Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

A Jewish-Caribbean Wedding (in ‘Pride & Prejudice’ fancy dress!) at Cowley Manor, Cotswolds, UK

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Yes, a Jewish-Caribbean Wedding in period fancy dress is actually a thing — or at least Emma and James have certainly made it a thing. Think ‘Pride & Prejudice’ meets Jimmy Choo. Think the Hora and Caribbean steel bands. Think jerk chicken BBQ with salt beef sandwiches for midnight munchies. Too good right?!

And it’s all such brilliant fun. Of course it’s not just the creative ideas and details that make a wedding awesome, it’s how much of a good time everyone is having and this bunch are having A REALLY GOOD time. All I can say is gutted I wasn’t invited!

With thanks to the ever lovely Amy Murrell from Especially Amy for submitting the eye candy.

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How we met

Emma, the bride: We meet at a work summer ball, it wasn’t until 3am when we finally plucked up enough courage to talk to one another!

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A weekend wedding at Cowley Manor, Cotswolds

We wanted somewhere away from London so our friends and family would stay over and make a weekend of it. We regularly go on holiday with friends in the UK and the Cotswolds is a favoured location.

The uniqueness of Cowley Manor made it the perfect venue; from the quirkiness of the downstairs rooms, to the grandeur of the building and splendour of the grounds and gardens — we knew it was right for us the moment we walked in.

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Be sure to make each other laugh, even when you have made each other cry

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By the time this post is live, we will be 1 week away from the big day. As I’m sure you can imagine, the last few weeks have been just a little bit hectic and I still do have rather a lot left to do — I can hear my mother’s voice in my head saying “typical Lauren” right now. Whilst trying to think of what to write in my last pre-wedding post I struggled to come up with something specific and useful to write about that could shed some light on what it is like to be a bride at the final stages of prep, but nothing was jumping out at me as interesting.

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I felt that writing a post about the last minute tasks that I have to complete may actually add to my sleepless nights, but could potentially help focus me and force me to get those things done… so here is a small insight into my mind when I am lying awake at night thinking of all the things I need to do (please note that this was written over 2 weeks before the wedding day so I still have a little bit of time):

  • Sew up the chuppah canopy
  • Write the final signs and table names
  • Hammer the signs onto posts
  • Finish table plan
  • Sort out the children’s activities and packs
  • Make the table runners
  • Buy last few thank you gifts
  • Get outfit steamed
  • Final beauty prep — final hair appointment, nails etc.
  • Write the place  cards
  • Final meeting with wedding venue staff
  • Arrange transport for all signs, wine and props that we are providing
  • Write up our Ketubah (nicely!)
  • Write vows
  • Get married legally
  • Delegate some of the above!

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Get the Look – Modern Bohemian Luxe – from Francis Bridal

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Just imagine how Pippa Middleton is feeling? She’s already stunned the world once in that ivory Alexander McQueen thunder-stealing gown when she walked down the aisle in 2011 behind her sister at  Westminster Abbey. Now she somehow has to top that for her own wedding, to hedge fund manager James Matthews.

Will she decide to set herself apart from that now iconic maid of honour silhouette and choose a completely different style? Will she move more towards opulent and embellished, floaty and ethereal or minimal and modern?

The point is Pippa is no different from any other bride — yes she is in the public eye but at that very moment she finally chooses her dress, she is saying to the rest of the world “this is how I want to be seen on the biggest day of my life”.  And every bride is saying exactly that.

Famous or not, you’ve got to find your own true wedding style. After all it is a (beautifully elevated) representation of yourself.

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Francis Bridal Design — Bohemian Luxe

If that ‘look’ that you are envisioning is tumbledown tresses and beautifully finished, bohemian elegance then you are in luck, I have just the designer for you!

I’m delighted to introduce to STG, Francis Bridal Design – the first bridal collection from designer Trish Irving.

This look is modern, low-key luxe — serious boho if you like. Just take a look for yourself at these gorgeous unstructured, vintage-feel masterpieces.  

Each piece — designed and made in London – is created with the best, carefully selected fabrics (right down to their signature stretch satin linings), the detailing is exquisite, the quality is sublime and the result is delicate, radiant, free-moving, elegance. It’s such a fresh approach to bridal. Chuck out your corsets — this is a love letter to bohemia.

Immediately it’s clear with Francis Bridal’s collection that there is a distinct and coherent personality and a very accomplished character – from Etienne – the gorgeous silk georgette bridal gown to the beautiful ivory embroidered lace Albi dress.

And this definitely was the intention.

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If you build it they will come

New Zealand-born Trish began the Francis Bridal collection after struggling to find her own wedding dress. All the boho styles that she was drawn to were too skimpy and not particularly accommodating to the more, lets say, bountiful bosom. She also felt like boho was perhaps becoming a bit of a clichà© and wanted to introduce something a bit more modern in the mix.  

