An Art Deco-Themed Green and Gold Jewish Wedding at The Ned & Banking Hall, London, UK

Happy Wednesday you gorgeous lot you! We’ve got a very special treat in store for you today with a fabulous 1920s Art Deco-themed Jewish wedding that you’re going to  totally and utterly fall in love with.

Rosanna and Jacob adore the Art Deco aesthetic, so naturally every last detail was Art Deco-ed, even down to getting ready at London’s hottest new hotel, The Ned, which is dripping in Art Deco touches.

They chose a color scheme of deep emerald green with accents of gold and palm-leaf shapes throughout and the result was absolutely gorgeous, with such attention to detail that the theme was even reflected in bride Rosanna’s earrings.

Everything was brought together like an absolute dream under the expert supervision of sensational wedding planner and STG Recommended Vendor, Potcakes Weddings.

Beautiful bride, Rosanna, went for a bespoke gown by Christine Kendall, celebrating the ancient Egyptian influence on Art Deco design, and her naturally gorgeous features were enhanced by fabulous makeup artist and much-loved STG Recommended Vendor, Philippa Louise Makeup.

Speaking of our Recommended Vendors, the dance floor was filled all night by none other than The Function Band – it really was a Smashing The Glass family effort! 

The fantastic spread of images below were captured by photographer Richard Payne, supplemented with aplomb by videographer Heartfelt Productions. 

We’ll pass you on to Rosanna now for the full writeup of her and Jacob’s magical, vintage-inspired Jewish wedding. Take it away, Rosanna!

How we met

Rosanna, the bride: We met through a mutual friend, and we were close friends for about a year before he asked me out at my 23rd birthday (with some pushing from friends as we were both too nervous!).

An Art Deco venue 

Jacob and visited about a dozen locations and venues in London, mostly ones with some history, and just outside London to find one that would suit our vision.

We did not like the idea of getting married in a hotel which we would be likely to go to another wedding at, and we liked the idea of using a unique venue which is not traditionally used for Jewish weddings.

Jacob found Banking Hall online, which is listed as an Art Deco venue, and as soon as we saw it, we knew it would be perfect. We loved the fact it was in central London, where we have both grown up, and that it was a unique venue with history.

 
The glitz and glam of the 1920’s

I am quite creative, and love organising as my friends will attest to, so once we got engaged (in a helicopter over London!) I knew I had to be get stuck in to create our perfect day. I have never been one to shy away from the crowd, so I knew I wanted to create something special and memorable, without looking over the top. After many hours on Pinterest, I decided I felt inspired by the Art Deco theme, which was reflected (I hope!) throughout the day. Luckily, Jacob agreed! We both wanted something different and unique, something creative, we love the glitz and glam of the 1920s, so this was a great starting point. 

I also have always loved the color green, I think taking after my mum who loves the color, and as soon as I was engaged I knew I wanted that to be the main colour for the wedding. I was lucky as this worked well with our Art Deco theme.

I was lucky to have Judith from Potcakes to help me turn our vision into a reality. Originally, we thought of having large feather table centres, but after a site visit to Banking Hall, the old 1920s Lloyds Bank in London, we decided to go with palm trees for a decadent, but not over-the-top, look. This made us realise that if we didn’t have traditional flowers for the table centers, why should we have a traditional bouquet and flowers?

My (new!) husband and I have always been avid readers, and I found (again on Etsy) a company in America (Dana Paper Flowers) who makes beautiful flower arrangements out of books. My favourite book is ‘Daughter of Fortune’ by Isabel Allende, and it was the first love story I ever read, so I decided my flowers and the bridesmaids’ and the flower girls’ would be made out of that book, with some green, gold and red thrown in.

For the groom’s and the groomsmen’s buttonholes, we went with Harry Potter!  The flowers will never die, I don’t need to have them pressed, and my bouquet, with some care, should last a lifetime, like my marriage.

I also love trance music (not so much Jacob!) and I knew straight away we had to have some during the wedding. Our band, The Function Band, put together a 10-minute segment based on tracks I sent them, which made the dancing part of the night for me! Everyone was up and dancing, my mum was even dragged up on stage.

On the day itself, I got ready at The Ned hotel, which just opened in July. It is a luxurious Art Deco 1920s themed hotel, which was perfect for our day.

Hand-printed stationery

Before we started planning the day, I knew my color scheme would be green with golds. I wanted a fresh look, and I love the palm court look inspired by the ’20s. I found a brilliant printer on Etsy (Coco Press) who made hand-printed stationery on an old-fashioned press, so I went from there and she helped me design a brilliant Art Deco-inspired design which we used for all the stationery on the day.

Striking makeup and beautiful braids

I chose Philippa Louise Makeup for my makeup on the day. A friend of mine recommended her, and a few of my mum’s friends had used her for their daughters’ weddings. We had a trial, and I knew instantly she would make me my best on the day. I didn’t want to go for a natural look – I always wear dark lips and gold shades on my eyes, so I knew that’s what I wanted. We chose a dark claret lipstick for the day.

Philippa recommend Dayna Vaughan-Teague for my hair, and I had a trial with Dayna the month before the wedding. We went through several Pinterest images and chose some plaits with my hair pretty free. I didn’t want an up ‘do on the day as I NEVER wear my hair up, but I did want it off my face, so I went for half up half down with a beautiful braid design from Dayna.

A bespoke gown inspired by ancient Egypt

With regards to the dress, I did not like the idea of going to several bridal shops and coming out disappointed, as I am very fussy. My maid of honour had her dress made by Christine Kendall Couture, and I absolutely loved it, and I knew instantly I wanted her to make my dress too.

