Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Galia Lahav Bride for a Super Luxe Jewish Wedding, with an Epic Chuppah, at The Dorchester, London, UK

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Brace yourselves, because today’s real Jewish wedding can only be described as a work of art, and we are really not exaggerating.

Georgia and Sam tied the knot at iconic London landmark, The Dorchester. Sam is a banker, while Georgia, a photographer and fitness instructor, is the daughter of Julian Posner, CEO of internationally renowned wedding and events company,  Banana Split, which is famed for transforming events into sensational worlds, with no detail spared.

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Georgia and Sam’s winter wonderland vision, complete with a sea of hundreds, possibly thousands of candles, was realised by Banana Split, with an abundance of flowers by  Wild at Heart  adorning the room, and an awe-inspiring light bulb installation, with a couple of incredible twists (we won’t ruin them for you, read on).

The entire spectacular production, which included a phenomenal nightclub setup, was not only perfectly captured by masterful photographer  Robert Shack, but with his sensitive eye and artistic vision, the resulting images are absolutely timeless and extremely striking. We feel very honored and excited to have them grace our pages.

We invite you, as always, to enjoy the images below, Georgia’s account of her big day plans, and the tearjerker of a wedding teaser by the wonderful team at  AtMotion.

We hope you love it all as much as we do!

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Divine dà©cor at The Dorchester

Georgia, the bride: We got married at The Dorchester in central London. It has always been a favourite venue of mine and the dà©cor and interior design worked really well with our designs and those which Banana Split created for us, as well as our caterer

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We’re celebrating our 4th birthday with a chic rebrand and a fun Facebook Live tonight!

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Notice anything different about us today? Oh, only everything! That’s right, we’ve treated ourselves to a gorgeous rebrand, courtesy of the internationally renowned USA Design Studio Branch, who designed our beautiful new look.

Our old logo was designed by me, way back in 2013 when STG was in its infancy. It’s served us beautifully, but now that we’re four, and all grown up, we felt it was time for a sophisticated rebrand, a whole new aesthetic that reflects the fact that we are the biggest Jewish wedding blog in the world.


Take a look at us now

We’ve come a long way since 2013. Back then, it was just me, with a laptop and a very big dream. We have now grown into a fantastic team of five:

We have gorgeous Maria, our amazing editorial assistant; ever-delightful Claire, our much-loved client relations manager; effervescent Sara, our fantastic features writer, and wonderful Megan; our very talented social media manager. And, of course, there’s me, Karen, the founder and editor.

While I will always be at the helm, and at the heart of STG, steering its direction, the brand has evolved way beyond just me, and I’m so happy and proud that we are all able to share in the day-to-day excitement of what we do.

Our social media channels have also been given a sprucing, you can check them out below (and if you haven’t already – what are you waiting for?) 

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Real Jewish Brides: Introducing Leah + Zak… How They Met to the Present Day

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Today on the blog we’re introducing our 6th amazing bride from our crop of 2017 and 2018 Real Jewish Brides! Please give a warm welcome to Leah who will be marrying Zak on 1st June 2018 at Masia Notari in Spain.

THREE FACTS: (1) Leah knew she wanted to convert to Judaism long before she met Zak. She feels that having a Jewish wedding is another milestone in her Jewish identity and is an opportunity for some of her family to experience new traditions. (2) Leah & Zak met on JDate (3) Leah and Zak are planning a beautiful black tie destination wedding in Barcelona, Spain

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How We Met

Now that we’ve been together over 4 years (and are engaged!), we are so much more open to admit that we met on JDate. In the early days of our relationship, whenever anyone would ask how Zak and I met, we’d often look at each other, shrug, and mumble quickly “online… JDate…” and hope to move on to a different line of questioning. This was pre JSwipe, Tinder, Bumble, etc so admitting that we met online wasn’t as normal as it is now.

I had just moved to North Texas for work and after moving four times in less than three years (all for the same company) I told myself I was going to try to settle in and make somewhere feel more like home. I found a shul where I felt comfortable and finally committed to something I always knew I wanted to do: converting to Judaism.

Around this time, a friend of mine was telling me about all of her awful JDate experiences. I figured I’d give JDate a try and worst case scenario if the dates were bad, we could laugh about them! Believe it or not, Zak was the second date I ever went on! I had seen his profile come up a few times and was intrigued when he messaged me. We messaged back and forth on JDate and finally when I was certain I wanted to talk to him, we exchanged numbers. 

