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A Leanne Marshall Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding with a Rose Gold Chuppah at Dartmouth House, Mayfair, London, UK

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This has got to be one of the very most ‘Smashing The Glass’ weddings we’ve EVER blogged. Featuring our very own blogging bride Jennifer, a whole slew of STG Recommended Vendors — from Camilla J Collins, who did Jennifer’s fantastic hair and makeup, to Monica Vinader, who designed the bride’s gorgeous necklace, to childcare from Safe and Sound Events — and of course our own-brand Smash Glass pouch, we’re totally in love with this elegant day.

Jennifer, a photographer with years of wedding industry experience, and Charlie, a solicitor, obviously had some insider knowledge that helped them make their big day so epic — for instance, photographer Paul Toeman just happens to be a close colleague and friend of the bride — but nonetheless they report finding tons of inspo and guidance on STG, from choosing their music to crafting the ceremony.

We’re obsessed with the couple’s stylish, modern wedding trailer from another amazing STG Recommended Vendor Denee Motion, as well as their fab DJ Live from STG Recommended Vendor The Function Band, who got even the non-Jewish guests enthused about the Israeli dancing and kept everyone dancing right through to the end.

And the day was full of so many beautiful details, from the rose gold chuppah to the blush florals to the couple’s super cute hashtag #ballblatts, an amalgamation of their surnames.

If you want your wedding to be as memorable as Jennifer and Charlie’s, make sure you sign up to our FREE online event: ‘The secrets to an unforgettable Jewish wedding’ with our founder and editor, Karen, happening on Monday November 12 it’s going to be unmissable!

Now let’s hand over to the bride, who looked stunning in her blush dress from Leanne Marshall.


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How We Met

Jennifer, the bride: Charlie and I met when we were 17 years old. We shared our first kiss on the tennis courts in Hampstead Garden Suburb. Six months later, I was cruelly dumped in the window seat of a coffee shop in full view of every school girl and boy in Highgate Village. 

Ten years later, having successfully avoided each other — despite living in the same postcode — our paths crossed once again in the Steeles pub on Haverstock Hill. All it took was one misinterpreted pat on the knee for Charlie to think I was interested (again) and before I knew it we were on our second ‘first’ date.

One month later we went away on holiday together, where I essentially forced Charlie to be my boyfriend. Our history allowed us to skip those first few awkward months of dating. There were no doubts about where our relationship was going. We share such similar values and goals; it was as if we were meant to grow up apart to meet again at the right time in our lives.

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A Laid-back, Colorful Jewish Wedding (with two glass smashes!) at High& in Tel Aviv, Israel

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What’s better than smashing the glass at a Jewish wedding? How about smashing TWO glasses? Today’s fab couple, Yael, a travel coordinator, and Kfir, an enterprise manager, had a smash glass each at their free-spirited Tel Aviv wedding. What an awesome way to add some gender equality into the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony — and to double the drama of the big moment!

From start to finish, this Jewish wedding is full of one-of-a-kind touches like that, and we love that Yael and Kfir did so much to combine their tastes and personalities with tradition.

For example, Yael followed tradition and chose to wear white — but she went for a super simple, yet very sexy, dress, rather than an OTT ballgown. And to keep the all-white look from getting too cookie-cutter, she made sure to add in fuchsia shoes and an ultra-colorful flower headpiece in fuschia and violet — as brilliantly captured by photographer Lior Rotstein.

And the double smash glasses weren’t the only unusual thing about the ceremony, either. Yael and Kfir opted not to get married through the Israeli Rabbanut, opting instead for a customized ceremony that embodied their own values while remaining true to Jewish tradition. Our favorite (well, second favorite) bit? Their officiant opened the ceremony with a special speech he wrote based on things the pair had told him about themselves and their relationship. Aww!

Yael will fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Yael, the bride: We met on OK Cupid 🙂

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Real Blogging Brides: Jennifer: Our Trad(ish)ional Egalitarian Jewish Wedding

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Jennifer will be marrying Charlie on 5th August 2018 at Dartmouth House in Mayfair, London, UK. Click here to read all Jennifer’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Jennifer and Charlie first met when they were just 17 years old! (2) They are planning an intimate elegant black tie trad(ish)ional Jewish wedding incorporating plenty of personal touches, their sense of humour, and love of all things rose gold (3) Jennifer is a wedding photographer herself so is planning her wedding as an industry insider!


An egalitarian wedding

I have always had a very strong sense of my Jewish identity. I grew up as a member of Belsize Square Synagogue (editor’s note: see the wedding published yesterday at Belsize Square Synagogue, here). I sang in the choir, taught in the Cheder and really understood what it was to be part of a community.

