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A Madi Lane Bride for a Rustic and Relaxed Backyard Jewish Wedding in London, UK

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There’s something so special about a backyard Jewish wedding. That personal touch of making things official in your family home – there’s nothing like it. Even though today’s couple, Sara, a speech and language therapist, and Jason, a payments manager, didn’t initially plan to hold their wedding in the bride’s parent’s garden – their pre-pandemic plan A was Israel – in the end their day turned out to be everything they could’ve hoped for and then some.

Due to the pandemic, Sara and Jason kept the ceremony and dinner to just immediate family, and then invited a handful of close friends to join afterward for dancing and late-night snacks. Working with a fabulous team of vendors, the pair transformed the garden into the perfect rustic retreat, adorned with flowers and candles and all kinds of soft romantic touches.

Sara and Jason’s chuppah, rented from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People (who they found right here on STG!), was the perfect cornerstone for their rustically romantic aesthetic. They opted for “The Finchley,” built on natural branches that looked as if they were just growing out of the garden.

The couple report that one of the best decisions they made in their wedding planning was working with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Events with Grace as their on-the-day coordinator. Grace helped keep things organized during the last month of planning, and on the day she made sure everything ran smoothly and took the pressure off Sara and Jason and their families.

Scroll through Megan Donati Photography’s beautiful imagery and you’ll see what an absolute dream of a day this turned out to be. We’ll let Sara take it from here…

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How We Met

Sara, the bride: We first spoke on an Aish trip when were 17. We had actually met a year earlier but I had forgotten on the trip. Jason came up to me and started talking like we were old friends. I wasn’t sure at first but on the trip we became friendly. When we got home, we started a long-distance friendship. The rest is history; we dated for 4 years long distance until Jason made the move to Essex.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Essense of Australia Bride for a Foodies’ Jewish Wedding at Wild by Tart, London, UK

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Chelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UK

Today’s couple, Chelsie, co-founder of Blondies Kitchen, and Rob, founder and owner of Brown Butter Dining, had visions of tying the knot on the beach in Marbella in July 2020, feasting on paella and sangria to their hearts’ content. As you can probably guess, though, COVID got in the way. At first the couple opted to postpone, hoping things would go back to normal in time for a July 2021 wedding… but as we all know, that’s not quite how things went.

Eventually, the pair shifted gears and started planning a local wedding in London – and somehow they managed to put something together that combines the best of their home city with the laid-back Mediterranean vibes of their Plan A wedding. With a ceremony at New West End Synagogue followed by a reception at Wild by Tart in Belgravia (which is not only an event space but also a restaurant – hence incredible food that met the duo’s tough standards), Chelsie and Rob pulled off the most perfect day -even if it looked different from what they’d first envisioned. They even finished off the night with a cookie cart from Chelsie’s cookie business, Blondies Kitchen, so that everyone could take home a special treat at the end.

We’re obsessed with the natural photos by Alex Wysocki and stunning cinematic video from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion – watching the trailer really makes us feel as if we were right there with Chelsie and Rob!

We’ll leave it to Chelsie, who looked so glam in Essense of Australia, to take it from here…

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How we Met

Chelsie, the bride: We actually met through a friend because I went to train to be a chef and Rob was one. Our passion for food connected us.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Michal Taylor Bride for a Colorful Jewish Wedding at Bezzela Hahar, Machasiya, Jerusalem, Israel

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Even though Israeli couple Elinoa and Yonah held their Jewish wedding during the pandemic, they were lucky enough not to have to make major changes to their plans. Sure, they changed venues two weeks(!) before the big day – but, happily, they made that change in order to be able to invite MORE guests (including Yona’s entire army unit), not because they had to cut their list down.

As always, we’re totally and completely blown away by the couple’s incredible wedding photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman. Like so many couples, Elinoa and Yonah knew they wanted him as their photographer before they were even engaged. In Elinoa’s words, “Herschel has this magical way of just capturing moments – being truly in them with you but also making you feel like it’s only the two of you. There was not a moment throughout the wedding where I noticed a camera on me or in my face and I think that’s a testament to the true skill Herschel has.”

There’s so much more to say about this gorgeous wedding – just for starters, we love that Elinoa designed all the wedding stationery herself! – but we’ll let the bride, who looked exquisitely elegant in Michal Taylor, fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Elinoa, the bride: We’ve both always sort of been in the background of each other’s lives. Our parents were all part of Bnei Akiva in England, which if you’re familiar with anyone who grew up in England and went to BA – everyone knows everyone. My father-in-law was a madrich to both my parents, Yonah’s uncle was my dad’s madrich & my mother in law was a good friend of my uncle through-out high school. The four of them made Aliyah around the same time & lived in the “merkaz klita” in Ra’anana. Our families both settled down in Ramat Beit Shemesh and we grew up always sort of aware of each other but were never necessarily friendly (although we have got a few pictures of us together from when we were little). Eventually my family moved to America and then to Ra’anana meaning the next time we crossed paths was when they would come to stay with us for Shabbat.

