We love it when a couple plans a Jewish wedding that’s 100% totally them – which is exactly what Glasgow couple Genna, who works for an innovation charity, and Raphael, an architect, did for their big day in beautiful St Andrews.
Celebrating the groom’s Brazilian heritage as well as the couple’s home in Scotland and incorporating so many DIY touches from the couple and their mums, this is truly a wedding to remember.
The groom designed all the wedding stationery plus the ketubah – and also built the couple’s stunning minimalist chuppah – Genna’s mum handmade the kiddush cups over 50 wooden candle holders that were placed around the venue and on the tables, and Raphael’s mum baked the couple’s wedding cake! Don’t miss all the wonderful details in Christian Olliver’s beautiful photos!
Food is important to Genna and Raphael, and when it came time to choose a kosher caterer they went for the best of the best: Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Feast by Ed Shaerf. In Genna’s words, Feast by Ed “absolutely blew us away. Not only was the food incredibly tasty, but the presentation and the professionalism of the staff were also out of this world! Everything was seamless and ran like absolute clockwork.”
There’s so much more to say about this joyous, love-filled day – but we’ll leave it to Genna, who looked so radiant in her minimalist gown by Swedish designer Viktoria Chan – to fill you in on the rest…
How We Met
Genna, the bride: We met through my brother, Adam, who has been Raph’s best friend since they were 10 years old. About 5 years ago, Adam and his then fiance, now wife, Olivia suggested that we go for a drink together because we had ‘lots in common’ – and it went from there! After a few years of a long distance relationship between Glasgow and London, we settled in Glasgow, where we’re both originally from.
A Wedding in Scotland
We got married at Kinkell Byre in St Andrews. We picked the venue because we loved the modern barn style, and the fact that it was a blank canvas that we could essentially do whatever we wanted with in terms of decor and suppliers. Raph’s family have a lot of connections to St Andrews, and he has amazing memories of family trips there as a kid, so it was special for us to get married there. We had lots of guests coming from abroad, so it meant that they got to visit a very beautiful part of Scotland too.
Practically, the venue was big enough that it had a different spaces for each element of the day and we didn’t have to change over any spaces – for the ceremony, for the reception and for dinner/dancing – which meant the day flowed really nicely. There was also a beautiful garden (where we set up various lawn games and a kids play tent!) and there was a sea view at the front of the venue, which was really spectacular too.
Terracotta and Sage
Our colour scheme was terracotta, accompanied with sage and neutral tones. Our bridesmaids wore terracotta dresses and kippot were terracotta and sage. Kinkell Byre is a naturally stunning venue, and only a light touch of decoration is required to personalise it. The customisable lighting by Stephen Leslie from i-light compliments the space so well, and gives the barn a contemporary yet magical edge.
We had a decor coordinator, Elaine from 56Events, who decorated the space with soft furnishings, including rustic bud vases, different coloured candles and candlesticks, rugs and cushions. We had a lot of personal touches on the day, including stationery designed by Raphael; Genna’s mum Debbie handmade over 50 wooden candle holders that were placed around the venue and on the tables that made the decoration and table settings even more spectacular; and a wedding cake baked by Raphael’s mum, Bertha.
Another important touch was a family photo wall of relatives that are no longer with us, which was at the entrance to the venue; we found this a touching tribute to our late grandparents and Raphael’s late father, Brian.
Invitation and stationery
Raphael designed all the wedding stationery, from the save the dates and invitations to the chuppah explainers, signage and table settings. The colour palette was consistent with the wedding flowers (terracotta, sage and neutral tones) and this really added to the personal feel of the simcha. We also had a wedding website that Raphael designed, through wix, where people could RSVP and find out more information about travelling to St Andrews.
Hair + Makeup
The most important thing for me was to have very natural hair and make up – and we found the perfect suppliers who were really accommodating with this. Genna asked for fresh, dewy make up and Kirsty was absolutely wonderful at making this a reality.
