Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Anna & Jon | City chic Jewish wedding full of personal touches, at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, King’s Cross, London, UK

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st-pancras-renaissance-wedding
Anna and Jon’s inspired Jewish wedding  at London’s St Pancras Renaissance Hotel  is super special, but before I tell you  all about it I quickly want to remind you  that  you only have until Thursday night  to enter STG’s amazing competition to win a luxurious overnight stay for two at this ravishing  venue.

The prize includes champagne and strawberries, dinner for two, butler service, an in-room bath ritual, a history tour of this magnificent building, as well as  breakfast the following morning, so don’t delay…  enter the competition right here!

Now, back to Anna and Jon.

Nineteen years after the Spice Girls belted out Wannabe on the iconic staircase of the St Pancras hotel, Anna and Jon put their own quirky stamp on this treasured central London landmark.

Theirs really was a STG type of wedding — creative, brimming with personality and totally idiosyncratic.

Not many weddings include a running theme of monkeys and robots — yes, really — or have a 10.30pm fried chicken break to fuel their guests.   And most couples would have to end the night when they reach the music curfew set by the venue, but not Anna and Jon, who simply, but brilliantly just switched to a silent disco.   Inspired.

Their big day was infused with the bride and groom’s personality and charm and this was most evident with the Jewish ceremony itself which they personalised in such a thoughtful way through their choice of song and readings.   And I think this is the first time I’ve seen both the bride and groom smash the glass simultaneously.   So good they did it twice! (take a look at  James & Lianne Photography‘s  fab shot)

They also managed another individual twist when it came to the budget — they saved money on the bride and bridesmaid’s outfits, of all people.

As Anna’s dress was so exquisite, she bought a very uncomplicated head veil online, for a third of the price it would have normally cost in a wedding boutique and she saved on simple high street accessories.   Meanwhile the bridesmaids’ dresses were bought in the January sales.

And every single one of them looked impeccable.

I’ll let Anna fill you in on the rest and please do read to the end for her “how we met” story!

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel Wedding

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Chitter Chatter with Nova Reid, editor and founder of Nu Bride

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Nova-Reid
Image:  David H Photography

With  the latest addition to our family there’ll be a few subtle changes to the schedule of the blog for the coming weeks  while I’m adjusting to life with our new baby.

I’ll still be posting the very coolest  real Jewish weddings  every week, but  there’ll also be  a brand new feature running where I interview all sorts of inspirational women in the wedding industry whom  I greatly admire. These women successfully combine  running their own business with married life and in a lot of cases, raising a young family.

The series is called Chitter Chatter and the twist is is they have to answer my questions  in just 140 characters or less….

Today I’m chitter chattering to the super  amazing  Nova Reid of  Nu Bride. Nova is very special to me – we are BBFs (Best Blogging Friends) and I was literally beaming  with pride when she won her  Wedding Blog Award last year for recognition of her  work to inspire and encourage a more visually inclusive UK wedding industry.

Nu Bride, often described as more than just a wedding blog, was launched in 2012 during Nova’s own wedding planning  and  is a beautifully curated resource that  is informative and inclusive, whilst offering advice and guidance for the modern bride. She lives in London with her husband, David.

What was your first job?

Retail Assistant at Dolcis shoes. Paid £2.40 an hour. (See, I always had a thing for shoes!)

Tell me more about your career before launching Nu Bride

Busy, varied and eclectic! From professional singer and actress to a holistic therapist

What made you start Nu Bride ?

Inspired by my own wedding planning and the lack of inspiration for women who looked like me in wedding magazines.

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An Ines Di Santo bride for a destination Jewish wedding in the Italian countryside at Relais Sant’Uffizio, Monferrato, Piedmont, Italy

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Jewish-Wedding-Italy
Today we are heading to the region of Piedmont in Italy for a sunshine-soaked destination Jewish wedding. Piedmont is not only breathtakingly beautiful, it’s also  a gastronomic gem and famous for its wine production. It was therefore the perfect location for the wedding of self-proclaimed foodie couple, Jacqueline  and  Florian, who live in  New York City.

Theirs is a wedding  of pure elegance, creativity and authentic Italian touches. Those touches range from  a team of local Piedmont Flag Throwers greeting them at their recessional, to having an actual Nutella bar at the party! Yes, Piedmont is the birthplace of Nutella — the region  is full of hazelnut fields and as a tribute to this, there was an actual  Nutella bar (I die), and additionally a local bakery made the region’s famous Torta alle nocciole e brindisi con  — essentially a hazelnut-filled wedding  cake.

