There’s not much that makes us happier than seeing a couple pull off the Jewish wedding of their dreams thanks to the work of some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors. So as you can imagine, the wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Natasha, a marketing manager, to Simon, a recruitment consultant, is giving us ALL the feels.
Natasha reports that she loved her time in Brides Club – in her words, “it was so great to know there was a group of other brides going through similar things that you could confide in, get advice from or just get support where needed” – and she also found two of her wonderful vendors through the group! Natasha and Simon’s toastmaster, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jango, is a firm favorite among Brides Club members, and true to form he kept everything running smoothly on the big day. And a recommendation via Brides Club led Natasha to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ann Louise Bridal, where she found her gorgeous Enzoani dress and veil! Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alexandra’s Florist was responsible for the incredible floral chuppah, featuring an elegant mix of white hydrangeas, white roses, and greenery.
We’re also obsessed with the fact that Natasha and Simon opted to open their ceremony with a flashmob by the amazingly talented Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor XS Showband! What a fun surprise for the guests – and indeed, Natasha reports that people are still talking about it to this day!
This is truly a special wedding – be sure not to miss the emotion-packed photos by Chiko and trailer from AtMotion!
How we met
Natasha, the bride: We were set up by Simon’s sister. I became friends with her through some mutual friends and she always said that she wanted to set us up. Simon was living in Manchester at the time and one day we arranged to go on a blind date at Dim T in Hampstead. As the say, the rest is history…
Venue
We got married at Warren Weir at Luton Hoo. We loved the size of the space, the fact that there were separate rooms for the ceremony and for dinner and that it feels really private as it is quite far away from the rest of the hotel.
Making It Personal
Didn’t use a wedding planner and didn’t have a particular theme or style but I was always conscious of making it personal to us – we had photos of us at each age for table numbers, signature Natasha and Simon cocktails and it was all about the food as we are huge foodies!
What ‘Smashing The Glass Brides Club’ Did For Us
I loved being a member of Brides Club – it was so great to know there was always a group of other brides going through similar things and facing similar issues and that you could confide in, get advice from or just get support where needed. I saw someone had recommended Ann Louise Bridal on the group and ended up buying my dress and veil from there. I also discovered our toastmaster, Jango, from recommendations on Brides Club.
Invitation
I wanted to keep our invitations quite simple and elegant – I’m not into fussy patterns or designs and in the end it was all based around our logo. The logo was done in silver foil and we used a sparkly white paper for everything.
Hair + Makeup
My hair was by Sophie Reed and make up by Frankie Neal
I knew from the beginning that I wanted my hair half up and half down and after trying several different options I kept coming back to it. I don’t normally wear tonnes of make up so wanted to keep it quite natural looking but like the best version of myself!
Dress
An Enzoani dress from Ann Louise Bridal that I actually ended up changing around a bit as it was originally a strapless dress. My mum had a handkerchief that she had on her wedding day from my Nana who is no longer with us and I got that sewed into a layer of my dress.
Accessories
I had a simple veil with diamantes on the edge and I wore a bracelet that Simon bought me as a wedding day gift and earrings I bought from Ivory & Co. I was always adamant that I wasn’t going to wear anything in my hair apart from the veil but my mum bought some options with in case i changed my mind on the day and it actually worked perfectly in the end.
Shoes
I wore very simple rainbow club kitten heels – i’m 5’11 and never wear heels so quickly after the ceremony and photos, I changed into white personalised converse.
The handsome groom
He wore a very smart Chester Barrie dinner suit accompanied with a bow tie. All the ushers and male members of immediate family had grey silk pocket squares and floral buttonholes.
Bridesmaids
I had two adult bridesmaids and two little cousins as flower girls. I always knew I wanted all the girls to be in a similar colour and dresses that went together and most likely a grey or silver colour. After an unsuccessful shopping trip for bridesmaid dresses, I took it into my own hands and ordered loads of dresses from ASOS in different size options and we all got together one evening at my house and tried all the dresses.
We were lucky to find two slightly different dresses but same colour and same brand that suited both my bridesmaids perfectly. Found perfect matching dresses for my flower girls from Debenhams on Oxford Street.
Ceremony
Before the ceremony started, there was a flashmob by the amazingly talented, XS Showband. The rabbi, Rabbi Chapper, made an announcement and then it went straight into a performance of ‘For once in my life’ by Stevie Wonder. It was an amazing and different way to start the ceremony and think everyone was really surprised but got into it and people still talk about it now!
After hours of scrolling through Etsy, we found a ketubah by Ketubata we loved that was simple yet elegant and just what we wanted.
Chuppah
I wanted to keep it elegant and not too over the top. I love hydrangeas and knew I wanted them to be a part of our chuppah and all our flowers. So there were lots of white hydrangeas, white roses and greenery to accompany.
Our music choice
I walked down the aisle to ‘Boi Kallah’ to the tune of ‘Can you feel the love tonight’ and Simon and the rest of the bridal party walked in to ‘Meheira’. I left the decision for first dance song to Simon and he chose ‘If I ain’t got you’, by Alicia Keys.
Flowers
Alexandras Flowers. Hydrangeas throughout. Roses for buttonholes and a mixture for table centres – some large, high arrangements and then multiple smaller arrangements on some tables.
I wanted to keep my bouquet simple and it was predominantly white hydrangeas with some little orchids mixed in.
Photographer and videographer
Our photographer was Chiko – as soon as we met Chiko, we knew he would be our photographer. Our videographer was AtMotion.
Food
Food was hugely important to us and our families and we spent time with Eat Me Events to create a bespoke menu that featured Asian inspired dishes. Highlights include: a bao bun station at the reception, salmon poke for starters and a chocolate bombe for dessert. We also had bagels and croissants as a midnight snack/ going home goodies. I couldn’t let anyone leave hungry!
Entertainment
We had seen XS Showband at previous weddings and they were amazing. So pleased we went with them – some of the nicest people to work with and they really did ensure the dance floor was packed all night.
Favours
Not sure if favours as such but we had personalised fans and flip flops. I didn’t want there to be any excuse for people not to be comfortable and on the dancefloor.
Speeches
I made a short speech at the end of the night – I couldn’t let the opportunity to pass to say something.
Honeymoon
Straight after the wedding we went to the Four Seasons in Hampshire for a few nights. We then went to South Africa and Mauritius for honeymoon.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Try to accept that planning a wedding can be very stressful but keep in mind that it is one day.
Trust your suppliers – you picked them for a reason and they are the experts and have planned many weddings.
Try to be in the moment as much as possible. People had said to me that the day would go quickly but it really did go by in a flash!
NATASHA & SIMON’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Chiko
Videography – AtMotion
Band & Production – XS Showband
Toastmaster – Jango
Venue – Warren Weir at Luton Hoo
Bride’s dress – Enzoani found and fitted at Ann Louise Bridal
Bride’s accessories – Ivory & Co
Groom’s attire – Chester Barrie
Bridesmaids – ASOS, Debenhams
Hair + Makeup – Sophie Reed, Frankie Neal
Flowers – Alexandras Flowers
Catering – Eat Me Events
Ketubah – Ketubata
Stationery/Invitation – Simcha Invitiations
Rabbi – Rabbi Chapper
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
So much love is captured in these photos. Love how magic happens when you get the right wedding vendors! Love it!