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A big fat Jewish-Greek wedding with a Catherine Deane gown and a superb bridal entrance on the beach in Crete

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The only type of wedding that compares culturally to a Jewish wedding is, of course, a big fat Greek wedding. So, as you can imagine, a combination of the two makes for a pretty epic Mediterranean family-centric celebration!

Christina and Oryan tied the knot on the beach in beautiful Crete, owing to both the bride and groom’s Greek and Greek-Cypriot backgrounds, and the convenient short hop from Israel, where Oryan has family ties.

We adore the laid-back feel of this gorgeous destination wedding, with the bride making her grand entrance on donkey-back, the couple exchanging vows barefoot on the beach (with one notable moment as an exception) and Greek / Israeli food and dancing.

The pair kept things simple, with no bridal party and ensuring that everything had a natural, organic feel to it. We LOVE the simplicity of the wooden Chuppah with its delicate floral arrangements perfectly framing the view of the sea. Stunning.

Family played a huge role in the ceremony, with both of the bride and groom’s sisters being given a significant part to play.

Oh, and Christina’s Catherine Deane dress was simply perfect — elegant, bridal, flattering and beach-wedding beautiful.  

Christina and Oryan wrote up the story of their real wedding together as a couple, and we’re delighted to hear the story from both of their perspectives, so we’ll hand over to them now to tell us more…

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How we met

Christina and Oryan, the bride and groom: We met through mutual friends in NYC. We had both moved to New York in 2010 and had mutual friends in common through which we were introduced. We remained friends for several years before starting to date in 2014.

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A rustic Jewish wedding with an abundance of flowers and a Sophia Tolli dress at Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire, UK

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Everyone — stop what you’re doing right now and take a moment to stare at this stunningly floral Chuppah in all its glory. As far as Chuppah game goes, this is seriously top notch: we can’t stop gazing at that abundance of cascading flowers — too beautiful for words!

Now that we’ve got that out of our system: Jade and Adam’s Jewish wedding at the achingly rustic-cool Soho Farmhouse was packed with personalised detail. From the fabulous pink and white floral arrangements that adorned the reception to the incredibly sweet and thoughtful favours created by the couple and their families, no stone was left unturned.

To match the venue, the couple opted for a rustic theme, and this was captured in the stunning photography and incredible wedding video by  Andrew James Photography and Gorgeous Films respectively.

We love Jade’s idea of incorporating small, framed photographs of her late grandparents in her bouquet — a wonderfully personal way to honour departed loved ones. We ADORE her personalised Converse (and when we say personalised, these are something else, go and look now now now!). The speeches sweepstake is a fantastic way to keep guests entertained, a late-night greasy spoon van is absurdly clever (pre-empt those hangovers) and the doggy vodka ice luges in the shape of beloved family pets at a vet’s wedding? Bravo.

Oh, and we literally squealed with excitement when we saw the couple had replicated the bottle dance from Fiddler on The Roof — there are not enough adjectives in the world for how enthusiastic we feel about this.

Before we hand over to Jade, one thing she said is really worth highlighting. When it came to makeup, Jade said that she felt like the best version of herself, which is such a beautiful, empowering thing and we just love her for it. Over to Jade for the full story.

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How we met

Jade, the bride: Adam and I met through my work. I am a veterinary surgeon and I was his family vet.

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An authentic experience at Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire

Getting married at 36 years old, I no longer wanted the Scottish castle wedding I had dreamed of at 24. Adam and I knew we wanted something different: more us, less formal, more fun, and so when we saw Soho Farmhouse online we were delighted. It was a new venue at the time and the whole Soho House experience just appealed to us. Even though it was still a work in progress at the time of booking, we loved it and instantly knew that it was the perfect venue for us.

I loved that you left your car at the entrance, the only way to get around was by milk float, bicycle, horse or on foot. It felt like I was in another world and it made me instantly relaxed. The bespoke wellies and bicycles with name tags, the ability to collect your own eggs from the chickens, sitting on hay bales at the Chuppah, the outdoor baths, the endless cowshed shampoo and conditioners in the shower, your own personal farm hand… The list goes on! I wanted something different – I like being a bit different – hence why I have a black engagement ring.

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A Boho Beautiful Jewish wedding with a Rue de Seine gown at Northbrook Park, UK

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“WOW” was our first reaction to Erika and Marc’s fantastically floral real Jewish wedding at Northbrook Park. At a glance, the effect is overwhelmingly beautiful, and delving into each detail only serves to foster an even greater appreciation of just how much work, love and incredible taste went into planning the day.

Every last choice was simply bursting with personality, wit and charm, and expertly captured by photographer, David Morgan.

