There’s nothing like that feeling when a couple teams up with some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to craft an absolutely jawdroppingly stellar Jewish wedding – which is exactly what our Brides Club member Chloe, a senior internal account manager for an IT reseller, and Mike, who works as a group management accountant for a pharmaceutical company, did!
First off, these two opted to make it official at one of our most beloved London venues, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kimpton Fitzroy London in Russell Square. After taking one look at the hotel’s exquisite ballroom, they knew it was the spot for them – and scrolling through their beautiful photos by David Pullum Photography, can you blame them?!
Kimpton Fitzroy London is known not only for its dreamy interiors but also for its top-notch customer service, and indeed Chloe and Mike can’t stop raving about how amazing the events team was through the planning process – which included not one but two COVID postponements!
We’re delighted to report that the couple found a whole bunch of their other vendors through Brides Club – including fabulous videographer Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion and swoonworthy florist Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alexandra’s Florist. Speaking of Alexandra’s Florist – she’s the one responsible for the pair’s lush floral ketubah in shades of green and white, and how perfect is it?!
Chloe and Mike also opted to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Adam Nathan Catering, Kimpton Fitzroy London’s kosher-style catering partner, who was “a dream to work with” – and whose food is still getting rave reviews from guests!
Finally, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Toastmaster Jango “took care of absolutely everything on the day,” – so much so that one of Chloe’s top recs to engaged couples is to book yourselves a toastmaster of your own!
There’s so much more to be said about this wonderful day, but we’ll let Chloe – who looked positively ravishing in Rosa Clara – fill you in on the rest…
How We Met
Chloe, the bride: Mike and I met all the way back in 2014 on a well-known dating app…(Tinder!). I had just graduated university and wasn’t looking for anything too serious, but when we met we just clicked. We are two totally different people! He’s very relaxed and chilled, and I’m the other end of the spectrum but somehow it works wonderfully!
We did long (ish) distance for over 4 years, with Mike living in Essex and me in Hertfordshire. The first few years were tough, with us only seeing each other twice a month. In 2018, Mike made the move to Hertfordshire where he rented a room in a house (on the same road as my parents) which made it so much easier from then on. It was that same year Mike came to me with the idea that he wanted to convert to Judaism, something that we had previously discussed but I never pressured him into. Having already had Jewish ancestry on his father’s side, it was something he was passionate about and wanted to realign his roots. After 18 months of conversion classes and shul on Saturday mornings, Mike converted at Radlett Reform Synagogue . It meant so much more to us standing under the chuppah on our wedding day, knowing that all his hard-work and dedication led us to that special moment, and I will forever cherish that.
We now live together in our house in Borehamwood, with our gorgeous rescue dog Rose!
A Gem of a Venue
We got married at Kimpton Fitzroy London in Russell Square. I think the reasons why speak for itself, two words – the ballroom! After visiting numerous venues, nothing came close to this beautiful gem of a hotel. As soon as Mike and I saw it, we knew it was the venue for us. We were blown away by how incredibly gorgeous this hotel truly is. The architecture is so unique and isn’t like any other venue we have seen before. We knew our guests would love it just as much as we did.
Funnily enough, my husband Mike was originally going to propose there back in 2019, but ended up proposing in Italy. However, he was keen to show me the hotel – and now I know why!
The Kimpton Fitzroy London will always be special to us. I have never felt a warmth quite like it and look forward to spending all our anniversaries there (or any other celebration I can think of to give me an excuse to go back!).
What ‘Smashing The Glass Brides Club’ Did For Us
Being a member of Brides Club was invaluable. I was a member prior to COVID, but when the pandemic began, and I had to postpone my wedding (twice!) it was definitely something I needed. Being able to speak to other Brides going through the same situation as me made postponing a lot easier. It’s hard enough planning a wedding at the best of times, but planning a wedding with the uncertainty of whether or not it’ll go ahead was even harder! I really struggled with the unknown but being able to get advice or just having a good rant to other girls (and Karen) who totally understood gave me a lot of comfort at a very stressful time.
I found most of my vendors through Brides club, and for that I’ll always be thankful as they were all fantastic! Firstly, whilst my husband had already found the Kimpton, knowing that it was a firm favourite of Smashing the Glass was reassuring and being able to go to an STG event there prior to my wedding was even better! I also found our videographer (Denee Motion) and our florist (Alexandra’s Florist) through Brides Club – all of which had discounts for members which was a real bonus!
Romantic Minimalism
We didn’t really have a “theme” for our wedding per say as we are quite minimalistic people. We went for lots of greens/whites and plenty of candelabras which gave it a romantic feel. We also didn’t have a wedding planner, although I pretty much nominated myself as that role as I’m a bit of a control freak. However, the team at the Kimpton were great in helping us plan our day. As we had to postpone twice, we had a number of meetings leading up to the wedding which helped put my mind at ease and on the day they were there to ensure it all went incredibly smoothly.
