Claudine Hartzel Photography Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Literary London-themed Jewish Wedding at Bevis Marks Synagogue and The Anthologist, London, UK

30/08/2017 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s real wedding is a very special one, because Carla and Alex won their incredible wedding photography through a competition on Smashing The Glass with none other than our fabulous Recommended Vendor, Claudine Hartzel.

Alex and Carla faced mishap after mishap when planning their wedding, including their original venue cancelling just 100 days before the big day. But, in a perfect example of how to cope with anything life throws at you, they soldiered on, creating the stunning London literary-themed Jewish wedding you see below.

We love beautiful bride Carla’s attitude, from her que sera approach to things going wrong, to her gorgeous Sottero and Midgley gown with hidden pockets (!) and her bride’s speech.

We’d also quite like to tuck into the divine-looking not-a-cheesecake cheese cake. Yes please!

The couple paid homage to their hometown, London, with lots of adorable little touches, such as riding between the venues on a classic London bus, and creating a London-themed postcard guest book, complete with a red postbox, created by the bride’s dad.

We’ll hand you over to Carla for the full story on her and Alex’s literary love fest! We’re sure you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.

How we met

Carla, the bride: We met at University. I was the only fresher to join the Jewish Society that year after signing up at the bunfight stall Alex was managing.
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A Super Luxe Gold Jewish Wedding With a Hermione de Paula Bride at Bevis Marks and Devonshire Terrace, London, UK

26/07/2017 by Karen Cinnamon

All that glitters actually is gold when it comes to today’s luxurious and delightfully decadent London Jewish wedding.

As an event organizer, Natalie knew exactly what she wanted for her wedding to now-hubby Paul: a wedding venue with an outdoor feel that could survive the perils of the unpredictable British weather, and a LOT of gorgeous gold accents.

Fortunately, both were well within Natalie’s capabilities, and the entire aesthetic of the wedding turned out to be simply divine.

We ADORE (with a capital EVERYTHING) the idea of a musical street procession between two venues (the divine Bevis Marks Synagogue and Devonshire Terrace) what a way to travel in style! We’re sure we’ll be seeing many more STG street parties, now that the trend has well and truly been set.

Natalie looked radiant in her totally bespoke, and one-of-a-kind Hermione de Paula gown, paired with beautiful blue skyscraper heels, and her big day was truly a Smashing the Glass-fest, with no fewer than four Recommended Vendors on the case: award-winning photographer, Claudine Hartzel; sensational stationer, Dimitria Jordan, brilliant band, The White Keys; and finally the beautiful video you see below is by HD Moments.

How we met

Natalie, the bride: We went to King Solomon together. I was four school years below Paul, and fancied him back then. But we got together years later through Facebook, and after our first date, I told my mum I was going to marry Paul and yes, I was right!

Smashing The Glass Takes Over The Savoy For 24 hours

15/02/2017 by Karen

My 24 hours at The Savoy filmed by Adrian Stone of The Dreamcatchers

Happy Wedding Wednesday! To soften the blow as we all come down from our Valentine’s Day highs, I have an exciting post all about my epic, 24-hour takeover of London’s iconic five-star hotel, wedding and events venue, The Savoy.

I also have a rather extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime accompanying competition to win a night for two at the world-famous Savoy, so keep your eyes peeled at the end of this post to make sure you don’t miss out (seriously, this one’s a biggie!).

As I was given a rare, all-access pass to a world-famous institution and the epitome of the lap of luxury (special thanks to Charlotte Faith, the amazing PR manager at The Savoy who arranged this incredible experience), I had a lot of questions – and was, in turn, provided with a plethora of answers, so it’s worth perhaps brewing a cup of tea or coffee before you sit down to read this post as there is so much fabulousness to take in.

Accompanying me were award-winning wedding photographer, Claudine Hartzel and world-class wedding filmmaker, Adrian Stone of The Dreamcatchers. Huge thanks to both of them – for Adrian for his spectacular film right at the top and also the longer (and even more action-packed!) 5 minute version lower down in the competition section). And to the divine Claudine for capturing my stay with her fabulous photos throughout this post and on social media. Thank you to both of them for their excellent company!

A suite with a river view and a second-to-none butler service

On arrival, I checked into my stunning £1,600 a night one-bedroom Edwardian suite with a river view over the Thames, looking out onto London’s much-loved landmarks, where a sumptuous lunch was already laid out for us (as well as fabulous floral arrangements from Savoy Flowers and a Chocolate Delight, which you’ll have to watch the Facebook Live video to truly appreciate). I was then introduced to The Savoy’s head butler, the delightful Sean Davoren.

Suites at The Savoy come with an indescribable 24-hour butler service and now, having said that, I’m going to have to attempt to describe it in a way that does it justice.

Butlers at The Savoy represent a living, breathing definition of customer service. In fact, if you look up ‘customer service’ in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of a smiling Sean Davoren proudly presenting you with a lovingly arranged tray of all of your favourite things.

