Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Win a luxury overnight stay at The Hospital Club, London’s coolest private members’ club and wedding venue

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Hospital-Club
The Hospital Club in London’s Covent Garden is the only private members’ club designed specifically for those in creative industries,  and as a  member since 2009, it’s been my ‘home from home’ for many years.

Founded by musician Dave Stewart, of Eurythmics fame,  and Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, the Hospital Club opened  in 2004, as a hub where creative types could create, connect, and collaborate. Spread over seven floors with stunning interiors including  cocktail bars, lounges, a restaurant, 36-seater cinema, TV studio, art gallery, and 15 extraordinary  bedrooms, it  caters  for creative  professionals  who are looking for something super cool, friendly and collaborative.

As well as being London’s hippest  private  members’ club, it’s also the perfect space for couples looking for somewhere really stylish  and different for their wedding venue.

It  boasts a range of versatile spaces each with its own unique style and flavour, as well as  a team of chefs and mixologists who can tailor-make and prepare the perfect menu (kosher or just  Jewish-friendly!) whatever your theme and budget.

A couple of months ago in  January 2015, fifteen  sumptuous  bedrooms were added to the mix which means that  for the first time ever the Hospital Club is  opening it’s doors to non-members. The rooms are luxuriously appointed with leathers, velvets, sumptuous woods and  jaw-dropping works of  contemporary art,  and I’m giving one lucky reader and their companion  the  chance to sneak in, party hard, and crash out in comfort in the Hospital Club’s top suite, complete with  dinner in the club restaurant, and breakfast the following morning.

The suite (a.k.a. the crash pad of your dreams) comes complete with a  private terrace, separate lounge area,  erotic minibar by Holloway Smith Noir, brain power tool kits by the School of Life, insider guides to London,  and a 7pm cocktail trolley with your own personal bartender!

For the duration of your stay, you’ll  also be able to make full use of all member privileges including the club’s 3D cinema, pool room, cocktails bars, and the enviable schedule of member events.

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My interview with Bruce Russell, the internationally renowned luxury wedding planner

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Bruce-Russell
Image: John Nassari

I first met high-end W-day  planner, and ‘wedding whizz kid’ Bruce Russell last September at the launch of his  latest project,  The Bridal Room, Britain’s first ever online luxury bridal destination. I was bowled over by his ideas, creativity and charm, and we have since connected many  times, at the Wedding Blog Awards  and  Brides The Show;  over breakfast  in Marylebone, and through his work at London’s iconic  Savoy where he is the hotel’s resident wedding expert.

Being quite the ‘wedding entrepreneur’, I wanted  to get the inside scoop on Bruce, and find out about the man behind the brand.  I discovered that he treasures his  end-of-day swims at The Four Seasons Hampshire, he greatly admires  Anna Wintour, Hilary Clinton and The Duke of Cambridge, and that being over the top à  la Kim and Kanye can sometimes be  just fabulous! Let’s get the full story…

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Images left to right: Amara /  John Nassari

So Bruce, what’s the ‘Bruce Russell’ story? How did you build up your business, and what made you become a wedding planner in the first place?

I have always wanted to build a business – and a brand – working in the events sector, but from a very personal perspective. Given my love of the bridal industry, this naturally led to weddings, the By Bruce Russell brand and, ultimately, the launch of The Bridal Room.

The Bridal Room is a partnership with my good friend – global luxury brand and marketing specialist – Jo James, who has a great deal of experience in the travel, hospitality, events and bridal industries. The two of us met during our time working at COMO Hotels and Resorts, and it was during a business trip to Cocoa Island in the Maldives that ‘By Bruce Russell’ and this exciting new venture were first discussed. Serenaded by the sounds of the Indian Ocean we scoped out the bare bones for the project on paper napkins – international entrepreneurialism at its best!

Having noticed a gap in the industry as to how top London venues managed their wedding clients, I approached The Savoy with a proposal to manage their wedding enquiries. This ultimately led to the ‘By Bruce Russell’ brand and the growth of a brilliant team at The Savoy that I still manage today.

The Savoy partnership has undoubtedly helped raise my profile in the industry and led me to work with some of the industry’s best suppliers, experts, artists and craftsmen — most of which form part of The Bridal Room. From my early days at The Savoy, the ‘By Bruce Russell’ brand has expanded internationally and I am delighted to have a wide-reaching global client base.

