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A Liz Martinez Bride for a Summer Chic Jewish Wedding with an Epic Dance Party in Marbella, Spain

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Wow wow wow. This duo is just beyond… Stunning couple Claudia, who works in recruitment, and Nick, who works for Diageo, had the most exquisite outdoor summer destination Jewish wedding. The London-based pair opted to wed in sunny Marbella, Spain, and with guests coming in from every continent but Antarctica, the pair made a weekend of their celebration, with a full calendar of activities–including a henna party!

Claudia and Nick found the ultimate romantic setting for their chuppah in Villa Padierna Palace. Calling this breathtaking spot a hotel doesn’t do it justice; the place looks like a Tuscan palace that’s been airdropped in to the Costa del Sol.

Following the emotional ceremony, the pair threw an epic all-night dance party at one of Marbella’s top nightclubs, LOV Olivia Valere. Their guests were totally on board, dancing into the morning–with a break for the gorgeous sparkler-studded cake the couple arranged to have brought out at 1 a.m. to keep everyone going.

Bride Claudia said when she and Nick walked down the aisle with everyone clapping, she felt like she was at a celebrity wedding–and that’s exactly the vibe we got from this fab celebration. Claudia really did look like a movie star in her dreamy Liz Martinez gown, and photographer Barney Walters and videographer Gione Da Silva captured the day in all its glamor. Now over to the gorgeous Claudia!


Destination Jewish wedding Villa Padierna Palace LOV Olivia Valere Marbella Spain_0039 Destination Jewish wedding Villa Padierna Palace LOV Olivia Valere Marbella SpainDestination Jewish wedding Villa Padierna Palace LOV Olivia Valere Marbella Spain_0039Destination Jewish wedding Villa Padierna Palace LOV Olivia Valere Marbella Spain_0039 Destination Jewish wedding Villa Padierna Palace LOV Olivia Valere Marbella Spain_0039 Destination Jewish wedding Villa Padierna Palace LOV Olivia Valere Marbella Spain_0039
How we met

Claudia, the bride: We met at university, where we both studied French and were in the same project group, but we didn’t get together until we both lived in France almost 2 years later. We visited each other a few times and finally started dating. Three days later Nick met Claudia’s entire enormous family at her 21st birthday party in Paris and he got the seal of approval! We have now been together for 6 years!

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A Jewish-French-Greek-British Animal-Filled Wedding at London Zoo, London, UK

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Before we get started, we need to present today’s bride, Clelia, with a medal for THE most Smashing The Glass-obsessed bride ever to grace these pages. Clelia took an extraordinary amount of inspiration from the blog, including sourcing almost every vendor and having one of our past real brides, Lauren, create her incredible chuppah design.

Helping Jewish brides to plan their weddings is exactly what Smashing The Glass is all about, and Clelia embodies our spirit and ethos and then some! Thanks for making us such a huge part of your journey, Clelia, we are truly honored.

Now back to staring at wedding pretty and getting inspired, which is what we’re all here for. If you’re a fan of adorable monkeys and meerkats (and if you’re not, who even ARE you??) you’ll love today’s into-the-wild venue, London Zoo. We’re SO here for Clelia and George’s animal kingdom selfie competition – what an inspired way to make the most of such a unique venue! 

Clelia and George were full of gratitude for the way their loved ones came together to help make their dream day perfect, and it really shows in the images and Clelia’s moving writeup. We’re all also totally behind Clelia’s words about body positivity and self love, and are so grateful to her for sharing her feelings on this. 

It was also, as we mentioned, a wedding packed with STG Recommended Vendors, including ludicrously talented klezmer band, Shir, wonderful rabbi, Paul Glantz, and ultimate gift-list service, Prezola.

Famed photographer, Laura Babb, and her partner in crime, videographer Peter Wilbourne, did an outstanding job of telling the story of the day through their stunning spread of images and Peter’s cinematic wedding video. We feel like we were there in person! 

It’s finally Clelia’s well-deserved and long-awaited turn to take over the blog for a post. Take it away, Clelia!

Jewish wedding London Zoo UK

Jewish wedding London Zoo UK

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Jewish wedding London Zoo UK

Jewish wedding London Zoo UK
How we met

Clelia, the bride: We met in a car park in Northampton when our colleague, Richard, offered to drive us both back to London. Instead of awkward work chat, I asked George every question in the Proust questionnaire. 

When Richard dropped us off at a north London tube station, George asked me out on a date. I introduced him to long haul-holidays, he introduced me to beans on toast and football. I agreed the kids would support Spurs, he agreed the kids would be raised Jewish and proposed under Tower Bridge, a few meters from where he’d first seen me in the office.
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A fun festival Masorti Jewish wedding with a bride in an Alice Temperley dress at South Farm, Hertfordshire, UK

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Every now and then, one of those real weddings lands in the STG inbox that just genuinely looks like so much fun that we wish we would have been invited too!

Between the vintage funfair games, pink flamingos, glamping, bouncy castle, ice cream truck (in that order, we hope) and photobooth, as well as providing a crà¨che for their friends’ kids, this conscientious couple could not have put more effort into keeping their guests entertained.

Charlotte and Dan’s fun-filled, laid-back, festival-style wedding took place at South Farm in Royston, Hertfordshire and was shot by photographer Kristian Leven.