Before we get into the details (of which there are many that you’re definitely going to want to pin — and steal), can we just talk about how lovely Marc and Erika are as a couple? Their extraordinary personalities really shine, especially in the stunning wedding video, filmed by Story Catchers (go on – watch the video of Marc’s eloquent and heartfelt speech and try not to cry… spoiler alert, grab a tissue).

OK, so this is definitely a gratuitous use of all caps and exclamation marks, but we feel it’s warranted: THAT CHUPPAH!!!! Who else is dying of chuppah envy? We didn’t even know that was a thing, but there you go.

The entire day, including beautiful bride Erika’s stunning wedding ensemble (the bride wore a breathtaking dress by Rue De Seine), stuck to a highly detailed colour scheme and a relaxed, bohemian aesthetic.

Erika and Marc creatively crammed the wedding with quirky, clever touches, including an illustrated mini Erika and Marc on their stationery suite, “wedlibs” for their guest book (amazing idea) and personalised escort cards with thoughtful little phrases for each guest.

Erika writes so beautifully about her and Marc’s simcha that there’s no need for us to embellish, so we’ll hand over to her for the full scoop!

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How we met

Erika, the bride: Marc and I met at Limmud Conference 2012 as we were both volunteering in the catering team to make it a more cost-effective experience. Most people find dodgy pasta in the Limmud dining rooms, but we found each other.

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What’s the best thing about a Jewish wedding?

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We’re all here for the same reason: we love Jewish weddings – and at STG, it goes without saying that our family of Smashing Suppliers are no exception. But what is it about a Jewish wedding that makes everyone want to be a part of the tradition, whether they’re Jewish or not?


We put the call out to our Smashing Suppliers to tell us their favourite element of a Jewish wedding and explain why it means so much to them – and they certainly had a lot to say on the subject! So take five minutes out of your day, sit down, relax and enjoy a verbal highlights reel of our suppliers’ favourite things. Oh, and don’t forget the most important thing of all:  

The Tisch

We love the Tisch – it’s a fantastic moment, a totally kosher excuse for a last-second boisterous boys’ club for the groom and his crew to knock back some whiskey and get pumped up for the occasion. You can read more about the Tisch here.

Rahul from F5 Photography said:

“One of my favourite parts of a Jewish Wedding is the Tisch, it’s amazing to see all the ‘boys’ get together and celebrate the groom getting married, whilst singing songs and having a few shots of whiskey! The camaraderie is amazing to witness and photograph, it’s also really cool that the Rabbi often joins in too and has a drink with the groom.”

The Badeken

We had a first-look tradition before it was cool. That’s right, the Badeken is that touching moment when the bride and groom lock eyes for the first time before the ceremony. It’s moving, intimate and special – and, of course, our suppliers adore it.
 

Debbie from Qube Events & Productions said:

“One of my favourite parts of a Jewish wedding is the Badeken. I love seeing the expression on the brides’ and grooms’ faces when they see each other before for the wedding; usually very emotional and lots of happy tears.”

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A bespoke Shadive’s Brides dress at a party-it-up-atmosphere wedding at Terra, Caesarea, Israel

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It goes without saying that we adore an Israeli wedding — and somehow it’s even more special when the couple have chosen to travel to Israel to say “I do”.

Secondary school teacher, Katie, and business owner, Mark, got married at Terra in Caesarea, Israel. Despite coming down with a horrific stomach flu on the day, love won out and Katie still made the very best of the situation, looking back on her big day with love.

I was particularly moved by Katie’s sincere and heartfelt words about her decision to get married in Israel. She writes so eloquently that I won’t step on her description here, but it’s perfect and definitely worth sitting down with a cuppa and reading.

At 5ft2”, Katie struggled to find the perfect dress until she went bespoke with Shadiye’s Brides in Islington. Seeing the end result, we think it was a match made in heaven — just how gorgeous did she look?

Smashing Supplier Live Band and DJ, Caliente, created an electric atmosphere until 4.30am and the whole wedding was peppered with brilliant, thoughtful ideas. For example a designated kids’ corner with fun activities to keep little ones entertained, a flower station, bags of sweets for a middle-of-the-night pick me up and so much more. It’s clear that Katie and Mark considered their guests’ feelings and the importance of their experience at every turn. 

The magic of the day was captured by STG regular – Ronen Boidek, videographer – Canelà© (don’t miss out on the wonderful wedding video at the bottom of the post) and Katie herself with her fabulously descriptive account. Over to Katie for more on her Israeli wedding day.

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How we met

Katie, the bride: We met at university. For the first six months we were together, Mark managed to say ‘this is nothing serious’ on every single date. Charming, I know. Joke’s on him though — this marriage is for life!

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