Yonah’s second cousins live in Raanana and they are good friends of ours so every time they had a simcha, Yonah’s family would stay with us. In August 2016 they came to stay with us and Yonah and I sort of caught each other’s attention. A few days later I noticed he had FB messaged me wishing me good luck in my year of sherut leumi in Jerusalem. Turns out he was just being nice and not flirting but I took it as flirting and told him to let me know next time he was in Jerusalem and we would hang out. 9 months later he texted me asking if I was free, May 26th 2017 we went on our first date and we’ve been together ever since. Our relationship has spanned 2 year of sherut leumi, Yonah’s army service (and subsequently many, many drives to his base), almost an entire degree, traveling, and much, much more.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Sassi Holford Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK

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Laura and Josh, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London

We’re so excited to be sharing the gorgeous Jewish wedding of another of our Smashing The Glass Brides Club members today! Not only did Laura, a nutritionist, and Josh, a project management consultant, have the quintessential London wedding at the stunning St Pancras Renaissance, but they also worked with some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make sure their big day was nothing less than a smashing success, as evidenced in the joyous photos from Chiko Photography.

First off, we’re all about Laura’s elegant bridal look, featuring a classic gown by Sassi Holford and the chicest updo by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Hair by Slo. Stylist Sarah-Louise is so loved by #STGbrides, and reading Laura’s kind words it’s no wonder why: “She was always at the end of the phone when I needed both hair and non-hair related advice, and on the day she blew me away with how she did everyone’s hair and made everyone feel.”

And then there’s the cinematic masterpiece that is the couple’s wedding video from beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion. We’re not at all surprised to hear that the team made Laura and Josh feel super comfortable on the day – or that they’re obsessed with their video and the amazing memories it brings back. This is one trailer not to be missed!

We’re also crazy about the couple’s modern ketubah by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elena Berlo, in the most wonderful palette of blues, greens, and golds. It’s a true piece of art, which Laura and Josh now proudly display in their living room as a memento of their special day.

Now over to the bride… 

Laura and Josh, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London Laura and Josh, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London Laura and Josh, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London Laura and Josh, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London

Venue

Laura, the bride: We got married at the St Pancras Renaissance hotel in London. I have worked around the corner from the venue for 5 years and every time I walked past it, I fell in love with it a little bit more. Soon after we were engaged, I made Josh come with me to have a look at the hotel.  After we had been shown around, I couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else.

We loved all the rooms and the iconic stair case, which all could be used as part of the wedding and how the spaces were naturally beautiful and didn’t need too much dressing. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Enzoani Bride for a Fun-Filled Interfaith Jewish Wedding with DIY Touches at Wharfedale Grange, Yorkshire, UK

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We love it when a couple puts fun at the top of their wedding planning agenda. And that’s exactly what STG Brides Club member Sophie and groom David did when planning their interfaith Jewish wedding.

Well, fun AND making sure all of their guests felt included in the big day, regardless of background. Between the non-religious civil ceremony (which included a gospel choir and a poem from ‘Sex and the City’!) and a standard Jewish wedding format including touches like Israeli dancing, we think they hit the balance just right.

Photographers All You Need Is Love were chosen for their relaxed, fun style, and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor York Place Studios handled videography in their trademark documentary style, which meant they captured all the couple’s meaningful moments in a totally natural way.

The other thing we love about this wedding is the beautiful DIY touches. First off, how cool is it that Sophie made her own rose petal confetti?! Such a fun project – and it makes those smashing confetti shots that much more special.

Sophie also happens to have a mega-talented dad who crafted the retro illuminated sign over the dance floor (it read ‘Brand New Isaacs’ to match the couple’s #abrandnewisaacs hashtag – the bride’s name was Brand and the groom’s is Isaacs).

Now over to the bride, who looked beautiful in Enzoani…

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How we met

Sophie, the bride: We met at work in Leeds, when I joined the big accountancy firm that David had already been at a couple of years. We didn’t get together straight away, with David moving to London soon after we met, but a year or so later I moved to London too and we got together at that point.

After several years having the best time living in London we decided to move back to Yorkshire, where we now both work as private equity investors – in very similar roles but at different companies!

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