How incredible is this floral chuppah?! It’s really a stunner – which is no surprise when you find out that today’s bride, Gaby, is a former wedding planner and floral designer, now working in interior design. Gaby’s got a serious passion for flowers – so much so that she and groom Alex, who works in finance operations/business intelligence, picked their wedding date in part based on when the best selection would be in bloom!
As if that chuppah (and Gaby’s credentials) weren’t giveaway enough that this pair has impeccable taste, we were also delighted to learn that they worked with some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to bring their dreams to life.
First, the amazing Dimitria Jordan, who crafted the couple’s exquisite wedding stationery with so much attention to each and every detail – don’t miss the wonderful results, featuring delicate florals, gold foil, scripted font, custom wax seals, and more, in Mike Garrard Photography’s breathtaking photos.
Then there’s Philippa Louise, who did Gaby and her mum’s makeup – in addition to looking like absolute perfection, Gaby reports that Philippa set the perfect calming tone for the morning.
And last but certainly not least, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band was Gaby and Alex’s pick for entertainment – one of their top priorities in planning their day. They went with a 16-piece band and can’t stop raving about the energy Ambassador brought to their day – or what a fab job the group did with music for the Israeli dancing!
There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked simply smashing in Israeli designer Riki Dalal…
How we Met
Gaby, the bride: Alex and I have known each other for some time. We both went to JFS sixth form and then onto Leeds Uni, but we didn’t officially get together until after Uni.
A London Wedding
We got married at The Langham, London. My family have always loved the hotel and the rooms/spaces are so versatile for any event, especially a big wedding! It was very special as we’ve previously had celebrations at the hotel. The hotel has all its old-fashioned charm and beauty with the perfect balance of modernity to keep it fresh. Not forgetting to mention, Stephanie Allard the Venue Manager is an absolute star!
All About the Flowers
Being a wedding planner myself I themed (and chose the date specifically) around my passion – flowers! Dahlias, English Garden Roses, Scabiosa, Achillea, Echinacea … I could go on!
I planned the entire wedding myself with support from all the supply managers and my wonderful Mummy!
Invitations / stationery
The amazing Dimitria Jordan provided our stationery. It was so amazing to work with someone who totally captured what we wanted, down to each individual detail. We wanted to give our guests a taste of what was to come so included delicate florals, gold foil, scripted font, and wax G&A seals to emanate the Romantic styling of our Wedding.
Hair + Make-up
Philippa Louise was our main make-up artist with Carrie Kaye as the 2nd for the bridesmaids, I couldn’t recommend both more! Philippa has so much experience in the wedding world, truly making the morning so relaxed and enjoyable, she also stayed for a quick touch up after the ceremony to make sure Mum and I were looking our best. I won’t forget Philippa tucking a small tissue into my hand that was holding the bouquet before I left the room and said: “you’ll need this…” I really did!
On the day we also had a mix of hair stylists who went between the bride and groom parties. Lauren Russell my friend and hairdresser of many years, Alex Salomon also friend since primary school and the master of hair styling and lastly the lovely Chloe Bloom.
A Riki Dalal Dress
I ended up going for the beautiful Juliet dress from Israeli designer Riki Dalal. However, I did make a handful of adjustments to the design to make it more ‘me’ including adding some straps. When I finally chose the dress everything felt so relaxed, I just knew it was perfect!
Accessories
The only accessory I had was my gorgeous pearl headband purchased from The Wedding Gallery in Marylebone.
Shoes
My shoes were a wedding gift from my marvellous Alex and a little bit of bling to add to my Wedding Day ensemble – pastel pink glitter adorned Jimmy Choo’s!
The handsome groom
Alex wore a timeless Hugo Boss tuxedo with patent shoes and white pocket square. We personalised his black bow tie with our wedding date for a keepsake and finished his look off with a dusty pink Kippur. Alex also wore his late Poppa’s cufflinks which meant a lot to him.
Bridesmaids
I had 5 bridesmaids who wore White by Vera Wang at David’s Bridal in light pink to tie in with the theme.
Ceremony
My favourite part was definitely walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing Alex’s face. It’s such a special moment.
Chuppah
My theme was always about the flowers and favourite style of florals so I chose florist Mary-Jane Vaughan who I knew would be able to create my vision. I love natural looking arrangements, as if the florals and foliage’s have been left to grow wild. I had sections of undulating ‘meadows’ along the aisle leading up to the chuppah of my dreams, the whole thing was breath-taking!
We also had Jonny Turgle as our chazan who was ‘the cherry on-top’ and seriously set the scene with his beautiful voice.
Our Music Choice
Music and entertainment was such an important decision for us, we love a party! We ended up using the almighty 16-piece Ambassador Band who did not disappoint! Live music was a must, along with the band that was able to perform the Israeli dancing music too. They brought so much energy to our special day and we’re counting down the days we get to see them perform again.
The music was mainly old-school funk and disco with some current stuff too. Our first dance was to ‘Always and Forever’ by Heatwave.
