Happy 2023! We’re starting off the new year with a bang in the form of a truly FABULOUS London Jewish wedding – prepare to be wowed by the super-stylish nuptials of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Freya and David!
For their chic, urban, autumnal nuptials, these two chose one of our very favorite venues, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Pan Pacific London (which they found right here on STG!). Freya and David can’t stop raving about the stylish space and exquisite service – and once you have a look at the magazine-worthy photos by Dominika Miechowska, you’ll see why.
In Freya’s words, “Between their devoted venue floor able to be split in two for both the ceremony and reception in one place, and their incredible Singaporean menu, it was the perfect place for us. I cannot stress enough how fabulous the wedding team were – small things I had not even thought about, they had a plan for on the day. Nothing was too big of an ask and they made the day go off without a hitch.”
We loved following Freya’s wedding planning journey during her time in Brides Club, and we’re so thrilled that the group helped her find so many of her wonderful vendors, from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Dimitria Jordan, who designed the pair’s on-the-day stationery and signs, to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People, who supplied their lovely chuppah, to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ink With Intent, the artist behind Freya and David’s egalitarian ketubah illustrated with autumnal flowers.
This really is one very special wedding – read on for the rest of the story in Freya’s own words…
How we Met
Freya, the bride: We met on Tinder! Dave was about to move to London for his masters degree and I was already here, working in legal research. We met up three days after he arrived from the US and simply did not want our first date to end; a casual coffee in Marylebone turned in to dinner and drinks in Shoreditch, which turned in to seeing each other at least five times a week.
After graduation, he had to go back to the US for work – so I followed and started my PhD in St. Louis in international law. Four years, a pandemic, another across the world move, and a ginger cat later, I feel so lucky to have spent nearly every single day since with my best friend.
A London Wedding
We got married at the Pan Pacific London. Knowing we wanted to get married in London – but not being able to see venues in person thanks to travel restrictions – made it incredibly difficult to decide what we wanted. All we knew was we wanted somewhere with fabulous food, able to cater to a variety of allergies, and intimate enough to make 75 people fill a room.
Thankfully, Smashing the Glass has a list of venues they can vouch for, which is how we found the Pan Pacific! They had not even opened when we contacted them, but their wedding specialists made our lives so easy from the get go that it made choosing them so easy.
Between their devoted venue floor able to be split in two for both the ceremony and reception in one place, and their incredible Singaporean menu, it was the perfect place for us. I cannot stress enough how fabulous the wedding team were – small things I had not even thought about, they had a plan for on the day. Nothing was too big of an ask and they made the day go off without a hitch.
What ‘Smashing The Glass Brides Club’ Did For Us
We were the first Jewish couple we knew getting married, so I did not have friends to ask for tips. The Brides Club became these much-needed friends – we could not find a version of the Hora we liked or a challah bakery open the long weekend of the Queen’s funeral – but other members found solutions for both! STG’s own Dimitria Jordan designed our stationery and signs for our wedding day, our ketubah from Ink With Intent and our kippahs from Skullcap all came recommended from the Brides Club. Also, I wanted to purchase a Star of David for my husband as a wedding gift from Hatton Garden – the jeweller I chose came recommended from the group, too!
Theme & Wedding Planner
We did not have a wedding planner so spreadsheets became our best friends. Breaking matters down with deposits, payment schedules, and currencies (some purchases were in dollars, some in pounds) ensured we did not go over budget or become too stressed. Luckily, my parents and bridesmaids were able to see the venue in person and taste test the menu for us which was a huge help. Our only real theme was autumn – forest greens, burnt oranges, and deep reds. We used this for the bridesmaids’ dresses, flowers, ketubah, stationery, and kippahs.
A Lilian West Dress
My dress was by Lilian West, and purchased from Olivia Grace Bridal in San Antonio, Texas. I had not seen my family in two years, but UK visitors were finally allowed to visit the US in late 2021 – I planned a trip to a bridal shop with my mother over the Thanksgiving weekend so she could have that experience. I had already purchased a dress from BHLDN at this point; I’m hopelessly pragmatic about matters like this, so chose a dress I thought would be nice enough and was on the more affordable end.
However – the stylists at Olivia Grace had me down to a tee. They chose something whimsical, comfortable, incredibly flattering, and more importantly had me saying “Oh, no. I’m going to have to buy this one,” behind the curtain. Just me saying this had my mother sobbing, so that was it. We added a small sparkly belt for a bit of pizzazz and a delicate veil to tie it all together.
Accessories & Shoes
My mother-in-law purchased a diamond Star of David from Lee Michaels in San Antonio for me to wear on the day, and I gifted Dave his own from E Kats & Co Ltd as a wedding present. My earrings were the ones worn by mother on her wedding day, and my shoes were platform Converse as I wanted height and comfort (plus, they were a nod to my emo teen days).
