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Real Jewish Brides: Fran… My Perfect Groomzilla!

20/11/2016 by Smashing The Glass

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Disclaimer: I have used the term ‘Bridezilla’ and ‘Groomzilla’ throughout this blog. I as a bride-to-be have chosen to use these terms in a positive and humorous way. The wedding industry has taken these terms and turned them into something negative. I hope that this blog shows that owning the terms and showing the positives of being a bride and groom who know what they want is not something to fear or shy away from.

Last weekend marked one year since Gideon and I got engaged. It is also 5 years since the start of our relationship. A special time for us both and one which has led me to reflect on Gideon’s role in our wedding process and the role of men in weddings in general.

When most people think of men and weddings they see disinterest or allowing the bride to just get on with things. In one Facebook group that I am a member of, future brides are constantly posting about how they feel lonely in the process or that their other halves aren’t really interested in florists or food or themes. However, for me I have the total opposite. I have a groom who wants our wedding to be the most perfect day. He thinks about every small detail and is just as much involved in the wedding process as I am. Of course I am very much the project manager but he makes a remarkable second in command! We are on this continuous journey together and I love that we are learning things about one another as well as supporting and guiding each other.

As I reflect on our wedding planning so far I can see that I am definitely a slight Bridezilla but Gideon is also a slight Groomzilla — we really are the perfect match! In a recent Brides Magazine article ‘5 Signs you are dealing with a Groomzilla’ it talks about this new phenomena sweeping the wedding world. A groom who cares as much, if not more, about creating the perfect wedding for him and his wife to be. I am going to use four of their signs to illustrate why Gideon is not only the perfect Groomzilla but why that makes him the perfect soon to be husband. For some Groomzilla might sound like a nightmare, but teamed with my Bridezilla it’s a match made in heaven, sprinkled with the odd argument and tense moment of course (we are human after all!).

1. He won’t budge

Gideon has got his ideas and is quite set on them. I too have my ideas and am quite set on them. I tend to think his ideas are wrong unless they completely follow my ideas or merely add to them. However, he is quite the same. This has led to some interesting conversations such as: serving Pizza at the wedding. Gideon loves pizza. I like pizza. Gideon feels his wedding would not be his wedding unless Pizza featured somewhere. Once he learnt he wasn’t really going to be featuring at the Reception part of the wedding he turned down the option of having it then. After further consultation regarding a main course of pizza, and finally deciding that creating the whole table out of pizza was completely unrealistic!? We have settled on some sort of Pizza at the hotel for those guests still hungry. (This is a Jewish wedding after all!) I love that he is so passionate about our wedding and making sure that it is completely ‘us’ as I think most of our guests would agree it couldn’t be a Fran and Gid wedding without Pizza and I am really glad he didn’t give up on the dream and Groomzillad his way to getting it!

Luckily on most other things he has pretty much allowed me to have free reign and if I put up enough of an argument supported by clear evidence (Pinterest photos) explaining why I think it is a good idea and why his isn’t, I on the whole win!Continue Reading

The Best Israeli Wedding Band Ever!

18/11/2016 by Karen

We love an Israeli wedding here at STG and have covered everything from spectacular to super casual Big Days, as well as more recently, a heart-achingly gorgeous Jerusalem tale.

For many, Israel is the ultimate Jewish destination wedding; it is the most spiritual place on earth that you could choose to make this special commitment to your partner. And while it carries momentous cultural meaning, that’s just one side of its nuptial allure. Israel is also a place where east meets west, where the sun shines eight months of the year, it’s beautiful, exotic, energetic and FUN. You’d be hard pushed to match the vivacity and heady enjoyment of an Israeli bash — and where there’s a party, there’s music!

If you’re thinking of heading to Israel to marry your beloved, I implore you to follow this amazing Tel Aviv based party band, The Live Band.

This eight-to-fourteen piece outfit really is THE Israeli wedding band. Incredibly professional, energetic, charismatic and super glamorous (think tailored suits and glittery cocktail dresses), The Live Band know exactly how to create a performance that builds energy and excitement throughout the night.

