Like so many couples, Melissa, a social worker, and David, a sales executive, had to completely rethink their Jewish wedding due to COVID. And indeed, scaling down from 170 guests to just 15 is no small feat. But with the help of some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors – not to mention the wonderful community of Jewish and Jew-ish brides-to-be inside our Brides Club – the pair managed to pull off the most incredibly beautiful day we could imagine.
Melissa also happens to have been the lucky winner of a competition we ran with #STGvendors The Happy Chuppah People and Gabriella Shemtov, and we’re in love with the beautiful floral chuppah they teamed up to assemble for the couple – as well as with Melissa’s beautiful, bright bridal bouquet, also by Gabriella Shemtov. Another wonderful #STGvendor, Alexandra’s Florist, put together autumnal bridesmaids bouquets and table flowers, interspersed with greenery and floating candles. Don’t miss the incredible images by Chris Douglas Photography!
The tight restrictions on guest count meant only close family could attend in person, but Melissa and David opted to livestream their day so that all of their friends and family could watch in real time. The pair worked with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Event Capsule, whose three-camera set up with live editing it meant that everyone watching from home felt like they were there in the room – in fact, some guests told the couple afterward that they had a better view from the comfort of their screens than they would’ve had they attended the big pre-COVID wedding in person!
Even with all the safety restrictions (no hora!), music was essential to Melissa and David’s vision of their day – and we’re so glad they connected with #STGvendor LDN Entertainment.com, whose micro wedding trios could not be more perfect for a celebration like this one. Despite the hora ban, LDN did a reduced simcha set and the newlyweds jumped around on their own, while their guests clapped and sang along from their seats!
There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll let gorgeous STG Brides Club member Melissa – who looked fab in Maggie Sottero – fill you in on the rest…
Oh, and PS, if you’re dealing with COVID-related planning drama – or just feeling unenthused and uncertain about how to proceed – sign up for our Bye Bye Coronacoaster, Hello Action Plan workshop on Sunday, February 21. It’s guaranteed to help you gain clarity about how to move forward with your big day, even under the most uncertain of circumstances. Slots are limited, so sign up today!
How We Met
Melissa, the bride: We met at a mutual friend’s baby’s Christening. After the Christening, we all went back to the family’s home for a BBQ and got chatting. It was Dave’s sense of humour that attracted me to him and we spent the evening laughing about stupid things that no one else thought were funny. A few weeks later Dave was working at Silverstone and I was visiting my parents (who live near Silverstone) for two weeks and we met for a drink and then dinner locally.
We spent so much time talking at the pub, that we forgot about our dinner resevation and turned up late. Dave’s a huge car fan, and picked me up in a covertible car, he asked me if I was okay with the roof down (although I’d spent ages doing my hair), I reluctantly said yes; he jokes that this was the moment he knew I was the one.
A COVID Wedding
When we got engaged in March 2019, we obviously had no idea of what was to come. We visited lots of venues but both fell in love with the Kimpton Fitzroy. The hotel could accommodate 170 people for a dinner dance and we got busy planning.
When covid first hit, Dave was confident (I not so much) that by October everything would be fine so we carried on planning as normal. In July 2020 we started to realise that things were probably not going to go ahead as planned. It didn’t make sense for us to have our wedding at the original venue with so few people able to attend so we started looking at other options.
We started looking at other venues and came across St Michael’s Manor, a hidden gem in St Albans. I’d looked at the hotel when we first were looking at venues, but they couldn’t accommodate our numbers, so when forced to downsize, it felt like the perfect place to revisit. We went and looked round the hotel and fell in love with it.
In terms of the ceremony, I really wanted to get married at the shul I converted at, but with it being so far away from our original venue, it wasn’t practical. So when we had decided on St Michael’s Manor for the reception, we met with our rabbi and agreed for the ceremony to take place at Radlett Reform Synagogue.
What ‘Smashing The Glass Brides Club’ Did For Us
If I’m totally honest, I initially joined Smashing the Glass Brides Club because I’d heard about the discounts!! But I gained so much more, including some amazing friends who will stay with me now the wedding planning is over.
Even though I’d been to so many Jewish weddings over the years, when I started planning ours I felt totally clueless. Brides Club helped me to pick out which Jewish traditions we wanted and personalise our day to be truly meaningful and reflect what was important to us. Planning during covid has been so stressful, and the BCM girls kept me calm and focused. They helped me find some amazing suppliers, and offered me support.
Autumnal Vibes
I knew from the start that I wanted a ‘moody’ and autumnal colour scheme/theme. Our home is filled with candles so I knew I wanted lots on the day. I love all things old and vintage so our venue fitted in to this in different ways. I love being at home and cosy when its cold out, so wanted to create a moody and cosy feel, which with the lighting and decor we were able to create.
We didn’t have a wedding planner, so Brides Club really helped me think of all the little details. However, in hindsight I wish we had one, just to relieve the stress in those last few weeks.
