Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Pronovias Bride for a London-Meets-Israel Jewish Wedding at Offley Place, Hitchin, UK

by

Jewish wedding Offley Place Hitchin UK_0042

What do you do when you’re dreaming of a destination wedding in Israel but family obligations keep you closer to home? Well, you could do worse than to follow the example of STG Brides Club member Nicola, a senior business analyst for a technical consultancy, and Dave, the CTO and co-founder of a digital design and marketing consultancy, who made it their goal to bring a little bit of Israel to their Jewish wedding right here in the UK.  

How’d they do it? For starters, they worked with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor XS Showband to put together two party simcha sets with a mixture of Mizrahi and Israeli music that kept everyone on the dance floor in true Israeli style – Nicola also can’t stop raving about how helpful the XS team were in creating the couple’s day of plan and processional order, plus providing day of coordination.

And in good Israeli wedding style, Nicola and Dave had the “reliable and fantastic” (in the bride’s words) Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Magniv mobile photo magnet team taking photos of everyone throughout the festivities so that people could have a keepsake to take home.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Crawleys photographed the whole day so beautifully in their trademark artsy documentary style, and we’re so touched to hear Nicola say that the ultra-supportive community of STG Brides Club was “literally the only thing that kept me sane” during wedding planning

Now over the bride, who looked simply smashing in Pronovias…

Jewish wedding Offley Place Hitchin UK_0042Jewish wedding Offley Place Hitchin UK_0042Jewish wedding Offley Place Hitchin UK_0042
How we met

Nicola, the bride: We met in the good old fashioned way… on a dating app – Jcrush to be precise (seems this is the only way to meet your soulmate these days).

There was an instant connection when we met but both of us were not long out of relationships and not ready for anything serious so we maintained a strong friendship. Even as friends, we would go out for regular dinners and lunches together, him insisting on paying for every single one being the kind and generous soul that he is.

It wasn’t until a mutual friends party, and the help of a bit of dutch courage (tequila), that we both realised what was right in front of us and shared a kiss. The first of many more to come.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Musical Boho Jewish Wedding at Sofia Garden, Beer Sheva, Israel

by

Jewish wedding Sofia Garden Beer Sheva Israel_0015

We love it when a couple puts their personalities and passions at the center of their wedding planning. Like today’s wonderful pair, Anna, a physical therapist, and Hagai, a lawyer, did – they’re both obsessed with music, and did it ever come through in their big day!

Between a band, a DJ, a performance by a mega-talented friend, and even a surprise song by the groom himself (dedicated to the bride – aww!), this Jewish wedding was truly alive with the sound of music – and heartfelt emotion. How beautiful is it that Anna and Hagai opted to read aloud letters they’d written to each other under the chuppah?

We also adore this wedding’s boho vibes, from the outdoor garden setting to the bride’s laid-back gown to the chill décor – much of which was created and arranged by the couple and their friends! We’re especially crazy about the the dreamcatchers the couple placed behind their simple chuppah. Photographer Lior Rotstein and videographer Yael Weinberg captured everything so beautifully.

We’ll let the bride fill you in on the rest…

Jewish wedding Sofia Garden Beer Sheva Israel_0015 Jewish wedding Sofia Garden Beer Sheva Israel_0015 Jewish wedding Sofia Garden Beer Sheva Israel_0015 Jewish wedding Sofia Garden Beer Sheva Israel_0015
How we met

Anna, the bride: We met 5 years ago, when I was still a student. During my studies I worked as a bartender in a pub and Hagai would come in a few evenings each week to catch up. It did not immediately develop into a love story. Then we went out together with some other friends to a music show, and we discovered that we had lots in common. And that’s how the love story started.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Discover Your Dream Bar or Bat Mitzvah Venue {with Pop Up Bar Mitzvah}

by

Photo by Loft Studios

You might be wondering what we’re doing writing about bar and bat mitzvah venues. We are a wedding blog, after all. But when we met the fantastic team at Pop Up Bar Mitzvah, we couldn’t resist sharing their fab work with you – if STG did bar mitzvahs, this London-based outfit would be our go-to, no question. Plus, we figure chances are you might know someone who’s planning a bar or bat mitzvah and looking for the perfect team to help make it a smashing success.

This is the first part in a series with Pop Up Bar Mitzvah, where we’ll be looking at different elements that go into planning a memorable, personal bar or bat mitzvah – this time, we’re focusing on venues. 

Photo by West Reservoir Center (part of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Hackney Venues)

The Perfect Match

Finding the perfect anything isn’t easy – the perfect match, the perfect place to get married and sooner than you’d ever expect, the gentle patter of tiny feet has turned into the stress of searching for the perfect bar or bat mitzvah venue.

Photo by Secret River Garden

If you’re at that stage in life when you’re starting to think about where would be a great place for your child’s bar mitzvah party but the prospect of researching venues brings you out in hives then you’ll be excited to know about event planning company Pop Up Bar Mitzvah whose team of experts can assist you in compiling a shortlist of venues to suit your requirements.

Photo by Sunbeam Studios

A Wealth of Experience

Their wealth of experience means that you can trust their recommendations as they use their keen eye and expertise in their field to put together a carefully selected list of the best, chicest and most gorgeous bar mitzvah venues in London.

Photo by Postal Museum

Working with them is a bit like being able to ask your most stylish friend to give you the inside scoop on the best places to party because you know their recommendations are going to be honest, impartial and on trend.

