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Meet Some of Our Favourite Vendors at De Vere Wokefield Estate’s Multi-Cultural Wedding Fair

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Jennifer and Charlie‘s Wedding  | Chuppah: The Happy Chuppah People | Photo: Paul Toeman

We know it’s not always easy finding the perfect vendors for your Jewish wedding. You want people who know their stuff – and who know Jewish weddings – but you also want to make sure you surround yourself with people you and your partner just click with when it comes to planning your big day.


Chloe and Danny‘s Wedding | Planning: Elegante by Michelle J | Photo: David Bastianoni

And if you’re in the midst of planning your Jewish or Jew-ish wedding in the UK, we’ve got just the thing for you: a fantastic multicultural wedding fair by De Vere Wokefield Estate, in partnership with Berkshire Wedding Fairs, where you can meet in person with some of the best names in the business, includingbeloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors Elegante by Michelle J and the Happy Chuppah People!


Miri and Jon‘s Wedding  | Chuppah: The Happy Chuppah People | Photo: Marianne Chua

On Sunday, February 2, over 60 top-notch wedding suppliers from the Jewish, British, Asian, and Afro-Caribbean communities are coming together on the lush Berkshire grounds of De Vere Wokefield Estate to showcase their work and meet with engaged couples.

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Jasmin and Brett’s Wedding | Planning: Elegante by Michelle J | Photo: Claudine Hartzel

This unmissable event will include:

  • Interactive activities and live demonstrations from a variety of suppliers from each culture
  • Dressed rooms showcasing both civil and religious ceremonies and banquets
  • Catwalk fashion shows showcasing bridal and groomswear from each culture
  • Wedding planners’ lounge coordinated and hosted by SW Events, featuring master Jewish wedding planner Elegante by Michelle J
  • Complimentary refreshments available throughout the day
  • Pop-up restaurant featuring food from each culture – including kosher catering from Cohen’s Caterers
  • Free entry and parking
  • The first 50 couples through the door will receive a VIP goody bag

Sound good? All you need to do to register is RSVP here!

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A Galia Lahav Bride for a Jewish Wedding at Villa di Maiano, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

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There’s nothing like a Tuscan Jewish wedding. And we’re totally obsessed with the incredible nuptials of London-based couple Chloe, who works in PR, and Danny, who’s in property.

The couple’s incredible planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante by Michelle J, helped them bring the day of their dreams to life – not the easiest feat when planning from abroad! Michelle set them up with many of their fantastic vendors – like photographer David Bastianoni and videographer Waterfall Visuals– and suggested their picturesque venue, Villa di Maiano.

With grounds straight out of a Renaissance painting and epic views of Florence, this is a venue that doesn’t need much help to shine. But even so, Michelle knocked it out of the ballpark with her incredible chuppah setup – and the table décor’s pretty fantastic too.

There’s so much more to say about this gorgeous wedding, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride – who could not have looked more elegant in her Galia Lahav gown, which she worked with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Browns Bride to customize…

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How we met

Chloe, the bride: We met at Glastonbury for the first time about 5 years ago but we only started dating 2 years ago.

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A Galia Lahav Bride for a Magical Private Island Jewish Wedding at Osea Island, Essex, UK

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Looking for an ultra-memorable venue for your Jewish wedding? How about renting out your very own PRIVATE ISLAND?! That’s what today’s nature-loving couple, Jasmin and Brett, did – their big day took place on the magical Osea Island, a private island off the coast of Essex. Trust us, you don’t want to miss  Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel’s epic photos of this dreamy day that is full-to-the-brim packed with incredibly talented STG Recommended Vendors.

It all came together with a little help from the wonderful (and multitalented) James Alexander from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor and legendary band Totem, who the couple worked with to plan their big day – and yes, Totem also gave one of their unforgettable performances during the wedding. And how cool is it that, on the coordination end, James brought in none other than master planner Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Michelle Jacobs from Elegante by Michelle J ?

One special touch we’re totally obsessed with: knowing that they wouldn’t be able to talk to each and every one of their 300+ guests, Jasmin and Brett decided to write a little ‘message in a bottle’ (so perfect for the private island venue, right?!) to thank each of their guests for being there.

