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Bringing Jewish Joy to the Wedding Industry with the UK’s First-Ever Jewish Wedding Industry Lunch at Manchester’s Kimpton Clocktower

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Last month, I was honored to co-host the UK’s first-ever Jewish wedding industry lunch with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kimpton Clocktower Hotel Manchester. The day featured incredible kosher catering by another wonderful #STGvendor Feast by Ed, plus so much more from some of the North of England’s top wedding professionals. 

While I’ve been to some wonderful wedding industry events in my time running Smashing The Glass, none has ever made me feel totally seen as a Jewish woman in the business – and I was lucky to find wonderful partners who are just as committed to inclusivity and representation as we are here at Smashing The Glass. 

With the event taking place in Manchester, we decided to focus on the UK’s Northern Jewish wedding scene, and it was so special to be able to bring some of the biggest names in Jewish weddings from Manchester and beyond together in one (totally breathtaking!) room.

We worked with an extraordinary team of vendors who made it a day to remember: Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kate Swerdlow Photography captured the beautiful images in this post; Giraffe Flowers was the mastermind behind the gorgeous florals; wonderful live calligraphy by Inkspiration Artist; and String Infusion provided the soundtrack.

Let me walk you through the whole wonderful day – which was truly a celebration of Jewish joy, made possible by such an incredible team of Jewish and non-Jewish wedding vendors alike.

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A Sincerity Bride for a Jewish Wedding with a Fabulous Floral Chuppah at the Midland Hotel, Manchester, UK

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Get ready to be blown away by today’s FABULOUS floral chuppah! Our Brides Club member Stacey, a Senior Executive Assistant, and Anthony, a Managing Director, opted to make trees the focal point of their Manchester Jewish wedding aesthetic, and we are absolutely obsessed with their tree chuppah! Get ready to be wowed when you scroll through the fantastic photos by Rob Clayton.

We’re equally in love with the amazing kosher catering by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Feast by Ed. In Stacey’s words, the food was “unreal” from start to finish, with guests raving about how delicious it all was – and to cap things off, Feast by Ed served up a chocolate tree for dessert to match the décor – how amazing is that?!

We loved having Stacey in our Brides Club, and we’re so pleased to hear she not only found the group incredibly helpful for advice and support but also used an exclusive Brides Club discount code for her gorgeous wedding kippot!

We’ll let Stacey tell you the rest of the story in her own words…

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How We Met

Stacey, the bride: We met on JSwipe- Anthony had been in London for a weekend and we matched. Anthony is from Manchester and I am from London so we ended up speaking for hours on end and lots of travelling up and down!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Conservatory Jewish Wedding at Syon Park, London, UK

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There’s not much we love more than seeing a couple work with a mega-talented team of our beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their Jewish wedding a day to remember – which is exactly what London couple Emma and Arik did!

From the moment the duo chose Lucie and Alex from #STGvendor Ruby J Events as their wedding planners, they were off and running. Lucie and Alex understood the vibe the couple were after and ran with it, sourcing an amazing team of vendors and taking care of all the details so that Emma and Arik “were able to enjoy every minute of planning and every second of the day” – no small feat, especially during Covid!

Another amazing #STGvendor, Sensation Band, provided the perfect soundtrack to the ceremony, with Guy singing the couple down the aisle accompanied by Jason on keyboard. For the reception, #STGvendor Balagan Roaming Band roamed the venue getting the party going and creating an electric atmosphere for the evening!

To capture their day, Emma and Arik opted to work with Promise Photography and #STGvendor Michael Pearl Films. The duo found Michael an absolute delight to work with, and they’re in love with bot their highlights video as well as the full 2-hour version!

Last but absolutely not least, the couple chose #STGvendor Feast by Ed for his mouthwatering kosher catering, and they were bowled over by not only the deliciousness of it all but the beautiful presentation too – and how wonderful Ed himself is to work with, of course!

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked so elegant in Suzanne Neville…

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How we Met

Emma, the bride: Arik works in data analytics and I’m a nanny, 2 professions that would never cross paths if it hadn’t of been for Hinge! We chatted for a while on the app and then we arranged to go for a drink (neither of us knowing at that point that neither of us drank). We met at Sophie’s bar in Soho and stayed chatting and laughing for hours, which is pretty much how we spend every day now – minus being in Sophie’s bar!