They can whip the crowd up and have them eating out of the palm of their hand with their belting tunes, incredible stage presence and outstanding repertoire. From Hava Nagila to Uptown Funk they will find a playlist to suit you and your guests perfectly. Don’t believe me – just watch!

Have Atmosphere — Will Travel

Luckily The Live Band are set up to do international gigs, so whilst they are Tel Aviv-based, fret not as they can, will and have travelled anywhere in the world to bring the party. So you can have the big band Israel-style delivered to you wherever you are.

Live Band vs DJ

Traditionally, an Israeli wedding is more about the DJ but increasingly people are now turning to bands – as an alternative or as an addition – to give their wedding that extra pizazz, the real showmanship and explosive atmosphere that only live music can bring. And that’s where (aptly named) The Live Band. step in.

The Live Band’s musical signature, lead by founding members Yuval Niv and Yonatan Fridge, in collaboration with incredible vocalists and super talented instrumentalists, is a polished, upbeat sound, delivered with incredible energy and performance. There’s no singing from song sheets like the dreaded wedding singers from films. They are experienced, professional musicians who love what they do and have played with the top singers and bands in the Israeli music industry — Rita, Shlomo Artzi, Idan Raichel, Ivri Lider …

You just cant replicate that magical moment when all your favourite people in the world are all on their feet, dancing to the same (perfectly chosen, well-timed) tune, smiling, singing, hands in the air and of course one of two with their eyes closed, lost in the moment. And that’s what this Tel Aviv band bring. If there is one thing The Live Band knows how to do, it’s how to make a party explode!

Yvonne & Craig’s rustic chic, beautifully personal Jewish wedding at Micklefield Hall, Hertfordshire ,UK

15/11/2016 by Karen

Some weddings are a feast for the eyes — some are a treat for the heart. And some weddings are beautifully both! Yvonne and Craig’s contemporary rustic chic wedding at Micklefield Hall in Hertfordshire, UK, shot by our inimitably talented Smashing Supplier Laura Babb, was a beautiful blend of eye-catching dà©cor and eye-dabbing personal detail.

Bride Yvonne, who recently converted to Judaism, works in design and boy can you tell. The wedding was dotted with perfectly pulled together design details; a colour scheme in soft blush pinks and whites, rustic ladders, chalkboards featuring gorgeous typography, a naked Victoria sponge — and then there was that stationery.

Yvonne took on the brave and loving task of designing and creating her whole stationery suite: from her box-set themed table signage to the 150 lovingly handcrafted (and hand gilded) invitations received by her guests.

Oh, and adorable favour idea alert: Yvonne and Craig treated each guest to a hand-decorated personalised mini bottle of pink champagne and stripy straw so they could be enjoyed during the festivities. How cute is that?

Yvonne and Craig’s big-hearted wedding also involved some astoundingly touching personal details, including a framed photograph of Yvonne’s late mother, which took pride of place during the ceremony. Yvonne and her father made the chuppah together from materials from both sides of the family, and don’t even get me started on the lovely personalised gift that Yvonne sent to Craig on the morning of the wedding…

I hope you love staring at this divine, detail-laden dream as much as I did — and make sure you check out the quirky and cool Marryoke video at the end? What’s that, you ask? I won’t ruin it for you. Enjoy!

How We Met

Yvonne, the bride: Craig and I met in a pub in Islington after Craig walked over to me and announced that he ‘had to introduce himself’! Craig played it very cool after that and waited another three weeks until he asked me out on our first date. We have been together for six years now and have made some incredible memories together. I decided to convert to Judaism a couple of years ago and although it was extremely hard work, it really was the most incredible experience and really brought me and Craig even closer together. Craig was a great support and spent hours helping me to revise and learn all the Jewish customs he was familiar with.