Invitations
Our amazing friend Lee, a designer, designed our invites but we didn’t actually ever have them printed as we changed things last minute and went with Paperless Post which was amazing in keeping people up to date with the constant changes due to covid and government restrictions.
Hair + Make-up
I had the worst experience with finding a make up artist. I had lots of people recommended to me but ended up going with someone I’d found online. This was a huge mistake as even though I had a trial and paid a deposit, the make up artist cut off all communication close to the wedding and only responded the day before the wedding saying I should apply for a refund through PayPal.
Luckily, a friend of a friend is a make up artist who came to the rescue and was absolutely amazing on the day. Emma McCallum made us all look and feel incredible! I cannot recommend her enough, I truely felt amazing and had so many compliments on how I looked.
I had my hairdresser, Olivia LaVelle come on the day and do my hair. Olivia is amazing with hair generally and pulled it out of the bag on the day. My hair looked amazing and stayed in place all day.
My post wedding advice would be to go with a supplier you already know or a recommendation!!
A Maggie Sottero Dress
I tried on soooo many dresses that I was convinced I’d never find ‘the one’ and would have to settle. I took a break from shopping as it became overwhelming and all of the dresses rolled in to one. I then went to Confetti and Lace (the ‘Say Yes to the Dress shop!) they were amazing and suggested I only try on five dresses.
I picked out four and they suggested one I should try. When I put the dress they suggested on, I cried and knew instantly it was the dress for me. My dress was a Maggie Sottero dress with a detailed top and mikado silk full skirt in ivory.
Accessories
My friend lent me her veil as my something borrowed which was a lovely sentiment. It matched the dress perfectly with Swarovski crystals to match the detail on the top of the dress.
My hair accessories were from a company I found on Instagram Botias Accessories; I bought a silver hair piece with Crystal and Pearl details. They offer the option to personalise and add more detail if wanted.
Shoes
I got my shoes from the amazing Rainbow Club; so many girls from Brides Club had recommended these. I wanted a medium size heel that was comfortable with a little bit of detail. I wore them all day and night and they were amazingly comfortably!
The handsome groom
Dave went to Boutique Homme in Golders Green for his suit. They were really accommodating and went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect. Dave had some last minute alterations made and they dropped the suit off at our house due to the tight timescales.
Dave wore a burgundy patterned tie which complimented the plain burgundy ties worn by the rest of the men in our bridal party. He had shoes from Oliver Sweeney and a belt from Jones that tied in to the colour scheme brilliantly. He had tried the suit on at home prior to the wedding but looked so handsome when I walked towards him down the aisle.
Bridesmaids
I initially had six bridesmaid but because of restrictions (one of them being in Chicago) I sadly couldn’t have them all there on the day.
I knew I wanted burgundy dresses to fit in with the autumnal theme but wanted dresses that suited the girls different styles. I found two beautiful brands ReWritten and TH & TH, which complimented each other and had a huge range of choice. Both companies are small brands but are wonderful in terms of customer service and I cannot recommend them enough.
Ceremony
Because of covid our ceremony could only have fifteen people, so we agreed on our parents, grandparents and siblings.
To ensure that as many people as possible could be included, we zoomed the service. Dave’s uncle runs a company called Event Capsule which takes all of your images/footage (from pre to post wedding) and turns them in to stunning videos. When covid hit, he added on a zoom element; with a three camera set up with live editing it meant that everyone at home felt like they were there in the room.
So many people commented on how amazing it was and that if they’d been at the initial wedding (170 guests) they’d never have had such a good view. They were able to see the wedding up close and really feel part of the day.
I had my brother (who is 11) walk me down the aisle, which meant so much to me. He was so nervous but did an amazing job.
My favourite moment of the ceremony was our mid aisle badeken, when Dave and I met in the aisle we both were overcome with emotion.
Ketubah
I found a ketubah designer on Etsy – Happy Project Shop just from searching on the site.
Chuppah
For me the chuppah was really important as it is a huge focus of the ceremony and represents the start of our new journey. I had initially planned to have a mirror chuppah covered in flowers. When we downsized on the wedding I wasn’t sure what to do. I entered a competition on Smashing the Glass and couldn’t believe it when I won! The chuppah was provided by The Happy Chuppah People and the flowers by the amazing Gabriella Shemtov.
We had initially wanted the rose gold chuppah as it complimented the colours I had chosen for flowers, however sadly on the day there was an issue with the chuppah and we were provided with the birch chuppah in its place. Although this wasn’t our first choice, when I arrived at the synagogue, it looked beautiful and everyone commented on how lovely it looked.
When thinking about flowers, I knew I didn’t want the traditional white and pastel colours, I wanted something autumnal and colourful. Because of covid and all of the restrictions in place, it made it difficult to know what flowers were going to be available for the chuppah and bouquet. On the day, the flowers were beautiful.
