Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Flora Bride for a Fairy Tale Destination Jewish Wedding at Cluny Castle, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire Scotland, UK

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Jewish wedding Cluny Castle, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire Scotland, UK_0066

We love it when a couple goes out of their way to make their guests feel extra loved at their Jewish wedding – especially when they’ve traveled across the world to celebrate together. But today’s couple, Anna, an architect, and Nir, a PhD student in economics with an online tutoring business, Israelis who opted to wed in Scotland, really amped it up to the next level.

With an intimate crew of just 26 guests, who traveled from Israel, the US, and Canada, Anna and Nir went all out, planning not just a wedding weekend but a full wedding week of classic Scottish activities, from Highland games and clay shooting to visits to Loch Ness and distilleries – and castles.

Although given the venue – not only was the wedding held at the majestic Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Cluny Castle, but the guests were also able to stay at the castle for the entire week – it’s hard to see a need to leave the grounds of this stunning spot. Catom Photographers captured the splendid setting in all its glory – not to mention the love and emotion of the big day.

Anna and Nir couldn’t possibly have picked a better place to make their guests all feel like princes and princesses for the week – and in pursuit of this goal, they even hired makeup artists and hairstylists to take care of each and every one of their female guests on the wedding day!

Now over to the groom, who’ll fill you in on all the details…


Jewish wedding Cluny Castle, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire Scotland, UK_0066Jewish wedding Cluny Castle, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire Scotland, UK_0066Jewish wedding Cluny Castle, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire Scotland, UK_0066
Theme

Nir, the groom: The theme was a “fairy tale” and Scottish wedding. We tried our best to make sure each guest would feel like a price/princess for the entire week. We planned a schedule for the week so each day would include a classic Scottish activity: Highland games, distilleries, clay shooting, castles, Lochness etc. The guests even saw her majesty the Queen and Prince Charles from a very close range at the highland games.

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Real Jewish Brides: Orli On Dress and Shoe Shopping and Flowers For Her Wedding

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Orli will be marrying Ben on 6th September 2020 at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK. Click here to read all Orli’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Orli and Ben met on Jswipe. (2) Although their venue, the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, couldn’t be more quintessentially London, Orli and Ben are going for a countryside feel. (3) Orli is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

My Wedding Dress Shopping Experience

As a little girl I had always dreamt of my wedding day. What would I be wearing as I walked down the aisle to meet my Prince Charming? For me, this was all coming true and the next thing I had to do was start looking at wedding dresses.

From the moment we got engaged, my mum was desperate for us to pick a date to go wedding dress shopping, yet I was slightly reserved but couldn’t work out why. Was it going to be everything that I dreamed it would be? Would I put on one dress and know instantly that it was the one, feel like a princess and buy it on the spot?

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A Jesus Peiro Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding with a Roaming Band at New West End Synagogue and One Marylebone, London, UK

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Jewish wedding New West End Synagogue and One Marylebone, London, UK

We’re super psyched to be featuring our very first Jewish wedding with the amazing acoustic roaming band and Smashing The Glass RecommendedVendor Balagan! This incredible group – formed by another beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Sensation Band (who also performed, keeping the dance floor packed all night long in their signature style) – is the UK’s first and only roaming band to offer Jewish sets, and we can’t get enough of the fun, personalized vibe they bring to any big day.

STG Brides Club member Ella, a project manager at a branding and digital agency, and Matt, head of data at a life insurance start-up, say booking Balagan was the best wedding planning decision they made, and we’re not at all surprised – they are a truly incredible group!

And until February 7, you have the chance to enter to win an epic performance from Balagan for your very own wedding! Head over to this post for full details.

So obviously the music at this wedding earns top marks… but believe it or not, that’s only the tip of the iceberg of this wonderful day. First off, we can’t get over the fact that Matt built the couple’s birch wood chuppah as a tribute to his late grandfather who taught him about woodwork (and how sweet is it that after the wedding the pair donated it to a nearby synagogue for other couples who may need it?).

