Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Searching for an exceptional wedding planner? It has to be Lamare London

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Liesl-Lamare-London-Wedding-PlannersWow, 1st of February already. How did that happen? 2017 is going so fast but I hope our newly engaged readers are still in that blissful day-dreamy phase.

When you let your mind wander, what would your guests say about your fantasy wedding? Would they say it was chic, smart, brilliant and SO YOU? Will they be talking about those gorgeous, thoughtful touches that brought the whole occasion together?

Please meet Lamare London. These extraordinary wedding planners specialise in getting just that reaction. They plan and craft weddings in the UK that are brimming with style and personality.

And no matter what the size of your wedding, every event gets the same TLC treatment. For Lamare London, this means ‘Touches of Luxury and Character”. I love that.

Lamare London works on a “luxury is in each detail” principle. And that’s got everything to do with it’s founder Liesl Lamare. 

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About Liesl Lamare

Liesl, who’s been organising weddings and events for ten years, is an unshakeable, detail-led and supremely creative, planner. She’s zeitgeisty and brings this to her work. Her influences include emerging interior design trends, fashion, travel and exhibitions. She’s got taste, folks. Lots of it.

Liesl is also actually a good friend of mine. We met through the industry and have spent loads of time together over the last couple of years. She’s amazing — such a lovely person but also so sophisticated, stylish and graceful. You know those people who just ooze understated glamour and are always well put together?

Unsurprisingly, the weddings she plans with her team at Lamare London are as crisp and gorgeous as the woman herself. 

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Why Use a Wedding Planner?

You could SAVE money, gain control over your wedding and take away a whole lot of stress.

For most, your wedding day will probably be the first major event you’ve organised and it’s one hell of a learning curve if you go it alone.

So what can you expect to gain with a GOOD wedding planner like Lamare London?

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An autumnal Jewish wedding with a bride in a Melanie Potro dress at the Intercontinental on Park Lane, London

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Jewish-Wedding-Intercontinental-on-Park-Lane-London Fall has arrived early on STG! If you’re already missing all the seasonal colourful leaves, chunky knits and spicy drinks, then settle in and relive the season with Frances and Rudi’s magically autumnal real wedding, captured by photographer Elegant & Wild. 

Beautiful bride, Frances, wore an astoundingly stunning bespoke gown made by much-loved Smashing Supplier, Melanie Potro. The gown evoked echoes of Audrey Hepburn, and Frances looked like an absolute dream. We’re totally in love! We also highly approve of Frances’s choice to pair the dress with gorgeous, glittery gold heels.

Talented Frances was also able to harness her creative side, crafting the entire autumnal stationery suite for the wedding and even launching her own website selling her gorgeous products.

Melanie Potro wasn’t the only Smashing Supplier at Rudi and Frances’s big day. Amazing party band, Sensation Band, also played at the reception, even saving the day by keeping everyone entertained during a temporary mishap.

We also want to mention the beautiful, sentimental chuppah idea of using tallis from the bride and grooms’ respective grandfathers. The story behind this is so moving and it was a really wonderful way to honour generations of  their families. 

I’ll hand over to our gorgeous bride to tell us more. Take it away, Frances!  

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How we met

Frances, the bride: We have lots of mutual friends, we were friends on Facebook and knew each other from parties over the years, but in the end it was that good old matchmaker, Tinder, that got us together.

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An appropriately named venue: Intercontinental on Park Lane in London

We got married at the Intercontinental on Park Lane, quite simply because it was central and big enough to hold 300 people. My Dad gave a nod to its significance in his speech, commenting on the ‘intercontinental’ nature of our wedding. Rudi’s family is from Iraq and mine from London, although prior to that Austria, Russia and Poland. We had guests from all over too.

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A fun festival Masorti Jewish wedding with a bride in an Alice Temperley dress at South Farm, Hertfordshire, UK

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Every now and then, one of those real weddings lands in the STG inbox that just genuinely looks like so much fun that we wish we would have been invited too!

Between the vintage funfair games, pink flamingos, glamping, bouncy castle, ice cream truck (in that order, we hope) and photobooth, as well as providing a crà¨che for their friends’ kids, this conscientious couple could not have put more effort into keeping their guests entertained.

Charlotte and Dan’s fun-filled, laid-back, festival-style wedding took place at South Farm in Royston, Hertfordshire and was shot by photographer Kristian Leven.

Bride, Charlotte, wowed with fresh flowers in her hair and an an Alice Temperley dress fit for a boho bride (and for a quick go on the bouncy castle!).