I adore  the “Recipe for Love” screen printed tea towel save-the-date  too — such  a great idea for a foodie couple. And I haven’t even begun to tell you about the florals (you need to see the  bouquets!), or the  fact that these two  were actually married by Italy’s first female  rabbi, Barbara Aiello.

I think what Jacqueline  and  Florian  teach us is that even if you get married abroad, it can still be a really personal affair, filled with the most important things  to you  — in their case, that’s family, friends, fantastic  food and wine, great music, and an appreciation and respect for a variety of bridged cultures and traditions.

The whole affair was planned lovingly and meticulously by our much loved Smashing Suppliers,  Valentina and Ernesto Troncarelli from the  Italian Wedding Company. Jacqueline has so much love for them, and rightly so.

Without further ado, I’ll let the beautiful bride  transport you to Italy with her detailed report, alongside  Gianluca and Mary Adovasio‘s  beautiful photography and  Riccardo Lavezzo‘s film.

Jewish Wedding Italy
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Chitter Chatter with Aleisha McCormack, founder and hostess of the Save The Date Wedding Podcast

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Aleisha McCormack
Image:  Louisa Bailey Photography

With  the latest addition to our family there’ll be a few subtle changes to the schedule of the blog for the coming weeks  while I’m adjusting to life with our new baby.

I’ll still be posting the very coolest  real Jewish weddings  every week, but  there’ll also be  a brand new feature running where I interview all sorts of inspirational women in the wedding industry whom  I greatly admire. These women successfully combine  running their own business with married life and in a lot of cases, raising a young family.

The series is called Chitter Chatter and the twist is is they have to answer my questions  in just 140 characters or less….

Today I’m chitter chattering  with Aleisha McCormack, the brains and voice  behind the  Save the Date Wedding Podcast. I’ve been lucky enough to be a guest on Aleisha’s podcasts twice and you can hear the episodes here and here!

Aleisha has travelled the globe interviewing fascinating people including Richard Branson, Spice Girls and Prime Ministers, and with over a decade of experience on radio, screen and stage under her belt, Aleisha brings wit and game to the world of podcasting. Her hit wedding planning book Smart Wedding  will have a second print run in 2015. She  lives in London with her husband, Rich.

What was your first job?

I was 16 and selling home wares. I didn’t have a clue. I got really creative when it came to making stuff up at about crockery, if Wedgwood knew what I was promising their customers…

Tell me more about your career before launching the Save The Date podcast

How long have you got?! Lot’s of TV work both on camera and off, writing for panel shows and stand up comedy. The podcast is a perfect mesh of all of my skills.

What made you start  the Save The Date podcast?

I wrote a book  Smart Wedding  and after doing some promo for it, I realised just how much I love talking to people about weddings. I love listening to podcasts so it felt like it was meant to be.

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Deborah & Hernà¡n | ‘Intimate & international’ Jewish wedding on a farmhouse at South Farm, Cambridgeshire, UK

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Farmhouse Jewish Wedding
Over the past few weeks we’ve shown you real Jewish weddings on South American lakesides, Italian cliff tops, and a myriad of coastlines — but how about we take it back to the land and look at Deborah and Hernà¡n’s wedding on a glorious farm in Cambridgeshire, England.

With farmyard animals loitering outside the main reception, food and entertainment in the barn and painted gypsy caravans for the guests to sleep in — this was such an inspired choice of venue to share with their family and friends hailing from around the world.

Deborah and Argentinian-born Hernà¡n settled on stunning South Farm for their big ‘I do’ as they wanted to veer away from the traditional Jewish wedding — they wanted an international party and they certainly accomplished that, and all with such a thoughtful eye to detail.

I’m totally drawn to Deborah and Hernà¡n, not just because they’re regular visitors to Smashing The Glass or because they got married on my birthday (yay!) but because they seem such a happy, warm and inclusive couple…. And this spills out into their wedding. The love just radiates and the pictures and film by York Place Studios make me smile and well up in equal measure — everyone seems to be having the BEST time.

So how did they manage to be so inclusive for the whole international family? A few key things — as their speeches were in English and Spanish, they used a projector to translate, so all guests were in on all the jokes!

The order of service was in both English and Spanish and their Sheva Brachot were said in Hebrew, Spanish and English.

Their choice of band also showed such sensitivity to their guests needs — Storm played a mixture of Israeli, British and Argentinian music.

And even the chuppah had an international flavour — with materials bought in Argentina which were then taken back to the UK and the poles came from the North London Synagogue. I also love that the chuppah design incorporated handprints from both Deborah and Hernà¡n’s families…

With hosts like this — no wonder everyone looks so darn happy!

Jewish wedding on a farmhouse
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