My hair was done by Megan Neely who is incredible at doing boho and relaxed bridal hair. She worked with Genna’s natural curls to make them absolutely perfect, and fitted the flower crown and the vail just before the ceremony. Both of them were so lovely, and contributed to making the wedding morning the most perfect, relaxed atmosphere.
A Viktoria Chan Dress
My dress was the Vivian dress from Swedish designer Viktoria Chan. We got it from Unbridaled boutique in Ayr, Scotland. It was an A-line dress, made of pure silk and ivory in colour. We really loved the minimalist style and dramatic knot at the back. We also had detachable sleeves added for the chuppah, which were pearl studded, and the vail was also studded with graduated pearls.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Our chuppah was the most special part of the day. We had so many personal details incorporated that made it absolutely magical. Firstly, Raphael designed and built the chuppah himself – by using strips of plywood that slotted into each other to create a minimalist structure. We worked with the florist to design perfect floral arrangements to decorate it, and with Stephen from i-light to ensure the lighting within and above the chuppah was perfect. We had a starlit canopy draped across the ceiling above the chuppah, which added to the magic.
Genna’s mum, Debbie, also handmade the 2 kiddush cups that we used for the brachot during the ceremony. We used two tallit as the canopy – one was the talis of Raphael’s late father, Brian, and the other was Raph’s barmitzvah talis. We set the chuppah up “in the round”, so we were surrounded, literally, by friends, family and loved ones, giving the ceremony an incredibly intimate feel.
We created guides for our chuppah, so that guests who were not Jewish, or hadn’t been to a Jewish wedding before, could follow the service and understand the meaning behind all the various elements and traditions. Lastly, we developed a really special connection with the rabbi that conducted the ceremony for us, Rabbi Rubin. He spoke really beautifully, and led the chuppah ceremony in a very uplifting and inclusive way, full of laughter and smiles.
Raphael designed our ketubah and used the same theme as our wedding stationery. We wanted to design something that was contemporary and matched the aesthetic of the wedding, but that would also compliment our home and accompany the art that we have on our walls already.
Our music choice
We had 3 different musical elements at our wedding! First, we had Romacaleo, a klezmer band from Glasgow with Czech and Jewish roots. They played a mixture of klezmer music and ‘gypsy swing’ as guests arrived, as well as during the ceremony. They played ‘Eyshet Chayil’ as Genna walked down the aisle, and accompanied Rabbi Rubin as he sang ‘Mi Adir’ during the chuppah ceremony. They also played the simcha music and brought a lot of energy to the simcha dancing!
During reception, we had a Bossa Nova trio, led by Sergio Prazeres. Raphael is half Brazilian and we both love Brazilian music, so it was important to us to include Brazilian culture during the day. Sergio also played our first dance song, which was an acoustic cover of one of our favourite Brazilian songs – ‘Sina‘ by Djavan.
Finally, we had a DJ, Euan from Tartan Entertainment who took over later on in the night and played dance floor fillers. Each element was incredible and added so much to the celebration!
Flowers
We chose to use dried flowers for our wedding. This was for a few reasons: they’re more eco-friendly, and it made it much easier to keep the arrangements after the wedding and take them home. We also loved the neutral tones that they offered. Our florist was Stucio and Waow who were absolutely incredible. They started off by creating a mood board for us, and working with us to design every detail.
They created 2 large floral arrangements for the corners of our chuppah; a very unique bridal bouquet and a stunning floral crown for Genna; button holes for Raph, the father of the bride and the 3 best men; hairpieces for the 5 bridesmaids and flower girls; 2 lapels for the mother of the bride and mother of the groom; different floral arrangements for the tables and communal spaces; plus eucalyptus bunches for the back of the chairs in the ceremony space and dried flower petals for confetti for flower girls.
