There’s nothing like an English country house Jewish wedding, and we absolutely love the way Amber, a research manager in fashion recruitment, and Sammy, an IT director, pulled off their epic celebration at the beautiful Offley Place in Hitchin.
With the most picturesque surroundings, a stunning outdoor chuppah adorned with white roses, and a fab vegan reception – featuring plant-based eats using ingredients from Israeli company Redefine Meat – this wedding was just full of joy and love. And we’re thrilled that Amber and Sammy found two of their fab team of professionals, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors Chazan Jonny Mosesson and Rabbi Paul Glantz right here on STG!
Chiko photographed the day so perfectly, and CCS Video captured all the vibrant emotion of the day in their wonderful trailer. Read on for all the rest of the details in Amber’s own words!
How We Met
Amber, the bride: We were best friends since school and at 21 we went on our first date and the rest is history!
A Country House Venue
We initially had booked a venue in Israel but unfortunately due to the terrible war, we had to re-plan our wedding in England. We chose the beautiful Offley Place in Hitchin as we wanted a country manor style wedding with an outdoor chuppah. It was also one of the only manors that had a ballroom and not a marquee which was exactly what we were looking for.
Theme + Wedding Planner
I had a very detailed wedding Pinterest board with inspiration for each part of the wedding (the dress, the chuppah, the florals etc) and over time I saw what styles I was most drawn to. We also had the amazing Michelle Aminoff of MA Events to help us coordinate our day. Michelle was also very helpful leading up to our wedding answering all our questions!
Whilst in secondary school and university, Sam and I worked for a photo booth company wackybooth.co.uk., where we would work at different events together each weekend. So we had to have a photo booth at our wedding! As a wedding favour, I had matchboxes printed with our song title ‘Baby I’m yours’ along with our names and wedding date. Sammy being the techy guy he is, incorporated using Siri into his speech for a fun twist which got a lot of laughs! People are still taking about his speech to this day.
An E&W Couture Dress
After about 7 wedding dress appointments, trying on many different styles of wedding dresses, I finally found my perfect dress by designer E&W Couture from Angelica Bridal in Islington. I was looking for something that was simple but had a twist to it and their Madison dress was perfect with the thick hem and long train. I also added lace detailing to the bust for some added texture.
Accessories
I wore my mum’s pink pearl headband that she wore on her wedding day as my something old, something borrowed. I tried it on with every dress to make sure they both worked together. My veil was amazing and was by a lovely Etsy seller The Boho Bride. It was the perfect finishing touch and the frill trim matched the hem of my dress.
Bridesmaids
My bridesmaids were Sam’s 4 sisters who wore champagne satin dresses and my maid of honour was my sister who wore a light champagne satin dress in a different design. I wanted a neutral colour palette to tie in with the white flowers.
Ceremony & Chuppah
There were many parts of the chuppah that we loved, apart from actually getting married! These included our amazing Chazan Jonny Mosesson and our Rabbi Paul Glantz who we found on Smashing The Glass! Sammy also wore his Ray Ban Meta sunglasses and filmed the whole ceremony. This was a surprise and I’m so glad he wore them as it was amazing to watch our ceremony back from his perspective.
My floral theme was mainly white roses and as the chuppah was outside, I wanted something simple, chic and stylish that also blended in with nature. My favourite part of the design was the rows of white roses either side of the aisle leading up to the chuppah.
Our music choice
We had the amazing Marlon and his band MW Showband who kept a crowd on the dance floor the entire day. For our first dance, our band sang our favourite song, a cover of “Baby I’m Yours” by Artic Monkeys. We also had Jamie Paskin for our toastmaster who was great at making sure our day ran smoothly.
Flowers
Our florist was Flowers By Alina. We had a theme of white roses throughout, from the chuppah, to the ballroom and for the button holes. The beautiful ballroom was full of chandeliers and to compliment, we choose candelabras for the table decor with single stem roses scattered throughout.
Photographer and videographer
We had the amazing Chiko and his team for photography who took our inspiration and captured beautiful photos. We also had Robert and his assistant from CCS Video for videography who were also amazing and created the perfect highlight film.
Food
We had the amazing John from Cashew Catering who put on a fabulous vegan wedding for us. We also asked our catering company to use Redefine Meat (an Israeli company) as the main ingredient of our main dish and also in some canapés.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
The best bit of advice, which I learnt on the day, was not everything goes to plan, so no need to stress. There were some small things that weren’t right but when everything comes together you would never notice and neither would your guests.
AMBER & SAMMY’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Chiko
Chazan – Jonny Mosesson {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Rabbi – Rabbi Paul Glantz
Videography – CCS Video
Venue – Offley Place
Planner – MA Events
Bride’s dress – E&W Couture from Angelica Bridal
Bride’s accessories – The Boho Bride
Flowers – Flowers By Alina
Band – MW Showband
Catering – Cashew Catering
Toastmaster – Jamie Paskin
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.