Belsize Square is an independent Synagogue, with a modern, egalitarian approach to Judaism, which is important for Charlie and I to reflect at our wedding. Charlie joined at the beginning of this year and has also fallen in love with the unique character of the Synagogue.

There is no “right” or “wrong” way to have a Jewish wedding, and this is something I love about our religion, it can be interpreted whilst respecting tradition. For us, having an egalitarian wedding is paramount.

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A Stephanie Allin Bride for an Ultra-Personal Country House Jewish Wedding at Parklands Quendon Hall, Essex, UK

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We absolutely LOVE today’s bride, Tash, who is an avid Smashing The Glass reader, and looked so elegant in her Stephanie Allin gown (with “the best twirling skirt ever!”).

She made some amazing vendor choices (choosing three STG Recommended Vendors all found on the pages of Smashing The Glass) and she had so many beautiful creative ideas. We particularly love the couple’s extra-meaningful chuppah design inspired by a previous wedding on Smashing The Glass, where the guests helped decorate the canopy with flowers (so gorge).

Their fab florist, the amazing Emma from STG Recommended Vendor Urban Flower Farmer, designed a simple birch pole chuppah laden with greenery and arranged flowers in buckets by the entrance to the ceremony, with a sign asking the guests to add them to the chuppah.

And that’s just one of the beautiful ways Tash and Ian personalized their ceremony while embracing Jewish tradition — you’ve got to read about their ultra-meaningful badeken. Photographer Andy Tyler and videographer Rideout Films did a wonderful job capturing all the emotion of the day.

The pair had a large wedding (230 guests!) with LOTS of children, and to make things easier for the parents in the crowd they hired another fabulous STG Recommended Vendor Safe and Sound Childcare to provide a creche, which kept all the little ones entertained and allowed the adults to enjoy the party.

Tash and Ian knew they wanted a band that could handle some serious Israeli dancing. Turning to Smashing The Glass for ideas, they found STG Recommended Vendor XS Showband. The couple report that the band created a fab atmosphere and kept their guests dancing all evening — and, most important of all, they ably handled not one but two rounds of Israeli dancing! Speaking of which, be sure to check out Tash’s top tips for Israeli dancing in her writeup…

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How we met

Tash, the bride: We met online – if you’d told me 5 years ago that I’d end up marrying someone I met online I would have thought you were mad, but here we are!

We met through Mysinglefriend, which is the site where your friends write your profile, which means you get slightly more interesting descriptions than the classic “I like eating out with friends and country walks.”

But it turns out it doesn’t actually mean you get more truthful profiles, as Ian’s friends Jo and Stu wrote lots of things that I’ve subsequently discovered were complete lies – like the suggestion that Ian is not a football obsessive!

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A Bride in a Green Reformation Dress for a Laid-Back Jewish Wedding on the Beach with a Modern Egalitarian Ceremony in Caesarea, Israel

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Cool Wedding Alert! Hannah, an urban planner who hails from Melbourne, Australia, and Eitan, a contractor and Tel Aviv native, told their wedding planner and designer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bebke, that they wanted their Jewish wedding to feel like the best day at the beach you’ve ever had.

And Bebke really, really delivered. Their day, in a stunning beach venue just north of Caesaria, is truly the ultimate chilled-out seaside bash.

Ever felt like the standard formal event doesn’t quite mesh with your sensibilities? Hannah and Eitan did, and they opted to skip out on the sit-down meal and instead make their day a constant stream of food, drinks, and dancing. We love how they opted to have all different kinds of food stations, from deli to wood-fired pizza to fish shawarma! Way to keep all your guests happy.

Another thing we adore about this wedding is the ultra-personal alternative Jewish ceremony Hannah and Eitan crafted, combining tradition with their egalitarian values. They wrote their own ketubah, had their siblings read not only the traditional seven blessings but also blessings they wrote themselves for the couple, and exchanged rings with each other.

Hannah looked radiant in her green Reformation dress, proving that you don’t have to wear white to capture that bridal elegance.

Photographer Alexey Kudrik came recommended by planner Bebke, and we’re in love with his elegant documentary style. These photos look like they’ve been snatched from a super cool editorial, but at the same time Alexey could not have captured the emotion of the day more exquisitely–just take a look at the photos of Hannah and Eitan under the chuppah. We’ll leave it to Hannah to fill you in on the rest.

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How we met

Hannah, the bride: We met through a mutual friend when I was in Tel Aviv visiting for another friend’s wedding in 2015 – we ended up in the same group of people hanging out on the beach one weekend – and what started as a holiday fling ended in marriage, and now a baby on the way!

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