Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

The Sound of Wedding Music – Top DJs, Live Bands, Instrumentalists – Caliente has it ALL covered…

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CalienteAs I walked down the aisle towards Mr STG, a string quartet struck the first notes of Barry White’s The First, My Last, My Everything. Then Jerusalem of Gold. Come on, there are no rules, right?

Under the chuppah, a chazan sang so soulfully that he captured and melted the hearts of all present. And when Mr STG smashed the glass, the strings started up again for a joyous Mazal Tov/Hava Nagila medley.

After dinner my dad and his cousin followed this with a surprise rendition of ‘Swell Party / Well, Did You Evah‘. And the DJ took the party from there. Our wedding was a very personal musical extravaganza from beginning to end and we just loved it.

When it comes to your Jewish wedding, the music you choose will be as important as the venue. It becomes the heartbeat of your day and carries your guests along.

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Who can create your Wedding Soundtrack?

Meet Caliente — a Tel Aviv based company — who totally get this and will cover the ENTIRE soundtrack of your big day. They’re creative, massively experienced and provide DJs, bands, instrumentalists and singers to pretty much anywhere in the world.

They’ll sort out all your musical needs, including ones you didn’t even know you had — live singer with a DJ set anyone?

In fact, two of our upcoming STG real wedding features used these guys and LOVED them – watch out for those posts in the coming weeks.

Will they have something for you? Absolutely. Caliente has a HUGE collection of stunning acts. You can take your pick. They cover all musical genres from soft jazz ensembles, chuppah music (see the video below – I just love it), chamber string quartets, live artists and bands (with original or cover music) to seriously impressive top DJs that’ll rock your party.

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Join me at the Sassi Holford Open Day on 21st February – an absolute must for all the bridal party

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Sassi-Holford-London-Open-DayAttention lovely brides-to-be! On Tuesday 21st February I shall be donning my hot pink shoes and hitting the ground running as the official blogger for the Open Day of one of my favourite bridal designers — the internationally renowned Sassi Holford, and I would so love to see you there to talk all thing weddings!

Join me, any time between 4 and 8pm, at the sparkling new Sassi Holford flagship boutique in Central London’s super glam Fulham Road where you’ll be welcomed with a glass of champagne. You’ll have the opportunity to chat with me and all the suppliers involved (see the full list below), watch live demonstrations, and get all your burning wedding planning questions answered by experts at the live Q&A session taking place at 6pm (which will also be Facebook live streamed via Smashing The Glass).

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As well as Sassi’s meticulously handcrafted luxury Wedding Dresses, her brand new Mother of the Bride, Evening Wear, Bridesmaids & Accessories Collections will also be on show making it the perfect late afternoon or evening out for the entire bridal party.

Kate Nielen, one of my much-loved and super talented Smashing Suppliers, will be photographing the event alongside me, and there’s so much to look forward to, from Pamela & Andrea‘s live make up demos (an amazing opportunity for you and your best girls to perfect your big day look) to Lavender Green‘s fabulous ‘Bouquet Bar’, and the gorgeous Emmy London (designer of my infamous pink shoes) showcasing not only her selection of bridal shoes but also her occasionwear too.

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St Eramus, Stephanie Browne, and Jane Taylor Millinery will also be there with a range of beautiful accessories to finish your look perfectly! 

This Open Day? It’s a can’t miss, lovelies. Mark those calendars NOW and RSVP to Aimee@sassiholford.com to get your tickets. Just be sure to let her know the number of guests coming and what time approximately you’re thinking of arriving.

I can’t wait to see you there!

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A whimsical woodland Jewish wedding with a Jenny Packham gown at South Farm, Royston, UK

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Pull on those wellies, we’re taking another trip to whimsical Hertfordshire venue, South Farm, for Clare and Toby’s magical, woodland-themed wedding. This country-inspired Jewish big day had everything from berries in the bouquet to a spot of light duck herding at the drinks reception — as you do!

There are so many divine details to drool over, from the beautiful moss, foliage and rose-heavy floral arrangements to the sublime scented candles, provided by the bride’s sister.

Fortunately, every last detail was perfectly captured in a collection of stunning images by much-loved sponsor and incredibly talented photographer Ria Mishaal.

We’re also totally head-over-heels in love with beautiful bride Clare’s drop-dead-gorgeous wintry and etherial Jenny Packham gown, paired with sparkly Jenny Packham headpieces.