The wedding team at the Kimpton were nothing short of amazing. They were extremely empathetic, especially with all the changes and uncertainty surrounding the wedding and I cannot thank them enough.
Invitations / stationery
We were recommended Ruthy at RSVP Invitations who designed our stationery. For our invitations, we went for a minimalistic white print, with rose gold foil. They were simplistic but elegant. We had so many compliments on them too! The rest of our stationary had the same colour scheme throughout, which included our table plan, place cards and menu/speeches cards.
Hair + Make-up
Hair was a no brainer for me, it had to be Sarah from Hair by Slo! After seeing so many recommendations for her on Brides Club, as well as knowing friends who had used her, it was one of my easiest choices. We had an initial hair trial, where she perfected what I wanted without me having to ask. Sarah was amazing in the lead up to my wedding, helping me organise timings for myself and the bridesmaids, as well as being there to help me get into my dress on the day.
For makeup I had Emma Gould from Emma Chloe Beauty. Having previously had her do my makeup for friends weddings, I knew before I was engaged that I wanted her for my wedding. She knew exactly what she was doing, my makeup was flawless. I have never felt as good as I did on my wedding day.
A Rosa Clara Dress
My dress was from Ann Louise Bridal and the designer was Rosa Clara, I knew it was the one as soon as I saw it. It was one of the first dresses I tried on, I felt like I had to try on others at other shops just to be sure. Within a week I knew there was no other dress which was going to tick every box like the dress did, so back I went!
I tried on all different types of dresses, however I knew I wanted something fitted, but also something which really stood out. The dress had lace at the front, was backless but with the most gorgeous straps. I realised it was “the one” as soon as I saw the train. I wanted something grand, and the train of the dress did just that! It was incredible and I felt like such a princess.
The team at Ann Louise were wonderful, I had all my fittings there too and they were so understanding and looked after my dress for over a year and a half (thanks COVID!).
Accessories
The main accessory I knew I wanted was a cathedral length veil for our ceremony. I chose this at Ann Louise bridal, which looked perfect alongside my dress. In regards to jewellery, I wanted to keep it simple. I wanted something elegant and classy but nothing too much, so went with pearl earrings and a single pearl necklace from Lily & Roo which my parents and Mike gifted me.
Shoes
I’m not one for wearing high heels, but didn’t want to be in flats on my wedding day. I ended up finding a gorgeous pair of Kurt Geiger shoes which had a block heel and were incredibly comfortable. So much so that I didn’t take them off all night and didn’t need the flip flops I brought with as back up.
The handsome groom
Mike always looks handsome to me, but nothing quite prepared me for seeing how handsome he looked on our wedding day. We had a black-tie wedding, and Mike purchased his tux from Slaters in Essex. He looked a dream and wore the cufflinks I bought him as a gift with our initials and wedding date on them.
Bridesmaids
I had 4 bridesmaids, my 3 best friends and my sister as my Maid of Honour. They have all been amazing helping me get through the last year of uncertainty, so having them with me by my side and getting ready the morning of our wedding meant the world to me.
All the bridesmaids wore blush pink. I wanted them to wear the same colour, but was open to any dress they preferred, as long as they felt comfortable as that was the most important thing to me. The dresses were purchased from Chi Chi London and all the girls looked beyond gorgeous in them. I also had my little cousins as a bridesmaid and page boy. It was their first time ever at a wedding which made it that little more special.
Ceremony
The most special part of the ceremony for me was actually prior at our private badeken. I hadn’t seen Mike in the lead-up to our wedding, so having a private moment with him, alongside our close family and Rabbi really put me at ease. Each of our close family members read us a blessing and it ended with Mike veiling me (which was very emotional). It was a very surreal moment; I had dreamt about it for so long that I couldn’t believe it was finally happening.
The ceremony for us was extremely meaningful. The rabbi who converted Mike (and who taught him throughout his conversion) married us. It meant a lot to us having Rabbi Paul conduct our ceremony, as he knew us from our first meeting (before we were even engaged) in 2018 through to now.
Our ketubah was one which our shul provided to us. It is simple, yet traditional and suited us perfectly.
Chuppah
Our chuppah was designed by our wonderful florist Alexandra. When we first got engaged, I had no idea what chuppah I wanted but Alexandra sat down with us and showed us hundreds to choose from/ to give us inspiration! We wanted a lot of greenery and whites to fit in with our venue and that’s what we got! It was such a beautiful chuppah and complimented the ballroom perfectly.
