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Win your wedding photography by award-winning Jewish wedding photographer, Claudine Hartzel

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For those of you who are yet to book  your wedding photographer, today’s blog post is especially for you. Oh yes, today’s your lucky days as I’m thrilled to be partnering with  Jewish wedding photographer extraordinaire  Claudine Hartzel  to give one engaged-to-be-married couple completely FREE wedding photography! Let the celebrations begin!

I featured Claudine’s photography in one of the first real weddings I ever blogged back in 2013 and I’ve been smitten with her work  ever since (and have blogged her  images many times over too!). A soon as I discovered her talents, I quickly snapped her up as a Smashing Supplier and having met her as well, I’m genuinely lucky to call her a friend as well as a much-loved industry colleague.

Based in East London, but shooting weddings throughout the UK and beyond, Claudine captures weddings beautifully and naturally, using fashion, reportage and still life photography.

Claudine is herself Jewish, and has photographed many Jewish  weddings — check out her fabulous Jewish wedding portfolio here) so you  can only imagine how thrilled I was when she told me she wanted to give away  a completely FREE  wedding package together with an engagement shoot in London, to one couple anywhere in the world! If you’re getting married before next October  2017 and you haven’t organised  your photographer yet, then today is most definitely a  fortuitous day!

Even if you’re not fortunate  enough to win, Claudine  would like to offer every couple that enters 10% off their wedding photography if you then decide to go on and hire her.

Scroll down to read more about the prize and how to enter, and be sure to check out more of Claudine’s  work at Claudine Hartzel Photography.

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“My best Jewish wedding photo” by Claudine Hartzel

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A weekly series where  I ask some of the world’s best wedding photographers to pick out their favourite shot from their Jewish wedding portfolio. This week it’s the turn of  Claudine Hartzel.

Claudine-Hartzel

‘The groom’s speech’ by Claudine Hartzel

Choosing my best Jewish wedding photo was such a hard decision..  I have lots of amazing dancing shots and chuppah shots so I wanted to find an image that meant a lot to me and summed up what a Jewish wedding means to me.

Jewish weddings are about family and friends, and of course there is the dancing and food! BUT what I really enjoy  is the emotion and the happiness of all the guests.

As a photographer  it’s such a privilege to be under the chuppah so close to the bride and groom making their vows to each other. But I do also love the speeches  when everybody can see you and hear you…

I  have always loved this photograph as the groom is giving the most enthralling  speech to a sea of guests.”

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Chitter Chatter with Claudine Hartzel, award-winning creative wedding photographer

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Claudine Hartzel
Chitter Chatter  is a  series I’m running all about  inspirational women in the wedding industry whom  I greatly admire. These women successfully combine  running their own business with married life and, in a lot of cases, raising a young family.  The ‘Chitter Chatter’  twist is is they have to answer my questions  in just 140 characters or less….

Today I’m chitter chattering  to Claudine Hartzel,  the award-winning London-based wedding photographer and  much-loved Smashing Supplier. Claudine is Jewish herself, and has photographed hundreds of ‘I-Do’s’  (many of them being Jewish weddings) in the UK and beyond. I’m a huge fan of her beautiful reportage photography, and her weddings have graced many a page of Smashing The Glass. Claudine lives in London with her husband (read on for their heart-warming  ‘how we met’ love story!) and their two young daughters.

What was your first job?

Working in the print sales room and bookshop at the Photographers’ Gallery.  It was a massive inspiration to me, from the work that was  exhibited, to the colleagues I worked with.

Tell me more about your career before launching  Claudine Hartzel Photography

I worked as an artist for seven years and, after spending a year  in Amsterdam on a sabbatical, decided I wanted to become a commercial photographer.

What made you start  your photography business?

I really enjoy the pace and emotion all wrapped up in the one  day of a wedding, plus I feel  as if I have the best of all  worlds. As a wedding photographer you shoot still life, fashion and portraiture all in one day!

What inspires you to keep growing and developing your business?

Firstly my family.  Technology moves so fast that you have to use it to your advantage — this is very inspiring and exciting.  My business is a direct reflection of my personality and this is helpful to keep things into perspective personally, and on a business level.

What obstacles have you overcome along the way?

I would not say they were obstacles, but I took a year out to have my second child. This did mean that I had to build up the business again.

Claudine Hartzel
Images by Claudine Hartzel

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Rochelle & Rich | Classic White City Chic Jewish wedding at Devonshire Terrace, in the heart of the City of London, UK

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Being my home city, I make no secret of how much I love  a London Wedding. And Rochelle and Rich’s indoor/outdoor venue of Devonshire Terrace right in the heart of the City and in the shadow of the Gherkin, is just about as spectacular as a London venue gets!

Rochelle is a super beautiful bride, all glowing skin and curly, glossy  locks, and  her and  Rich’s Jewish wedding is simple, elegant, relaxed, and  perfectly executed in Rochelle’s easy-going, laid back manner  (read her advice at the end if you want a stress-free wedding planning experience!).

Sit back with a cup of tea, peruse through her wedding report and enjoy all  of the  wonderful images taken by the  rather talented  Claudine Hartzel  Photography, one of Smashing The Glass’s esteemed  Smashing Suppliers.

Classic White City Chic Jewish wedding at Devonshire Terrace, in the heart of the City of London, UK

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Sara & Elliot | Scottish Castle Jewish Wedding, Dundas Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland

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In today’s castle weekend wedding we have bagpipe players, custom made Gina shoes, a seriously breathtaking castle venue, and the best favours / name plates I have ever seen: personalised tubes of chocolate Rolos with each guests’ name on them. I’d have loved one of those!

For this wedding, I’m thrilled to welcome photographer extraodinaire, Claudine Hartzel, to Smashing The Glass whose wonderful images capture the occasion perfectly. Happy Monday all, I know you’re going to enjoy this one.
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VENUE
Sara, the Bride: We didn’t want a typical “Jewish Wedding” as we both aren’t religious. We wanted something different and also wanted to try and make a weekend of it. We didn’t wanted to get married in London and had gone to Edinburgh for Hogmanay in 2009 and loved it there. I started to research castles and stately homes to get married in in Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy.
Dundas Castle in Edinburgh was the first venue that appeared in my search and nothing else came close to it. When we visited it, we both fell in love with the Castle and not just because everyone who worked there was incredible and couldn’t do enough to help, which made organising a wedding quite far from where you live hardly stressful at all!
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CEREMONY Our Rabbi had us facing the guests during the whole ceremony which was lovely albeit a bit scary! We didn’t know he was going to do this and had he suggested this beforehand, I probably would have said no, but in the end it was a very special touch. We wanted our wedding to be really modern and not be long and bore anyone but also have some traditional touches like me walking around Elliot seven times (with the giggles!).

For me, my favourite part of the ceremony was the badeken as it was so personal and emotional. Also our Rabbi was amazing with his brilliant sense of humour, his personality and the most incredible voice you have ever heard. I don’t think there was a dry eye whilst he sang.

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