When Tel Aviv chic meets Scottish tradition… We’re crazy about the way STG Brides Club member, Arden and Steven brought modern Tel Avivian colors and geometrics into their very Scottish venues, and we can’t get enough of PJ Phillips’ wonderful photos and videographer Sandy Butler’s gorgeous trailer.
Arden, a writer originally from Florida, and Steven, a Scottish developer, both work in tech in Tel Aviv, but they opted to marry in the groom’s hometown of Glasgow.
We love how they incorporated both Jewish and Scottish customs into their humanist ceremony – the traditional handfasting is really not to be missed! And neither is the gorgeous ketubah from wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubata.
And how perfect were their favors: mini bottles of oh-so-Scottish whiskey and gin from Tel Aviv’s own Milk & Honey Whisky Distillery?!
Arden, who looked stunning in Limor Rosen, will fill you in on the rest…
How we met
Arden, the bride: We actually met at AM:PM (convenience store) in the neighborhood we used to live in! Not long after meeting, a friend connected us on Facebook and we started dating shortly after.
Winter Gardens
We got married in Glasgow, Scotland (Steven’s hometown). Scotland’s beauty inspires us and some of our fondest memories are from our travels there.
We originally wanted an outdoor wedding, but with the Scottish weather being so unpredictable, we decided to have our ceremony in the Winter Gardens botanical gardens – that way we could have the outdoor-vibes without worrying about rain. It was so special getting married in a structure built in the late 1800s that is also a fantastic museum – and the fact that we had so many tropical plants and trees reminded me of Florida (where I’m from – it made it extra special).
After our ceremony, we made our way to West Brewery for dinner and dancing – it’s also a fantastic venue!
Genius Planners
As we live in Tel Aviv and we planned the wedding from afar, we contacted Lemonbox Studios for help with personalizing and making our day unique and perfect. And let me tell you – Laura and Natalie from Lemonbox Studios are geniuses! They incorporated the things we love – geometric lines, Tel Avivian details, lots of colors, and incredible flowers – all in the industrial space we picked out.
What ‘Smashing The Glass’ Did For Us
I was always checking the latest weddings on STG to get inspiration and the articles about having a ceremony your-way were super helpful, especially when we were in the process of choosing our celebrant.
A Limor Rosen dress
My dress is by Limor Rosen. When I first got engaged, I didn’t even know where to begin when it came to dresses… but I follow Limor Rosen on Instagram and booked an appointment to just browse and get some ideas. Turns out the third dress I tried on was the one I fell in love with. My dress is an altered version of her Norma gown, and the second I put it on I felt instantly comfortable and beautiful. The detailing is amazing, and working with Limor herself was an incredible experience. I styled the dress with a blush colored Karen Millen leather jacket, gifted by Steven for my birthday just a month before our wedding which I wore out for pictures and whenever I was outside.
Sam Edelman Shoes
Because the dress was so detailed, I kept it simple with my shoes. I wore Sam Edelman‘s Yaro Suede Sandals in beige. Most comfortable heels ever!
Hair + Makeup
I kept my hair and makeup really simple. Cat Robertson did an incredible job with my makeup – she was also so great to work with and made me feel super comfortable from the moment I met her in our trial.
Karen Rubens (my lovely aunt) did my hair – I am lucky enough to have an amazing hair stylist in my family, and having her there helping me get ready meant the world.
The handsome groom
Steven and his groomsmen all wore “silver mist” kilts by MacGregor & MacDuff.
A Geometric Chuppah
We wanted our chuppah to be quite simple, sturdy and decorated with some flowers. Based on that, Lemonbox created a custom chuppah that tied in with the rest of the decor over at West, following the theme of geometric lines and fabric in our colors.
A Jewish-Scottish Ceremony
We had a humanist ceremony that allowed us to incorporate both Jewish and Scottish elements. One of the most special moments of our ceremony was the handfasting – Steven used his family tartan and I chose the Iona tartan (as Iona is one of our favorite places to visit in Scotland) and we repeated the traditional handfasting-vows. Another really special moment was our seven blessings – having our friends and family take part was just incredible.
