Um, wow. Just when we think we’ve seen it all when it comes to floral chuppah design, we’re proven wrong. Just look at this floral chuppah of dreams. Jaw-on-the-floor WOW!
Flowers were top priority for bride Natasha, who works in the diamond industry, and her groom, Charles, a solicitor. And it shows. The couple turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Mary Jane Vaughan to realize their vision of an indoor spring garden, and did she ever!
She’s the visionary behind that chuppah – which is truly a floral fantasy, between the blossoms wrapped around the columns and the wisteria hanging from the canopy.
Their chuppah is pretty unbeatable, and the flowers they had for the reception hit the spot too. And all of it was captured so beautifully by yet another Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, the AMAZING Imaginarium Cinematography on film (below), with Chiko Photography on stills.
If flowers were priority #1, then food came in as a close second. Another incredible STG Recommended Vendor, Food Story created a menu including the likes of beef carpaccio with yuzu and pistachio (!) a totally different class to your standard kosher wedding fare. And don’t even get us started on the donut wall (we LOVE a donut wall!).
One last thing we loved about this fab day is the way Natasha got two totally different looks out of her classic strapless Suzanne Neville gown by pairing it with a demurely elegant Sassi Holford jacket for the chuppah (also handily keeping her shoulders covered).
If you love the idea of separate dresses for the ceremony and reception but don’t necessary have the budget for it, this is such a smart way to mix up your style throughout the day. Okay, now over to the bride, gorgeous Natasha…
How we met
Natasha, the bride: We met through Jcrush! We had never met before but have many weird connections! One of Charles’s best friends happened to be my cousin! We both attended my cousin’s bar mitzvah at 13 years old, and my sister and Charles’s brother were friends, having met on Israel tour together when they were younger!
A Verdant Venue
We got married at The Grove, Chandler’s Cross. I love the beautiful grounds there, I love how green and stunning it is. We stayed there the night we got engaged and spent the whole of the next day there, so it’s quite sentimental to us.
Spring Gardens
Flowers! My flowers were very important to me; I wanted to create a spring garden indoors! My wedding planner was Lucy from Just Seventy.
Hair + Makeup
Hair by Kym Mullem – I had two looks, a classic low bun for the ceremony to show off my jacket and then a bouncy blow dry for the party (hair change during reception). Makeup by the very talented Melly Sophia – a total bridal look.
A Suzanne Neville Dress
My dress was Suzanne Neville and my amazing jacket was Sassi Holford. The dress itself was very simple and classic. I wanted something that when I look back at my pictures in 20 years I will be happy and not be like what the hell was I thinking! I loved my jacket it made the dress super trendy and edgy! I bought my dress from The Bride in St Albans.
Jewelry Sourced by the Bride
My veil was Joyce Jackson. As I’m in the jewellery business I sourced my own jewelry.
Manolos
I went for a classic pair of white Manolos and my mum got a matching blue pair.
The handsome groom
He wore a beautiful midnight blue 3-piece suit. He wore his personalized cufflinks that I bought him as one of his first gifts, which was totally adorable.
Bridesmaids in Peach
I had my sister, who was my MOH, and then 4 big bridesmaids and 6 little ones. My MOH wore a beautiful pinky/peachy/gold detachable gown. With my bridemaids I chose the color and then they chose their own style of dress. It was important that they felt comfortable – these were Dessy, The Wedding Gallery in St Albans. And my little bridemaids wore gorgeous white dresses with flower crowns.
Ultimate Floral Chuppah
I had an exact vision of what I wanted. I wanted blossoms and flowers hanging from the top, and with the help of my florist and my wedding planner (and Instagram inspiration) it was absolutely delivered beyond my expectations.
Around the room, it was as if blossoms were growing up the columns and spilling over onto the ceiling, together with twinkling lights.
The flowers on the tables and on the chuppah included lisianthus, phlox, gypsophila, roses, and ranunculus, with a little light spring foliage.
A Personal Ceremony
We wanted to make our ceremony a bit different, so we chose not to have the traditional walking down the aisle songs. Our singer Refael, who has the most stunning voice, created an Ed Sheeran Perfect version that was sung in both Hebrew and English. We had 2 rabbis who were very funny and made the ceremony enjoyable and inclusive. We also had the order of the ceremony printed out with explanations of each part so that people had an idea of what was going on. We had a really beautiful ketubah made.
Crazy In Love
Simantov Mazeltov was sung after we were married – obvs when we walked into our wedding party we entered to Beyonce’s Crazy In Love (a buzzy fun song with a good beat) and our first dance was a UB40 version of Can’t Help Fallin’ In Love – we wanted something lively and fun, the trumpets in that song are everything! We aren’t really the slow dance type.
Pink and White Flowers
Mary Jane Vaughan was our unreal florist, she is the most fabulous lady, so enthusiastic and excited! My bouquet was made up with different pink and white roses, gypsophila, ranunculus, and greenery. My bridesmaids had mini versions of my bouquet. The buttonholes were white roses with greenery. My chuppah was made up of pink and white cherry blossom and hanging wisteria, it had blossoms growing up the legs, and at the top a canopy of flowers and blossom, framing the wisteria that we attached to the ceiling.
Our fabulous Photographer
I used Chiko Photography; my cousin was working for him at the time and he is highly rated so it was a no brainer.
Gourmet Food
Our menu: beef carpaccio with yuzu and pistachio; duck, squash and yuzu purée; fondant potato; green beans and duck sauce; freak shake for her, caramel crémeux with banana for him.
Food Story was our caterer – obviously food was amazing!! The pictures speak for themselves, lol!
A Donut Wall
Instead of a cake I had a donut wall. I came across a donut wall on Instagram and absolutely had to have one. They were pink and amazing.
A Full Band
We had Club Live, who were amazing. We wanted a party, and they definitely made that happen! We wanted it to be fun and get everyone involved – everyone loved them! We had the full band, which even included a rapper.
Unconventional Speeches
The father of the bride’s speech was very untraditional. My dad did a whole singing performance. It was very comical! We had toasts made by our siblings, best men speech, etc. Charles did an amazing unconventional speech too, he used sound effects, caricatures, big screens with photos – it was brilliant! Everyone raved about it.
As it was mothers day we arranged a special dance for our mums. We danced to Mama by Spice Girls, they loved it. We also had an open selfie stand, which the guests loved. We had midnight snacks – mini bagels and pizza! Also, we had shots going around.
Jamie Paskin was our toastmaster and he was fab! Very helpful on the day!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
I know it’s so cliché, but just try and enjoy every single second of it! It goes way too fast. Try and take time to sit back and take it all in. PG it only happens once.
Natasha & Charles’ little white book
Photography – Chiko Photography
Videography – Imaginarium Cinematography
Catering – Food Story
Flowers – Mary Jane Vaughan
Design, production and planning – Just Seventy
Venue – The Grove
Bride’s dress and jacket – Suzanne Neville and Sassi Holford purchased at The Bride
Bride’s veil – Joyce Jackson
Bride’s shoes – Manolo Blahnik
Bridesmaids – Dessy purchased at The Wedding Gallery
Hair + Makeup – Kym Mullem and Melly Sophia Make Up Artist
Band – Club Live
Toastmaster – Jamie Paskin
This wedding looks really fun! Love the decorations, the images were perfect!