Our Music Choice
When we changed our plans, we knew we still wanted music as part of our day even if it was on a much smaller scale. I came across LDN Entertainment.com on STG’s Instagram and loved their micro wedding trios. We chose Cannes as we loved their vibe and the main singers voice was amazing.
I was gutted we couldn’t have a hora because of the restrictions in place, but LDN did a reduced simcha set as we entered the dining room and Dave and I jumped around on our own, whilst everyone else clapped and sang along (from their seats)! We were also able to do our first dance! Dave chose ‘you look wonderful tonight’ by Eric Clapton, which I’ll now love forever!
Flowers
My bridesmaids were in burgundy and my dress was ivory so I wanted something to contrast. My bouquet was from Gabriella Shemtov and was a gorgeous mix of bright colours. These flowers were part of my amazing win of the STG competition.
My bridesmaids bouquets and table flowers were provided by the amazing Alexandra’s Flowers. I wanted autumnal colours and Alex was able to perfectly put these together.
The table flowers were perfect, a mix of burgundy colours with greenery and lots of floating candles.
Photographer and videographer
When looking for a photographer I had asked for help from my fellow Brides Club Members. Someone suggested Chris Douglas Photography, so I went on his website and fell in love with a particular photo. I spoke to my now husband about photography and he told me he wanted us to look at someone he’d worked with professionally. It turns out, it was the same photographer! Truly meant to be.
Chris was amazing on the day! He was a pleasure to have around in the morning and made sure the day ran smoothly and kept us to time. We’ve now had the photos back and they are incredible. Now for the difficult task of picking our favourites for the albums, when they are all so beautiful.
Videography was really important for us as we had had to cut down numbers and wanted to make sure everyone was able to share our memories. Event Capsule captured the ceremony and streamed it live for all of our family and friends.
The footage was edited live with a three camera set up; everyone who watched from home commented that it was like being there in person. We’ve rewatched the footage and it’s perfect.
Food and Cake
Catering was by St Michael’s Manor; the food was amazing!! Our cake was made by a family friend, Lucy.
Favours
I didn’t really want to do favours, as I’ve never been to a wedding and remembered them! However the pandemic made it easy to decide to do something. We spoke with Natalie at Luv It in Radlett who created personalised masks for all of our guests. Lots of friends have sent me pictures of them wearing them day to day.
Cars
Dave is a huge lover of cars so this was an important detail for us. I wanted something vintage and he wanted something new, so we had both. I was picked up from the hotel and taken to the ceremony in a Rolls Royce provided by Premier Carriage. The car was beautiful, it arrived early so we could get lots of photos and the driver was really friendly.
They were also really accommodating as I only needed the car for a one way journey and were happy to provide this service. Dave borrowed a car from work and drove to the ceremony and then drove us both back to the hotel for the reception. It was hilarious trying to squeeze my huge dress into the car, and it was lovely that just the two of us could be alone for our first moments of Husband and Wife.
Honeymoon
We were going to hold off on our honeymoon due to all of the restrictions in place. We decided last minute to go to Cyprus (one of the few countries without quarantine). We stayed at the most incredible hotel in Limassol, The Amara. We had the most relaxing stay, the weather was beautiful, the food incredible and our hotel room had a mini swimming pool which made it extra special.
Next year we’re hoping to throw a party to celebrate with the rest of our family and friends, and then maybe slip off somewhere hot (the Maldives!!)
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
When the big wedding we’d planned was cancelled I was heartbroken. It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that we’d have to postpone which I really didn’t want or celebrate without so many of our family and friends. David and I agreed that the most important thing was to get married and that we could have a wedding party at a later date so we replanned on a much smaller scale.
I’m so glad we went ahead. I got to marry my person!! We had the perfect day with our closest family and we got to spend quality time with everyone which we never would’ve been able to do with so many guests.
My advice to brides considering a smaller affair, is to definitely go ahead!! It will all be worth it once the day comes.
MELISSA & DAVE’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photographer – Chris Douglas Photography
Videographer – Event Capsule
Band – LDN Entertainment.com
Chuppah flowers & bridal bouquet – Gabriella Shemtov
Chuppah – The Happy Chuppah People
Venue – St Michael’s Manor
Bride’s dress – Maggie Sottero found at Confetti and Lace
Brides shoes – Rainbow Club
Brides accessories – Botias Accessories
Grooms attire – Boutique Homme
Bridesmaids dresses – TH & TH, ReWritten
Hair – Olivia LaVelle
Makeup – Emma McCallum
Bridesmaid’s Bouquet & table flowers – Alexandra’s Flowers
Ketubah – Happy Project Shop
Stationery – Paperless Post
Rabbi – Radlett Reform Synagogue
Car – Premier Carriage
Personalised Masks – Luv It
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.
Now those cars are a stylish way of making an entrance on your wedding day
Stunning chuppah! Love all the colours.