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A Sophia Tolli Bride for a Jewish Wedding Full of Feeling at the St Pancras Renaissance, London, UK

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Jessica-Harry-St-Pancras-Renaissance-London-UK

We could not be more delighted to be featuring the fabulous London Jewish wedding of our Smashing The Glass Bride’s Club member Jessica! Jessica, who works in advertising, wed Harry, a solicitor, at the majestic St Pancras Renaissance and their big day was simply BEYOND!

Naturally, we were thrilled to hear that Jessica found some of her incredible vendors through Bride’s Club, including their sensational chazzan, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson. In Jessica’s words, “He has the most beautiful voice and moved so many people to tears. He got people clapping along to sheva brachot and hearing his voice really calmed both of our nerves. For me, he took our ceremony to a whole other level.”

For their reception music, Jessica and Harry went with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band, another rec from Bride’s Club. Jessica writes, “They performed beautiful acoustic sets while guests were eating, and bought the party for the dance sets in between courses and at the end of the night. The Israeli dancing set was also incredible with so much energy. They had everyone on their feet all night long and were better than we could have ever imagined.”

Even before she got engaged, Jessica knew she wanted Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel as her photographer – and unsurprisingly, she received another rave review from Jessica: “Claudine was everything we could have wanted in a photographer and more. She rolled with all the punches and kept us both really calm when a few hiccups happened. She really is the dream supplier and we hope to be able to work with her again in the future.”

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll leave it to Jessica, who looked simply divine in  Sophia Tolli, to fill you in on the rest…

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HOW WE MET

Jessica, the bride: We met on JSwipe (as all modern Jewish love stories start) and started dating on 29 May 2016. It was then incredibly special to get married on our 6-year anniversary, on 29 May 2022.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Wed2B Bride for an Egalitarian Jewish Wedding at Kew Gardens, London, UK

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Anya and Soren, Kew Gardens, London, UK

We love it when a couple makes their values the center of their Jewish wedding. Which is exactly what Anya, who works at an international development NGO, and Søren, a PhD student and research assistant working on DNA repair, did in their gorgeous Kew Gardens wedding.

The couple’s egalitarian values were front and center in their ‘shutafut’ (partnership) ceremony — an egalitarian alternative to the traditional ‘kiddushin’ marriage service under the auspices of Masorti. Their rabbi rabbi helped them create a ‘shtar shutafut’ (partnership contract), also known as a ‘brit ahuvim’ (lovers’ covenant), for their ketubah text, where they mapped out their commitments to each other and values they wanted to focus on in their marriage – how special is that?!

We also love that Anya and Søren opted to work with a whole bunch of our beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their dreams a reality. The duo chose #STGvendor Claudine Hartzel as their photographer for the way she beautifully captures candid moments, and they could not have been more thrilled with the results.

#STGvendor Dvash provided outstanding catering, meeting special dietary requirements with aplomb, and Anya and Søren report that guests are still raving about their favorite canapes!

#STGvendor Happy Chuppah People provided the couple’s birch chuppah – a perfect fit for the setting – and, continuing the botanical theme, and Anya and Søren found their exquisite Tree of Life ketubah via #STGvendor Ketubah.com.

There’s so much more to say about this very special Jewish wedding, but we’ll let the newlyweds take it from here…

Anya and Soren, Kew Gardens, London, UK Anya and Soren, Kew Gardens, London, UK Anya and Soren, Kew Gardens, London, UK Anya and Soren, Kew Gardens, London, UK
How we Met

Anya, the bride and Soren, the groom: We met through JSwipe in October 2016.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

13 Inspirational Jewish Wedding Photos

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Image: Ben Kelmer Photography

It takes someone really special to capture all the magic of a Jewish wedding. The traditions, the emotion, the dancing – a Jewish wedding day is pretty full-on from start to finish, and you want to make sure you pick a wedding photographer who can keep up!

Luckily, we know plenty of amazing Jewish wedding photographers – the kind who know exactly what a badeken is without you having to explain a thing – and we asked 13 of them to share a favorite Jewish wedding snapshot with us. So get ready to feel ALL the feelings!

1. Miki Studios


See more work by MIKI Studios

2. Herschel Gutman Photography


See more work by Herschel Gutman, who also offers 10% discount to Brides Club members.

3. Ben Kelmer Photography


See more work by Ben Kelmer Photography, who also offers 10% discount to Brides Club members.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Nicole Milano Bride for a Jewish Wedding Inspired by Musical Theatre and the Tottenham Hotspurs at Deene Park, Corby, UK

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We’re totally and completely obsessed with the fabulous Jewish wedding of Miri, an ex-performer-turned-singing-teacher, and Danny, who works in financial risk – and not just because they worked with some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors!

These two planned a wedding inspired by two of their biggest loves (aside from each other, of course!): music, and especially musical theatre; and football team Tottenham Hotspurs! While this might seem like an eclectic combo, Miri and Danny pulled it off to perfection – they even got their wonderful stationers, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Big Day Designs, to design them a custom wedding logo based on the Spurs emblem of a cockerel balancing on a football – only instead of a cockerel, there was a music note!

