There’s so much to love about Sarah and Harrison’s beautiful Jewish wedding at Grittleton House in Wiltshire. With Harrison’s American Jewish background and Sarah’s English and Scottish roots, the couple set out to create a celebration that brought their families and traditions together in a way that felt completely personal to them – and they absolutely smashed it!
Sarah’s father handmade the couple’s wooden chuppah (and even carved in the couple’s initials and wedding date!), while the canopy was formed by Harrison’s late grandfather’s tallit. Sarah’s mother made kippot using the family tartan, and for kiddush, the couple drank wine from a traditional Scottish quaich. Don’t miss it all in the wonderful photos by Joab Smith.
The duo needed a band that could do both a hora and a ceilidh, and they found the perfect fit in Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Sound With Us, who played soft guitar music during the ceremony, jazz during the cocktail hour, and funk, disco, and pop following the traditional dances. We also love that, as a roaming band, they went around the crowd engaging with guests, dancing and singing with them. Oh, and one of the band members also DJ’ed for the rest of the night once the live performance ended!
We’ll turn you over to Harrison for the rest of the story…
How We Met
Harrison, the groom: I moved out to Bristol, UK as my job opened up a new role for a 2-year contract abroad. I thought it was a great opportunity to travel and gain experience outside the US. Little did I realize, I’d meet the love of my life and perpetually extend my contract, eventually settling down here. Sarah and I met the modern way – on Bumble, but immediately kicked it off ever since our first date at the Bristol Harbour Festival.
Venue
Sarah and I got married at Grittleton House in Wiltshire, England. We wanted a “quintessential English wedding” at a manor house nearby Bristol and Grittleton house met all of our criteria. I have a large American family that I invited over to our wedding in England, so we wanted to give them the full British summertime experience.
Theme
We did not have a wedding planner or a central theme. Two things that stuck out at our wedding – We mixed several Jewish and Scottish traditions. If there was any “theme” for dress and ambiance, it would be British-garden themed.
Invitation/Stationery
We used Feel Good Invites from Cardiff, Wales.
Hair + Makeup
We used South West Bridal Hair and Makeup.
Dress
Sarah’s dress was from French dress designer Margaux Tardits and she bought it at Mews Bridal in London. Sarah loved the unique, sleeved, sleek design and fell in love with it as soon as she tried it on.
Accessories & Shoes
Sarah’s mom made an extra ring for her from her late grandma’s old sapphire stone. We also got our rings custom designed from Diana Porter in Bristol, UK. They even feature Sarah’s ring-set on their bespoke section of their website.
Sarah wore gold colored heels from Bobbies in Paris.
Bridesmaids
Sarah had 6 bridemaids – her sister, my two siters, and her 3 best friends. They wore the same satin color dress from Rewritten, but they all chose their own style that they felt comfortable in.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Sarah and I come from different backgrounds. I’m an American Jew and Sarah’s family is English and Scottish. My Jewish heritage has always played a central role in my identity, while Sarah’s family takes pride in their Scottish culture. We wanted to blend traditions from both our upbringings together for our wedding so that it could be special for all involved. Sarah’s family is not Jewish, so it was beautiful seeing them learning about and embracing several Jewish traditions. Some highlights include:
Sarah’s father crafted our wooden chuppah with his friends by hand and made some personal touches to it, such as out initials and date of the ceremony. He then even repurposed the chuppah as a garden feature after the wedding.
We used my late grandfather’s tallit as the cover for the chuppah.
Sarah’s mother made yarmulkes out of her family’s tartan pattern.
Sarah’s family provided a quaich, which is a traditional cup used in Scottish weddings. The Scottish tradition is to drink whiskey from it, but we filled it with wine to do our kiddish.
We saved our glass shards to make into a mezuzah for our new home.
Ketubah
Nothing special – we found a modern design that we liked on Etsy, but now have it framed right outside our door.
Our music choice
We used Sound With Us as our wedding band for all the events throughout the day. They played soft guitar music during the ceremony and Sarah walked down to “Heartbeats” by Jose Gonzalez. They then played jazz during the cocktail hour. But the best part was the party. Sound With Us was the first band I could find that could both do a traditional Jewish hora and a Scottish ceilidh dance. Both were must haves for our wedding as each of our Jewish and Scottish heritages were important to us and our family.
They then played our first dance – “Something” by George Harrison, and then broke down into a series of funk, disco, and pop songs for the rest of the night. Sound With Us was very unique in that they were a “roaming” band where they came around in the crowd and engaged the guests, dancing and singing with them. One of the Sound With Us members then DJ’ed for the rest of the night.
Flowers
The Native Florist did our flowers. We used seasonal flowers in pinks, corals, oranges and creams. The overall theme and style was wild contemporary, meadow style flowers. We did a variety of bud vases and larger arrangements on plinths on our dining tables. The dining tables also featured pictures of our dog, Rufus, who wore a table number around his neck in different locations around Bristol.
Dahlias, one of Sarah’s favourite flowers, was a big part of the bouqets and flower arrangements. The florist also managed to source some peonies (Sarah’s second favorite flower) to go into her bridal bouquet even though it was out of season.
Photographer and videographer
Videographer – One Stag Productions. Photographer – Joab Smith.
We found Joab as he won several awards and was a featured supplier via Grittleon house. After looking at his work and meeting with him, we knew that he was the right person to capture our memories of the special day. He produced stunning and timeless photos.
Food and cake
Cake – Ahh Toots – our favorite local Bristol cake shop. We did a naked style 3 tiered cake, decorated with flowers that matched our wedding flowers. Two of the tiers were a Guinness chocolate cake and the other tier was strawberry shrub with passionfruit.
Challah – Our friend George, who is the head baker of our favorite local Bristol bakery, Harts Bakery, baked our challahs.
Food – We used Grittleton House’s own kitchen for the food. We had a halloumi salad starter, choices of beef or seabass as mains, and then a cheesecake for dessert and it was beyond delicious. We then had late night pizza provided by Grittleton House.
Drinks – Sarah and I chose our “His and Hers Cocktails” for the cocktail hour. Sarah chose an Aperol Spritz and I chose a Negroni Spagliato.
We sourced several large magnum champagne bottles from Avery’s bottle shop in Bristol. We then handed a bottle to each table and designated a person at each table to be the champagne popper. This led to toasts during speeches.
Honeymoon
We spent 3 weeks exploring Japan. Our highlights included:
Staying at a wonderful hotel overlooking Mt Fuji – Fufu Kawaguchiko. Hiking the Kumano Kodo trail in rural Kii Peninsula for 5 days. Early morning runs through Kyoto. Eating our way through Hiroshima, Osaka, and Tokyo
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Don’t stress about the small details as no one will really notice. A wedding couple that is relaxed and fun on their day has an infectious energy which makes the most memorable day for themselves and their guests.
SARAH & HARRISON’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Joab Smith
Videography – One Stag Productions
DJ – Sound With Us
Venue – Grittleton House
Bride’s dress – Margaux Tardits found at The Mews Bridal
Bride’s shoes – Bobbies
Rings – Diana Porter
Bridesmaids – Rewritten
Hair + Makeup – South West Bridal Hair and Makeup
Flowers – The Native Florist
Cake – Ahh Toots
Challah – Harts Bakery
Stationery/Invitation – Feel Good Invites
Honeymoon – Fufu Kawaguchiko
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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