There’s not much we love more than seeing a couple work with a mega-talented team of our beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their Jewish wedding a day to remember – which is exactly what London couple Emma and Arik did!
From the moment the duo chose Lucie and Alex from #STGvendor Ruby J Events as their wedding planners, they were off and running. Lucie and Alex understood the vibe the couple were after and ran with it, sourcing an amazing team of vendors and taking care of all the details so that Emma and Arik “were able to enjoy every minute of planning and every second of the day” – no small feat, especially during Covid!
Another amazing #STGvendor, Sensation Band, provided the perfect soundtrack to the ceremony, with Guy singing the couple down the aisle accompanied by Jason on keyboard. For the reception, #STGvendor Balagan Roaming Band roamed the venue getting the party going and creating an electric atmosphere for the evening!
To capture their day, Emma and Arik opted to work with Promise Photography and #STGvendor Michael Pearl Films. The duo found Michael an absolute delight to work with, and they’re in love with bot their highlights video as well as the full 2-hour version!
Last but absolutely not least, the couple chose #STGvendor Feast by Ed for his mouthwatering kosher catering, and they were bowled over by not only the deliciousness of it all but the beautiful presentation too – and how wonderful Ed himself is to work with, of course!
There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked so elegant in Suzanne Neville…
How we Met
Emma, the bride: Arik works in data analytics and I’m a nanny, 2 professions that would never cross paths if it hadn’t of been for Hinge! We chatted for a while on the app and then we arranged to go for a drink (neither of us knowing at that point that neither of us drank). We met at Sophie’s bar in Soho and stayed chatting and laughing for hours, which is pretty much how we spend every day now – minus being in Sophie’s bar!
We moved in together 1 year later and spent 2 months living together at my dads at the beginning of lockdown. Arik was sad to leave so that was a good sign! I came home after a long walk with my sister one day (not knowing that Arik had planned this, to get me out the house), to find Arik on one knee in the lounge, surrounded by rose petals, candles and holding a ring. The rest as our rabbi said under the chuppah, is soul music.
A Conservatory Wedding
We got married at Syon Park – The Conservatory. It was the only venue we visited (even though our incredible planner sent us through a venue safari, with a huge amount of appropriate venues). We just absolutely loved it instantly! We originally planned to get married in Tel Aviv, but due to covid we couldn’t, so we were really wanting to find a venue that felt a little bit different and had a space that we could make our own and create an intimate vibe.
Our planners, Lucie and Alex from Ruby J Events, made the dome the focus. From hand making tables to fit the curvature of the room, to having the dance floor under the dome, which lit up towards the end of the night.
Planned to Perfection
We used Ruby J Events who were beyond incredible! We wanted our wedding to feel like an intimate celebration, surrounded by our closest family and friends. We wanted candles, lots of flowers (more me than Arik) and for it to feel laid back. Lucie and Alex thought of absolutely everything! We very much gave them the vibe we wanted and they came up with absolutely everything else and things that we would never have thought of!
To plan a wedding during covid could have been very stressful, but it was only down to Ruby J Events that we were able to enjoy every minute of planning and every second of the day. They put us in touch with vendors who just fit in perfectly and we really had an absolute team creating our wedding.
Invitations / stationery
Ruth Kaye Design did all our stationary and we couldn’t have been happier with it all! We did an E invite with an illustration of The Conservatory, fading from day to night. We were also live streaming the ceremony, so they put the same image on the link for the live stream.
They created an oval menu card with green font and we had our initials inscribed on the top, as well as on our frosted welcome sign!
Hair + Make-up
Zoe Rohde from Zoe with the Good Hair did my hair for my brothers wedding a few years ago, so I knew there was no one else I’d choose to do it for our wedding. After being very indecisive about whether I should have my hair up or down, I decided to go for what felt the most like me, rather than changing my hair to go with my dress.
I went for a side parting with a 70’s wave and Zoe did a twist around the back so all my hair was to one side, so that my hair wasn’t covering the back of my dress. Zoe did my hair so beautifully, I couldn’t have been happier!
I don’t wear a lot of make up usually so I was very conscious of the need to last all day but I didn’t want it to look or feel heavy. Taly Dahan couldn’t have done it more perfectly or been any more of a calmer presence on the day. She only uses Charlotte Tilbury, so she started off with a clay mask, followed by a dry sheet mask and a face massage. She really got me that bridal glow and I just felt very relaxed and calm!
Taly did my make up so beautifully and my mum doesn’t usually like getting her make up done but will now only have Taly to do her make up!