A Day Like This
Processional – ‘A Day Like This’ – Elbow
Recessional – ‘God Only Knows’ – Beach Boys
First dance – ‘Let’s Stay Together’ – Al Green
Local Flowers
It was really important to us to have local blooms at our wedding. And when we discovered that Myrtle & Bracken‘s amazing flowers all are locally grown, we were sold. I also totally trusted Myrtle & Bracken to create a bouquet for me – I sent her a photo of my dress, told her which flowers I didn’t like and that’s it. I was blown away when I saw my bouquet! She did an amazing job.
Photographer and videographer
I actually found our photographer, PJ Phillips, through Pinterest. He photographed another wedding at the Winter Gardens and I came across one of the photos while browsing and immediately emailed him. Right from the start, we knew he was the right photographer for us – we really connected with his style and he is super easy to work with.
PJ Phillips also recommended our videographer Sandy Butler, who is also incredible!
We’re over the moon with how our photos and videos turned out and we had a fun adventure around Glasgow doing couple photos!
Cake and sweet table
One of the first vendors we chose was Three Sister’s Bake. We first came across a picture of one of their wedding cake tables on Instagram, we knew we needed to have one at our wedding. Our main wedding cake was a three-tier semi-naked cake decorated with berries and on our cake table we had a Guinness chocolate cake, a carrot cake (my favorite!), brownie bites and much more.
Entertainment
We had a wonderful string quartet who played our favorite songs during the pre-ceremony reception and our aisle songs too. Then we had a band to get the party started. The Big Papas band were amazing – they even learned a few classic Jewish wedding songs to play for us! We also had some traditional ceilidh dancing – it was a lot of fun.
Whiskey and Gin Favors
Our friends at Milk & Honey Whisky Distillery created little bottles of Milk & Honey whisky and gin, and Lemonbox created the custom labels for them. Since it was a Scottish wedding, giving whisky and gin as favors just made sense. But that the whisky and gin was by Milk & Honey, the first Israeli whisky that is also Tel Aviv-based, made it really special to us.
Note Wall
One of our favorite wedding decor details was the “Note Wall” created by Lemonbox. Instead of having a traditional guestbook, our guests wrote us little notes and put them in envelopes that were all in a pretty pattern. It looked great and it was amazing reading all of the lovely notes the next day. Another fun detail was the signage that included a lot of Hebrew words (such as “L’Chaim” on our bar sign) – it was a small detail but it made it a lot more personal.
Honeymoon in Portugal
We left for our honeymoon just a few days after our wedding. We traveled through Portugal for a month and got to explore the Algarve, Lisbon, Porto and the incredible Azores Islands. It was the perfect time to unwind and relax properly after wedding planning, but we actually were writing our thank you notes as we traveled!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
About a week before the wedding, we just stopped planning. That was it. We had so many friends and family flying in for our big day, and we just wanted to focus on enjoying every moment and spending time with them. And we really took this time to relax, unwind and start enjoying. I really recommend it – give yourself time without planning before the wedding. Also – hire someone to be in charge of the day-of or make sure your planner is handling it.
Arden & Steven’s little white book
Photography – PJ Phillips Photography
Videography – Sandy Butler Videography
Ketubah – Ketubata {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Wedding planner – Lemonbox Studios
Venue – West Brewery
Bride’s dress – Limor Rosen
Bride’s jacket – Karen Millen
Bride’s shoes – Sam Edelman
Groom and groomsmen – MacGregor & MacDuff
Hair + Makeup – Karen Rubens and Cat Robertson
Flowers – Myrtle & Bracken
Cake and sweets – Three Sister’s Bake
Piper – Rich Gordon Piper
Band – The Big Papas
String quartet – Cairn String Quartet
Favors – Milk & Honey Whisky Distillery
Celebrant – Nancy Braid via Fuze Ceremonies
As a guest, I really appreciated all of the fine details of this wedding. Additionally, the ceremony was beautiful and unique and the reception couldn’t have been more festive. Arden and Steve are such incredible people and I am honored to have shared in their marriage vows and celebration!