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A Stella York Bride for a Winter Wonderland Jewish Wedding at Warren Weir, Luton Hoo, UK

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Don’t mind us, we’re busy picking our jaws up off the floor after seeing today’s stunning Jewish wedding portraits in the snow. Almost enough to make you rethink that summer wedding, are we right?!

When Mel, a project manager, and Mitch, who works in IT, first chose Chiko Photography, they were drawn to a photo of his with a couple under an umbrella in the snow. Who would’ve thought they’d get to recreate it themselves?!

This is also a special wedding for us because bride Mel was one of our blogging brides but not only that, Mel was also a founding member of our Club for Jewish Brides, and as such, she and Mitch were the very first couple to ever use our own-brand (and super gorgeous!) smash glass pouch for breaking the glass under their chuppah!

We loved following Mel’s wedding planning journey, and we’re so glad to hear that the feeling was mutual. Mel found several of her amazing wedding vendors through Smashing the Glass, from their incredible videographer, STG Recommended Vendor Denee Motion,to another much loved STG Recommended Vendor XS Showband, best known as pioneers of the wedding flash mob!

XS Showband provided entertainment throughout the day, but we can’t take our eyes off Denee Motion’s fantastic video of Mel and Mitch’s very own musical wedding flash mob, just before their ceremony started. They wanted a special surprise for their guests, something to make sure their day really stood out, and we think this more than did the trick. You’ve got to check it out for yourself!

Do also take a moment to read through Mel’s fabulous account of her planning and prep, there are some really useful tips and a generous helping of super advice at the end. Over to Mel now (and by the way we think she looks SO elegant in her lace fishtail gown by Stella York. . . 

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How we met

Mel, the bride: We met on JDate in 2013. After chatting for a while we met for a drink. Our second date was an eight-hour lunch! I thought if someone can keep me engrossed in constant conversation for that long without getting bored then I am on to a winner.

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A Riki Dalal Bride for a Jewish Wedding Featuring a Musical Flash Mob at Stockbrook Manor Country Club, Billericay, Essex, UK

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With the Royal wedding just days away, we’ve got our very own ‘Smashing Royalty’ getting married on the blog today. Yes — it’s the real Jewish wedding of a very dear colleague, wonderful Francesca, who manages (and is a big part of) much-loved STG Vendor XS Showband, to Ziek, a chef with kosher-style caterer Shuka Catering.

Being in the industry, the pair had a major leg up when it came to choosing suppliers for their gorgeous Jewish wedding at Stockbrook Manor Country Club. Francesca and Ziek chose Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors Blake Ezra and Denee Motion for photography and videography, respectively. Having worked with both, the couple knew they were choosing suppliers who not only produce amazing work but are incredibly passionate about what they do.

And entertainment was a no-brainer: the bride’s own XS Showband — which she both owns and sings in — was obviously going to be part of her wedding. With an epic 18-piece setup playing non-stop from start to finish, music was absolutely integral to the day.

It just happens that XS Showband has pioneered using musical flash mobs in wedding ceremonies, so it was only natural that Francesca included one in hers. You’ve got to check out Denee Motion‘s video of the flash mob in action; it’s unlike anything we’ve seen in any other wedding!

Beautiful Francesca, who looked positively radiant in her elegant lace Riki Dalal gown, will fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

 
Francesca, the bride: We met on Jdate!

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An Enzoani Bride for a Rustic, Bright, Colorful and Whimsical Jewish Wedding at Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, UK

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Woweeee! After a very cold and (beautifully!) snowy weekend here in central London, we could definitely use a splash of color to transport us out of deepest, darkest winter and into a bright, whimsical dreamscape of a Jewish wedding! Who’s in?

Claire and Dave tied the knot in a rustic, vintage-inspired celebration in the grounds of beautifully picturesque Micklefield Hall. Graphic designer, Claire, turned the full force of her fantastic creative eye to her big day, with expert attention to detail.

Every last decoration was bursting with color and perfectly matched the theme, from the magical paper lanterns by The Hanging Lantern Company to the quirky and adorable grass “LOVE” letters by Ever So Vintage Party Hire. Butterflies were dotted everywhere, from the floral arrangements to the stationery suite and beyond. The entire effect is truly something to gaze longingly at – absolutely breathtaking. 

