UK Archives - Smashing the Glass | Jewish Wedding Blog

A Riki Dalal Bride for a Fabulously Floral Jewish Wedding at The Langham, London, UK

02/04/2021 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

How incredible is this floral chuppah?! It’s really a stunner – which is no surprise when you find out that today’s bride, Gaby, is a former wedding planner and floral designer, now working in interior design. Gaby’s got a serious passion for flowers – so much so that she and groom Alex, who works in finance operations/business intelligence, picked their wedding date in part based on when the best selection would be in bloom!

As if that chuppah (and Gaby’s credentials) weren’t giveaway enough that this pair has impeccable taste, we were also delighted to learn that they worked with some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to bring their dreams to life.

First, the amazing Dimitria Jordan, who crafted the couple’s exquisite wedding stationery with so much attention to each and every detail – don’t miss the wonderful results, featuring delicate florals, gold foil, scripted font, custom wax seals, and more, in Mike Garrard Photography’s breathtaking photos.

Then there’s Philippa Louise, who did Gaby and her mum’s makeup – in addition to looking like absolute perfection, Gaby reports that Philippa set the perfect calming tone for the morning.

And last but certainly not least, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band was Gaby and Alex’s pick for entertainment – one of their top priorities in planning their day. They went with a 16-piece band and can’t stop raving about the energy Ambassador brought to their day – or what a fab job the group did with music for the Israeli dancing!

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked simply smashing in Israeli designer Riki Dalal…

How we Met

Gaby, the bride: Alex and I have known each other for some time. We both went to JFS sixth form and then onto Leeds Uni, but we didn’t officially get together until after Uni.Continue Reading

A Madi Lane Bride for an Intimate Jewish Wedding at Norrice Lea Synagogue, London, UK

19/03/2021 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Like so many 2020 couples, London couple Anna, a paralegal, and Simon, an English teacher, had to rethink their Jewish wedding plans when the pandemic hit. The pair had originally planned a 300-guest destination wedding in Israel for May 2020, but given the uncertainty of the situation they opted to shift things closer to home with an intimate synagogue wedding in London in September 2020, with a bigger celebration in Israel to follow when possible.

Anna and Simon chose Norrice Lea Synagogue as their new venue, and they were able to hold the wedding in two separate shifts – one for the chuppah and lunch afterward, attended by 30 members of the couple’s immediate families – and a second dinner shift just for 30 close friends who hadn’t attended the first half of the day.

As always, we’re absolutely in love with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel’s dreamy photos of the day – and we’re totally unsurprised to hear that the couple found Claudine an absolute joy to work with on the big day.

We’ll let Anna take it from here…

How we Met

Anna, the bride and Simon, the groom: We were introduced by a mutual friend of our parents; she told us very little about each other. We added each other on Facebook and messaged briefly before going on a ‘blind date’. Things flourished from there – it was an old fashioned introduction.Continue Reading

A Willowby by Watters Bride for an Artsy Jewish Micro Wedding at Kinloss Synagogue and The Manor Elstree, UK

19/02/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

We’ve seen lots of amazing COVID celebrations coming together on short notice, but nothing beats the ultra-artistic Jewish wedding of Aimee, a graphic designer, and Max, a classical trumpet player and music teacher! After being forced to postpone their 200+ wedding originally scheduled for May 2020, the pair settled on a minimony set for November 22, with a big reception to follow whenever it’s safe.

They were full steam ahead with their Plan B when, on October 31, the government announced a new lockdown, under which no weddings would be permitted. Aimee and Max were feeling pretty down when they got a call from their rabbi, who told them he could conduct their chuppah before Lockdown 2.0 kicked in – just 3 days away! After some frantic phone calls with their vendors, the duo were able to bring everything together for November 4, squeaking in just under the wire.

Since the guest count was limited to 15, Aimee and Max brought in Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor EventCapsule to stream their chuppah on Zoom for all the friends and family who couldn’t be there in person. They were bowled over by EventCapsule’s professional stream, complete with live editing, and their guests couldn’t believe how well put together the whole production was! Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Toastmaster Jango also brought his trademark seamless management to the day, and we can’t get over the gorgeous photographer from David Pullum.

