Show Me Everything - Smashing the Glass

Niki & Will | Super-fun + frolicsome Jewish Wedding at Santa Margarita Ranch, California

21/04/2014 by Karen

Ok lovely people, we are starting the week at TRULY EPIC on the wedding spectrum. So get ready. ..

The bride and groom are both into comedy (Niki is a writer for The Office and Will is an actor) so they ramped up the fun factor to the extreme. In fact their wedding slogan was ‘Have fun. Get Messy’ and their monogram was two back to back guns that together formed a heart. ADORE! The couple made up personalised plastic bibs for their guests incorporating the Have fun. Get Messy logo too! How can you not have a ball at a wedding where bibs get handed out for goodness sake?!

The venue, Santa Margarita Ranch, is beyond incredible, and watch out for the couple’s chuppah too. I guarantee it’s one of the most unusual you will EVER catch sight of. Let’s just say that it’s essentially made up of shabby-chic-esque screen doors adorned with multi-coloured paper spiral flowers, and what’s more, a reading from Quentin Tarantino’s True Romance was one of the readings recited under it!

OK enough of me, right? Let’s hand over to our fabulous (and utterly gorgeous) bride, Niki, for the story of her and Will’s W-Day, and feast your eyes on onelove’s photographic delights..

AN INSANE PARTY
Niki, the Bride: The one thing we wanted to make sure we had was a fun freakin’ party! We didn’t want the vibe to be stuffy or serious, so we tried to let that be known from the get-go with our jokey save-the-dates. Will and I are both into comedy, so we wanted there to be some silly aspects to both the ceremony and the reception. And the after-party. And the hotel lobby.Continue Reading

How to get the most out of your wedding photography

15/04/2014 by Karen

Your wedding album will most likely become your most treasured souvenir from the most spectacular day of your life. With that in mind I asked one of the UK’s finest wedding photographers, David Pullum, to write a guest post on getting the most out of your wedding photography. Over to you, David!…

IF YOU CAN… CHILLAX

The best way to get great wedding photos couldn’t be more straightforward – just relax and enjoy your day! There really is very little else that I ask for from my Bride and Grooms – its that simple. Of course the lead up to a wedding, and the planning of it all, can be stressful, but the day itself is a time to try to forget all those stresses and strains and just enjoy the excitement of two families coming together as one.

LOVE YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

As a wedding photographer it’s really important that my clients like me. That sounds strange, I know, but I’m spending upwards of 8 hours in their company so it’s vitally important that they are fans of, not only my work and photographic style, but of me too!

Personally I choose to use very little direction when I’m shooting a wedding. I’m happy to observe and listen and I don’t want to dictate and be the centre of attention. There are times however when I have to take the lead as family formals and couple shots are really important at any wedding, and this is when I have to take control, organise the shots and tell my couple how and where to stand.

WORK OUT A DEFINITIVE LIST OF FAMILY FORMALS IN ADVANCE

Family formals are one of the most important sets of images that I take during the day so it’s vital for me to liaise with the couple before their wedding to formulate a definitive list.

The formals are a record of who was there on the day, and the most important members of the family and close friends, I will never limit those and I have been known to take upwards of 50 formal shots at a wedding. If I limit them to say five, that for me is just a barrier I am placing in front of the client which says “don’t book me”!

If I do have a long list it’s really important that I have as much co-operation as possible from Best Men, Ushers and members of the families. All of the aforementioned will have the same list as me and as I start to photograph, those assigned to helping me are always three groups ahead of me, getting people ready and in position. I do this at every wedding and I struggle to remember a wedding where it’s taken me longer than 40 minutes to complete all of the family requests.

ALLOW TIME FOR YOUR COUPLE SHOTS

I normally allocate at least 30 minutes for couple shots – I’d love more but the reality is that at a lot of weddings I will be lucky to get even 30 minutes, so I work with whatever I am given. The shortest time I was given was 38 seconds, the longest 1.5 hours, so Ive learnt to get what I need within the timeframe I am given.

Continue Reading

Jazmine & Edan | Gorgeous vintage-chic Jewish wedding at Morgan Mansion, CA

09/04/2014 by Karen

Yellow makes me feel good. It reminds me of sunshine and springtime and joy, which is exactly what Jazmine and Edan’s gorgeous W-day encompasses.

