Smashing Sponsors Archives - Page 25 of 28 - Smashing the Glass

My dream gift list from Prezola…. What would you choose?

15/04/2016 by Karen

From experience, creating a gift list can often be a daunting part of wedding planning when really it should be one of the most fun. Wandering the aisle with a scanner gun whilst navigating a department store can cause serious headaches, and quite frankly the technology is more than a little outdated. Plus, what happens if you’re already living together and don’t need another cutlery set, or you have taste that’s a little cooler than your average department store?

Enter Prezola, a trailblazer of a service who are taking gift list-ing to a whole new level and are re-inventing the experience for modern couples. Of course they offer all the gift list essentials (and 30,000 of them at that) but they also cater to your personal taste and unique story. Not only will you find items that reflect your interests from tech to travel to wine and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, there’s also gorgeous home decor from over 300 of the best homeware brands, and if it appeals, you can also ask your guests to contribute to your honeymoon fund, favourite charity, or even cash to put towards something special. Added to that, you can add in any product from any retailer if it’s not part of their own curation. As personal as it gets, right?!

And because choice is at the very core of Prezola’s user experience, Mr STG and I were asked to to go fantasy gift list shopping for our own apartment, and for anything else that appealed to our exceedingly good taste! Reason no. 18342 why I love my job…

Choosing items for our apartment

Some of you may have seen pictures of our apartment already on Instagram. It’s a former piano factory with urban views over London and has a ‘warehouse’ feel (you can see a glimpse of it up there at the top of the post). Our interiors style is a combination of minimalism, pop art, a love of design and typography, and an urban yet cosy feel – a real mix I know!

Our list is filled with some interiors decor that I frankly have to have for our flat, as well as some amazing cookware (for suppers à deux and dinner parties), some fun bar accessories (we are partial to an Aperol Spritz or three), our favourite board games, art, books, some sailing action… the list goes on! Have a look at my page to see all our choices or have a quick glimpse of our absolute faves below.

Does your taste match ours? What are your favourite products on Prezola? I hope I’ve inspired you to hop on over to Prezola to start visualising your future home together. There really is no place like… Prezola!

If organising your big day is turning into a second full time job, worry not – I’ve found the perfect wedding planner…

24/03/2016 by Karen

When your beau pops the question, he not only proposes to spend the rest of his life with you, he also nominates you to organise and conduct the biggest event of your life and then watch it play out in front of an audience of hundreds — made up of your closest friends and entire family. No pressure. Oh, and yes if you can carry on doing your normal day job at the same time Maestro, that would be great.

Sometimes it’s just not realistic to put that much pressure on yourself, your partner and your family. And that’s where a wedding planner comes in brandishing an armoury of event experience, cost spreadsheets and suppliers.

It doesn’t mean any of your creativity need be compromised — you can simply save yourself a lot of time and have someone else take on the lion’s share of the leg work and stress.

And I think that’s where today’s supplier Charlotte Elise really comes into her own. She is not only a meticulous, unflappable organiser, who is deft at dealing with family dynamics and managing different personalities, she is also a brilliant listener. The relationship between wedding planner and bride is paramount. And Charlotte understands that for the day to be successful, she needs to maintain a clear understanding of what the bride envisages and then tailor suppliers and recommendations to that tune. And keeps that level of communication going throughout.

In fact this communication is equally, if not more, important if you’re not actually that creative at all when it comes to the visual side of things. Charlotte brings her own immaculate sense of style, her intuition and a natural leaning towards the personal touches to help find the look that represents you best as a couple. You can trust her opinions and be confident that the “final product” will be gorgeous, tasteful, and elegant.

116 Pall Mall: an unforgettable London wedding venue in the heart of the West End + 50% Discount Offer

18/03/2016 by Karen

If you’re dreaming of a classic London wedding, can there be anything smarter than celebrating your big day in a majestic mansion in the heart of St James’? It’s not often that you get the opportunity of being the Lord and Lady of one of central London’s grandest Palladian properties (just metres away from The Mall and Buckingham Palace), but as Bride and Groom at 116 Pall Mall you’ll be entitled to exclusive use of this magnificent property for the day or entire weekend of your wedding.