Christine helped me fulfil my vision for my dress. I studied Egyptology as part of my undergraduate degree, and I love how art deco and the 1920s were inspired by Egyptian art. Christine worked with me to create the beautiful beading, which you can see throughout the dress, styled on the Egyptian lotus flower, which is found in so many pieces of 1920s design and through ancient Egyptian motifs.

One-of-a-kind accessories

I was lucky, as Christine’s husband creates tiaras and head pieces for brides. I tried on several, and we decided to go for a crown-type headpiece, made of gold wire, crystal beads and gold beads, based on one already available in her studio, with the green added to fit the theme. I also chose a long cascading veil, with the help of Christine. After the dress was finished, we tried on several types and, as I had a large regal dress, only a long veil would do!

I also found some beautiful earrings on Etsy (again!) by Blue Jewellery Store, which were shaped like a gold palm with an emerald – they fitted perfectly with the theme, my dress and the overall look of the day.

Irregular Choice shoes

I love interesting shoes, so I knew I would be going for Irregular Choice! I originally chose a pair of skyscrapers, but the more dress fittings I went to, and the more I had to stand for hours on end being pinned, I knew I couldn’t handle them on the day!

I found a lovely pair of low heels, also from Irregular Choice, with beautiful pearls, and some blue (have to have something blue). I also found a second-hand version of the matching bag for sale, so I snapped that up for the day for my essentials.

The handsome groom

Jacob was lucky as he knows a tailor who owns a suit shop – Leonard Jay – so he went there to get his suit. He tried to convince me he didn’t need a new tux for his own wedding (!) but I managed to talk him round!

John Lewis saves the day

Finding bridesmaids’ dresses in the right green wasn’t so easy. I went to several bridal stores and had no luck, but I found one dress at John Lewis, which was the last one, in the right color. My mum had to call John Lewis head office and they managed to find four more from various stores across the UK, so we managed to find the perfect dresses!

I had five bridesmaids (Jacob’s two sisters, my cousin and two of my friends) and three flower girls (my cousin, Jacob’s niece and Jacob’s cousin).

I found the flower girl dresses online. I didn’t want plain white, and found some gorgeous sequin and tutu dresses on Milly Wedding Shop on Etsy. They were made to order which was great as they fitted the girls perfectly. 

I gave all my bridesmaids a gift bag, with an accessory for their hair (gold leaves hair slider from Orchha Jewels) and for the little ones a green flower).

A chuppah to keep for future generations

We really did not like the idea of getting married under a used chuppah, and we liked the idea of keeping it for a lifetime, like with the flowers.

Judith was able to help us get a large enough tallis from America to use for the chuppah, which we are able to keep, and perhaps, please G-d, one day our children will be able to use it.

Sunrise, Sunset

Our chazan, Avromi Freilich, sang beautifully on the day and he sang Aishet Chaya to several tunes, which we picked. It was particularly special, as I also walked down the aisle to Sunrise Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof, the same song which was my parents’ first dance 40 years ago!

A trance first dance

As mentioned above, I love trance, Jacob not so much! We chose a song from my favourite group, Above and Beyond, which is originally a dance track, but the acoustic version.

It was beautiful, and we managed to learn a full dance to it in three weeks with Carol, who teaches Jive dancing in Watford.

Our fabulous photographer

In terms of the photographer, Jacob is an amateur photographer and gets more and more hand-me-down cameras from his grandfather, who is a keen published photographer.

We chose Richard Payne as our photographer, as we really wanted a reportage style of photography. Also, Jacob loved the fact that Richard photographs using both digital, as well as old-fashioned black and white film, which he develops to create beautifully detailed prints.

…and videographer

We also used Heartfelt Productions for the videography. I was worried about having bright lights and someone following me round all day, but I was recommended Hazel and her team by a friend and I am so happy I did! She helped keep me calm in the morning and, during the day, I barely noticed anyone was there!

Delicious catering

We had Jason Milan for catering, who my parents chose! I was not too fussed about the food, but my parents had been to a few functions and they loved the food, and they were great on the day.

A party atmosphere

I had seen a few wedding bands before at friends’ weddings, and I was a bit stuck for where to go! I wanted a party atmosphere, and I feel the band can really make or break the evening. I wanted something memorable.

My friend recommended The Function Band, and when we met with them, we really felt they ‘got’ our vision and we booked them without seeing them play live before (I had checked a few YouTube videos though!)

I am so glad I did, they really made the party and I loved the fact we chose to have a DJ too (with the band) so we could have the trance section!

Personalised coasters

I didn’t want anything too over the top for our wedding favors. I wanted something that fitted in with my theme. CoCo Press make great coasters, so they created them for us with the wording ‘Eat Drink and Be Married’ with our wedding stationery design. This was great, as we could have them on the night and people could take them home.

Advice to couples currently planning their wedding

Just throw yourself into the organizing – it’s your chance to get creative! You will never get to do it again so enjoy it while you can. Everyone is going to try to give you advice and recommendations – some more welcome than others, but take it all in, as there might be a few nuggets which help you out!

Rosanna & Jacob’s little white book

Photographer – Richard Payne
Videographer – Heartfelt Productions
Wedding planner – Potcakes Weddings
Venue – Banking Hall
Bride’s dress – Christine Kendall
Bride’s shoes – Irregular Choice
Bride’s jewellery – Blue Jewellery Store
Groom’s attire – Leonard Jay
Bridesmaids – John Lewis and Orchha Jewels
Flower girls dress – Milly Wedding Shop
Hair + Makeup – Dayna Vaughan-Teague and Philippa Louise Makeup
Paper flowers – Dana Paper Flowers
Chazan – Avromi Freilich
Band – The Function Band
Stationery –  Coco Press
Catering – Jason Milan
Getting Ready – The Ned