There’s nothing like a beautiful Jewish wedding in the English countryside. And Samantha, who works as a voiceover agent, and Adam, the CFO of a gaming company, could not have picked a more perfect spot for theirs than De Vere Latimer Estate. Nestled in the rolling green hills of the Buckinghamshire countryside, it ticks all the boxes – historic manor house, breathtaking grounds, and that quintessential English countryside feel without requiring London-based guests to travel too far.
And of course the couple’s photographers, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor LUZ, recorded the day perfectly, in their trademark artistic, architectural style. We’re obsessed with the way the team captured the blend of traditional and modern that made this day so uniquely wonderful.
There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll let the bride – who looked absolutely stunning in her Essense of Australia gown – fill you in on the rest.
How We Met
Samantha, the bride: We met through mutual friends on a night out in London.
A Countryside Venue
We found the most beautiful venue tucked away in the Buckinghamshire countryside, De Vere Latimer Estate. When we first went to see it, the views of the trees and greenery took our breath away. It was the perfect blend of old and new and just the right size for our number of guests. The location was ideal too, ticking all of the boxes.
Classic Romance
We chose a classic, traditional theme for our wedding – selecting flowers and decorations that complemented the colours inside the venue. As Latimer Estate was so stunning, we wanted to enhance this with a romantic theme. We planned the wedding ourselves, with the help of family and friends.
What ‘Smashing The Glass’ Did For Us
The Smashing the Glass Facebook group was super helpful. Whenever I had a question, there was always an answer! It was great to hear from brides from all around the world.
Invitation
In keeping with our chosen style, we decided on the simple design of an ivory card and ribbon, with our initials blind embossed on the front – making the invite luxurious and bespoke. We opted for lilac and silver lettering throughout all of our stationery and the S&A became a motif. Simcha Invitations were wonderful, providing us with a reliable and personalised service.
Hair + Makeup
One of my bridesmaids recommended me the extremely talented Shahnaz (TheMakeUpGirl) who did an amazing job at glamming up not only myself, but also the whole bridal party. I went for a classic up do for my hair, which really helped on a windy day! I found the perfect Charlotte Tilbury lipstick to complete the look.
An Essense of Australia Dress
I found the most gorgeous Essense of Australia dress in a small bridal boutique in London, after much searching online. I knew that I wanted something sleek and intricate, so tried on several dresses in this style. When I tried on this dress, it brought a tear to my mum’s eye and I knew that it was the one. It was modern, unique and I felt amazing wearing it. The teams at Angelica Bridal and Exclusive Alterations were incredibly helpful and made me feel at ease at all stages.
Accessories
As the dress was quite embellished, I did not want to over power it, so chose light silver accessories. Liberty in Love had a pair of crystal drop earrings and I found a pretty hair comb from SeJewelsUK (Etsy). Angelica Bridal had a large collection of veils, so I chose an extra long ivory veil, which created a dramatic look from the back.
Shoes
The most important part of choosing bridal shoes was comfort, so I chose a pair of low heels from John Lewis‘ Rainbow Club. They were the same shade of ivory as my dress and kept me dancing all night!
The handsome groom
Being just as important as the bride, the groom chose his own custom designer outfit. Adam looked so handsome in a black velvet Hugo Boss jacket, Jaeger trousers and a Thom Sweeney shirt – all topped off with a Prada bow tie.
Bridesmaids
My sister and fabulous friends were the most amazing bridesmaids a bride could ask for. They all looked stunning in iris maxi gowns from David’s Bridal. They each had their own individual style dress, tied together with matching silver heels and an ivory hair pin.
Chuppah
We chose an elegant white draping chuppah, supplied by our florist. Our chuppah was adorned with ivory and lilac roses, in keeping with our romantic theme.
Ceremony
We had a lovely ketubah from the shul, so we did not need to look elsewhere. We kept the ceremony as traditional as possible, including Hebrew songs. My parents had lent us their silver kiddish cup (polished to perfection!) which became our something old and borrowed!
Our music choice
For the chuppah, our band Neshama performed the classic Hebrew songs ‘Mehera’ and ‘Boi Kala’, as well as the moving ‘Im Eshkachech Yerushalayim’. We chose ‘Wonderful Tonight’ as our first dance, as it resonated with both of us.
Flowers
Alina Boca provided us with the most sensational flowers. We kept the same types of flowers throughout the chuppah, bouquets and centre pieces. The groom wore an ivory rose buttonhole, with ushers wearing lilac roses, to co-ordinate with the bridesmaids.
Photographer
I was sat next to a friend of a friend at a wedding and they were raving about an Israel-based company called LUZ, who were photographing their wedding (their first in the UK!). I got in touch with them immediately after seeing their website as I knew that they would be phenomenal, which they were!
Cake
We did not have a cake, but had a delightful apple crumble for dessert, crafted by Cohen’s Catering, including our S&A logo. The caterers made sure that everything ran smoothly, providing guests with tasty food and plenty of booze! Those toffee vodka shots went down a dream.
Entertainment
We had so many recommendations for Neshama that we just had to have them! Our band leader, Jonathan, also acted as toastmaster and helped us hugely with coordination on the day. The band were the glue, keeping the dance floor buzzing and the party in full swing.
Favours
We had flip flops for the ladies and lilac kippot for the men. We found these fun marriage advice scrolls (from WendysScrolls) with mauve ribbons that we placed on the tables too – adding some humour!
LOVE
We decided not to have a photo-booth, but I really wanted to add that something extra for guests to enjoy, so I hired light up LOVE letters from The Word is Love, which jazzed up the dance floor area and allowed for some beautiful photos.
Honeymoon
We went to the Maldives and it was truly magical. We had found the ideal place to unwind and relax, surrounded by palm trees and tranquil turquoise Indian ocean views.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Make sure that you smile and enjoy the day! I would suggest hiring an on the day coordinator to make sure that everything is going according to plan and that timings are adhered to.
Samantha & Adam’s little white book
Photography and videography – Luz Weddings {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – De Vere Latimer Estate
Bride’s dress – Essense of Australia found and fitted at Angelica Bridal and Exclusive Alterations
Bride’s shoes – John Lewis‘ Rainbow Club
Bride’s accessories – Liberty in Love and SeJewelsUK
Groom’s attire – Hugo Boss, Jaeger and Thom Sweeney and Prada
Bridesmaids – David’s Bridal
Hair + Makeup – TheMakeUpGirl and Charlotte Tilbury
Flowers – Flowers by Alina
Band – Neshama
Catering – Cohen’s Catering
LOVE Letters – The Word is Love
Marriage advice scrolls – WendysScrolls
Invitation – Simcha Invitations
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