Our Music Choice
Before we got engaged, I had already chosen my entrance song! It was Boi Kala to the tune of ‘Time to Say Goodbye’by Andre Bocelli. Every time I hear the song it makes me cry so having it sung by our Chazan Marc Finer whilst I walked down the aisle with my parents was just incredible. Definitely a moment I’ll never forget.
Our first dance was ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri performed live by our band. It has always been “our song” so felt fitting for the occasion.
Flowers
Our incredible florist was Alexandra from Alexandra’s Florist, who I found through STG! She brought our vision to life. For my bouquet, I went with a lot of greenery and white Roses to fit in with our colour scheme. The bridesmaids had the same but with blush pink roses to match their dresses.
I knew for our centre pieces I wanted something grand but a little different. We went with loose green foliage and white blooms which really stood out and looked beautiful. We also had candelabras for some of the tables which Alexandra decorated wonderfully in our green/white floral theme.
Photographer and videographer
Having followed Denee Motion on social media years before getting engaged, booking them for our wedding was our easiest decision. I adore their work and knew I needed them to be part of our special day.
In regards to our photographer, we came across David Pullum Photography by chance and hit the jackpot! We looked through his portfolio and fell in love with his style which suited us perfectly. Our photos are beyond incredible and was a pleasure to work with.
Food
When we first booked the venue back in 2019, they only provided in-house catering, so we originally planed on having non-offensive. However, fast forward to March 2020 and I saw on the STG Instagram page a mention of a kosher-style caterer at the Kimpton, Adam Nathan Catering. Immediately I called him and from then I knew he was exactly what we needed.
Adam was a dream to work with, he was so lovely and always willing to go above and beyond to ensure we had the perfect day. His food is divine, and we received so many compliments about how wonderful the food was (from both guests and suppliers).
We didn’t have a cake, as we felt that this wasn’t something we truly wanted, but we did end up having macarons as favours instead by GC Couture.
Entertainment
For our entertainment we had The London Function Band who were unbelievable! I don’t think it’s possible to put into words how fantastic they were. From the moment we spoke with them (2 and a half years ago) to our wedding day, they were so attentive and accommodating.
They provided us with a 10-piece showband, as well as all our production (stage, dancefloor, backdrop, lighting etc). The ballroom looked absolutely incredible and exceeded our wildest dreams.
There is no doubt about it that the band made our wedding – the dancefloor was packed all night! Both the singers and musicians are beyond talented and their sets are interactive, so they were always on the dancefloor getting our guests involved. We have received so many compliments saying it’s the best band they’ve ever seen, and I totally agree! I would highly recommend them as they gave us a day that we will never forget.
Favours
We actually decided on favours quite last minute. It wasn’t something I had originally thought about but Karen kindly put me in contact with GC Couture. We ended up having macarons individually wrapped for our guests. These went down so well, they were so delicious and a nice extra touch.
Extra details
One of the most important things for us at our wedding was a memorial table. Unfortunately, my husband has lost both his dad and sister, as well as both of us losing grandparents, so I desperately wanted them to be included somehow in our special day. The memorial table was just a little touch but meant a lot to us and our families whilst we got married.
I didn’t do a speech, but did want to say a few words at the end of the night. I’m not a huge fan of public speaking but it really meant something to thank all our family, friends and suppliers for making it the best day of our lives.
Honeymoon
Due to Covid, we haven’t planned our honeymoon yet but are hoping to either go to Barbados or Mexico next year. We feel that we definitely deserve it!
We did do a small minimoon to the Peak District the week after our wedding and took our dog with us. It was lovely to get away for a few days and reminisce on the wonderful day we just had. The newlywed bubble was something I never wanted to come out of!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Don’t stress the small stuff! I spent so much time worrying about little things which really didn’t matter on the day. Everyone said to me to take a moment to take it all in and that’s exactly what I did. Mike and I spent 5 minutes just standing at the back watching everyone dancing away and it really was so special. To know that after 2 postponements and all the stress that came with it, to be finally married and celebrating with our nearest and dearest meant everything.
I also highly recommend getting a Toastmaster! We had Toastmaster Jango who took care of absolutely everything on the day. If there were any issues, I didn’t know about them!
CHLOE & MIKE’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – David Pullum Photography
Videography – Denee Motion {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – Kimpton Fitzroy London
Flowers – Alexandra’s Florist
Catering – Adam Nathan Catering
Toastmaster – Toastmaster Jango
Bride’s dress – Rosa Clara found at Ann Louise Bridal
Bride’s shoes – Kurt Geiger
Bride’s accessories – Lily & Roo
Groom’s attire – Slaters
Bridesmaids – Chi Chi London
Hair + Makeup – Hair by Slo, Emma Chloe Beauty
Band – The London Function Band
Favours – GC Couture
Stationery/Invitation – RSVP Invitations
Rabbi – Radlett Reform
Kippot – Hebrewear
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.
