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Jamie & John | Garden loft Jewish wedding with an amazing suspended floral chuppah at Open Secret Studios, Illinois, Chicago, USA

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Jewish-wedding Chicago
Jamie and John’s big day is swoon-inducingly pretty. I love every single creative element — from the incredible suspended flower-covered chuppah, to the “best woman” dog wearing a custom satin harness made by the groom’s mum, to the illustrated invitations, programs, menus and place cards, all painstakingly hand-sketched and painted by the bride herself!

It’s just all so exquisite with so much creative input from both the bride and groom.

And the flowers just take my breath away. I expect muchos pinning action to be happening this morning – I for one will be pinning my heart out!

In a slight deviation from the norm, the narration of this W-Day comes directly from Becca Heuer, Jamie and John’s super talented wedding photographer who as it happens is getting married herself in a couple of months! Becca, take it away…

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Amy & Anthony | Vintage themed Jewish wedding, with Route 66 details, at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, UK

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Hatfield-House-Wedding
Meet Amy and Anthony who married in the evocative and enchanting Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, where none other than Queen Elizabeth I — England’s most elusive bride – tudored away much of her childhood. I’ve visited this gem north of London and the sense of history is absolutely spell-binding.

Amy chose a vintage vibe — not so vintage that she wore an Elizabethan ruffle – but as far back as the 1920’s where her sweeping gown and ridiculously beautiful beaded caplet stole the show. Pure and utter glamour.

I love this wedding because whilst it has clear direction — Amy knew what colour scheme and look she wanted from the outset – it’s also nostalgic and sentimental, all in the right measure.

Amy and Anthony chose a Route 66 theme throughout their day, an ode to the famous highway where the couple got engaged. How romantic is that? And quite appropriately, their first dance was Chuck Berry’s Get your kicks on Route 66.

…And those sentimental touches — Amy wore her two beloved grandmothers’ jewels — a gorgeous gesture.

Amy and Anthony didn’t use a wedding planner— they organised what they could (please lay your peepers on those sensational bridesmaids multi-wrap, one size fits all dresses by Two Birds) took advice when they should (the inspired churros and shots), and delegated with instruction elsewhere.

Take the flower arrangement, let’s face it flowers are super important but you don’t want to be a Bridezilla obsessing about exactly which colour flower spray goes where, it’s more about choosing the right florist who “gets you”. Give them clear direction and then leave it in their capable green-fingered hands. That’s exactly what Amy did and her seasonal freshly-picked-that-morning flowers were a sensation.

Anyway enough of me waxing lyrical about Amy and Anthony’s day — award-winning photo journalist Paul Rogers will give you thousands of words in a few stunning pictures.

Hatfield House Wedding
how we met

Amy, the Bride: We met on JDate… it does work! We actually grew up on the roads backing onto each other and our families knew each other but we had never actually met.

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Rebecca & Daniel | An ‘Autumn in New York’ themed Jewish wedding with Mexican influences, and the bride in a jumpsuit, at Palm Door, Austin, Texas, USA

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Autumn-in-New-York-wedding
… And the bride wore a jumpsuit! Oh yes. I’m so excited to feature a bride wearing such an iconic, sassy, fashion statement. Move over Solange Knowles!

And why not? Rebecca wasn’t having a trad day — after all it was her second wedding to Daniel (more on that later) — and she decided she wanted to wear what she felt most spectacular in. And that was an elegant Alice & Olivia white, wide leg, cut out at the back jumpsuit with beautiful lines and the required bridal magic to make a big entrance.

In the imitable words of Rebecca “I realised that since this is my wedding … I could wear whatever I wanted”. You go girl! This is such a great reminder to all brides out there planning your day — try not to get bogged down in the “should’s” — it is after all your day!

The courage of this couple’s conviction rings strongly throughout. Undaunted by the fact that they couldn’t have the dream Central Park wedding, Rebecca and Daniel simply picked up the idea and brought the New York wedding to Austin, Texas. Complete with a Big Apple in the Fall theme. Check out those flowers, and the autumnal foliage winding round the chuppah!