Charlotte and Dan didn’t let the disappointment of their outdoor ceremony being rained off spoil their big day. Instead, they ran with their plan B, moving the ceremony to the barn. Forget crying babies, this couple had to contend with oinking pigs and crowing cockerels, making their Masorti ceremony all the more interesting.

Equality was also an important factor in the planning of the day. The Masorti ceremony was chosen due to its inclusivity and Charlotte delivered a speech, as did her close, female friends. Who runs the world?

In true festival style, the party went on until the early hours — a roaring success all round. Let’s hand over to Charlotte to tell us more about her and Dan’s special day.

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How we met

Charlotte, the bride: Dan is my big brother Paul’s best friend. Naughty naughty…

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A quirky, outdoorsy venue at South Farm in Royston, UK

We chose to get married at South Farm in Royston due to its laid-back style and country feel. It was the only venue we looked at because we knew exactly what we wanted. We aren’t into fussy formal weddings and we wanted everyone to feel relaxed and happy.

The venue is quirky yet beautiful and we had free range to personalise it which was really important to us. I grew up in the country and am quite outdoorsy and so wanted the venue to reflect that.

South Farm is not too far from London (50 minutes) but still has that rural feel. We wanted to make the wedding as stress free as possible for everyone especially seeing as were married on a Monday.

Everyone that worked at South Farm was so passionate about the venue, in particular the incredible chef Matt and our beyond amazing event organizer Becky. I could not have asked for more helpful, dedicated and lovely people to help plan the day with.

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Facebook Live Catch Up: Jewish Wedding Q&A

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Last night we went LIVE for the very first episode of our exciting new monthly show especially for the STG worldwide community, and it was so much fun!

We talked about everything from the best high street bridal designers to my new pink shoes (?) to our exciting upcoming collaboration with The Savoy to how to make your friends and family feel included at your wedding to why we smash the glass to… you get the idea — we talked about everything under the ‘wedding’ sun!

It was fantastic to feel the warmth of the STG community around the world — a BIG thank you to all of you who joined! The replay is above in case you couldn’t join us live.

This was the first in a monthly episode of STG shows that will be aired live on the last Wednesday of every month on Facebook at 8pm GMT(that’s 3pm EST, 12pm PST, and 10pm in Israel) to coincide with #WeddingWednesday.

Next month’s show is going out on Wednesday 22nd February 2017, and I’ll be joined by one of my favourite wedding photographers, the magnificent Blake Ezra, for a ‘Get All Your Wedding Photography Questions Answered’ live show. More details nearer the time… but you can be sure that the ‘halo effect’ in  yesterday’s show will not be making a reappearance when a photography expert is involved!

I’ll leave you with some useful links relating to some of the topics I talked about in yesterday’s show:

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Create an epic wedding with Israeli event organiser Danny Marx

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Montana & Justin’s real Israeli wedding, planned by Danny Marx, blogged on Smashing The Glass

Today I am SO excited to feature one of the most impressive wedding planners and producers that I’ve come across — Danny Marx. He’s a born and bred Jerusalemite who specialises in creating destination weddings in Israel AND Israeli-style weddings all over the world.

I’ve got a serious soft spot for Israeli weddings — I just love a chuppah under the stars and an all-night party vibe. Not to mention the boundless amounts of food, colour and absolute JOY. But we can’t all get to Israel for our big day. So if you want the Israeli spirit for your wedding, without the travel, Danny Marx really can bring the party to you.

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Whether in Israel or elsewhere, Danny aims to create an unforgettable day, rammed to the rafters with an authentic feel-good vibe. But with a background in film, he also knows what LOOKS GOOD. He’s got an eye for stagecraft and delivers glamour.

A visionary? Yes. But reasonably priced? Totally.

His past clients have called him honest, patient, organized, professional, tactful, charismatic and positive. I myself had the pleasure of meeting Danny a few months ago in London and he was utterly delightful. He was keen to let STG readers know that he organises weddings for ALL BUDGETS. Bear in mind that this is a man who’s created epic events in some of the most exciting venues — including the iconic Tower of David.

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How it works

After initial contact, Danny and his partner Alon, will meet you, whether it is in Israel or abroad. This is usually after several phone calls and emails. 

The most important thing is your vision – how you’d like your wedding to look and feel. From that point Danny Marx and his team plot a preliminary theme and get going to find the perfect selection of venues, service providers and content suppliers.

The aim is to give total peace of mind throughout and Danny and his team tends to every logistical part of the wedding, especially with very complex, outdoor or unique sites. They are the ultimate safe pair of hands.Continue ReadingContinue Reading