And then there’s Ella’s impeccable bridal style. She found her gorgeous dress at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Morgan Davies, who worked with her to combine two Jesus Peiro dresses into the style of her dreams. Ella’s got nothing but rave reviews about the team at Morgan Davies – and the result could not have been any more perfect. We’re also obsessed with the tulle Savannah Miller cape the bride wore to cover her shoulders during the Orthodox ceremony.

Photographer Barney Walters (who the couple found right here on Smashing the Glass) and videographer Ben Foster captured this beautiful wedding so perfectly – it’s really not to be missed. Do read on for Ella’s full writeup – there’s far more good stuff going on than we have room to mention here!

New West End Synagogue and One Marylebone, London, UKNew West End Synagogue and One Marylebone, London, UKNew West End Synagogue and One Marylebone, London, UKNew West End Synagogue and One Marylebone, London, UK
How We Met

Ella, the bride: Matt and I met on none other than Tinder. When I came across Matt back in 2015, Tinder said we had around 90 friends in common which I assumed was a glitch with the app. It turned out we grew up around a mile away from each other and did have many friends in common. We must have both been at various parties in the past but had never met.

When we matched I messaged two close friends to ask what they thought of him and they both said he was a real mensch. One week later we’d been on our first date and that was that! Because of all of our mutual friends there were definitely more than a few people walking around our wedding claiming that they’d made the shidduch.

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An Alon Livne Bride for a Shabbat Dinner-Inspired Jewish Wedding with a Macrame Chuppah at Jonah Club, Netanaya, Israel

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Destination-wedding-Jonah-Club-in-Netanya-Israel

“When planning this wedding, we looked at it like the most epic Shabbat dinner we would ever throw.”

From the minute we read this line from STG Brides Club member Nikki, who works in marketing at a digital health startup (and also gives food tours and teaches yoga on the side), and Adam, who works in tech as an engineer, we were sold on their beautiful Jewish wedding.

Nikki and Adam, both Americans who met and live in Israel, wanted their wedding to be an occasion for their far-flung family and friends to come together and get to know each other – and get a taste of the couple’s life in Israel. And by the looks of the incredible photos and video from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Aya-Avi Photography, a husband and wife team handling photography and videography, they pulled it off with aplomb. Aya’s luminous photos really let the love between the pair for each other and for all their loved ones gathered together to celebrate them shine through.

We’re also in love with Nikki and Adam’s super cool macramé chuppah – and how awesome is it that they found their florist, Tom of Tomka Designs (we featured Tom and Matan’s own wedding on the blog a while back), right here on STG? The East Meets West boho style he worked with the couple to create for their chuppah area is truly beyond.

And we’re totally obsessed with Nikki’s bridal style, from her timelessly elegant gown from Israeli designer Alon Livne to her natural-with a-touch-of-glam hairstyle by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Yehonatan Yaeish – who not only styled the bride’s hair superbly but also brought great energy on the day.

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride… (and if you want to join Brides Club like Nikki did, click here (we’ve just released a few more free entry places – grab one before they all go!)

Destination-wedding-Jonah-Club-in-Netanya-Israel
How we met

Nikki, the bride: We happened to move to Israel one week apart and met 6 weeks later on Bumble. We decided to meet 10 minutes after our first conversation began and got married 2 years and 4 days later.

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Join Me at Kimpton Fitzroy London’s Winter Wedding Soiree!

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I’m so thrilled to announce that one of my very favourite London venues, Kimpton Fitzroy London, is hosting a fantastic Winter Wedding Soiree on Friday, 7 February, from 3:30 to 7:00 PM – and I’d love to see you there!


Indulgence Bar®  by STG Vendor GC Couture will be at the Soiree!

Set amidst the central London hotel’s Grade II listed ballroom and stunning Palm Court, this is going to be the ultimate winter bash party.


Design and Styling by STG Vendor Steven Duggan Events – they’ll be at the Soiree!

There’ll be live music all evening, circulating champagne and canapés, exquisitely crafted sweets by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor GC Couture, delectable cocktails – and it’s all FREE.

And some of our very favourite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors will be in attendance, including Sensation Band, Hayford & Rhodes, GC Couture, Steven Duggan Events, Victoria Percival, Susan Yates, and Dimitria Jordan – do come meet them and check out their wonderful work firsthand, along with many other talented wedding suppliers!

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