Unsurprisingly the invitations came with a very creative and modern twist – which is completely STG. They both designed and customised Paperless Post save the date cards and invitations, splicing old photo booth pictures together — gorgeously personal and fun – and emailed them to their guests.. A great tip for saving money as well as adding a classy, individual touch.

There was one family tradition however that they certainly kept up with – Friday night dinner at the Tex Mex. The night before the wedding Rabbi Robbi lead them all in the Tex Mex Shabbat prayers over tortilla chips and margaritas. Upstaged only by Daniel’s uber romantic proposal.

Elissa R Photography captures the day …

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An ‘Autumn in New York’ themed wedding in Austin, Texas

Rebecca, the Bride: We got married at the Palm Door on Sabine, an event space in downtown Austin. There was no real significance to the space, and since we live in New York we decided to have our wedding there based entirely on the recommendation of my parents who had seen a concert there during SXSW. It ended up being the perfect space though, with a homey but refined feel that really fit in with the entire character of the wedding.

Our general theme was “Autumn in New York.” We live in New York, and it had been a dream of mine in high school to get married in Central Park in the fall. Coming back to Austin for a November wedding, we decided to bring the New York Autumn back to Texas with us. The colour scheme was Autumn colours. We worked with Emily Leach of Bird Dog Wedding
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Rachel & Nikki | Jewish lesbian wedding with a nature-inspired theme, at Temple Emanuel in Kensington, Maryland, USA

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Jewish-lesbian-wedding
Rachel and Nikki put together a Jewish wedding full of warmth and love with a very personal vibe. Their day was all about sharing, loving and being together, and they designed their entire ceremony so that every part of it was intentional and meaningful.  It was based on a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony, with adaptations for their progressive values and the fact that they were two women.

One element I particularly love is that their processional to the chuppah was led by Nikki’s and Rachel’s 97-year-old and 87-year-old (respectively) grandmothers walking hand in hand down the aisle. Apparently there wasn’t a dry eye in the room from that moment on.

Sustainability was also central theme of their big day. For the centrepieces they chose bamboo, orchids, bonsai trees and succulents planted in driftwood. Guests were able to take these home with them and Nikki and Rachel said how wonderful it has since been to visit family and friends after the wedding and see the plants in people’s homes.

Rachel and Nikki are here to tell you more about their special day, along with images from Michael Temchine.

Temple Emanuel wedding
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Anna & Jon | City chic Jewish wedding full of personal touches, at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, King’s Cross, London, UK

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Anna and Jon’s inspired Jewish wedding  at London’s St Pancras Renaissance Hotel  is super special, but before I tell you  all about it I quickly want to remind you  that  you only have until Thursday night  to enter STG’s amazing competition to win a luxurious overnight stay for two at this ravishing  venue.

The prize includes champagne and strawberries, dinner for two, butler service, an in-room bath ritual, a history tour of this magnificent building, as well as  breakfast the following morning, so don’t delay…  enter the competition right here!

Now, back to Anna and Jon.

Nineteen years after the Spice Girls belted out Wannabe on the iconic staircase of the St Pancras hotel, Anna and Jon put their own quirky stamp on this treasured central London landmark.

Theirs really was a STG type of wedding — creative, brimming with personality and totally idiosyncratic.

Not many weddings include a running theme of monkeys and robots — yes, really — or have a 10.30pm fried chicken break to fuel their guests.   And most couples would have to end the night when they reach the music curfew set by the venue, but not Anna and Jon, who simply, but brilliantly just switched to a silent disco.   Inspired.

Their big day was infused with the bride and groom’s personality and charm and this was most evident with the Jewish ceremony itself which they personalised in such a thoughtful way through their choice of song and readings.   And I think this is the first time I’ve seen both the bride and groom smash the glass simultaneously.   So good they did it twice! (take a look at  James & Lianne Photography‘s  fab shot)

They also managed another individual twist when it came to the budget — they saved money on the bride and bridesmaid’s outfits, of all people.

As Anna’s dress was so exquisite, she bought a very uncomplicated head veil online, for a third of the price it would have normally cost in a wedding boutique and she saved on simple high street accessories.   Meanwhile the bridesmaids’ dresses were bought in the January sales.

And every single one of them looked impeccable.

I’ll let Anna fill you in on the rest and please do read to the end for her “how we met” story!

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel Wedding

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