Flowers
One of my favourite flowers is the classic Dahlia, typically in its prime August/September which is how we chose the time of year to get married… They were always a must! To name a few flowers: Café Au Lait Dahlia, White Vuvuzela Rose, Majolica Spray Rose, White Scabiosa, Pale Pink Delphinium, White Astrantia, a touch of yellow/blush multi-tonal Achillea, Echinacea, Ammi and a whole range of beautiful foliage’s that tied it will together perfectly. I wanted to go for the late Summer glow look using amber and blush tones.
We had the Bridal Bouquet, Bridesmaids Bouquets, Buttonholes, The Chuppah, Meadows and Low and Tall Centrepieces.
As a wedding floral designer flowers were the most important element for me. I designed a moodboard for Mary-Jane Vaughan along with a list of flowers I wanted. I chose each prop with Mary-Jane in her studio and then she created a sample for me. It all came together just as I planned, and I couldn’t have been happier! On a side note, it’s probably never an easy task being micro-managed by another creative, but Mary-Jane was impeccable, and it was such an honour to work with her.
Photographer and videographer
We chose the ever so cool, calm, and collected Mike Garrard Photography for the job. He has such a beautiful and natural style of photography that we knew would complement our wedding. His images are fresh and captures those special moments without any staging. His personality is so lovely which is also very important for the morning build up, but it’s not to be confused with his enthusiasm and energy to get in the midst of it all to get the perfect Israeli Dancing shot! Mike provides the most gorgeous online gallery along with personalised and perfectly printed Albums.
We then had AtMotion for our videography who know the drill with their eyes closed and we’re so thankful we can look back on our special day via video.
Food and Cake
Jason Millan was our caterer and the food was so delicious! There were lots of compliments after the wedding re food and as a Jewish woman that always brings some nachas! Jason and Michelle were a great team and made sure everything was displayed how we imagined. For me, the small finishing touches were so important! Michelle helped co-ordinate in getting my favourite Flora glassware from Jones Hire and the Flori Gold Charger plates from Duchess and Butler.
Production
I went to event specialist and previous employer Event Concept to design the lighting and staging. It was really special using Even Concept as they taught me pretty much everything I know about event design. They are so well equipped and can create any stage / lighting / personalised detail, you name it! Anything is possible in their hands!
Extra details
A small but great detail is that we got to use real candles in the ballroom, a lot of venues in the UK only allow LED candles and it doesn’t give the same romantic effect. A tip I’ve always cherished from a master of event styling and previous boss of mine, Ming Veevers-Carter of Veevers Carter Flowers, always taught me the importance of scent. “Scent is the art that makes memory speak” … So, I put a small drop of geranium oil in every other candle to gently scent the room. Not many people would have noticed but it was special for me.
Honeymoon
Alex and I were lucky enough to escape to Thailand just before COVID-19 lockdown 1 happened. We stayed in Bangkok, Phuket, and Koh Yao Noi. A particular highlight was staying at Elephant Hills Elephant Sanctuary, we got to take care of the Elephants, went on jungle treks, and visited Koh Sok National Park. I planned the whole trip from start to finish and it was so perfect, we’d love to go back.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
My advice to all involved in the planning is to try and enjoy the wedding planning process. The moment you stop enjoying it you need to take a deep breath and remember you’re not performing open heart surgery; you’re planning ONE day to celebrate the love and commitment for you and your partner. Remember to always ask questions to your suppliers, they’re there to help and no question is a silly one.
When it comes to budgeting remember the most memorable things are normally food & beverage, photography/videography and the big one – entertainment… Everything else is a plus and it’s very easy to get carried away with all the extras (that honestly, your guests forget about the moment they leave), it’s all about balance and sometimes less is more.
To all you ladies, my biggest piece of advice is do not try on that £15,000 dress that you can’t afford (guilty)! But seriously, looking at the bigger picture the moral is always look at options within your means, that way there will be no disappointment, only gratitude and excitement.
And last but not least, whether you’re planning a small intimate gathering or huge palatial style banquet everything will come together on the day, whether it’s like clockwork or a little skew-whiff it’s your day to enjoy, so remember to enjoy every moment and don’t let a drunk and disorderly usher get in the way of that. Take every moment in because it’s over in a very hot flash!
What ‘Smashing The Glass’ Did For Us
We found the lovely Dimitria Jordan via STG!
GABY & ALEX’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Mike Garrard Photography
Band – Ambassador Band
Videography – AtMotion
Stationery/Invitation – Dimitria Jordan {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Makeup – Philippa Louise Makeup {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
2nd makeup artist – Carrie Kaye
Chuppah – The Happy Chuppah People
Wedding planner – Gaby, bride
Venue – Stephanie Allard – The Langham
Bride’s dress – Riki Dalal
Bride’s shoes – Jimmy Choo
Bride’s accessories – The Wedding Gallery
Groom’s attire – Hugo Boss
Bridesmaids – David’s Bridal
Hair – Alex Salomon
Flowers – Mary-Jane Vaughan
Catering – Jason Millan
Production – Event Concept
Finish touches – Duchess and Butler, Jones Hire, Dancing Floors
Chazan – Jonny Turgle
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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