Now over to Aimee, who looked exquisite in Willowby by Watters…

How we Met

Aimee, the bride: We met at a flat-warming party for our mutual friend, but it turns out I had met both of Max’s brothers before him – that made meeting the family a lot easier!Continue Reading

A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Jewish Micro Wedding at St Michael’s Manor, St Albans, UK

08/02/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Like so many couples, Melissa, a social worker, and David, a sales executive, had to completely rethink their Jewish wedding due to COVID. And indeed, scaling down from 170 guests to just 15 is no small feat. But with the help of some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors – not to mention the wonderful community of Jewish and Jew-ish brides-to-be inside our Brides Club – the pair managed to pull off the most incredibly beautiful day we could imagine.

Melissa also happens to have been the lucky winner of a competition we ran with #STGvendors The Happy Chuppah People and Gabriella Shemtov, and we’re in love with the beautiful floral chuppah they teamed up to assemble for the couple – as well as with Melissa’s beautiful, bright bridal bouquet, also by Gabriella Shemtov. Another wonderful #STGvendor, Alexandra’s Florist, put together autumnal bridesmaids bouquets and table flowers, interspersed with greenery and floating candles. Don’t miss the incredible images by Chris Douglas Photography!

The tight restrictions on guest count meant only close family could attend in person, but Melissa and David opted to livestream their day so that all of their friends and family could watch in real time. The pair worked with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Event Capsule, whose three-camera set up with live editing it meant that everyone watching from home felt like they were there in the room – in fact, some guests told the couple afterward that they had a better view from the comfort of their screens than they would’ve had they attended the big pre-COVID wedding in person!

Even with all the safety restrictions (no hora!), music was essential to Melissa and David’s vision of their day – and we’re so glad they connected with #STGvendor LDN Entertainment.com, whose micro wedding trios could not be more perfect for a celebration like this one. Despite the hora ban, LDN did a reduced simcha set and the newlyweds jumped around on their own, while their guests clapped and sang along from their seats!

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll let gorgeous STG Brides Club member Melissa – who looked fab in Maggie Sottero – fill you in on the rest…

Oh, and PS, if you’re dealing with COVID-related planning drama – or just feeling unenthused and uncertain about how to proceed – sign up for our Bye Bye Coronacoaster, Hello Action Plan workshop on Sunday, February 21. It’s guaranteed to help you gain clarity about how to move forward with your big day, even under the most uncertain of circumstances. Slots are limited, so sign up today!

How We Met

Melissa, the bride: We met at a mutual friend’s baby’s Christening. After the Christening, we all went back to the family’s home for a BBQ and got chatting. It was Dave’s sense of humour that attracted me to him and we spent the evening laughing about stupid things that no one else thought were funny. A few weeks later Dave was working at Silverstone and I was visiting my parents (who live near Silverstone) for two weeks and we met for a drink and then dinner locally.

We spent so much time talking at the pub, that we forgot about our dinner resevation and turned up late. Dave’s a huge car fan, and picked me up in a covertible car, he asked me if I was okay with the roof down (although I’d spent ages doing my hair), I reluctantly said yes; he jokes that this was the moment he knew I was the one.

An Intimate Rainy Day Jewish Wedding for 30 at Dyson Place, Sheffield, UK

01/02/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

When COVID forced Liv, a mortgage broker who recently opened a take away coffee shop called Olive and Joy, and Dan, a lawyer, to scrap their original plans for a 150-guest wedding at a stately home over the May bank holiday, they came up with something even better.

As soon as 30-person weddings were allowed in England, Liv and Dan sought the guidance of Victoria from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Linda Abrahams & Co in planning an ultra-memorable day in chic urban courtyard Dyson Place (Victoria, who does double duty as a planner and luxury stationer, also designed the couple’s stationery, complete with custom wedding logo). They put together a beautiful outdoor chuppah – which ended up having to be moved indoors halfway through the ceremony as the rain picked up – streamed on Zoom to all their loved ones who couldn’t be there in person. Don’t miss the gorgeous photos by Steven McNiven.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Feast by Ed Schaerf provided his trademark innovative kosher catering, featuring his kosher burger van which served up burgers, hotdogs, salt beef sandwiches, and fried chicken with all the trimmings.

In the bride’s words,

The thing that made it so special was that there were only 30 people so we could talk to everyone there really easily and all of them were our closest family and friends. Anyone who is doubting whether to go ahead with a smaller wedding during government restrictions – we definitely recommend it!

Now we’ll turn you over to Liv…

How We Met

Olivia, the bride and Daniel, the groom: We have known each other for as long as we can remember. Our parents were friends when we were little and it turns out that we both liked each other but neither of us realised until we swiped each other on J-swipe!