Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog - Page 2 of 263

Meet Some of Our Favourite Vendors at De Vere Wokefield Estate’s Multi-Cultural Wedding Fair

16/01/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Jennifer and Charlie‘s Wedding | Chuppah: The Happy Chuppah People | Photo: Paul Toeman

We know it’s not always easy finding the perfect vendors for your Jewish wedding. You want people who know their stuff – and who know Jewish weddings – but you also want to make sure you surround yourself with people you and your partner just click with when it comes to planning your big day.

Chloe and Danny‘s Wedding | Planning: Elegante by Michelle J | Photo: David Bastianoni

And if you’re in the midst of planning your Jewish or Jew-ish wedding in the UK, we’ve got just the thing for you: a fantastic multicultural wedding fair by De Vere Wokefield Estate, in partnership with Berkshire Wedding Fairs, where you can meet in person with some of the best names in the business, includingbeloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors Elegante by Michelle J and the Happy Chuppah People!

Miri and Jon‘s Wedding | Chuppah: The Happy Chuppah People | Photo: Marianne Chua

On Sunday, February 2, over 60 top-notch wedding suppliers from the Jewish, British, Asian, and Afro-Caribbean communities are coming together on the lush Berkshire grounds of De Vere Wokefield Estate to showcase their work and meet with engaged couples.

Jasmin and Brett’s Wedding | Planning: Elegante by Michelle J | Photo: Claudine Hartzel

This unmissable event will include:

Interactive activities and live demonstrations from a variety of suppliers from each culture
Dressed rooms showcasing both civil and religious ceremonies and banquets
Catwalk fashion shows showcasing bridal and groomswear from each culture
Wedding planners’ lounge coordinated and hosted by SW Events, featuring master Jewish wedding planner Elegante by Michelle J
Complimentary refreshments available throughout the day
Pop-up restaurant featuring food from each culture – including kosher catering from Cohen’s Caterers
Free entry and parking
The first 50 couples through the door will receive a VIP goody bag

Sound good? All you need to do to register is RSVP here!

Real Jewish Brides: Jos on Finding Her Place in Judaism

15/01/2020 by Smashing The Glass Leave a Comment

Jos will be marrying Daniel on 28th June 2020 at Hackney Town Hall, London, UK. Click here to read all Jos’ planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Before meeting Daniel, Jos was known for her torrid dating tales – so much so that her friends used to call her Bridget Jonestein! (2) Daniel proposed to Jos in the Greek island of Naxos! (3) Jos is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

When I Was 21

On my 21st birthday my synagogue sent me a card. In the card, they wished me a very happy birthday, and explained that I was no longer a member on my parent’s membership and that I’d have to start paying for my own membership.

As a second year student at Birmingham University, I wasn’t particularly flush with money although, in truth, this is probably because I spent most of my student loan on M&S ready meals – this Jewish Princess wasn’t up for slumming it.

However, I can’t really blame my penchant for indulgent convenience for my decision not to pay for a shul membership.

Image by STG Recommended Vendor The Crawleys from Nicola and Dave‘s wedding
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Win a Performance from Balagan Roaming Band That ALL Your Wedding Guests Will Be Talking About!

14/01/2020 by Karen Cinnamon 1 Comment

We’re so excited to announce something totally new from the team behind Sensation Band… Balagan, the first and only roaming acoustic band in the world that offers Jewish wedding music sets – this is seriously the ULTIMATE in live Jewish wedding entertainment!

We’ve long been fans of Sensation Band, who’ve been bringing music from the biggest stages around the world to Jewish and Jew-ish weddings in London and around the world. Since launching five years ago, they’ve worked with some of the most creative and talented vendors around and entertained tens of thousands of guests in some of the coolest venues across the globe ( and of course we’ve featured Sensation in so many gorgeous real Jewish weddings here on Smashing The Glass over the years).

Now, with Balagan, they’re ready to crank the fun factor up to 11. Offering a 5-6 piece band consisting of singing guitarists, saxophone, percussion, and even an unmissable sousaphone! The band can roam around singing, dancing and interacting with guests during reception drinks, dinner, or during your party set.

Win a show stopping Performance from Balagan Roaming Band

We’re teaming up with Balagan to offer one lucky couple a chance to win a 5-piece Balagan acoustic roaming band to play at their wedding, free of charge! This is a truly incredible prize, worth over £3000 – so if you’re getting married between 1st March 2020 and 1st March 2021, read on to find out how to enter!

Why Choose a Roaming Band?

The greatest feature of a roaming band like Balagan is that it is designed from the outset to be fully mobile and fully personalized, so it’s perfect for receptions, dinner music or regular parties where the band can roam from table to table.

The band members are all highly talented musicians with outgoing personalities – they love getting in amongst the crowd and getting the party started.

The Jewish Wedding Set

Balagan is the only roaming acoustic band in the world (that we know of!) that offers Jewish sets. Fronted by an Israeli folk singer, you get truly authentic Israeli music brought to life in an immersive and fun way never seen before (why oh why weren’t Balagan around when I had my wedding?!).

