Jewish DIY Weddings Archives - Page 16 of 17 - Smashing the Glass

Chelm & Jake | Uber cool Jewish Wedding at the Doodle Bar + Testbed1, Battersea, London

06/03/2014 by Karen

I promise that what you’re about to see is truly epic. This folks is how to do a super cool, super fun, superfly wedding.

There are so many things that I love about this W-day that I’d be here until midnight listing them all, but I’ll just mention Los Desterrados playing ‘The Final Countdown‘ in the synagogue; pornstar martinis and chilli martinis as the cocktails of choice in the reception; an after-party stretching until sunrise, a Jenny Packham bride with her Vivienne Westwood groom… and I’ll stop now. You just need to see it.

And as fabulous as this wedding is, some of my favourite elements are the way in which Chelm and Jake personalised their Jewish ceremony — in particular what they did with their Sheva Brachot, and also their spin on the traditional circling of the groom.

They chose the Doodle Bar in Battersea (don’t you think it’s one of the best venue websites you’ve ever seen?) for their reception. It’s housed in an old dairy in Battersea, on the banks of the Thames and the adjoining space, Testbed1, where the party continued, is normally used as an arts venue. It’s an incredible warehouse space that Chelm and Jake and their very creative friends decorated with real pizazz and flair. I’ll let Jake continue with all the details – yes it’s our cooler-than-a polar-bear’s-toenails groom reporting the wedding today! He’s a real character – we need more groom wedding reports!

The photography is phenomenal and it’s by our newest Smashing Supplier and STG favourite, Blake Ezra Photography.

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Jake, the groom: Friends of ours own Doodle Bar in Battersea and I’d visited the place several months previously and thought it was very cool – a bit of East London in Battersea! I asked my friend if there was any chance that it would make a workable wedding venue, and to my delight, he said yes – they’d already done a lot of parties there.

Lena & Asaf | Family + Fun Jewish wedding at Melbourne University + Luminare, Melbourne

19/02/2014 by Karen

I love all the effort that’s gone into this wedding from family and friends – there’s lots of thoughtful family input throughout this relaxed and pretty affair that I think anyone trying to pull of a wedding with that homespun feel can be inspired.
There’s tons of all-round fabulousness, and in particular lots of beautiful design touches like giant foam letters, and branded bars of wedding chocolate. Yes. Branded bars of wedding chocolate! I am completely obsessed with that idea.. and the execution.

I also *adore* the music that Lena and Asaf chose for their ceremony. They chose a medley of two hebrew songs that I’d actually never heard of before, but on giving them a whirl whilst compiling this post, I now can’t stop listening to them. Scroll down to hear more (literally!).

All of this awesomeness was captured forever by Vanilla Images. And you luckies have also got the immense film of this wedding, created by the fantastic Wheelhouse Studios. You’re gonna love that.

So without further ado, let me hand over to Lena, our gorgeous bride, for her account of STG’s first Australian wedding. It’s a corker!

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Lena, The Bride: Our ceremony was held at Melbourne University, in the Old Quadrangle. We wanted an outdoor ceremony that had the option of going undercover if the weather turned bad. Asaf went to Melbourne Uni so we already had an idea of what it looked like, and on a friends recommendation we visited and loved the area.

The reception was held at Luminare, South Melbourne. One look at the breath-taking view and we knew we found the perfect venue. Our decision was complimented by the contemporary decor and inspiring menu.

Stacey & Jono | NYE Fancy Dress Jewish Wedding in a Cinema, West Sussex, UK

31/01/2014 by Karen

There are no words. Truly — there are no words worthy enough to even begin to describe this fantastically creative W-day photographed by the always amazing Martin Beddall. To start with this Jewish wedding is held in an old arthouse cinema (the oldest operating one in the UK) and all the guests are decked out in fancy dress which makes for such an inclusive atmosphere is genuinely special.

The couple organised everything themselves from the other side of the world (New Zealand!) and their attention to detail is astonishing. Jono, the groom, designed the delightful invitations himself, and both he and Stacey created the most beautiful short film that was played during their ceremony, full of images of their past, literally from birth through to the present day. You can watch their very special film lower down the page. Warning: you might tear up!

So without further ado, let’s dive into Martin Beddall’s exquisite photographs, and read all the juicy details in the words of Stacey and Jono themselves.

ORGANISING A NEW YEAR’S EVE WEDDING FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD
Stacey and Jono: We met and fell in love on New Year’s Eve 2007 so that has been such a special time for us. There’s also no better excuse for a party than New Year’s Eve so we decided to throw our big day five years later to the day! We now live in New Zealand but wanted to celebrate the big day in style with our oldest and dearest in the UK.Continue Reading

Sara & John | Incredible ‘Granny Chic’ vintage Jewish wedding, Kidbrooke Park, Sussex

28/10/2013 by Karen

Sara is one incredibly beautiful and creative bride. And I’m talking creative with a capital ‘C’ folks. Yep all the amazing decor and imaginative touches you see in the pictures below were all hand made by Sara. It’s one big explosion of colour and thrills with lots of vintage prettiness everywhere!

As the bride herself says, “With our wedding it was more “what did you leave alone?” than what did you create! It was the biggest project of my life but I was so happy with the way it all came together!”

Sara and John met at work in Sara’s first ever contract job as a copywriter. She left the job pretty soon afterwards but kept a special souvenir!

Over to Sara for the story of her gorgeous W-day.

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Sara, the Bride: Our wedding was at Kidbrooke Park in Sussex. We chose this venue because it’s actually my old school. At first I’d ruled it out because I thought it would be strange to get married just outside the room in which I sat all of my exams, but the first venue we booked fell through when they insisted we use their preferred caterers who priced us right out of our own wedding and wouldn’t do a simple meal for us citing colours and presentation (or something silly).

After that I revisited the idea of getting married at my old school and suddenly felt like it would be really great to say “I do” somewhere so close to my heart. There is a beautiful, crumbling outdoor theatre which is covered with flowers in the spring and summer, and I suddenly had a vision of making my entrance through the doors of the theatre. It was such a nice daydream that I booked immediately!

Sydney & William | Jewish Handmade DIY Barn Wedding, The Laurentians, Canada

23/10/2013 by Karen

Today I have for you a real-deal bona fide Smashing The Glass wedding. It’s a genuine do-it-yourself abundance of unique and creative perfection. Everything is handmade (with love!) by close friends and family.

Sydney and William chose to have their wedding at the bride’s grandparent’s country house in the Laurentians (about a hour north of Montreal) and the wedding rings, invitations, bride’s dress, floristry, hair + make-up, ketubah, kippot, cake, and favours were all handmade and created by close family.

There are many, many personal touches incorporated into their W-day (in particular into their Jewish ceremony) that really make it stand out. Let’s take a lovely look…

A COUNTRY HOUSE WITH FAMILY HISTORY
Sydney, The Bride: Our wedding was held at my grandparent’s country house in the Laurentians. I haven’t been to many weddings but my favourite wedding was my aunt’s that had been held at the same house almost exactly 11 years earlier. I was open to doing the wedding in the city but after checking out venues there was nothing I loved, and I always had the country house in the back of my head.

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