Emmy London Archives - Smashing the Glass

New York Bridal Market Fall 2019 Recap {and Top Bridal Trends for 2019}

16/10/2018 by Emily Sacharin

Ines Di Santo’s afterparty at the Baccarat Flagship Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images

5 days, 18 appointments, approximately 57 million Insta stories (if you missed them, you can catch the best bits in our highlights), and countless fantastic dresses later, New York Bridal Fashion week is over for another season. Basically Fashion Week for wedding dresses, Bridal Fashion Week (aka Bridal Market) is easily one of the most fun times of a wedding blogger’s year.

Some of the collections are presented at full-on runway shows (and Ines Di Santo put on a particularly epic one this Bridal Market, plus the coolest afterparty at the Baccarat Flagship), while others are shown at more intimate appointments for small groups of buyers from bridal boutiques (plus press, of course), sometimes with the designers present.

Suzanne Neville

Limor Rosen

Ines Di Santo Photo by FIRSTVIEW

I had some fantastic conversations with designers and PR reps, learned a ton about everything from who actually buys those epic but unwearable-looking designs you see on the runway (answer: often no one, since some designs are purely intended for editorial impact and never even make it to production) to the differences between what American and British brides are looking for in a gown (according to Sassi Holford, it’s half an inch: Americans invariably want deeper sweetheart necklines, while the Brits prefer theirs with less of a dip). The more you know!

There’s so much fantastic bridal fashion in the pipeline for next year, and I’m so excited to share it with you, along with my take on some of the top trends we’ll be seeing (or, in some cases, continuing to see) over the next year. From classic elegance inspired by Meghan Markle’s gown to a burgeoning range of alt coverups from capes to ruffs (perfect for under the chuppah!) to unexpected bursts of color, 2019’s going to be an exciting year for bridal. Pin your favorite looks!

Caroline Castigliano

Suzanne Neville

Real Jewish Brides: Rebecca’s On Her Eight Week Countdown!

21/08/2018 by Smashing The Glass

Rebecca will be marrying David on 7th October 2018 at a secret location in Israel! Click here to read all Rebecca’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Rebecca and David met on JSwipe (so old school we know 😉 ) (2) They are having a destination wedding in Israel at a secret location! (3) They are getting married on Rebecca’s grandparents wedding anniversary (who have been married for 64 years). We LOVE that!

We are now in our LESS THAN 8 WEEK’S COUNTDOWN! I can’t quite believe I am saying that…. Where has the time gone?!

A few weekends ago it was my hen weekend which was AMAZING. Everyone really enjoyed, and they are all so excited for the wedding now. If the hen is anything to go by, it’s going to be a great party! My Mum and Grandma also came down from Leeds for the Sunday afternoon tea which was lovely to share with them too.

Image by Claudine Hartzel by from Ashley and Adam‘s wedding

Choosing your wedding shoes and accessories: everything you need to know – with Emmy London, live from their Flagship London Store

10/06/2018 by Karen

This Wednesday 13 June, we are going live with the incredible Emmy Scarterfield, founder of Emmy London, live from her London flagship store, to talk all things wedding shoes and accessories for the whole bridal party!

We’ll be talking colour ideas, summer bridal styles, practical advice for choosing shoes and accessories for your big day, personalisation ideas, and so much more.

Being one of the world’s most sought-after bridal shoe and accessory designers, Emmy really knows her stuff (and is delightful to boot!) so tune in live with all your questions – absolutely nothing is off the table!

Karen, founder of Smashing The Glass, will be hosting live (in her pink Emmy shoes of course) and we’ll have lots of ideas for you for your Big Day. It’s going to be FABULOUS!

A music and art-filled Jewish wedding with Monique Lhullier and Jenny Packham gowns at the Great Synagogue and Four Seasons Hotel in Florence, Italy

03/04/2017 by Karen

Spring has sprung and we’re delighted to share our first real Jewish wedding of April – and what a way to kick off the month! Today’s cultured couple, Tara and Ben, decided to get married in one of the great art history capitals of the world, Florence, Italy.

Not only that, but their ceremony was held at the stunning and world-renowned Great Synagogue in the heart of the city and their reception at the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel. For Tara, who has a degree in History of Art, this was the definition of a dream destination wedding.

The couple’s music-filled Jewish ceremony included sensational Smashing Supplier, chazan Simon Cohen, who the couple flew in especially so that they could enjoy his beautiful voice.

Bride Tara looked every bit the classically beautiful bride in not one but TWO incredible dresses. First in her elegant Monique Lhullier gown, which she wore for the ceremony and then in her Jenny Packham party dress.

The laid-back, loving atmosphere of the day, including the epic fireworks display the couple arranged to surprise their guests, was captured by the brilliant David Bastianoni, whose wonderful work has been featured many times before on the pages of STG.

We’ll pass you on to beautiful bride Tara for the lowdown on her and Ben’s beautiful day!

An art history lover’s dream venue

Tara, the bride: It’s hard to describe the magic of walking down a little side street, turning a corner, to be suddenly faced with the Duomo façade and one the grandest synagogues in the world. So much beauty in one city and, for us, it was the perfect place to get married.

The Four Seasons had it all – The hotel is made up of a 15th-century Palazzo della Gherardesca and an ex 16th-century convent called Il Conventino, set within acres of beautiful gardens in the heart of the city.

I have a degree in History of Art and we are both lovers of classical music. Having visited Florence a number of times, it was always on our wish list. So where else to marry but at a music-filled ceremony at the Great Synagogue in the heart of the City of Florence?

Afterwards, just five minutes away, we were strolling among our 170 guests in 12 acres of stunning gardens at the Four Seasons Hotel, the former Palazzo Scala Della Gherardesca dating from the time of Lorenzo il Magnifico.

The green avenues, lined with Renaissance sculptures with fabulous views of the Duomo and the Chianti hills, were the perfect backdrop for what we wanted – an elegant outdoor reception followed by a casual dinner under the stars and fun night of partying.

A relaxed, fun atmosphere

We wanted a traditional wedding done in a more casual and carefree way. Elegant but fun was the message of the weekend. All our guests were in holiday mode, so were relaxed. We didn’t use a wedding planner, but the staff at the Four Seasons were fantastic with helping us plan the day.

Music was a constant theme throughout the wedding, and we felt strongly about creating an informal and casual atmosphere during the dinner in the gardens. To do this, we created a Spotify playlist of our favourite songs to be played during the dinner.

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Review of Sassi Holford’s Twenty17 Collection, Occasionwear, and Mother Of The Bride collections – plus a Facebook Live chat with the designer herself

01/03/2017 by Karen Cinnamon

All images by Kate Nielen

One of the best things about being a wedding blogger is, undoubtedly, that I get to go and gaze at exquisite wedding gowns – for my job! For that reason and many others, including the impulse to share cutting-edge bridal fashion with you guys, I’m really passionate about promoting incredible bridal designers.

With that in mind, it was a real treat to be invited to the 2017 Open Day of the one and only Sassi Holford, a leading international designer with a plethora of awards and accolades, earned over 35 years in bridal design. As the official blogger I wanted to get ALL the coverage so I asked Sassi if she would do a Facebook Live showcasing her designs and talking about current wedding trends.

With the opportunity to interview such a wedding world heavyweight, I came dressed for the occasion (even wearing a floral dress to echo one of Sassi’s most sublime designs, and my Emmy London shoes) – and armed with questions.

Despite a couple of small hiccoughs with the live feed, it was a fabulous experience, which you can catch up with above – and a couple more at the end of the post. (Also, a very special thank you and shout out to Pamela and Andrea, who did my makeup to perfection).