There’s nothing that a butler at The Savoy can’t manage. They will respond to any request within four minutes, from pressing the dress on your wedding morning to taking care of all the mundane details you don’t want to think about (kind of makes your other half seem obsolete, huh); from drawing you a luxurious, scented bath to sending up a selection of your favourite foods, whether on the menu or not – even packing for you, if you so desire.

This service came in extremely handy when, in all the excitement of getting glammed up for a night at The Savoy’s exceptional restaurants and bars, I actually forgot my pyjamas. It was only getting to bed, past midnight, that I realised.

Despite the antisocial hour, Sean immediately arranged for loungewear from the gym to be sent up to my room and saved the day!

To further illustrate my point: Sean was once asked to provide fresh-from-the-teat goat’s milk to fill a guest’s bath and sent a taxi all the way to Wales to collect it. How’s that for above and beyond?

Hear some more of Sean’s outrageously entertaining butler tales by catching up with our Facebook Live video below!

A Cymbeline bride for a DIY-detailed Jewish wedding at Parklands, Quendon Hall, Essex, UK

13/12/2016 by Karen

Brrr… it’s been a bit chilly lately – so we thought we’d bring on an early spring and showcase Ashley and Adam’s bright and beautiful real wedding at Parklands, Quendon Hall, shot by STG fave – Claudine Hartzel.

At Smashing the Glass, we absolutely adore personalised details, and both bride and groom happily rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in creating a wonderfully crafty décor scheme that truly made the day their own. The couple made most of their own decorations, from heart-shaped bunting to burlap-wrapped mason jars, for their relaxed, earthy big day.

In keeping with the natural vibe of the day, the chuppah was built using silver birch wood poles, small floral arrangements and a gorgeous multi-coloured tallit, sourced in Israel by the groom’s parents

To commemorate their dreamy hot air balloon proposal, creative groom, Adam, made a model hot air balloon guest book with a mini basket in which friends and family could leave messages for the couple.

But that wasn’t Adam’s only project. In a romantic move that has set the bar ludicrously high for grooms everywhere (if you listen carefully you can hear a distant, sarcastic chorus of “cheers, mate”), Adam ordered a custom-made bow tie using a design of a painting that Ashley had created for him. It was a wonderful surprise on the day and Ashley was blown away.

The meaningful details were sprinkled through every aspect of the day. Ashley customised her Cymbeline dress with a vintage brooch and wore a bracelet with a trinket from her grandmother so they she could feel connected. And a final, adorable touch was the hand-stamped mini succulent plants as favours for each guest – a lasting memento of a beautiful celebration.

How we met

Ashley, the bride: My best friend, Tash, knew Adam from uni. One day she invited me to come with her to his birthday drinks and we were introduced there. We met again at Tash’s infamous Seder night parties and then we hit it off again on a camping trip with a group of friends – the rest is history!

Jodie & Joel | Woodland-style rustic Jewish wedding at Luton Hoo, Hertfordshire, UK

29/02/2016 by Karen

Happy 1st of the month everyone! I hope that 2016 has been kind to you so far and that your wedding planning is going brilliantly. If you haven’t booked your wedding photographer yet, you might want to enter our win your wedding photography competition with Claudine Hartzel, the brilliantly talented camerawoman behind today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding. Have a read of what the bride had to say about working with Claudine, further down the page – you’ll see that if you’re the lucky couple to win this competition you’ll be starting the celebrations early!

So onto this beauty of a W Day. Although set just outside London, Jodie and Joel wanted to create a woodland-style wedding amongst the lush gardens, lakes and waterfalls of the beautiful Luton Hoo in Hertfordshire. Initially Jodie, who runs her own mobile juicing business, wanted to get married in the middle of a forest so this setting was a perfect compromise. The table centres by Platinum Raspberry are particularly exceptional, and really bring the woodland theme to life.

This is a truly inclusive wedding with family and friends involved every step of the way, from Jodie’s step-brother singing a prayer under the chuppah (to the Indiana Jones theme tune no less), to one of Jodie’s oldest friends singing Ellie Goulding’s How Long Will I Love You for the couple’s first dance. Jodie’s mum had secretly arranged this as a surprise along with a few other touches – how thoughtful is that?

Jodie has some brilliant advice for all of you at the end of the post – I particularly love ‘Remember to say prayers for everyone you love as you circle your groom – it makes the ceremony that much more meaningful’.

Not only do we have the lovely images from Claudine Hartzel, but we also have the film from Bloomsbury Films, which includes a heart warming speech from Jodie’s mum. Without further ado, I give you Jodie and Joel.

how we met

Jodie, the Bride: Joel was one of my martial arts instructors. I later found him on Facebook, gave him my number, and the rest is history!

We got married in the grounds of beautiful Luton Hoo in Hertfordshire, just outside London. We just fell in love with the gardens – there was a lake and a waterfall and it was surrounded by trees and greenery. Initially I wanted to get married in the middle of a forest so this was a perfect compromise.