Within spitting distance of all the classic central London wedding venues, the majestic 116 Pall Mall gives you the glamour and opulence of the 5 star hotels without the stuffiness that can sometimes be associated with a hotel wedding.

The triple-award winning venue is home to the entrepreneurial Institute of Directors, and was built by the famous Georgian architect, John Nash, who also designed parts of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, St James’ Park and Marble Arch. The interiors are adorned with an abundance of fine art and beaux art treasures and all manner of breathtaking details that really sets 116 Pall Mall in a class of its own. When I was lucky enough to visit I was particularly taken with the breathtaking exterior, truly spectacular staircase, and the elegant garden — quite a rarity for a quintessential London wedding venue.

Over the past two years the building has undergone major refurbishment masterminded by one of the most renowned interior designers in the business, Russell Sage, whose previous designs include The Hospital Club, Savoy Grill, The Balcon and The Goring Hotel. With the ability to seat up to 250 guests, or up to 200 with a dance floor, the 10 magnificent individually designed event spaces that Russell has redesigned will suit whatever style of wedding you’re after.

The place is steeped in history too — Bond writer, Ian Fleming was a regular at the bar when the building housed the United Service Club and over the years the venue has been used as the backdrop to many famous films and television series including Gandhi, Foyle’s War, The Dark Knight and Downton Abbey.

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Win your wedding photography by award-winning Jewish wedding photographer, Claudine Hartzel

12/02/2016 by Karen

For those of you who are yet to book your wedding photographer, today’s blog post is especially for you. Oh yes, today’s your lucky days as I’m thrilled to be partnering with Jewish wedding photographer extraordinaire Claudine Hartzel to give one engaged-to-be-married couple completely FREE wedding photography! Let the celebrations begin!

I featured Claudine’s photography in one of the first real weddings I ever blogged back in 2013 and I’ve been smitten with her work ever since (and have blogged her images many times over too!). A soon as I discovered her talents, I quickly snapped her up as a Smashing Supplier and having met her as well, I’m genuinely lucky to call her a friend as well as a much-loved industry colleague.

Based in East London, but shooting weddings throughout the UK and beyond, Claudine captures weddings beautifully and naturally, using fashion, reportage and still life photography.

Claudine is herself Jewish, and has photographed many Jewish weddings — check out her fabulous Jewish wedding portfolio here) so you can only imagine how thrilled I was when she told me she wanted to give away a completely FREE wedding package together with an engagement shoot in London, to one couple anywhere in the world! If you’re getting married before next October 2017 and you haven’t organised your photographer yet, then today is most definitely a fortuitous day!

Even if you’re not fortunate enough to win, Claudine would like to offer every couple that enters 10% off their wedding photography if you then decide to go on and hire her.

Scroll down to read more about the prize and how to enter, and be sure to check out more of Claudine’s work at Claudine Hartzel Photography.

Dreaming of a Jewish wedding in the South of France? It has to be Provence…

29/01/2016 by Karen

If you’re dreaming of an outdoor wedding there’s probably no setting more stylish and idyllic than Provence. Forget the billionaires and big boats of the French Riviera, Provence is now the place to hold your Jewish wedding in the South of France.

Tuesday’s real Jewish wedding, planned by the flawless Lavender & Rose illustrated the region’s timeless elegance brilliantly, and you simply must take a peek if you haven’t already (might I just add that all the images of Provence weddings in this post are from weddings planned by the fabulous Lavender & Rose).

A lot of people think of the South of France for a destination wedding, and immediately think of the Cà´te d’Azur as the place to hold it, but there are so may reasons why, for me, Provence eclipses its glitzier neighbour.

Aside from the obvious advantage of being better value for money than the Riviera, it’s actually more of an authentically French setting. The sprawling vineyards, lavender fields, exquisite architecture, stunning al fresco venues, and exclusive hotels makes for a dream destination wedding backdrop.

There are so many beautiful Chateaus, vineyards and country houses in the region, and accommodation is far more reasonably priced than the Riviera, so it’s more economical for your guests to stay there too. The gastronomy and wines are exceptional even in the smallest of bistros and more of the venues in Provence work on a dry hire basis with less strict exclusive vendor relationships so you have more freedom in terms of which suppliers you work with.