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A Rosa Clará Bride for a Wedding Planner’s Traditional Jewish Wedding with a Twist at The Langham, London, UK

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We always love seeing what choices Jewish wedding pros make when it comes to planning their own big day – so naturally we’re thrilled to be featuring the wedding of Lara, the wedding planner behind Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Uptown Events! She and Grant, a data analyst, had the most fabulous London Jewish wedding at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Langham, one of the city’s most iconic venues.

Having worked on so many incredible weddings, Lara had lots of time to think about what she’d want to do for her own – which was honoring tradition while bringing in some original twists. One of these twists was the color scheme: rather than leaning into classic white, Lara opted for a palette focused on soft pinks with touches of green – and was it ever gorgeous! We’re especially enamored with Lara and Grant’s stunner of a floral chuppah – don’t miss it in the incredible photos by Katie Rogers!

We also love the fun culinary touches the dessert-loving couple brought to their wedding menu. Instead of a wedding cake, they opted for a giant tiramisu – and there was also a crumble bar, where guests could mix and match between different fruit bases and crumble toppings. How good does that sound?! And if that wasn’t enough, they had not one but two roaming desserts: a chocolate mousse trolley and a doughnut belt!

There are so many more fun details – everything from the way the couple included their beloved dog in the day via an AI cartoon image they used on custom matchboxes to the Picante tower the tequila-loving duo dreamed up instead of the classic Champagne version – but we’ll leave it to Lara, who looked so elegant in her beautiful lace gown by Rosa Clará, to tell you the rest…

How We Met

Lara, the bride: We met at secondary school when we were 18!

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A Rosa Clará a Greek-Jewish Wedding at Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK

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Esmé and Luke, Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK

We love an English countryside wedding, and Esmé and Luke’s is really something special. Bury Court Barn in Surrey provided the most charming venue for the couple’s fabulous Greek-Jewish wedding, complete with a gorgeous spot for an outdoor chuppah; overnight accommodations for family and friends; and even an in-house florist, Arboretum, that created natural florals that melded perfectly with the surroundings. Don’t miss it in the beautiful documentary-style photography by Richard Galloway.  

We also love the way Esmé and Luke combined their Jewish and Greek backgrounds for a one-of-a-kind celebration. The pair opted for a bespoke Jewish ceremony under a chuppah, making sure it was fully inclusive for those who had never been to a Jewish wedding before. Their rabbi explained each element of the ceremony so that everyone could be involved and understand what was happening at each point. Then, after the ceremony and yichud, Esmé and Luke kicked off the reception with a hora – and ended the night with Greek Zorba dancing!

Now over to Esmé, who’ll fill you in on all the rest…

Esmé and Luke, Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK Esmé and Luke, Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK Esmé and Luke, Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK Esmé and Luke, Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK

How We Met

Esmé, the bride: We met over Hinge. Esmé works in the arts and Luke is in technology, so with (very different) but busy schedules it took us a while to meet in person!

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A Book-Themed Jewish Wedding with a Very Special Ketubah and 100 Plastic Ducks at the Astorian, Houston, Texas, USA

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Rachel and Cody, The Astorian, Houston, Texas, USA

Today’s real Jewish wedding is just SO much fun! First off, we love that Rachel, the Community Associate at WeWork, and Cody, a data scientist at Rice University, went for a book theme for their big day – and they really went all in!

From invitations that looked like a book to a seating chart made of calligraphied book pages to a cake made to look like a stack of books (complete with titles of volumes the duo have read together), all of the little touches came together so nicely. Rachel and Cody’s kiddush cup, gifted by the groom’s parents, was even Harry Potter-themed! Don’t miss it in the wonderful photos by Sophia from Sophia Margaret Photography and video by Caleb from Reverent Films.

Then there’s the ketubah, which the couple created with Elena Berlo from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Once Upon a Paper. Finding most ready-made ketubah text options either too cheesy or too dryly focused on Jewish law, Rachel opted to write the text herself, all about the couple’s intentions for their life together as a married couple – Rachel shares the whole thing below, and it’s really very special.

And finally, we come to the plastic ducks. A few months after Cody and Rachel started dating, Rachel began hiding little plastic ducks all around Cody’s apartment, and she kept it up when they moved in together. Come the big day, Rachel secretly slipped a little plastic duck into Cody’s breast pocket during the first look. During her vows, she said, “I vow to keep hiding ducks all over our house. Actually… you should look in your front pocket.” Cody fished out a duck, absolutely astounded. At the reception, Cody and Rachel filled their pockets with 100 little plastic ducks and hid them in people’s pockets and purses while greeting guests. People kept finding ducks in their belongings weeks after the wedding, keeping the joy alive. How fun is that?!