The handsome groom
Dave and his groomsmen wore tuxedos from Brooks Brothers – they wore black, and he wore a dark blue and green tartan jacket. Bowties, cummerbunds, and shirt studs were all from Brooks Brothers, too. He wore a vintage Omega Seamaster dress watch, and our wedding rings are by Alexis Russell.
Bridesmaids
I had bridesmaids on both sides of the pond, so I wanted a vendor with stores in the US and England. David’s Bridal had the exact dark green I wanted; the bridesmaids chose their own styles and they all looked fabulous.
Ceremony and Chuppah
It was so important to us to include our loved ones as much as possible – people were flying from all over the world to be with us and we wanted to celebrate that.
We chose an egalitarian version of the seven blessings and had our bridesmaids, bridesman, and groomsmen read a blessing each that best pertained to them, our Rabbi (Rabbi René from the Kingston Liberal Synagogue) is one of my bridesmaid’s Rabbi, my mother chose the smashing glass, and we made note to passed family members in our ceremony programs. We did not meet Rabbi René in person until the day, but several Zoom sessions and answering individual questionnaires about our relationship meant he tailored our ceremony in a really lovely way.
Our chuppah was provided by The Happy Chuppah People (also recommended by STG!), and our absolutely gorgeous flowers provided by Bloom East. I cannot even remember now how I found Anya at Bloom East, but if you ever need flowers and live in London – book her! We had several consultations and she created such a gorgeous floral design. Dave and I did not realise we would care about flowers that much until we saw them in person and fell in love.
Another fun addition was live music: we had a cellist, Cellist Jenny and a violinist throughout the ceremony and during the drinks after. They played ‘Salut d’Amour‘ for Dave’s entrance and ‘The Swan’ for mine. (Unfortunately, the one thing we did not plan was the timing of each couple walking down the aisle – people all but ran down the aisle, so the musicians had to very quickly blend the two songs in to one!)
Ketubah
Our ketubah was by Ink With Intent – we chose one with autumnal illustrated flowers and an egalitarian text.
Our Music Choice
Our first dance after the wedding breakfast was the Hora! Half of the wedding was not Jewish, so we had our master of ceremonies give a quick explanation and everyone was thrilled to take part. An hour later we had our DJ play ‘It’s Been a Long, Long Time’ by Harry James as our ‘first dance.’ Rather than start the night with it, we wanted to bring everyone on the dancefloor and sneak the slow dance in once people needed a rest.
The DJ was another thing we did not think we would particularly care about, so we asked the Pan Pacific for a recommendation. DJ Craig from Planned 2 Perfection blew us away! I’ve never seen so many people stay on the dancefloor until the lights came up at the end of the night. Another vendor I cannot recommend enough.
Flowers
Bloom East, went above and beyond what we could have pictured. Straying from vendors outside of the central London area really was the way to go.
Photographer and videographer
We found our photographer and videographer through Hitched – their prices were very reasonable (especially so now having seen what they’ve done for us!) and their work beautiful. Dominika Miechowska had a picture on her site where she’d made the lights surrounding the couple look like glistening rain, I couldn’t stop thinking about how wonderful that looked and how excited it made me to work with her.
We initially did not think about a videographer, but several family members could not come and we wanted to share the experience as best we could. Chris Jerome James’ work felt so personal and he really captures the feelings of the day.
On the day, both Dom and Chris (with his wife) made us so comfortable. The pictures and video feel natural and true to our experience of the wedding. So many little moments I had not seen or remembered were captured by them, and I’m so thankful for that. Several attendees have said how gorgeous our photos are – I would be very surprised if future engaged friends do not work with Dom.
Honeymoon
No plan yet as our work schedules are constantly changing, but we hope to go somewhere warm where we can lay down and be brought cocktails. Maybe Mexico!
Advice to other couples planning their wedding
Take the day at your pace and don’t follow expectations if they do not fit with you. It’s your wedding, do what you two like! We had brownies in place of cake and no traditional first dance, and it was perfect. Also, assign someone to the small things – we almost left our ketubah at the hotel as no one had picked it up, and by the time we found it, there were a few marks. And be comfy! I wore converse all day and it meant I could dance all night.
FREYA & DAVID’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Dominika Miechowska Photography
Videography – Chris Jerome James
Venue – Pan Pacific London
Chuppah – The Happy Chuppah People {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Ketubah – Ink With Intent {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
On-the-day stationery – Dimitria Jordan {offers 10% discount on on-the-day stationery to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Bride’s dress – Lilian West found at Olivia Grace Bridal
Bride’s shoes – Converse
Bride’s accessories – Lee Michaels, E Kats & Co Ltd
Groom’s attire – Brooks Brothers
Bridesmaids – David’s Bridal
Flowers – Bloom East
DJ – DJ Craig from Planned 2 Perfection
Cellist – Cellist Jenny
Rabbi – Rabbi René from the Kingston Liberal Synagogue
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
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.
