Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

Inspired Jewish Weddings

Tali & Dan | ‘Gin in teacups’ 1920’s Jewish Wedding at Heatherden Hall, Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, UK

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1920s-wedding
Blake Ezra, one of our  Smashing Suppliers,  always captures bucket loads of love and emotion in his wonderful  photography, and this is most definitely true of Tali  and Dan’s  big day which I’m beyond excited  to be featuring on the blog  today.

This  stylish  pair were married at Heatherden Hall at the legendary  Pinewood Studios, just outside London, and this has  got to be one of the most iconic  wedding venues  to have yet graced the pages of STG. Pinewood has been home  to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows, commercials and pop promos but  is most famous  as the home of the Carry On, Superman, James Bond and Harry Potter film series. What a  perfect  venue for film buffs!

Despite the fantastically cool  venue, this wedding is all about the people  —  you can see joy in every singe image, and  Blake Ezra tells me that, “there was a massive emphasis on friends throughout the day with their big crowd of amazing mates getting involved in all aspects of the ceremony, music and general entertainment.”

You can really see the fun factor complete with comedy DJs, barber shop routines, drum circles, dancing, a fire show (and a very moving ceremony) in the wedding film  by the uber-talented Charlotte Armitage right at the end of the post.

Tali’s  bridal style  is to die for…  I am expecting plenty of pinterest  action for her vintage dress  which incidentally  was made entirely out of  sustainable and  ecological fabrics.

And lastly I must mention that Dan, who is a journalist, recorded a message to Tali from Boris Johnson as part of his speech (see 10:38 in the film at the bottom of the post). I’m a big Boris fan  — that’s immense!

So come and have a look at this gorgeous  ‘I Do’ jointly narrated by  the bride and groom.
Jewish Wedding Heatherden Hall, Pinewood Studios Buckinghamshire Jewish Wedding Heatherden Hall, Pinewood Studios BuckinghamshireJewish Wedding Heatherden Hall, Pinewood Studios Buckinghamshire
VENUE
Tali, the Bride, and Dan, the Groom: Tali and I chose to get married at Pinewood Studios  in Gerard’s Cross. We wanted a ‘London’ wedding so it was accessible for elderly family and all our friends,  and Pinewood had indoor and outdoor space, was very cool, and they allowed  us to do whatever we wanted.

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A guide to the Jewish Wedding Ceremony and Order of Service under the chuppah

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DEAR KAREN WEDDING Q3

Good question! Many wonderful traditions come together in a Jewish wedding ceremony and each one symbolises the beauty of the relationship of a husband and wife, as well as their obligations to each other and the Jewish people. Here’s my guide to everything you need to know – for more guidance and inspiration, be sure to sign up for Brides Club, our ultra-informative, always supportive members-only space for Jewish and Jew-ish brides.

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Dvorit and Ollie‘s Jewish wedding | Photo by Claudine Hartzel 

1. Signing of the Ketubah
To start with we have two short, but very important, rituals. The first is the signing of the ketubah. The ketubah is an ancient document —  a marriage contract of sorts — that specifies the groom’s commitments to the bride.  It is signed by two appointed Jewish witnesses, who must not be blood-related family members to the bride and groom.

Ketubot are often beautiful pieces of artwork that can be framed and displayed in the home.

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Lucy and Joel‘s Jewish wedding | Photo by Kate Swerdlow Photography

2. Badeken
The second is called the badeken and it happens straight after the ketubah signing. It’s a short but meaningful ritual where the groom covers the bride’s face with her veil. It’s a custom that derives from the biblical account of Jacob’s first marriage, when he was deceived to marry the heavily veiled Leah instead of Rachel, his intended bride. I’ve heard that some egalitarian couples are now balancing this tradition by having the bride place a kippah (yarmulke) on her bridegroom’s head too!

The badeken is often emotionally charged as the bride and groom may not have seen each other for 24 hours or longer (as much as 7 days) until this moment.