The Pros and Cons of a Destination Wedding

13/11/2016 by Smashing The Glass

Having a destination wedding, just like any other choice in life — has it’s long list of pros and cons. When Alex and I first began the conversation of where we’d like to tie the knot, we we’re slightly overwhelmed with the possibilities. The world was ours. Would we travel abroad? Stay within the country? East or West Coast? In the end, only three options really made sense for us: Florida – where my parents live, Arizona – where Alex’s parents live, and Washington, DC – where we’ve built our home together.

Two weeks after we got engaged, we flew out to Tucson, Arizona to visit his parents, as they threw us a lovely engagement party. At that point in the planning (only two weeks in), Alex and I barely had a grasp of what we wanted from the big day. Since we were already in Arizona, we figured we might as well take advantage of that, and explore some venues. The week prior to our trip, I contacted 5 different venues for fall / winter 2016 availability and pricing. Collecting a little binder of information prior to landing in Arizona. And good thing I did, since the moment we landed, wedding talk seemed to be the only conversational topic.

Image: Julian Wainwright, taken from Melissa & Ishay’s Jew-ish destination wedding in Thailand

The morning of the engagement party, Alex’s dad drove us around the city to various appointments, narrowed down to 4 at that point. Once we stepped foot on Tubac Golf Resort, we knew we had found something really special. We loved the atmosphere, the ranch-style hotel rooms, the layout of the property, the ballrooms, the heated-covered patios, the gorgeous well kept lawns where we’d potentially hold our ceremony — everything.

For various reasons, Florida and DC were ruled out. So Arizona made the next most sense. And after our tour of Tubac, we felt it was the right place for us. We didn’t give it much more thought than that. I signed the contract that very week we returned home to DC. And then, the rest of the planning, booking, and arranging began!

Planning the wedding from 2,500+ miles away hasn’t been the easiest, I will be the first to say that, and in fact it’s caused a reasonable amount of stress. I wanted to share my pros and cons list with any future brides still deciding, or to any brides that have already settled on a destination wedding for them to relate to.

Image: Susan Stripling, taken from Natasha & Jez’s Jewish destination wedding in Cap Ferrat, South of France

Romantic, Designer Weddings in Spain – planned to perfection by Reviva Weddings

11/11/2016 by Karen

If you’re considering casting the biggest day of your life in a romantic sun-drenched destination and are fancy a trend setting, stylish and contemporary vibe – bespoke but definitely twinkly – then you simply must be introduced to Reviva Weddings. I’ve been following them for a while now and am totally impressed with this Marbella- based team of wedding planners, known for creating cutting edge weddings across Spain.

Jewish Weddings in Spain

Reviva Weddings has built up an extraordinary network of suppliers and has become one of the most established and popular wedding planners in Spain. And importantly for STG readers, they have created many beautiful Jewish weddings.

Having organised epic Jewish weddings for up to 400 guests, and with an understanding of the requirements for Jewish and mixed faith marriages, you’ll be in very capable hands with British-born Reviva founder, Laura Charles and her team. From beautifully dressed chuppahs to venues who can offer kosher catering, they’re on it.

You had me at “Interior Designer”

Apart from the planning and coordination services you’d hope for, Reviva is holding a major trump card — Laura Charles, the owner, is an interior designer. This is the first time I’ve come across an interior designer turned wedding planner and it’s like music to my ears. After all, this is one day when you need someone to really take charge of the mise en scà¨ne, to craft the stage and create the atmosphere and oh my, she is darn good at it.

Laura, who has lived in Spain for years, started Reviva in 2007 originally as a wedding stylist. There was a real demand for super stylish weddings in Spain but it didn’t seem like anyone was renting out any decor or equipment at all. You couldn’t even hire a chair sash, let alone sequin table runners and a neon bar.

So she started Reviva, doing both wedding styling (including equipment/props hire) and the full wedding planning service. Because of her background and passion for the visual, Laura has formed an extremely accomplished, design-focused company. And to help – she has a fabulous team of trained wedding planners behind her who are brilliant, bilingual, and supremely creative. All ready to organise and style your day.