A Suzanne Neville Dress
I got my dress from Suzanne Neville’s Flagship store in Knightsbridge. I knew I wanted a high neck, fitted dress so when I saw the dress with the bow on the back, I couldn’t not try it on! It was my mum and sisters idea to put the detailed belt on, to give the dress a little something from the front. I had tried on fitted dresses with corsets and I’m usually in yoga pants and a jumper so I was very much looking for a dress that was also comfortable!
When I tried on the ‘Talia gown’, it just felt perfect. It was so comfortable, I could dance in it (of course I practiced around the store) and I got to wear a bow on my back! What more could I want!
Shoes
I went for Jimmy Choo Mules which were kitten heels. I absolutely loved them and they were so unbelievably comfortable! I am a trainer kinda girl though, so as soon as the chuppah was finished, I changed into my Supergas! My sister and my best friend had given them to me in the morning and they were personalised with my new initials and the date of our wedding! They went from white to grey pretty quickly, so I’m happy my Jimmy Choo’s are still intact.
The handsome groom
Arik wore a three piece navy suit, which he got on a day out with my brothers! Arik used to have a very different hairstyle before lockdown but over lockdown he grew a topknot. My dad was very hopeful he would chop it off before our wedding but I thought with all the work that went into it and me giving him some questionable styles over lockdown, his topknot should have one last party before it went! He looked very handsome as always!
Bridesmaids
We didn’t go for a colour scheme, we just kind of went with things that we loved and it all ended up tying in together! My sister was my Maid of Honour so she had free range over her outfit! She chose a stunning green, silk dress from Valle and Vik. Zoe did lose waves in her hair, which looked beautiful and her dress was just perfect.
Ceremony
Before our wedding, Rabbi David Mitchell from WLS asked us both to send him answers to these questions – 3 things that we love most about each other and 3 things that make us laugh most about each other. This was such a special touch and made the ceremony interactive, with lots of laughter and many tears!
He spent so much time getting to know us through the year, so our chuppah felt very personal and just full of love. Rabbi David also asked everyone not to use their phones during the service so everyone was very much in the moment, which we loved.
My dad sung one of the Sheva brachot which was very emotional and a moment I will forever cherish. I love watching our video and hearing him sing to us, it is a truly special memory.
Chuppah
The chuppah was probably my favourite part of the planning! I spoke with Hayford & Rhodes about the kind of flowers I like and a rough idea of how we wanted it to look. We went for a round chuppah, to go with the shape of the dome and we left some of the chuppah structure exposed, to give a natural and elegant feel. There were lanterns going down the aisle, with flowers growing around the lanterns and pillar candles.
We had birds of paradise subtly put into the chuppah, in memory of family who are no longer with us which was very special for us.
Our Music Choice
I felt so much emotion when I heard Guy singing ‘Meheira’, that I instantly decided that this would be the song I would walk down the aisle to. We chose ‘Nishba Lah’ for the procession and for Arik and Guy singing it filled the room with so much emotion.
We didn’t actually do a first dance as I have 2 left feet so we decided we’d skip that! Schitts Creek on Netflix got us through lockdown so we had ‘Simply The Best’ from Schitts Creek playing at some point during the night. When we heard it, we just took a step back and soaked up all the love and emotion in the room.
Flowers
Hayford & Rhodes were our florist and they were fantastic! We had zoom calls due to covid and I felt so confident with them with creating the look that we wanted. The button holes were birds of paradise and the main flower we chose for the bouquets and table arrangements, was the David Austen scented garden rose and the bouquets smelt amazing! The bouquets had dahlias and petite wild flowers and they were tied together with a blush pink silk ribbon.
We had a mix of round tables and curved tables. The round tables had meadow flowers and English roses on gold plinths with candles in blush pink cut glass holders around them. For the curved tables we had Ester & Erik blush pink candles alongside cut and clear bud vases. They created the most magical setting!
Photographer and videographer
We chose Pascal from Promise Photography as our photographer. We had decided not to do formal photographs so we were really keen to find a photographer who would take beautiful photo’s whilst being subtle. We met Pascal and he was just full of fun and character! He had worked at weddings at Syon Park before, so he knew the venue, which was perfect.
My best friend had flown over from Canada so we went with Pascal to check out The Conservatory in the morning and had a really fun and silly photoshoot before! The morning after the wedding, Pascal delivered an incredible ‘Promise Magazine’ with a selection of the best moments from the day. We don’t know how he managed it but it was incredible and we ended up getting a lot of copies to give to our families!
We chose Michael Pearl Films to be our videographer. Again, it was really important to us that he would capture the day, whilst being subtle. He was so relaxed and bubbly during the day and we didn’t notice him capturing all the moments, but he managed to capture everything! The video he created – just wow! He did a 6 minute highlights video and then a full 2 hour video. It is amazing and captured all the emotions of the day! Our highlight video had the speeches playing throughout and it really is a magical video.