Set in the beautiful Morgan Mansion in sunny California, with an abundance of delicious blooms this affair is going to bring a smile to your face this Wednesday morning.

All of the gorgeous images are courtesy of the fabulous Jay Winter.

FIRST MEETING
Jazmine, the Bride: Edan and I met in January 2010 at Bally Total Fitness in Pleasant Hill. He had been working there as a trainer ever since he had graduated, and I started working out with a trainer just a couple of months later. To say that we were struck by one another would certainly be an understatement!

VENUE
Our wedding was nestled up on the hillside in the city of Morgan Hill, California at a beautiful, newly renovated mansion, overlooked the rolling hills and vineyard below, with beautiful grounds and an elegant, classy yet vintage style.

My interview with the UK’s most sought-after luxury wedding planner, Mark Niemierko

08/04/2014 by Karen

[ Image: Eddie Judd Photography ]

As both a designer and wedding blogger, I am thrilled to be interviewing the, quite frankly monumental, luxury wedding planner, Mark Niemierko, for the latest instalment of my Wedding Smashers series.

Mark’s utilises a true ‘Smashing The Glass’ ethos in his work, keeping things super-personal to the couple, and using his wonderful imagination to reflect their tastes and vision.

He has a spectacularly creative and meticulous touch. Just look at all the eye candy littering the page – it’s all his work and artistry. He is fortunate enough to often work with lavish budgets, on which he styles the most fantastical celebrity and society weddings, but recently he’s launched his ‘Made By Niemierko’ brand for couples who still want that WOW wedding and guaranteed peace of mind on their W-day, but without the crazy price tag.

Mark and I have a few ideas brewing and you’re going to be hearing and seeing a lot more from us collaboratively, but today let’s reveal what he has to to say about Prince George, pudding rooms, breaking the rules, and post-wedding day blues…

[ Images top to bottom: Jeremy Enness :: Hello Magazine :: David Pullum ]

So Mark, how did you build up your incredible business, and what made you become a wedding planner in the first place?
I think a love of events and parties — I had previously organised events for both film and tv and wanted to focus on social events. Weddings are so personal and nothing is more rewarding.

What is a ‘regular’ day for Mark Niemierko like?
What makes the job so enjoyable is that there isn’t such a thing as a regular day. It can vary from dress shopping, venue site visits, florist appointments and cake tastings. I do however look forward to the days when I can sit at my desk and achieve plenty of work and put planning into action.

Do you have a signature aesthetic or personal style that you put into the weddings you’ve planned?
I guess the signature of breaking wedding days up into sections…. So ceremony, drinks reception, dinner, pudding rooms, nightclubs…. Keeping the guests guessing. But overall we don’t have a signature style as I like to create something that’s personal to the couple. A reflection of their taste and vision.

[ Images clockwise from top: Kode Media :: Nikole Ramsay :: Jeremy Enness :: Jeremy Enness :: Kode Media ]

Kathleen & Liz | Super-stunning music-themed lesbian Jewish wedding at Casa Cody, Palm Springs, California, USA

01/04/2014 by Karen

With the first same-sex marriages finally taking place in England last weekend, it’s timely that today you’re getting not one but two fabulous brides! Kathleen and Liz were married at Casa Cody, a charming B&B in Palm Springs, California, and I’m going to go out on a limb here and bet that their beautiful wedding will be pinned to within an inch of its life.

It’s one of the most exquisitely themed W-Day’s I have ever come across, and as a branding designer, I don’t say this lightly folks.

Using an achingly hip and deeply significant ‘music’ theme, Kathleen and Liz pulled off one of the most gorgeously designed weddings I’ve ever seen. There are brilliant pieces of signage, genius wine label table numbers, wonderful table settings, superb stationery and a beautifully uncomplicated and meaningful chuppah – in my mind, it’s actually one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen.

But most of all? Most of all there is L.O.V.E

Christian and Reinna of Max & Friends captured this gem that is destined to be one of my all-time STG favourites, and at the end of the post, Son of Sharkpig records it beautifully on film too.