A rom-com inspired Jewish wedding?! Um, yes please! We love that today’s bride, Lucy, planned her wedding to groom Joel with inspiration from the romantic comedies she grew up on. In her words, “I always wanted my wedding day to give me and my guests that warm feeling inside I got from watching them as a little girl” – and we think she nailed it!
From the dreamy garden setting at London’s Chiswick House & Gardens to the fabulous chuppah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People to Lucy’s princess gown by Stella York to the wonderful music by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band that kept guests on the dancefloor (including to two sings from The Parent Trap, one of the bride’s favorite films!), this day was picture perfect from start to finish.
And speaking of pictures – the photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kate Swerdlow Photography were pretty darn perfect too! Lucy and Joel wanted someone who could capture authentic moments throughout the day, and Kate fit the bill perfectly. Kate also made them feel comfortable on the day – something that’s so important to factor in when choosing a photographer!
Now over to Lucy…
How We Met
Lucy, the bride: I am an Account Manager in Influencer Marketing and Joel is a Sales Director. We met on a dating app called Hinge in 2019 and met shortly after 3 days later. I immediately knew Joel was the one. We instantly clicked and it was a feeling I had never had with anyone before. We spent loads of time together before being intensely locked down during Covid. This only served to bring us closer together. We already wanted to spend every single day together and when Covid struck it meant we could and without external distractions.
An Outdoor Wedding
Our wedding was at Chiswick House & Gardens. We both love the outdoors and wanted somewhere a little different and truly memorable. We fell in love with the architecture of Chiswick house and the beautiful grounds. We instantly knew we wanted our wedding to be here. We loved the feel of the Italian Gardens for our ceremony.
We both love travelling but wanted our wedding in the UK to ensure all our loved ones could attend. The Gardens gave us that holiday feel that we desired, and we were so lucky with the weather on the day.
Theme & Wedding Planner
I have an extensive history in events planning so I was my own wedding planner. I had a particular vision for how I wanted my wedding to be. I have grown up watching romantic comedies and music has always been a big part of my life. I always wanted my wedding day to give me and my guests that warm feeling inside I got from watching them as a little girl.
We had the talented cellist Lydia Alonso fill the air with romantic melodies during our Chuppah. From The Holiday and The Parent Trap to My Best Friend’s wedding, music from these films were my inspiration. I walked down the aisle to Beauty & The Beast which was a special moment. I have grown up listening to this song with my dad so it was beautiful to share this moment with him on my wedding day.
A Stella York Dress
I chose a Stella York Dress from Brides of Berkhamsted. My dress was the total opposite to what I had initially had in mind. I think it was only the 5th dress I tried on but I just knew it was the one. I wanted something elegant with some drama which I added with my extra-long veil. My dress was easy to wear and comfortable and I felt like a princess.
Ceremony & Chuppah
My favourite part of the ceremony was when Joel smashed the glass. He looked at me and said ‘are you ready?’ before stomping down hard. It was a magical feeling. Our Rabbi said some beautiful words to us under the Chuppah too which were unforgettable. He even presented us with our own Mezuzah.
Our music choice
We had Ambassador Band perform at our wedding and they were amazing! I wanted to have songs that everyone knew and would get people up dancing on the dancefloor. We chose a selection of Soul and feel-good classic wedding songs.
Parent Trap is one of my favourite films, so we had two songs that were a nod to that. Joel & I’s first dance was to ‘L-O-V-E’ by Nat King Cole and the very last song of our wedding was ‘This Will be An Everlasting Love’ by Natalie Cole. All my rom-com dreams had come true at this point of the wedding.
Flowers
Our florist was Mary Jane Vaughan. We had a briefing call with Victoria there and she just fully understood my vision. The Chuppah, rented from The Happy Chuppah People, had lots of tumbling gypsophila to give a summery feel to the wedding. For our table centres I wanted to keep these quite simple so we had low mismatch jars filled with gorgeous summery flowers that were in the middle of our tables. Lilac was a running theme with my flowers and the button holes we had for our main men were all a dyed lilac rose.
Photographer and videographer
Our photographer was Kate Swerdlow Photography. I love her style of wedding photography. I really wanted to capture authentic moments throughout the day which I could see from Kate’s portfolio she does really well. We met Kate for a test shoot prior to the wedding and myself, her and Joel instantly clicked.
I think it is really important to feel comfortable in front of your photographer on your wedding day and Kate made us feel exactly that. We had numerous Zoom calls with Kate going through every detail of exactly what we wanted to get out of the day which I think was really important. Photographs are your memory of the day so the style of them is key.
Our videographer was Leor Melehi. We just received the full video back and it exceeded exceptions. Leor was like a fly on the wall at the wedding. I barely noticed him there and he was non-intrusive, however he managed to capture so many magical moments which were only apparent when watched the video back. He was a lovely energy to be around on the day and his editing skills are incredible.
Honeymoon
2 days after the wedding we flew to Ibiza! It was the relaxation we needed after the wedding. We are planning our big honeymoon trip in November to Thailand for 2 weeks. Now that the wedding is over this is my next planning project!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Trust your suppliers – Find the right people, communicate your vision, and let them work their magic. They are the experts after all. Take their recommendations of what will work best and trust that they will perform on the day.
Let your personality inspire you – your wedding day is about you and your husband-to-be. it is your day so make sure your personality shines through. Make decisions on what is important to you.
Take your time – planning our wedding was the biggest project ever so my advice would be to take everything one step at a time. I had a year and half to plan the wedding which meant I had plenty of time to really decide on every detail I wanted.
We both love travelling so having a wedding outside was important to us to give a holiday feel to our wedding.
I have grown up watching romantic comedies and music has always been a big part of my life. I always wanted my wedding day to give me and my guests that warm feeling inside I got from watching them as a little girl. The music for the chuppah and the wedding party were both classics from some of my favourite romantic comedy films.
We both love sweets so we had our own pic & mix stand during the evening too.
LUCY & JOEL’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Kate Swerdlow Photography {offers 15% discount on an engagement shoot to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Band – Ambassador Band
Chuppah – The Happy Chuppah People {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videography – Leor Melehi
Venue – Chiswick House & Gardens
Bride’s dress – Stella York found at Brides of Berkhamsted
Flowers – Mary Jane Vaughan
Cellist – Lydia Alonso
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.