Photographer and videographer
We met our photographer, Christian Olliver, at an open day at our venue. We knew immediately that he was the right person for us, due to both his beautiful documentary-style photography, and his relaxed nature and way of working. We didn’t decide to have a videographer until much nearer to the wedding, but are so happy we did! We thankfully found Erin Rose films who had availability on our date, and we loved their contemporary and artistic style. Andrew was so lovely and accommodating to work with from the beginning and did an incredible job at capturing the fun and relaxed essence of the day.
Food and cake
Our caterer was Feast by Ed Shaerf, who absolutely blew us away. Not only was the food incredibly tasty, but the presentation and the professionalism of the staff were also out of this world! Everything was seamless and ran like absolute clockwork. They offered cocktail choices for the reception, and we chose 3 – a Scottish choice (the Glasgow mule), a Brazilian choice (a Caipirinha) and a couples choice (lychee martini), and all 3 were utterly delicious. The canapes were one of the highlights of the day – we had so many guests tell us how delicious they were.
Food is a huge part of our relationship, and we love cooking and eating together, hosting our friends and family, and exploring different cuisines. We chose our wedding menu as a tribute to our love for Middle Eastern and Brazilian dishes, and we opted for ‘feasting plates’ due to our appreciation for the social and sharing aspect of food.
We had a wedding cake, which was a collection of homemade cakes and over 180 muffins that were all handmade by Bertha, Raphael’s mum. She is famous (in our family and friendship circle) for being an amazing baker, and she made a mixture of her 2 most ‘famous’ cakes – chocolate and orange. The cake stand was also handmade by Debbie, Genna’s mum, which was another special touch.
Bertha also made the ‘special-occasion’ cake Fluden – a strudel-like pastry made from fruit and nuts. It originates from Eastern European Jewry, and was traditionally eaten at Jewish festivals and weddings. Raphael’s late grandfather David Treiger was the unofficial ‘Fluden Taster’ in Niteroi (Brazil) for any celebration in their community, and ever since then, there hasn’t been a Treiger/Selby family Simcha without it!
Extra Details
The speeches were a highlight of our day. Raphael’s brother Ilan and Genna’s brother Adam were both best men, and Genna’s sister Nikki was a bridesmaid. After Genna’s dad’s speech, Adam and Nikki gave a joint speech, followed by Ilan. They were all incredible, touching and hilariously funny – and having all of our siblings play a significant role made the day even more special.
Honeymoon
A few days after our wedding, we jetted off to Porto and the Azores for 10 days. We are so glad we took the advice of friends to go straight away and reminisce about our special day! We stayed in a fantastic artsy boutique hotel in Porto, Malmerendas, and an incredible apartment called the Pink House in the Azores. One specific highlight was visiting the oldest Synagogue in Portugal, in Ponta Delgada on Sao Miguel, which we stumbled across accidentally!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Divide and conquer in terms of prep! Genna took on all of the ‘logistical’ elements (e.g. communicating with all of the suppliers, timings, etc) and Raph took on all of the design elements (e.g. the stationary, chuppah design, etc)
Ask questions. We really engaged with the Jewish elements of the weddings, and asked Rabbi Rubin many (many!) questions about the significance of the different elements of the day. This made it all the more meaningful for us.
Our final bits of advice would be: don’t sweat the small stuff – nobody notices the things that ‘don’t go to plan’; and be present – the day goes by in an absolute flash! (We also wish we asked our caterer to box up a sample of the food for the following day; everyone talked about how amazing it all was, but we barely ate at all during the day as we were too excited and distracted!)
GENNA & RAPH’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Christian Olliver
Videography – Erin Rose films
Catering – Feast by Ed Shaerf {offers 10% discount (*subject to conditions) to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – Kinkell Byre
Bride’s dress – Viktoria Chan found at Unbridaled Boutique
Hair + Makeup – Megan Neely, Kirsty
Flowers – Stucio and Waow
DJ – Tartan Entertainment
Klezmer Band – Romacaleo
Bossa Nova trio – Sergio Prazeres
Decor coordinator – Elaine, 56Events
Lighting – i-light
Rabbi – Rabbi Rubin
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.