Oh, and we’ve already mentioned the duck herding, but seriously, how cute are those ducks? It’s enough to make us think that every wedding should have a cheeky pen-full of feathered friends handy.

We’ll leave you with Clare now for the full report. Take it away, Clare!

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How we met

Clare, the bride: We met at work. Toby was a bit hesitant about dating someone at work so we ‘courted’ for about a year before we finally became official.

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A laid-back, intimate venue at South Farm, Royston 

We got married at South Farm in Royston. I thought it was such a beautiful, laid back and intimate venue. Plus, I love animals so the animal enclosure sold it to me. On a more practical level it had everything we needed: rooms for the night, indoor and outdoor ceremony options and a separate room for tea and coffee. 

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Real Jewish Brides: Always a Bridesmaid, Finally a Bride!

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It’s finally 2017, which means Harley and I have been engaged for 9 months, most of our wedding has been planned for the past 4 months, and festivities like my bridal shower and bachelorette party are within reach. Soon we’ll be asking “Where did the time go?” as our wedding day quickly approaches, but for now I’m excited that wedding tasks are beginning to pick up again!

We’re attending the tasting at our venue this weekend and deciding on bridal party attire was a hot topic over winter vacation, so I figured what’s more appropriate to write about on the day my first bridesmaid buys her dress than the lovely ladies who will be standing by my side as I marry me best friend?!

I’m not going to lie. Choosing bridesmaids was not the easiest part of wedding planning. I’ve got a family full of girls, have maintained amazing friendships since middle school, and was in a sorority in college which has brought me lifelong friends, so it shouldn’t be surprising to anyone I know that I will be having 11 bridesmaids!

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Bridesmaids from a past Florida Jewish Wedding lovingly blogged on Smashing The Glass

Harley always picks on me for the Buzzfeed Quizzes I enjoy taking, so of course all of my wedding decision-making started with these fun quizzes. I initially took  one to help me narrow down my bridal party, which included a point system with equations such as (“You’ve been BFFs forever: +1 for every five years you’ve been close” and “She was a bridezilla at her own wedding: -3 points”), but then I realized that our wedding it not the Hunger Games and to me, more truly is merrier.

“Family: A Link to our Past and a Bridge to our Future”  

As mentioned, my family is full of girls. I’m just lucky enough to actually like them all! Family members in my wedding party will be my sister and Matron of Honor Jill, my stepsisters Aimee and Ashley, and my cousin Carly.

I am the third sister in our family to get married within a year and a half of each other, so we’ve all been pretty busy planning each other’s bridal showers and bachelorette parties. This also means our formal wear wardrobes have quickly expanded and we’re all about to go on our third bachelorette cruise together in May.

Carly is my younger cousin who has always been my mini-me, until she decided to grow one summer and became one of the tallest people in our family. Asking her to be a bridesmaid was definitely one of my favorite wedding planning moments so far because of how excited we both were. Thank goodness for iPhones…tears and shrieks of excitement filled the room during our Facetime session, and I got it all on camera!

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Just in time for Valentine’s Day – Monica Vinader’s new Nura collection

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Nura-Monica-VinaderValentine’s Day is just over a week away! While I’m sure you’ve all already lovingly selected and wrapped your Valentine’s Day gifts (ha!) I thought I’d offer a last-second helping hand, for anyone who might still be in a bit of a panic.

One of the best things about blogging is that I get to really shout about my very favourite brands. It’s absolutely no secret that I’m a MASSIVE fan of jewellery brand, Monica Vinader. I mean really, it’s not a secret. I really love Monica Vinader. I mean really, really.

I love that the jewellery is luxurious but still within the realms of affordability, I love the subtle and chic aesthetic, I love the ease of personalisation — did I mention I heart Monica Vinader?

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Nura Heart Bracelet (left) and Nura Heart Necklace (right)

I also have personal and sentimental reasons for my Monica Vinader obsession. A Monica Vinader fiji bracelet played a big part in my own relationship history. The now Mr. STG bought me the bracelet as a birthday present just weeks into our relationship, and it was a defining moment for me as I began to realise the potential for our wonderful future together. He has bought me several cherished pieces throughout our relationship, each one a souvenir of a dearly held memory

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Nura Heart Necklace  

So imagine my excitement when I heard about the launch of the latest collection, Nura. A perfect choice for Valentine’s Day given the heart-shape motif running through the collection, the fact that each piece is embedded with ethically-sourced diamonds — oh and the reasonable price point.

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