day.
I made a speech, as did Jordan. Jordan’s was more of a comedy set than a speech.
The buzzballz, water guns, special entrance, stationary all added personal touches to our day.
Honeymoon
We’re going next week to Kenya and Tanzania on safari then off to Zanzibar to do nothing.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
The biggest piece of advice we can give is…There are no rules.
Do whatever you want. You’re never going to please everyone and just because everyone else has done something, doesn’t mean you have to. Question everything, settle for nothing.
At the same time, keep grounded in a good perspective. As long as you actually get married, the day has been a success.
Finally, if it’s not fun then stop. Take a step back, pick it up another day. There is no need for this event to get stressful, it should be enjoyable.
KATY & JORDAN’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Ela Tatiana Photography
Videography – Green Biscuit
Band – Jam Hot Showband
Venue – One Great George Street
Coordinator – Events With Natalie
Bride’s dress – House of Savin
Bride’s shoes – Charles & Keith
Bride’s veil – Blossom and Bluebird
Hair – Gintare Hairstylist
Makeup – Make Up by Helen Rose
Flowers – Flowers by Alina
Wedding List/Registry – The Wedding Shop
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
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