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Esther and Yoni‘s Jewish wedding | Photo by Ben Kelmer

3. Chuppah
Now it’s time for the wedding party to enter the main ceremony area where all the guests are seated. They make their way towards the focal point of the ceremony –  a canopy held up by four poles known as the the chuppah.

The chuppah represents the shelter and privacy of the home that the bride and groom will create following their marriage. The home is central in Jewish life — it is the place where we grow up, learn to share and love, and from which we also secure our independence. You will see that the bride and groom stand at the centre of it, and the walls are formed by those closest to them. Just as the walls of our home protect us from the elements, offering warmth and security, so too the ‘walls’ of the chuppah — that is our families and friends — provide support and strength with their love.

The bride follows the groom towards the chuppah, and both are usually escorted by their respective sets of parents.

The custom of the bride circling the bridegroom seven times has been interpreted as the symbolic building of a wall of love around the relationship of the bride and groom. Seven represents the most sacred of all numbers in Judaism and also symbolises the wholeness and completeness that they cannot attain separately.

Again, some more modern couples choose to update this ritual by circling around each other three times and then a final figure of eight. Chelm and Jake did this in their fabulously personal Jewish wedding. For more ideas on how to personalize Jewish wedding traditions, download our guide to the top 9 Jewish wedding traditions and ways to personalize them. 

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My interview with Nicki Macfarlane, the Royal Wedding bridesmaid dress designer

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Kate William Royal Wedding
[ Image: Hugo Burnand  ]

Nicki Macfarlane    is best known for  designing  the  fairytale bridesmaid and flower girl dresses for that  wedding. Yes the W-day of the century, that of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. She’s also the woman behind  Poppy Delevigne’s flower girl and page boy creations from  her wedding last week to James Cook, as well as  a whole host of other fabulous society and celebrity weddings.

I met Nicki a couple of months ago when I  was also  fortunate enough to see  her exquisite  designs up close and personal. Since then  I’ve quizzed her about  how she was chosen  for Kate and William’s big day, how she developed her business from zero to 60 (pretty much immediately!) and how she lets off steam…
Nicki PortraitNicki Macfarlane
vintage rose nicki MacfarlaneNicki Macfarlane

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Gabby & Gareth | Super-stylish and relaxed Jewish wedding at Katathani Beach Resort, Phuket, Thailand

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This afternoon we are off to Thailand! I’m not exaggerating when I say that this wedding totally and utterly takes my breath away. The incredible natural scenery, the use of light, the feeling of warmth and joy that radiates from Hilary Cam’s delicious imagery… it’s all so very  stylish yet wonderfully informal.

Gabby’s bridal style and her mermaid-esque colour palette of turquoise,navy, purple and lime green are a dream, and there are lots of lovely personal touches to be inspired by too. My favourite is that at each table the couple placed an extra two chairs so that they could actually sit and eat or drink up close and personal with everyone of their guests. I’ve not heard of that before and I think it’s a really lovely idea.

Gabby and Gareth met  over 13 years ago at a house party in Sydney, Australia. She was on holiday from South Africa and they both new as soon as they set eyes on each other that they had met their match. Gabby says. “Gareth always tells me as soon as he saw me walk through the door he knew I was the one. I went back to South Africa and we kept in contact until I eventually immigrated a year later.”

Why not pour yourself a cup of Asian tea and savour this gorgeous W-day… oh and if you’re a destination bride-to-be, make sure you take in Gabby’s excellent device right at the end.
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A ‘HOLIDAY’ VENUE AND A SENSE OF RELAXATION
Our wedding was at the Katathani Beach Resort in Phuket Thailand. We chose this destination for a few reasons. One being we both are originally from South Africa and still have lots of family and friends there. We also have family and friends in the UK, US and Israel. We wanted to be able to not only share our magical day with them but thought it would be an amazing opportunity to get people together who haven’t seen each other in years and have a holiday at the same time.

We wanted it to be relaxed like the beautiful surroundings and in terms of a colour scheme I took inspiration from my bridesmaids dresses (turquoise,navy, purple and lime green)

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