Music being a big deal, the band was the very first thing these two booked – they slotted everything else in around it! Who did they choose? None other than Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor XS Showband! In Miri’s words, “Not only did XS tick all of the boxes, but they were so flexible and helpful with all the extras and personal touches I had arranged with friends, colleagues and pupils singing throughout the day – as well as my own surprise number that I performed!”

As always, we’re in love with the luminous, emotion-packed photos from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel Photography – Claudine’s visual storytelling skills are second to none, and scrolling through her beautiful images we feel as if we were right there with Miri and Danny.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Fews Marquees – who the couple knew they wanted to work with even before they settled on their venue – just happened to be the chosen marquee supplier for Deene Park, where Miri and Danny eventually opted to make it official. And they did SUCH  a fabulous job.

Finally, how gorgeous is Miri’s Nicole Milano gown, purchased for 50% off(!) as a sample from beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror in Angel? Needless to say, the fab team at Mirror Mirror perfectly customized the dress to Miri’s every specification.  

There’s so much more we could say about this exquisite day, but we’ll let the bride tell you the rest…

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How We Met

Miri, the bride: We met on J-Swipe; amused that I must have ‘completed’ all the single Nice Jewish Boys in North West London, I extended my location settings to Paris. No, this wasn’t a long-distance Parisian courtship. I immediately realised that this would create more hurdles, rather than less. So I gave up on France. Instead, I  lowered the age range on my dating profile (by two and a half years). Turns out, I hadn’t actually completed all the NJBs after all.  #Danny

His words regarding our first meeting :
“Miri greeted me with a hug that was befitting of a long lost friend and the first half an hour or so was somewhat of a sensory overload, as I took in both how beautiful Miri looked and how quickly she spoke.”Continue ReadingContinue Reading

The Songs You’ll Need for Your Jewish Wedding with Kimpton Fitzroy London and Sensation Band {Facebook Live Recap}

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I’m so excited to share my latest Facebook Live from one of London’s very best Jewish wedding venues, the glorious Kimpton Fitzroy London, featuring favorite Jewish wedding songs performed by our friends from Sensation Band, the world-class wedding entertainment outfit beloved by so many Jewish couples in London and beyond. 

We had such a fantastic team come together to make this event happen, including Adam Nathan Catering, who provided delicious canapes for our live audience of Smashing The Glass Brides Club members; Adrian Stone, who provided his videography services; Claudine Hartzel, who took all the gorgeous still shots of the event you’ll see here; LiT, who handled livestreaming and production; JF Styling, who styled the gorgeous chuppah under which Sensation performed; and Dimitria Jordan, who designed personalized stationery gifts for our wonderful Brides Club attendees!

Sensation Band have performed at hundreds of Jewish weddings of all kinds, and what they don’t know about Jewish wedding music isn’t worth knowing – plus, of course, they’re incredibly talented musicians! So it was really a treat to have them here with us, performing and sharing some of the wisdom they’ve gleaned from their many years of Jewish wedding experience. Sensation prepared a set list of classic songs you might consider incorporating into your Jewish ceremony – both traditional versions and some very contemporary twists! (Scroll to the foot of the post for all the names of the tracks and time stamps).

Processional Tracks

With Guy on vocals and Jason on keyboard, we started with a selection of songs that are popular choices for the groom’s processional. First, we heard “Vehi Sheamda,” featuring lyrics from the Passover Haggadah; then Omer Adam’s “Modeh Ani,” a popular Israeli track; next, “Yesimcha Elokim,” a more traditional choice, and finally, “Meheira,” which takes its lyrics from the Sheva Brachot. 

Hebrew or English?

Then we took a break for some audience questions, and a really important one came up: Can you use English (or whatever language) music in your ceremony, or does it all need to be in Hebrew? Sensation and I agree, this one really depends so much on your officiant – so be sure you discuss it with them. Sensation mentioned that they often set traditional Hebrew lyrics to popular contemporary tunes, which can be a great option – especially if you’re required to use Hebrew music but have your heart set on something different.

Welcoming the Bride

Then Guy and Jason performed their next track, the traditional Israeli love song “Erev Shel Shoshanim.” They suggest it as an option for the grandparents’ processional, and it’s also a popular option for brides to walk down to!

Next up was Boi Kallah, sung to the tune of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” – taken from Lecha Dodi, the lyrics are all about welcoming the (Shabbat) bride, so it’s an awesome choice for welcoming a non-metaphorical bride, too!

Then, continuing the theme of setting traditional songs to modern tunes, Sensation performed another version of “Meheira,” this time set to the tune of “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman.

Wrapping Things Up

They followed that up with “Eishet Chayil,” traditionally sung on Friday nights, about the woman of valor. This track is often played during the circling. First, Guy and Jason did a traditional rendition; then they changed things up by performing it to the tune of Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are”!

Then we were treated to “Mi Adir,” a blessing for the newly married couple, to the tune of “You Raise Me Up” by Westlife. Next was “Im Eshkachech,” traditionally sung just before the breaking of the glass, first sung to the tune of popular track “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” then the more traditional version. 

Next it was time for “Siman Tov Mazal Tov,” the lively tune that’s usually sung right after the smashing of the glass!

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