And how sweet is it that the couple’s rabbi surprised them during the ceremony by calling the bride’s grandfather to read the pair’s beautiful ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubata?

Jasmin knew she wanted to wear an Israel designer, and she found the gown of her dreams – a one-shouldered fantasy of blush tulle and glitter from the inimitable Galia Lahav– at beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Browns Bride in London.

Also, are Jasmin’s luscious locks giving anyone else serious hair envy? Anyway, we’ll hand you over to her now…

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How we met

Jasmin, the bride: My husband and I first crossed paths at a mutual friend’s restaurant and the rest is history 🙂

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All about Wedding Weekends {Live with Michelle Jacobs}

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There’s nothing like a wedding weekend! They are always being discussed inside our Brides Club community and with the rise of international destination weddings, we’re seeing a rise in wedding weekends too.

Once you’re asking guests to travel for the big day, it seems like a shame not to make the most of having all your nearest and dearest together in one (very scenic) place by planning a few days’ worth of events surrounding your nuptials. 

But there’s no reason you have to jet off to Italy or Palm Beach to get everyone together in one place for a fun-filled weekend – think pre-wedding dinner the night before, a wedding with no curfew, and then a post-wedding day brunch or BBQ.

Luxury wedding planner Michelle Jacobs of Elegante by Michelle J is finding more and more couples are coming to her for help planning this kind of wedding weekend, right here in my hometown of the UK, and I asked her if she’d share all her best tips with me and you!

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A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Super Luxe Destination Jewish Wedding at the Great Synagogue of Florence and Villa de Maiano, Florence, Italy

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BRB — booking a ticket to Florence. Okay, maybe not, but we are a million percent tempted by today’s dreamiest of Italian destination Jewish weddings. Between the ceremony at the majestic Great Synagogue of Florence to the swoon-worthy reception at Villa di Maiano, Paige and Richard‘s day was as dreamy as it gets (and they also had an adorable wedding hashtag — #paigegetsrich).

Much-loved STG Recommended Vendor Michelle Jacobs of Eleganté by Michelle J helped the couple pull all the fab design elements together from London, where they live. From the magical floral chuppah (who would’ve thought such a fresh, natural design would be the PERFECT fit for such a grand, historic space?) to THE most stunning top table we have ever, ever seen complete with a pergola, crystal chandeliers, hanging glass globes filled with tea lights (seriously, check out David Bastianoni’s photos — it is not to be missed!), we can safely say she hit a home run with this epic day. Oh… and Waterfall Visuals‘s film  below is the dreamiest thing ever.

We’re thrilled to have a chance to chat with their awesome planner, Michelle Jacobs, live on the Smashing The Glass Facebook page tomorrow at 7: 30 p.m. GMT/2:30 p.m. EST tomorrow, Thursday, October 4. And if you love today’s wedding as much as we do, do not miss this one as we’ll be covering all the ins and outs of planning a Jewish (or Jew-ish) wedding in Italy. Please do tune in, and bring your questions!

Another wonderful STG Recommended Vendor, Totem (who Paige and Richard loved enough to fly out from London!) provided ultra-emotional chuppah music before transitioning to party mode at the villa, where they kept the dancefloor packed all night. Talk about a smashing party! Oh, and speaking of things that are smashing, did we mention Paige and Richard used one of our very own Smash Glass pouches?!

We are also LOVING their exquisite stationery by Ruth Kaye Design another STG fave and Recommended Vendor… we’re literally dying over how fabulous everything about this wedding is. —don’t you agree?

We’ll let Paige, who looked goooooorgeous in her glam Suzanne Neville gown, take it from here…

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A Room with a View

Paige, the bride: Our chuppah took place at the Great Synagogue of Florence and then afterwards we moved over to Villa di Maiano, a beautiful villa in Fiesole, a small town in the hills above Florence. Villa di Maiano is where the movie A Room with a View, was filmed (just celebrating the 30th anniversary of the film).

We went to see several venues, this was the first. We had a special feeling as soon as we walked into the gardens — we both cried — so we just knew this was the place for us. We did consider having our ceremony at Villa di Maiano, but Michelle suggested we visit the synagogue… and again, the minute we walked in we just knew we had to have our chuppah there.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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