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Sarah & Ben | Jewish Muslim Bangladeshi Wedding at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

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Jewish-Muslim-Wedding
I hope you are ready for elegance, sophistication and a touch of magic this Tuesday afternoon. Sarah and Ben’s’s gorgeous wedding embraces four vastly different cultures (Judaism, Islam, USA, Bangladesh) and has more than a touch of class about it.

It’s a vibrant fusion of culture, tradition and romance, and they absolutely nailed it when it came to creating the perfect balance of rituals. They chose to have two wedding ceremonies back to back so that they could incorporate all their separate traditions and still have one unified moment when they could walk out together as husband and wife. They also tried to incorporate little touches that reflected their personalities, such as having their ring “bear” be a giant stuffed panda that Sarah had given to Ben when they first started dating. What a super cute idea!

Aside from all the wonderfully rich cultural details, I love that their wedding cake and petit fours came from the same bakery that had created Ben’s parents’ wedding cake thirty-seven years ago…

It’s also so lovely to see a non-white wedding dress on STG this afternoon. Sarah really is  the most breathtakingly beautiful bride, don’t you think?

Images come from the fabulous Joy Marie, back with a bang to Smashing The Glass with this wedding. As always, she captured every last detail beautifully — I really struggled to chose the images for this post! Joy Marie is a Smashing Supplier, so can always be relied upon for beautiful images. And at the end of the post there’s the wedding film from Matt Giesler too – watch out for a magical sparkler exit followed by a horse-drawn carriage. Oh my!

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10 amazing outdoor wedding venues in the UK

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Image: Ross Harvey

Today’s post is written by the super cool  Deirdre McGinnis  from Chic & Boutique Wedding Venues. Deirdre curates only the coolest, hippest and most fabulous  wedding venues on Chic & Boutique  and  I’m thrilled that today, especially  for Smashing The Glass, she’s picked out ten  extraordinary outdoor wedding venues  in the UK.  These ten gorgeous  al fresco  gems cover every kind of style and taste, and are suitable for capacities of 50 to 500.

Do you dream of getting married outdoors under the British skies?  Are you a child of nature? The sort who longs to commune with the outdoors and feel the weather on your face, even if it is British weather? Believe it or not, London and the UK have a veritable bounty of outdoor venues available for wedding receptions and ceremonies, and I’ve picked  out my top ten today, for your perusal.

Whilst the venues we’ve selected here can’t offer you, say, a Malibu sunset, what they can offer you is a fresh, open air  experience alongside the beautiful elegance of an English Wedding. If you’ve ever considered having your  chuppah outdoors, you absolutely need to acquaint yourself with these fabulous  al fresco venues.

Kew Gardens, Richmond, Surrey
(Max Capacity 400)

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Naomi & Michael | free spirited ‘Wedstival’ Jewish wedding in a field in Epping Forest, Essex, UK

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Now this folks, this is how you do a ‘Wedstival’ wedding. Naomi and Michael have, in my opinion, only gone and nailed the most perfect laid back, fun-filled outdoor field wedding with a real festival vibe. There’s a Volkswagen Beetle photo booth, super sized balloons, wild flowers galore, madcap crazy Jewish dancing, a surprise speech by the bride especially for her groom, and a tent village for the glamping guests.

One of my favourite details from the wedding has to be Naomi’s bouquet made entirely of brooches. I’ve never seen anything like it before, and it’s such a heart-warming and impactful idea. Naomi told me. “I asked all the women to give me a brooch but didn’t tell them why and then used them in my bouquet. This meant all the women were walking down the aisle with me. I also used a couple of brooches from my grandmas, which was nice as they are no longer with us.”

This is one of those weddings that radiates a wholesome warmth that I can never seem to put into words. There’s just so much love, and it’s all been captured perfcetly by the super talented Adam and Hannah Photography making their debut on Smashing The Glass. Don’t miss the wonderful wedding film at the end of the post by One Wedding too. No matter what mood you’re in, I guarantee you’ll feel totally uplifted after watching it!

Naomi and Michael met on the first day university and had been together for 8 years when they got married. They have written their wedding report together.

Wedstival wedding
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