Jewish Barn Weddings Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Smashing the Glass

Deborah & Hernà¡n | ‘Intimate & international’ Jewish wedding on a farmhouse at South Farm, Cambridgeshire, UK

26/05/2015 by Karen

Over the past few weeks we’ve shown you real Jewish weddings on South American lakesides, Italian cliff tops, and a myriad of coastlines — but how about we take it back to the land and look at Deborah and Hernà¡n’s wedding on a glorious farm in Cambridgeshire, England.

With farmyard animals loitering outside the main reception, food and entertainment in the barn and painted gypsy caravans for the guests to sleep in — this was such an inspired choice of venue to share with their family and friends hailing from around the world.

Deborah and Argentinian-born Hernà¡n settled on stunning South Farm for their big ‘I do’ as they wanted to veer away from the traditional Jewish wedding — they wanted an international party and they certainly accomplished that, and all with such a thoughtful eye to detail.

I’m totally drawn to Deborah and Hernà¡n, not just because they’re regular visitors to Smashing The Glass or because they got married on my birthday (yay!) but because they seem such a happy, warm and inclusive couple…. And this spills out into their wedding. The love just radiates and the pictures and film by York Place Studios make me smile and well up in equal measure — everyone seems to be having the BEST time.

So how did they manage to be so inclusive for the whole international family? A few key things — as their speeches were in English and Spanish, they used a projector to translate, so all guests were in on all the jokes!

The order of service was in both English and Spanish and their Sheva Brachot were said in Hebrew, Spanish and English.

Their choice of band also showed such sensitivity to their guests needs — Storm played a mixture of Israeli, British and Argentinian music.

And even the chuppah had an international flavour — with materials bought in Argentina which were then taken back to the UK and the poles came from the North London Synagogue. I also love that the chuppah design incorporated handprints from both Deborah and Hernà¡n’s families…

With hosts like this — no wonder everyone looks so darn happy!

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Naomi & Adam | country garden Jewish wedding in a tudor barn in Cheshire, North West England, UK

21/04/2015 by Karen

This wedding had me the moment I saw the chuppah. I just love the trickling white, yellow and orange Gerberas trailing down from the canopy. So very pretty, so very simple and so very effective.

It’s safe to say that Naomi and Adam’s wedding is also the first I’ve seen where the badeken takes place on a bridge in a Japanese garden. A badeken is the ritual where the groom veils the bride, and is often the most emotional moment of a Jewish wedding. It’s where the bride and groom see each other for the first time, a few minutes before the main ceremony begins under the chuppah. Badeken ceremonies often take place in a nondescript room next door to where the chuppah is taking place, but again, this wedding shows that you can be really creative with where you choose to hold it, and a bridge in a Japanese garden is as good a place as any (in fact probably the most original badeken location I’ve ever seen!)

Essentially I love the informal vibe of this relaxed affair, sunshine, smiles and brightly coloured blooms provide the perfect backdrop for what looks like an amazing party (check out the very final shot at the end of the post to see what I’m talking about).

This gorgeous set of images, as spirited and dynamic as the big day, produced by STG regular Blake Ezra, will ensure that all those fantastic memories stay fresh and vibrant for many years to come.

how we met

Naomi, the Bride: We actually met 10 years ago at a friend’s birthday party. I had always heard Adam’s name (through mutual friends) due to the fact we shared the same surname, but I had never met him. The night we first met, I told my friend ‘he will be mine one day’. We then became friends and I genuinely pursued him for 7 years! To make a very, very long story short, he finally asked me to be his girlfriend, and then he proposed on our 3 year anniversary!

Nirmala & Ian | Indo-Trini Jew-ish Barn Wedding at Full Moon Resort, Big Indian, New York, USA

03/03/2015 by Karen

Today I am bringing you the most immense interfaith wedding that came to my attention courtesy of the wonderful By Petronella. It’s a cultural extravaganza full of heart and sentiment, and anyone planning, or even thinking about, an interfaith wedding ceremony must read Nirmala’s W-day report.