Food and Cake
We had Feast by Ed do our catering and just wow! Ed not only creates mouth watering dishes that he presents beautifully, but he is also one of the loveliest people!
We were so incredibly lucky with the weather! It was forecast to rain all day and it ended up being 26 degrees! We were able to have the reception outside, where everyone had cocktails and canapés on the lawn. Ed did chicken live parfait jammy dodgers which were really fun! We had seabass ceviche, meatloaf sliders and beef tartare, just to name a few of the dishes Ed came up with!
We chose crispy aromatic duck to start, chicken ballotine with wild mushrooms for main and a deconstructed lemon tart for dessert. For vegetarians we had a a middle eastern plate to start and sous vide summer squash with rosemary terrine for main. Arik and I didn’t want to miss out on the food so we made sure we got to enjoy it all!
Entertainment
We chose Guy to sing us down the aisle, accompanied by Jason on the keyboard, both from Sensation Band. I had been listening to Guy on Youtube for months and we couldn’t have been happier when we found out he was available for our wedding. His voice is magical when you listen to him in your lounge, let alone under the chuppah.
We chose Balagan Roaming Band for the party as they had a different feel to other bands we’d looked at and we felt with the vibe we were wanting at our wedding, having them able to roam around The Conservatory would fit perfectly. They really got the party going and created an electric atmosphere!
We had Joe Lennard as our MC and DJ and he was brilliant! He kept the day running so smoothly. We were really conscious not wanting the day to feel formal with an MC, but he reassured us beforehand that if he’s done his job right, we wouldn’t know he’s there – until he starts to DJ! He was right! We went from the reception, to dancing, to food and speeches with dancing in between, without knowing how everyone just knew what to do, and it was all down to the Ruby J Events team and Joe!
Favours
We had glass sweet jars with our initials on the top with a miniature apple and honey stick tied around the edge. This was my mums idea to do something to link with Rosh Hashana, which was coming in the day after our wedding and then Lucie and Alex came up with the idea of doing posh pic n’ mix. Ariks grandma, who wasn’t able to fly over from Israel, loves pineapple, so we decided to have fizzy pineapple sweets in the jar, as well as apple sweets.
Extra details
I love Neom Organics and wanted the room to smell fresh and full of their delicious scents. We had candles, soaps and hand lotions in the bathrooms and miniature hand sanitisers on the tables. We also had the cold hand towels spritzed with the Neom Happiness Mist so everyone smelt very fresh after the Israeli dancing.
At the end of the night we didn’t want anyone to be hungry so we had mini pizza’s delivered around the dance floor in individual take away boxes, churros with chocolate sauce, fried chicken and waffles and a selection of alcoholic and non alcoholic ice lollies.
Honeymoon
We went to Abu Dhabi first and then we went to The Maldives. We used Many Moons Travel and they found us the most magical hotels! We stayed at Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort in Abu Dhabi which felt like stepping into Aladdin!
We stayed at Milaidhoo in The Maldives which was truly breathtaking. Stepping onto the island was like something out of paradise. You can walk around it in 8 minutes so it is very small compared to a lot of the other islands. It is laidback luxury which was perfect for us. We learnt to windsurf, we swam with manta rays and we watched the sunsets whilst devouring the incredible food. Dreaming of when we can go back!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
We were really conscious of wanting to be able to look back at our wedding day, knowing that we enjoyed every minute. We were flexible with what we wanted and tried to relax with the unknown of covid. We looked at the positives and although it was very sad that so many people couldn’t be with us due to covid restrictions, we got to have a magical day with majority of the closest people to us.
We fully trusted Ruby J Events and everyone they put us in touch with. We didn’t have a thing to worry about on the day and we were very aware that only we knew exactly how it was meant to be. If anything didn’t go as planned, no one would know.
You’re wearing the dress of your dreams, marrying the love of your life… try and take a step back and take it all in.
Emma & Arik’s little white book
Photography – Promise Photography (Recommended by Ruby J Events)
Videographer – Michael Pearl Films {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Wedding planner – Ruby J Events
Band – Sensation Band {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Roaming Band – Balagan Roaming Band {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Catering – Feast by Ed (Recommended by Ruby J Events)
Venue – Syon Park (Recommended by Ruby J Events)
Bride’s dress – Suzanne Neville
Bride’s shoes – Jimmy Choo
Bridesmaids – Valle and Vik
Makeup – Taly Dahan MUA
Hair – Zoe with the Good Hair
Flowers – Hayford and Rhodes (Recommended by Ruby J Events)
Honeymoon – Many Moons Travel
Stationery/Invitation – Ruth Kaye Design (Recommended by Ruby J Events)
Rabbi – Rabbi David Mitchell
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.