Our First Date

I still remember the day he called me and asked me out to dinner later that week. A proper date?! Yes, please! I knew it was a good sign when we didn’t want the conversation to end at dinner and kept talking for hours after.

The very next day, Zak called me and asked me out again! We went to a movie and out for coffee after and talked for so long, they shut the restaurant down around us!

At the time, we lived 25 miles away from each other and we both left on trips soon after our second date which forced us to spend more time talking on the phone. I was so childishly excited to see him when we got back! There was never a day after that I wanted to be with anyone else!

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A fairy-light filled Jewish Barn Wedding with a crowd-surfing Enzoani Bride at Tewin Bury Farm, Hertfordshire

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If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years about Essex couples, it’s that they know how to party – and party is exactly what fun-loving Sammy and Wayne did, with gusto! In fact, they partied so hard to STG Recommended Vendor, Totem‘s, set, that bride Sammy threw caution to the wind, and herself into the arms of her guests, becoming our first crowd-surfing bride!

Sammy, an assistant producer with credits on just about all of your favourite entertainment shows, and Wayne a lettings manager, met as teenagers, and these childhood sweethearts stayed together through thick and thin, tying the knot on their ten-year anniversary.

The pair chose a rustic barn theme, with an abundance of gypsophila and a plethora of twinkling fairy lights, creating an absolutely magical atmosphere. 

Sammy looked sensational in her Enzoani gown, and Jenny Packham heels, which she later swapped for embellished, personalized Converse, echoing one of her favorite films, Father of the Bride. 

All of the details (including that epic crowd surf) can be seen in much-loved STG Recommended Vendor, Denee Motion‘s, film (below) and the gorgeous images by photographer, Reportage By Limited.

We’ll pass you on to Sammy for the full lowdown on her and Wayne’s special day! 

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How we met 

Sammy, the bride: We went to King Solomon High School in Essex, but Wayne was two school years above me and emigrated from South Africa when he was 14 years old. We never spoke at school.

When I was in sixth form and Wayne was on a gap year before university, we met at a mutual friend’s birthday party in a nightclub. We clicked straight away, and went on our first date a week later.

On our first date, we went to a restaurant where we chatted for five hours, we practically got chucked out of the restaurant as we didn’t want the night to end. The rest, as they say, is history.

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A Romantic Jewish Wedding Bringing the Outside Inside, at The Grove, Hertfordshire, UK

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Every marriage faces its tests, but for Jenna and Nick, their dedication to one another was tested very early on in the relationship, when Jenna faced medical and family hardships – and Nick proved to be her rock, and a total keeper.

One conversion later, and Nick, now a fully fledged member of the tribe, and Jenna, said “I do” in front of their nearest and dearest. His moving wedding speech can be heard in the special stills video below by much-loved Recommended Vendor, Adams Photography, who also shot the wedding in full. Tissues at the ready, guys….

We love the romantic story about how these two chose their dream venue – going on atmosphere and instinct, which proved to be a magical moment in itself. 

To mirror the venue’s ethos of ‘bringing the outside inside’, Nick and Jenna did exactly that, creating a bloom-filled dà©cor scheme, with an abundance of delicate gypsophila, soft pink roses and a stunning tree-inspired table plan.

We’ll leave you in Jenna’s capable hands for the full recap, including a fortuitous find at David’s Bridal – clearly this big day was totally meant to be!

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How we met

Jenna, the bride: Long-ish story! We met on Plenty of Fish! I basically was unsure, at first, about dating a non-Jewish guy, so I kept Nick a secret until I was sure it was something serious.

A week after Nick and I started talking, I was working on a film in Newcastle, and I slipped on some ice and really hurt my back. I flew back to London (barely able to walk) and went to see a specialist, who told me if I didn’t have surgery the next day, I could be paralysed. The following day I had surgery, and four days later my grandmother passed away.

I was left alone in my hospital bed in London, and Nick was a rock to me during that time. He was so supportive (be it over the phone) and we really got to know each other inside out. I understand it was not the most conventional way of dating, but once I was back on my feet, we met up and it felt like we had known each other for years. It just felt so right.

Six months later, I introduced him to the family. A few months after that, Nick came to me and asked me how I would feel if he was to convert to Judaism. I was really surprised by his question, but also felt a lot of admiration towards him. It was very important to Nick that when we were to have children that we are all on the same page and part of a family unit. Nick spent 18 months converting to Judaism, he learnt Hebrew, he had a circumcision (now that is commitment!) and after all of that lengthy process, Nick is now a proud Jew and I am, of course, very proud of him!

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