This is an amazing alternative to the traditional format of having a band performing the Israeli set on stage – with Balagan you are in amongst the music. The band can also perform on a central podium with guests gathered around for dancing.

An immersive experience

Balagan gets everyone involved and makes the experience as immersive and participative as possible. They often suggest providing guests with personalised drums and tambourines, so even if they don’t know the words to the songs on the set list they can help create the music!

Why We Love Balagan for Jewish Weddings

You can’t beat the fun factor of a roaming band – Balagan creates an intimate, informal atmosphere guaranteed to get your guests talking
As a roaming band, Balagan connects with guests and tables in a totally personalized way that will make each and every attendee feel effortlessly comfortable and engaged in the celebration from the very beginning
Roaming bands are great in situations where there are specific sound restrictions, and Balagan can play acoustically without issue even where there are sound limiters in place
Without the need for a stage or any sound equipment, Balagan can work in pretty much any space available, no matter how small or large
And they also work with a range of budgets, depending on your needs
Give your guests a huge surprise by introducing the band out of nowhere with a guerrilla/flash mob entrance, guaranteed to get the whole room on their feet
Balagan can go fully wireless, so you get all the advantages of being fully mobile and acoustic, but you still get a big sound, mixed by a sound engineer

A Riki Dalal Bride for a Wedding Planner’s Own Jewish Wedding at Merrydale Manor, Knutsford, Cheshire, UK

13/01/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

We always love seeing what Jewish wedding pros choose when it comes to their very own big days, so we were excited for the beautiful wedding of beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rachel of Rachel Flax Events to groom Mikey, a property lawyer (#friendsforever, in honor of their new shared surname!) – especially after hearing the tantalizing tidbits she’s shared with our Brides Club!

Naturally, Rachel opted to plan her own wedding, and she really ended up with the perfect English country garden wedding with a touch of modern sophistication. Take her Perspex chuppah – it was chosen so that guests could have an unimpeded view of the ceremony as they were seated in a circle surrounding the structure, but there’s no denying it also added a hit of contemporary style to the pastoral surroundings.

Photographer David Stubbs and videographer YSD Media captured everything so beautifully, and naturally. Also, how cool is it that the pair had a chuppah painter on hand to paint the ceremony as it was happening?!.

We’re also obsessed with Rachel and Mikey’s gorgeous pocket fold invitations by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor E.Y.I Love in the bride’s trademark colours of dove grey and pale pink, with the couple’s logo in gold on the front to tie it all together.

Rachel and Mikey took advantage of the honeymoon planning prowess of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Abby Taubman to organize their upcoming trip to Japan – we’re sure it’s going to be totally fab!

There’s so much more we could say – we haven’t even gotten to the fact that the couple gave each and every guest a personal handwritten note on the day… and the guests were also treated to a bonfire at the end of the evening with a s’mores table!

Let’s hand you over to the bride, who looked gorgeous in a bespoke gown from Israeli designer Riki Dalal…

An Outdoor Wedding

Rachel, the bride: We got married in Merrydale Manor which is a new venue in Knutsford, Cheshire. It was incredibly important to me that my wedding venue felt as homey, exclusive and modern as possible. As a wedding planner, it was also key for me to have our wedding at a place that I hadn’t worked in before, which was a challenge!

An Atelier Acqua Chiara Bride for an Enchanted Forest Fairy Tale Wedding at Castello di Tor Crescenza, Rome, Italy

10/01/2020 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

A lot of weddings draw inspiration from fairy tales. But the Jewish wedding of Benedetta, who works in sales, and Ilya, in finance, really takes it up to the next level. Seriously, we’re still picking our jaws up off the floor after scrolling through their incredible photos, which really look like they could’ve come out of the latest live action Disney blockbuster.

When the couple first met with their amazing planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Deborah Di Castro, they knew she was the one when, on hearing the bride’s vision, she said, “It will be exactly like going to Snow White’s wedding!” And honestly, we’d be hard pressed to come up with a better description ourselves. You don’t want to miss Antonio Carneroli’s incredible photos and Sesame Films’ moving vide of the day.

There’s no better spot for a fairy tale wedding than a castle, and so Castello di Tor Crescenza was a fitting choice of venue. The whole affair, from outdoor chuppah to indoor reception, had a distinctly enchanted forest feel to it, bursting with peonies, roses, and hydrangeas in all shades of pinks and reds, plus some artfully arranged berries and forest foliage. Abundant candles, crystal chandeliers, and metallics brought in more than a hint of Beauty and the Beast’s enchanted castle, too.

Oh, and did we mention that that the couple had a henna in honor of Benedetta’s Libyan heritage? Looks like so much fun!

We could go on and on about this dreamy day, but we’ll leave it to the bride, who looked ravishingly romantic in her custom gown from Atelier Acqua Chiara, to fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Benedetta, the bride: Ilya and I met in South Africa during a holiday with friends. We immediately felt a connection and became friends straight away, and that friendship turned into a relationship very early on!