Read on for all the wonderful details of this very special day in Rachel’s own words…

Rachel and Cody, The Astorian, Houston, Texas, USARachel and Cody, The Astorian, Houston, Texas, USARachel and Cody, The Astorian, Houston, Texas, USARachel and Cody, The Astorian, Houston, Texas, USA

How We Met

Rachel, the bride: We met on a dating app, but had drastically different experiences. I found Cody’s profile after three weeks, and Cody, ever the data scientist, spent an entire year going on a date every week, with standardized first and second dates. He had just finished his 52nd date and was going on to delete the app when he saw my message and thought, “Okay, one more, then I’m done.” The rest is history!

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Why Won’t My Guests RSVP to My Wedding?

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Dear Karen
Sophie asks...
We sent our invitations weeks ago and our RSVP deadline is coming up fast, but barely anyone has replied. What’s making it worse is that people keep telling us how excited they are and asking about details, yet they still haven’t actually RSVPed. Why won’t my guests RSVP to my wedding?!

First of all, I want to reassure you that this is something almost every couple experiences. Truly. Couples often imagine RSVP management is going to be a quick and painless admin task. In reality, it’s more like being thrust into a part-time project management job you never applied for. 

What’s Going On

There are a whole bunch of reasons why your guests might be procrastinating on their RSVPs, but most of them center around the same core issue: while your guests are undoubtedly excited about your big day, it’s just not taking up anywhere near the space in their minds (or schedules!) that it is in yours. Especially for guests who’ve never planned a wedding themselves (or who are many decades out from their own big day), it’s probably the case that they genuinely don’t realize how important a timely RSVP is for you. Weddings are one of the few occasions in adult life where a guest is asked to commit to a date months in advance, and many people simply are not used to that level of planning ahead.

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A Grace Lane London Bride for a Relaxed, Joyful, Sustainable DIY Jew-ish Wedding South Farm, Hertfordshire, UK

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Elsa and Adam, South Farm, Hertfordshire, UK

We love it when a couple brings their family and friends into their big day in a major way – and that’s exactly what Elsa, who’s preparing to start a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, and Adam, currently finishing his PhD researching cell-cultured meat, did. Having known each other since age 11 and been together since they were teenagers, they saw their wedding as a celebration of their shared history and the loved ones who’ve been a part of their circle over the years.

As such, Elsa and Adam took a DIY approach to their wedding, using vintage, second-hand, and reusable items wherever they could and bringing friends and family in every step of the way. Elsa designed and made all of the invitations by hand (in both English and Hebrew); the rings were crafted by one of the bridesmaids; Elsa’s cousin who’s a carpenter built the chuppah; and best of all, Elsa’s mum, a gardener and garden designer, took charge of the florals, foraging local evergreen foliage and lovingly handcrafting masses of gorgeous paper flowers used on the chuppah and in the bouquets! Don’t miss it all in the wonderful documentary-style photos by Connor from Linden Photography.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor South Farm in Hertfordshire was the perfect spot for Elsa and Adam to bring together their nearest and dearest. A working farm dating back to the 16th century, with a collection of characterful barns for the ceremonies and plenty of on-site accommodation, it was ideally suited to the duo’s vision for whimsical, laid-back, joyful wedding. Elsa and Adam can’t stop raving about how attentive the events team was – and they also loved South Farm’s sustainability ethos and approach to food, leaning into produce grown on the farm itself!

There’s so much more to say about this very special day – like the fact that Elsa’s mum organized a surprise flash mob of “Hava Nagila” – but we’ll turn you over to Elsa for the rest…

Elsa and Adam, South Farm, Hertfordshire, UK Elsa and Adam, South Farm, Hertfordshire, UK Elsa and Adam, South Farm, Hertfordshire, UK Elsa and Adam, South Farm, Hertfordshire, UK

How We Met

Elsa, the bride: We don’t have a single “first meet” story as our paths first crossed when we were just 11! Although we went to separate schools, we had friends in common and would occasionally see each other at parties and school events.

When Elsa moved schools at 16, we ended up in the same form and A-level biology class. We quickly became part of the same friendship group and spent most lunchtimes together- many of those friends are still in our lives today, and some were even part of our bridal party! We officially started dating in our last year of school, when we were 17/18. Since then, we’ve navigated a couple of years of long distance, attended the same university to study Biochemistry (a year apart), and eventually moved in together. Our wedding came almost exactly 10 years after we started dating in 2014!

Adam is now finishing his PhD researching cell-cultured meat, and Elsa is preparing to start a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. We feel unbelievably lucky to have been able to build such a full life together already, it made our decision to get married an incredibly easy and exciting one!

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