So after a 15-year career in luxury fashion, trained pattern cutter Trish Irving  decided to tap into this wealth of experience and harness her unyielding energy and creativity to orchestrate her own exquisite portfolio of elegant boho luxe dresses for modern brides.

I love her vision and totally understand her drive and passion. The idea for STG came to me when I was also preparing for my wedding and I couldn’t find what I was looking for (one single place that brought inventive and original ideas together for a style-focused Jewish bride). I knew exactly what I wanted but had to create it myself. Just as Trish has.

So I’m instantly drawn to Francis Bridal, not just because of the breathtakingly  beautiful gowns Trish has dreamed up, but because I know the intention and designs come from a very real place.  Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Vera Wang bride for a romantic luxe destination Jewish wedding at the Four Seasons in Westlake Village, California

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Prepare for a fashion frenzy as the names that make today’s Jewish wedding so gorgeous are Vera Wang, Valentino, Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin … And of course our super stylish bride and groom Natalie & Alexander who married at the Four Seasons in Westlake Village, California.

Natalie looks breathtakingly beautiful in her Vera Wang gown and veil — it’s just pure romance. Speaking of which, can you believe that these two first met under the Eiffel Tower in the City of Romance, Paris?! Their whole ‘How We Met’ story is like something out of a fairytale – you simply must read Natalie’s account of it below.

I am a certified super fan of Greg Finck who shot and submitted this wedding to me. Everything he snaps just turns into wedding gold, and you’ll see precisely what I mean when you take a peek at the pretty below.

It’s a wedding of global proportions with guests traveling in from all over the world but it was absolutely worth it: the emotion, the style, the 13 (wow!) beautiful bridesmaids, the mesmerising stationery, the music, the chuppah, the florals… it’s all just filled to the brim with style and grace, and not only are Greg’s images and the bride’s wedding report waiting for you, we also have the wedding film at the foot of the post by Wind Productions too. It’s a very happy Tuesday folks!

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How we met

Natalie, the bride: Alex and I met in Paris under the Eiffel Tower (for real). We were traveling in Europe separately and had some friends in common and  the two groups met in Paris for a few days. The moment I looked at him I knew my life was forever going to change. We started dating right away. We were attending different universities in different cities, then after graudation we moved to different cities (Connecticut for him, and LA for me) and then another move to different cities (New York for him, San Francisco for me). We were long distance for 6 years. I finally moved to New York City and he proposed shortly after that to my surprise.

After he proposed he surprised me with a fully planned trip to Paris to take our engagment pics at the Eiffel Tower with Greg Finck who also photographed our wedding.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Jewish weddings and the importance of the role of parents and family

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A thank you letter

Last week my parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. My sister and I planned a surprise party for them and we decided to decorate the house with photos of their lives together. Sifting through the hundreds of photos made me realise how important my family is to me and also what an incredible relationship my parents have. It got me thinking about what makes a wedding so special. What can possibly make one day something you remember for an entire lifetime? And I realised that the answer is family. Our wedding isn’t just about celebrating our love for each other, but celebrating the love we’ve both been blessed with from the day we were born. Love is what makes the day special, it’s what binds soulmates, families and friends together.

I started to think about our wedding and the role that my family and Gideon’s family have had and will have in our wedding. From dress shopping to checking out the venue; from supplier searches to food tasting our parents have been involved every step of the way. For us it is really important that this wedding celebrates Gid and I just as much as it celebrates our two families coming together as one.

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At our last meeting with Rabbi Miriam Berger who is marrying us, we went through each part of the ceremony. As we are having a reform wedding we are able to choose different components and mix and match traditions. One thing that featured throughout the discussion was the importance of the role our parents and family will play in the ceremony. Gideon and I are walked down the aisle by both our parents. Unlike in other weddings where it is just the father I love the idea that both our parents present their child to everyone and we walk down the aisle as a family unit. Both parents play an equal role in our lives so both parents should be by our sides when we marry each other.

Together with them walking us down the aisle they also stand under the chuppah with us. I love the idea that the chuppah is meant to represent our first home together and I love that we stand under it with our parents. To me it symbolises the importance they have played in helping Gid and I actually get to our wedding day but also the bringing together of both families in our home where both families are always welcome and a central part of the building of it.

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When choosing my bridesmaids I made the decision to have only family members. Just my sister, Gid’s sister and Gid’s cousins who I consider family. Having them as the central people on my wedding day is really important and again symbolises to me the importance of family within our Jewish wedding. Of course I have the most wonderful friends who would make the most amazing bridesmaids but to me keeping it within the theme of family allows for everything to be close and really makes it feel like two families are coming together as one.

As our parents have been at the centre of our wedding planning this has at times caused some conflict and disagreements. As is the case in most Jewish weddings our guest list is split three ways; my family, his family and Gid and my friends. With a maximum capacity of 160, two semi large families this has been a sticking point throughout the process. Despite lists, new lists, and new new lists being produced we know that as long as our nearest and dearest are with us it will be an amazing day and as long as the list is sorted by the time we send the invites out it will be all be wonderful in the end.

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