We moved in together 1 year later and spent 2 months living together at my dads at the beginning of lockdown. Arik was sad to leave so that was a good sign! I came home after a long walk with my sister one day (not knowing that Arik had planned this, to get me out the house), to find Arik on one knee in the lounge, surrounded by rose petals, candles and holding a ring. The rest as our rabbi said under the chuppah, is soul music.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Jesus Peiro Bride for a Foodies’ Jewish Wedding Inspired by Italy at Offley Place Country House Hotel, Hitchin, UK

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We are SO thrilled to be featuring the gorgeous Jewish wedding of our beloved Brides Club member Ella today! Ella just happens to be a food photographer – and she and Joel, a finance analyst, are huge foodies, so naturally delectable eats played a big role in the couple’s day.

They’re also avid travelers, and despite getting married close to home in the UK, Ella and Joel chose “Amalfi lemon grove” as their theme, inspired by a favorite holiday. The pair worked with a fabulous team, including a whole bunch of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, to make their dream a reality… and did they ever succeed! We’re positively drooling over Matt Parry’s exquisite photos of the day.  

When it came to food, it had to be Italian – and only the best would do. Ella and Joel chose to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Feast by Ed Shaerf, one of the most innovative names in the kosher food scene. Even though Feast is based in Manchester, in Ella’s words, “Their food is worth paying for their travel down south.” The menu included a sharing antipasti, orange polenta cake and lemon sorbet served in hollowed-out lemons for dessert, and even an Amalfi lemonade stand during the reception. No wonder guests are still raving about the food!

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alexandra’s Florist brought Ella and Joel’s lemon grove dreams to life, and we are OBSESSED with the results. Alex even incorporated large leafy lemons – the bride’s favorite – into the floral arrangements! And how gorgeous is the couple’s floral chuppah?!

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band got everyone onto the dancefloor in their trademark style, and the couple loved working with Geoff in the leadup. Ella and Joel opted to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante by Michelle J as their on-the-day coordinator, and, in their words, “she basically came in as a guardian angel in the most stressful time.”

Now over to the bride, who looked super cool in her contemporary halter-top gown by Jesus Peiro…

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How we Met

Ella, the bride: We first met at a pre-meet dinner for an Aish trip to New York. It was this random pizza place in a really touristy area in Leicester square. Joel turned up an hour late wearing a bright blue Fred Flintstone t-shirt. My first thoughts…who is this haha. He has always been a bit of a joker, actually one of the things that makes me love him the most is that he always makes me laugh.

We then went on the Aish trip a few days later and he became the best friend I could have ever asked for. A few months after the trip Joel told me he loved me as more than a friend, on facebook messenger…I was scaredy cat and told him I wanted him to stay as my best friend. 9 months down the line I realised I was ready to take the leap and told him ‘I was all good’…and we were 🙂Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Intimate Rainy Day Jewish Wedding for 30 at Dyson Place, Sheffield, UK

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Olivia and Daniel, Dyson Place, Sheffield, UK

When COVID forced Liv, a mortgage broker who recently opened a take away coffee shop called Olive and Joy, and Dan, a lawyer, to scrap their original plans for a 150-guest wedding at a stately home over the May bank holiday, they came up with something even better.

As soon as 30-person weddings were allowed in England, Liv and Dan sought the guidance of Victoria from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Linda Abrahams & Co in planning an ultra-memorable day in chic urban courtyard Dyson Place (Victoria, who does double duty as a planner and luxury stationer, also designed the couple’s stationery, complete with custom wedding logo). They put together a beautiful outdoor chuppah – which ended up having to be moved indoors halfway through the ceremony as the rain picked up – streamed on Zoom to all their loved ones who couldn’t be there in person. Don’t miss the gorgeous photos by Steven McNiven.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Feast by Ed Schaerf provided his trademark innovative kosher catering, featuring his kosher burger van which served up burgers, hotdogs, salt beef sandwiches, and fried chicken with all the trimmings.

In the bride’s words,

The thing that made it so special was that there were only 30 people so we could talk to everyone there really easily and all of them were our closest family and friends. Anyone who is doubting whether to go ahead with a smaller wedding during government restrictions – we definitely recommend it! 

Now we’ll turn you over to Liv…

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How We Met

Olivia, the bride and Daniel, the groom: We have known each other for as long as we can remember. Our parents were friends when we were little and it turns out that we both liked each other but neither of us realised until we swiped each other on J-swipe!

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