I can’t promise that her wedding to Ian won’t make you cry, as at the end of the post is the wedding film by Mae B Films and hearing them recite their personalised vows set me off… I may just have shed a tear or two over how pure and emotive it was. Instead of feeling constrained by their interfaith ceremony, as some couples do, Nirmala and Ian’s was an undiluted celebration of love in its very purest form.

Apart from the obviously very happy and very in love Nirmala and Ian, and the unbearably gorgeous setting (a deer makes an appearance!), this wedding is all about the magical blend of cultures for me.

Oh and there’s the sparkler send-off…yep an actual send-off with hundreds of sparklers — I love that idea – and what a great photo opp! Take it away, Nirmala and Ian.

a rustic country wedding venue

Nirmala, the Bride: We chose the venue because of its natural beauty, rustic setting and low key vibe. We visited the area in the Autumn of 2013 and felt very connected. We also loved that no cell phone service was available in the area which allowed us and our guests to disconnect from the busy city life, reconnect and have a mini retreat. We fell head over heels in love with the barn on our first visit to Full Moon Resort. It simply brought a magical feeling the moment we stepped into it. Growing up in the country, the setting brought a sense of home for me. We both felt a sense of belonging and peace amidst the mountains.

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Ilana & Josh | Daytime Jewish Farm Wedding at South Pond Farms, Pontypool, Canada

30/01/2015 by Karen

You can tell from the way that Ilana and Josh approached the planning and styling of their Jewish wedding that they’re a creative, authentic, laid-back (and eco-friendly!) couple.

They chose to hold their ceremony outdoors, a brave move with the sometimes temperamental weather, but it definitely paid off as it meant that they could marry underneath a beautiful outdoor chuppah, created by Ilana’s dad using her grandmother’s floral table cloth, surrounded by greenery and with a breathtaking, uninterrupted view of the rolling hills.

I adore this wedding for so many reasons — it’s full of natural and rustic details, from the seasonal handpicked wild blooms, to the incredible cakes lovingly made by Josh’s sister-in-law, to the meaningful family heirlooms for the chuppah and kiddush cup, and the homemade jam favours that doubled up escort cards.

I also love Ilana’s delicate, pretty Pronovias dress — perfect for a daytime wedding — and Josh’s dapper sartorial choices, and of course the dreamy portrait shots by Ash Nayler. Ash also put together a gorgeous wedding film, shown at the end of the post, which I must admit brought a tear to my eye.

I think you’ll love it too…

Ilana and Josh have written their wedding report together — it’s really lovely to hear from a Groom who had so much input into the big day.

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Hannah & Raf | Laidback, colourful ‘English Garden’ Jewish wedding at The Priory Barn, Little Wymondley, Hertfordshire, UK

20/08/2014 by Karen

An english country garden jewish wedding
Hannah and Raf’s big day is bursting at the seams with colour, fun and some very original ideas, and if I had to describe their wedding in one (ok two) words, it would be utterly joyous. From Raf’s beaming smile to Hannah’s multi-coloured nails, through to the wild summer flowers dotted about everywhere, and the most original first dance I’ve heard about in a long while (I’ll let Hannah surprise you with that one).

I want to be a guest at this wedding. I want to receive a homemade invitation designed by the bride. I want to stand amongst the moorhens and weeping willows. I want to hear a klezmer version of The Final Countdown. I want to have a slice of hundreds and thousands cake. And I want to have every moment captured by Marianne Chua whose images are appearing for the first time on STG which I’m so very thrilled about!

Get ready because you gorgeous lot are going to be pinning until your fingers are raw.

colourful English garden Jewish wedding_0033

A MIDWEEK WEDDING AT A WONDERFUL GARDEN VENUE
Hannah, the Bride: We chose to get married at The Priory Barn in Little Wymondley. We researched various venues, but had difficulties in that a lot of the London venues wouldn’t allow religious ceremonies and we didn’t want a hotel. We also wanted outside space and The Priory has an amazing garden complete with a stream, weeping willows and baby moorhens! We had budget concerns and The Priory had a great midweek deal. Our wedding was on a Thursday but this really didn’t seem to affect turnout.