We love it when a couple pulls together a fabulous team of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their Jewish wedding dreams come true – which is exactly what today’s duo did. Alberta, who works in marketing, and Scott, in digital sales, made things official at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Sopwell House, the perfect country house venue nestled in the Hertfordshire countryside. They loved the private outside area, where they opted to hold their chuppah, as well as the variety of indoor function rooms they were able to choose from!
Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band kept the dance floor full ALL night long, and guests couldn’t stop raving about the band after the wedding. Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel was responsible for the dreamy photos, in her trademark bright and luminous style, and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Michael Pearl handled videography. The couple initially weren’t planning on having a videographer at all, but now they’re so glad they did – and they report watching their highlights video daily! Yet another beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Toastmaster Jango, was on hand to make sure the day ran smoothly.
There’s so much more to say, but we’ll hand you over to Alberta, who looked so elegant in her gown from Essense of Australia, for the rest…
How We Met
Alberta, the bride: We first met via JSwipe and went out for some drinks.
Sopwell House
We got married at Sopwell House, after looking at what feels like 10 venues we finally found the perfect one! It had a beautiful, private outside area for the chuppah and lots of function rooms that we could utilise! It also had its own entrance and toilets for guests of our wedding so felt removed from all the other hotel guests.
Neutral and Pink
The theme was rose gold/champagne colours, keeping it all neutral with a touch of pink for colour!
An Essense of Australia Dress
The dress was from The Bridal Shop Romford – designed by Essense of Australia. I knew it was the one as it had removable sleeves so I could cover my shoulders for the ceremony and remove them after this for the party! It had a slight 3D floral/leaf design which I loved with a slight sparkle from some sequins, I loved it! It was the first dress I ever tried on but kept looking and nothing compared to returned to buy it.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Alberta had made some fans that explained the Jewish wedding traditions to non-Jewish guests so they could understand what was happening without the rabbi having to explain everything. They also went down a treat for guests to use as a fan throughout the ceremony and later on the dance floor! The chuppah was covered in flowers which was something the couple knew they wanted from the beginning. Luckily the weather was perfect for an outside ceremony with no rain in sight!
Ambassador Band
We had Ambassador Band and WOW were they incredible! The dance floor was full all night long, our guests all had the best night and the band were talked about for weeks! Geoff was a pleasure to deal with in the build up to the wedding, always being on hand for any last minute queries.
We also had Yair from the band sing throughout the chuppah which was beautifully done and a saxophone during the reception. The highlight of our wedding was ‘GIMME GIMME GIMME’ where all our close family were on the stage and everyone was waving their napkins on the dance floor, it was amazing.
Flowers
The flowers were a mix of mainly white/cream with a touch of blush to tie in the bridesmaid dresses and add a touch of colour. Flowers By Alina bought our vision to life having a stunning chuppah and table arrangements – mixed of high and low designs with floating candles.
Photographer and videographer
Our photographer was Claudine Hartzel, who we knew we wanted from the beginning! We had always admired her photos as they were so bright and glowy and the style we knew we wanted for our wedding. Claudine was great and made us feel at ease all day!
We originally weren’t going to have a videographer as a video wasn’t something we both cared about having but having Michael Pearl was the best decision we made! We watch our highlight video daily and we can’t get enough!
Michael was discreet all night and in the nicest way possible we forgot he was there – which is exactly what you’d want from a videographer!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
If you can, try to enjoy some of the reception – we were keen we didn’t want to spend the whole of the reception time taking photos and wanted to spend some time with our guests! We had a tip (after our wedding) to mingle at the start of the reception and then have photos! Also assign someone to collect your smashed glass (if keeping) as unfortunately ours went missing.
ALBERTA & SCOTT’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Claudine Hartzel {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videography – Michael Pearl {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Band – Ambassador Band
Venue – Sopwell House
Toastmaster – Toastmaster Jango
Bride’s dress – Essence of Australia found at The Bridal Shop Romford
Flowers – Flowers By Alina
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.