Photo by The Printworks

Pop Up Bar Mitzvah have an amazing black book of unusual venues and specialise in blank canvas venues, which basically means somewhere that you can style and transform to create something unique.

Photo by Bankside Vaults

You won’t find the standard hotels in their recommendations, instead you might discover a secret river garden perfect for a festival vibe, an underground tunnel that takes you on a journey beneath the streets of London, industrial warehouses in East London that ooze character or even a beautiful castle suitable for a prince or princess. What all the venues have in common is their flexibility; a unique space that can be styled to suit you.

Photo by Strawberry Hill House

The Best Venues in London

Over the years they’ve produced countless events and parties so they’ve done all the legwork, getting to know the best venues in London, saving you the slog of studying endless websites.

Photo by The Tate Switch House

Visiting venues is key to choosing the right place and the team can organise and attend the show-rounds with you; they’ve even got a handy little guide that lets you know the 20 questions you need to ask to when you visit a venue to ensure you get the most out of your time.

Photo by Hawker House

And once you’ve found that perfect place, Pop Up Bar Mitzvah are also able to help you organise the party. From helping you find the perfect venue, to styling or theming, sourcing unforgettable entertainment to creative menu ideas your guests will love, the team will be with you ever step of the way, making sure everything is perfect on the night.

Photo by Kent House Knightsbridge

Why not have a look at their website full of venues to inspire you or ask the team to send you a shortlist of recommended venues.

Photo by Merchant Taylors’

About Pop Up Bar Mitzvah

Pop Up Bar Mitzvah was set up by Gary Peters, the director of award-winning event agency Evolve Events. During his 20 years of producing countless events one of the most common questions he’s been asked is how can you make your Bar Mitzvah celebration stand out from all the rest. That’s why he set up Pop Up Bar Mitzvah, to create one-of-a-kind, over-the-top experiences, specialising in creating unique parties that celebrate the individualism of your child. Each celebration is tailored to your needs and personalised to your child and your family. From the venue finding to creating the overall look, including lighting and styling, the team at Pop Up Bar Mitzvah will be there to make sure all the elements, including food and entertainment, come together in a night of extravaganza and celebration.

What People Say

We wanted to say how much we appreciated your hard work – both before and on the day itself. The Bat Mitzvah went incredibly smoothly and your meticulous preparation meant everything was under control. Thank you for your amazing professionalism and charming approach throughout the process. With you at the helm, working in such harmony with the caterers and florist we were able to enjoy the party from beginning to end.

Lord and Lady Leigh of Hurley

Photo by 8 Northumberland Avenue

Contact Details

info@popupbarmitzvah.com

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Location: London

Pop Up Bar Mitzvah is a Smashing The Glass handpicked sponsor and this is a sponsored post. We only ever work with sponsors that we absolutely ADORE and would use ourselves. You can find out more about sponsored posts here.

2020 Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Jocelyn + Stuart: How They Met To The Present Day…

by

Today on the blog we’re introducing our 8th gorgeous bride from our crop of 2020 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Jocelyn, who will be marrying Stuart on 20th February 2021 at Barbican Conservatory, in London, UK.

THREE FACTS: (1) Jocelyn met her fiance Stuart at university – they came together over a shared love of the band Busted, and it’s their dream to have Busted play at their wedding! (2) Jocelyn is Jewish; Stuart is not – and midway through planning the two abandoned their plan for a civil ceremony and are now working out how to pull off the interfaith Jewish celebration of their dreams. (3) Jocelyn is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!


How you met

On 19th September 2010 my parents were driving me from my family home in rural Essex across the Dartford Bridge to the next stage of my life: halls of residence in Twickenham. It was my first day of university and I distinctly remember being in the car and receiving a text from my friend Joe that facetiously said, “You might meet your future husband today!” Joe was wrong. I met my future husband the following day.

Stuart and I became friends early on, but the first memory I have of us properly bonding was when, a couple of months in, we realised that we both loved Busted and Westlife. We would sit up all night listening to Foo Fighters and Green Day and My Chemical Romance (and Busted and Westlife, no shame) and sing the harmonies together (not necessarily well, I might add) and get excited about the fact that we both knew all the parts.

 Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Luxury Kosher Cakes and Sweets from GC Couture are Now Available at Selfridges (and We’re Obsessed!)

by


If you’ve been following us for a while, you probably know how much we adore award-winning London-based luxury cake purveyor GC Couture. Earlier this year we raved about their exquisite (and ultra-Instagrammable) Indulgence Bar,® available from a dedicated kosher production kitchen supervision of KLBD- if you don’t know what we’re talking about, you can read all about it here.

Now we’re back with some equally exciting news: GC Couture’s kosher line, ‘K by GC Couture,’ doesn’t have to be reserved for special events anymore. As of the past month, a line of edible (and kosher certified) works of art from the GC Couture team are available for purchase in legendary London department store Selfridges.

Savor the Flavors

GC Couture cakes are available in 16 mouthwatering flavors, from classics like chocolate and vanilla to more exotic varieties such as white chocolate cranberry, coconut lime, and salted caramel. And if a full-fledged deluxe cake isn’t on the horizon, you can also pickup an array of smaller treats from handcrafted cupcakes to gold leaf macarons and lolli cakes.

The range available at Selfridges – all of which is kosher and diary-free – is not only eye-catching but delicious. A GC Couture creation is the perfect addition to any kosher celebration – or the perfect little just-because luxury.

Continue ReadingContinue Reading