Bride, Charlotte, wowed with fresh flowers in her hair and an an Alice Temperley dress fit for a boho bride (and for a quick go on the bouncy castle!).

Charlotte and Dan didn’t let the disappointment of their outdoor ceremony being rained off spoil their big day. Instead, they ran with their plan B, moving the ceremony to the barn. Forget crying babies, this couple had to contend with oinking pigs and crowing cockerels, making their Masorti ceremony all the more interesting.

Equality was also an important factor in the planning of the day. The Masorti ceremony was chosen due to its inclusivity and Charlotte delivered a speech, as did her close, female friends. Who runs the world?

In true festival style, the party went on until the early hours — a roaring success all round. Let’s hand over to Charlotte to tell us more about her and Dan’s special day.

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How we met

Charlotte, the bride: Dan is my big brother Paul’s best friend. Naughty naughty…

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A quirky, outdoorsy venue at South Farm in Royston, UK

We chose to get married at South Farm in Royston due to its laid-back style and country feel. It was the only venue we looked at because we knew exactly what we wanted. We aren’t into fussy formal weddings and we wanted everyone to feel relaxed and happy.

The venue is quirky yet beautiful and we had free range to personalise it which was really important to us. I grew up in the country and am quite outdoorsy and so wanted the venue to reflect that.

South Farm is not too far from London (50 minutes) but still has that rural feel. We wanted to make the wedding as stress free as possible for everyone especially seeing as were married on a Monday.

Everyone that worked at South Farm was so passionate about the venue, in particular the incredible chef Matt and our beyond amazing event organizer Becky. I could not have asked for more helpful, dedicated and lovely people to help plan the day with.

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A Justin Alexander Bride for a bagel-themed Jewish wedding at Bevis Marks + Andaz London Liverpool Street, London, UK

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Todays couple had a bagel themed wedding, inspired by their surname, with bagels brought in from the legendary Beigel Bake in Brick Lane… I mean, could this Jewish wedding get any better?!

Well yes it could when Shaun Taylor is behind the lens, and my goodness aren’t his images beautiful? What’s more, the bride and groom found him via Smashing The Glass. Nicola & Simon told me,

We love your blog as it showcases the best weddings, but not by budget, size or glamour — you go after the individual personality of the wedding and the touches, which we really like. We found Shaun Taylor through your site via an advertising banner. We saw his work and it was exactly what we were after.”

Well that does make me happy! Nicola & Simon got married in Bevis Marks, the oldest synagogue in the UK, and a stone’s throw from their reception venue, The Andaz, in the City of London. The bride wore a sensational fishtail Justin Alexander dress, and looked absolutely incredible. Her bridesmaids rocked Jenny Packham, and just wait till you see the Jewish dancing images – off the scale!

Oh.. and they also had the most wonderful hashtag printed inside their kippot ‘#BestKuppleEver’.

This is SUCH a lovely wedding, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

A Justin Alexander Bride for a Jewish wedding at Andaz London Liverpool StreetA Justin Alexander Bride for a Jewish wedding at Andaz London Liverpool Street_0154

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A Pronovias bride for a ‘Northerner & The Jew’ interfaith Jewish wedding at Corinthia Hotel London, UK

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Today’s Jew-ish wedding can’t fail to put a smile on your face. It’s literally bursting at the seams with fashion, fun and some very original ideas. The bride and groom are a director and  actor respectively, and they incorporated some brilliantly inventive details  into their  day.

There’s a surprise  Fiddler & The Roof bottle dance  by the groom and his friends, an off-the-scale Pronovias  dress,  Vivienne Westwood shoes that I am MAJORLY  coveting, a dress code of ‘Imagine it’s the Oscar’s and get glamorous’, and one of the best Jew-ish wedding themes ever:  ‘The  Northerner & The Jew’. Genius! The bride  says:

My Judaism  is very important to  me — it is my cultural make-up. It was a big decision to get serious
 with John but luckily I have a great family who adore him. And I adore his. Our upbringing often clashes, mainly 
over little things and we are having to re-write our own rules for our life together. We can’t base it on our parents but there are some great discoveries — like a bacon and challah sandwich. So wrong its right. So ‘Northern and the Jew’.

A  bacon and challah sandwich? Too good to be true! There are so many good interfaith ceremony wedding ideas here, one of my favourite being  the laying out of  flags out on each seat during the chuppah  with different Lancashire and Yiddish sayings.

Jem &  John  had a very personal wedding  and, not surprisingly,  the  report today is written by them both. All the fun comes from the exquisite  Corinthia hotel  in the heart of London with sensational imagery by  Rhapsody Road.

Corinthia London Jewish WeddingCorinthia London Jewish Wedding
Choosing to get married at The Corinthia Hotel  London

Jem, the Bride: We were recommended to go and see The Corinthia  by a friend and fell in love with it. We have a love of architecture and restoration work and the way the hotel had been restored and modernised appealed to us. We also wanted somewhere in central London where we could have the ceremony and reception in one place.

John, the Groom: The place is magnificent. As Jem said, the architecture is splendid, the refurbishment is top notch. The welcome from the door staff was fantastic. In fact, everything was exemplary when we looked around. It just made sense. Once we had the food tasting, we knew it was money well spent.

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