Of course a wedding with THIS much pretty in it had to have a supermodel of a chuppah. And what a beauty Claire and Dave’s outdoor chuppah was – a rustic wooden dream with bright and bold flowers adorning the sides. We couldn’t take our eyes off it, and we’re sure you won’t be able to either. Alexandra’s Florist did just the most amazing job. 

Claire looked like an A-lister in her glamorous Enzoani gown, surrounded by her best gals in picture-perfect floral, flowing dresses.

The details, love and joy of the day were all captured by the expert eye of photographer Jordanna Marston, who really brought the camera-shy couple out of their shell to create a spread of sublime shots, while the romantic trailer below was created by none other than wonderful STG Recommended Vendor, the one and only Denee Motion.

We’ll leave you in Claire’s capable hands for the full writeup – we hope you enjoy this visual feast of a wedding, and that it warms you all up too!

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How we met

Claire, the bride: We met on Tinder in 2013 and it just grew from there.

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Real Jewish Brides – Mel: Our Ceremony, Our Way

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Mel  will be marrying Mitch on Sunday 18 March 2018, in a Jewish wedding at Warren Weir at Luton Hoo, UK.

THREE FACTS: (1) Mel and Mitch met online on JDate (2) Their Jewish wedding will be classy and traditional with plenty of modern touches  (3) Mel is a member of Smashing The Glass’s private Jewish & Jew-ish Brides Facebook Group. Not yet a member? Come join us here!


As I eluded to in my previous post, it’s so easy to get lost in the ‘luxuries’ of a wedding and forget about the actual marriage part!

Like most brides I got extremely excited to start planning our wedding as soon as we got engaged. The first task for us was finding a venue. We were really clear about what we wanted, and what we didn’t want. Which meant our search for a venue was proving difficult — it wasn’t as easy as I expected to find a venue outside of London that was big enough to accommodate our guests and have enough indoor space to avoid ‘changing over’ rooms between the ceremony and meal. Having a March wedding, we couldn’t rely on the weather being good enough to have an outdoor ceremony. After hours of research and many trips visiting venues all over Essex and Hertfordshire, we found our dream venue –Warren Weir… in Bedfordshire.

Our next task was finding a band. Followed by a photographer, videographer and florist.

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Jodie & Joel’s Jewish wedding at Warren Weir by Claudine Hartzel Photography

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An Afternoon Tea Jewish Wedding With a Bespoke Beaded Gown at The Pillar, London, UK

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It’s always very plain to see when a couple is creative by nature, and never fails to make for an aesthetically gorgeous wedding. 

Makeup artist, Amy, and presenter, Adam’s wedding was, in addition to making a lifelong commitment to one another, about two things: making friends and family feel loved and looked after, and making everything around them beautiful.

Both objectives were achieved and then some! This was particularly evident in the advice to couples at the end of this post – words of wisdom that showed a deep consideration for others.

The ceremony was totally tailored to Adam and Amy, with music being the most important and prominent element – we got the chills reading about it!

Armed with the perfect color palette of pastel-pretty flowers, two-tone fabrics and metallic gold accents, the couple created a clean, chic wedding wonderland, complete with an absolute stunner of a five-tier cake.

Beautiful bride Amy went bespoke with her beaded, two-tone gown, and played an instrumental role in the design, along with Elizabeth Todd, literally bringing her dream dress to life. 

Photographer, Paul Toeman, captured the details and emotion of the day with the glorious spread of pictures below, and Amy wrote the incredibly eloquent account of all the action. Take it away, Amy!

 

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A venue with history

Amy, the bride: We booked The Pillar Hotel, a kosher venue in Hendon, north-west London for 30th June 2016. We needed a venue that was close to my parents’ home in North London, as my father has final stages Parkinson’s disease.

We could have booked any top London hotel, but we couldn’t see the point in making an experience about love without the people we love being there, so a small hotel in Hendon it was!

Ironically, this particular venue used to be a convent, and so it was no ordinary hotel. The room we chose to have our ceremony in, was in fact the room where the nuns used to pray, and so the walls of exposed brickwork, arches and ornate windows were all steeped in history, spirituality, prayer and love.
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