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A Wed2B Bride for an Egalitarian Jewish Wedding at Kew Gardens, London, UK

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Anya and Soren, Kew Gardens, London, UK

We love it when a couple makes their values the center of their Jewish wedding. Which is exactly what Anya, who works at an international development NGO, and Søren, a PhD student and research assistant working on DNA repair, did in their gorgeous Kew Gardens wedding.

The couple’s egalitarian values were front and center in their ‘shutafut’ (partnership) ceremony — an egalitarian alternative to the traditional ‘kiddushin’ marriage service under the auspices of Masorti. Their rabbi rabbi helped them create a ‘shtar shutafut’ (partnership contract), also known as a ‘brit ahuvim’ (lovers’ covenant), for their ketubah text, where they mapped out their commitments to each other and values they wanted to focus on in their marriage – how special is that?!

We also love that Anya and Søren opted to work with a whole bunch of our beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their dreams a reality. The duo chose #STGvendor Claudine Hartzel as their photographer for the way she beautifully captures candid moments, and they could not have been more thrilled with the results.

#STGvendor Dvash provided outstanding catering, meeting special dietary requirements with aplomb, and Anya and Søren report that guests are still raving about their favorite canapes!

#STGvendor Happy Chuppah People provided the couple’s birch chuppah – a perfect fit for the setting – and, continuing the botanical theme, and Anya and Søren found their exquisite Tree of Life ketubah via #STGvendor Ketubah.com.

There’s so much more to say about this very special Jewish wedding, but we’ll let the newlyweds take it from here…

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How we Met

Anya, the bride and Soren, the groom: We met through JSwipe in October 2016.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Reem Acra Bride for an Ultra-Personal Jewish Wedding at St John’s Wood Synagogue and the Grand Connaught Rooms, London, UK

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There’s something about seeing a couple’s faces as they stand under the chuppah – and when they walk up the aisle after smashing that glass! No matter how many Jewish weddings we see, it never, ever gets old.

And today’s couple, Sophie, a solicitor, and Andrew, a company director, are no exception: the love exuding from each and every single shot by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor MIKI Studios – not to mention their ultra-moving trailer – makes us feel like our hearts are positively glowing (and we’re totally not surprised to hear the bride’s report that Mick and Ash of MIKI Studios were a dream to work with!).

Indeed, creating a celebration all about love and emotion was at the heart of Sophie and Andrew’s plans for the big day. The emphasis the pair put on their chuppah – from prioritizing fabulous music by a mega-talented Hebrew singer to the beautiful off-white floral and green foliage embellishment they chose for their exquisitely elegant chuppah structure itself – is truly beautiful, and we also love that they opted to hold their ceremony at St John’s Wood Synagogue, where Andrew has attended his whole life – such a wonderful personal touch!

And HOW stunning is Sophie’s Reem Acra gown? Truly the stuff wedding dress dreams are made of.

Now over to you, Sophie!

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A Synagogue Wedding

Sophie, the bride: We had our ceremony at St John’s Wood Synagogue followed by dinner and dancing at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London.  Andrew has always been a member of St John’s Wood Synagogue and it meant a lot to him to get married there.

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An Ida Torez Bride for a Rustic Countryside Jewish Wedding at Quendon Hall, Essex, UK

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How excited are we to be featuring the beautiful Jewish wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Yasmin, a nutritional therapist, and Andy, a tradesman?! These two had the quintessential English countryside wedding, with all the rustic touches you could hope for, and we are here for it.

The couple’s idyllic venue, Quendon Hall, is located in an actual deer park – doesn’t get much more perfect than that! We’re in love with all the glorious green space, and how perfect is that effortlessly rustic floral ketubah?

We’re also super touched to hear Yasmin’s kind words about her experience as a member of our Smashing The Glass Brides Club. In her own words:

Whenever I posted a question, Karen would reply promptly and always supply lots of options and ideas for me. I found our videographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion through Brides Club, and also ordered our kippot from Hebrewear – using our Brides Club 10% discount ”

And speaking of Denee Motion – don’t miss their exquisite wedding trailer. It’s truly swoonoworthy! We’re also loving the photos from Picture Your Wedding.

Now over to Yasmin, who looked positively dreamy in her floral Ida Torez gown…


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How we Met

Yasmin, the bride: We met through my brother, who was friends with Andy and we have been together for about 8 years. 

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A Nurit Hen Bride for a City Chic Urban Jewish Wedding at 8 Northumberland, London, UK

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We knew we were going to love Francesca and Brad’s London Jewish wedding the moment we learned the couple found inspiration for their gorgeous white floral chuppah (the perfect place to put their Smash Glass pouch to use) right here on STG — do these two know the way to a wedding blogger’s heart, or what?!

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Francesca, who works in finance as head of customer service, and Brad,  who works for Linzi, his family’s shoe business, worked with some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, from the wonderful Mirror Mirror, where the bride found her fishtail Nurit Hen gown, to powerhouse band Totem — as Francesca says, “no one gets a party started like they do”!

And then there’s the couple’s wedding planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rachel Flax. She brought their dreams of a fresh white ballroom aesthetic to life — and, even more importantly, took the stress right out of planning. So much so that Francesca’s top tip for other couples planning weddings is “get a Rachel Flax”!

Oh.. and did we mention that we love how these two met?! You never know where love is going to strike you…

Photographer Benjamin Toms and videographer AtMotion captured all the excitement of the big day so perfectly — read on for all the fun details from Francesca!


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How we met

Francesca, the bride: We had always known each other from school although we were in different years, but we met and started talking in a Tesco car park on my 17th birthday and have been inseparable ever since.

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Sisters Doing it for Themselves at a Quirky, Converse-Filled Jewish Wedding at Rosewood London, UK

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There is no bond like that between sisters and nothing demonstrates that more readily than Megan and Sam’s Jewish wedding. Yes, today’s real wedding is a bit of an unusual one, as it was submitted (and the report was written by) Dani Tucker, the founder of the amazing Social Kitchen, and sister of bride, Megan.

Dani runs one of editor Karen’s favorite Instagram accounts (which is saying something as Karen is a huge Insta-enthusiast) and there is a very moving story behind it all, paying homage to the sisters’ late mother.

Having met Dani several times, Karen absolutely adores her and we are big fans of her here at Smashing The Glass, and even more so after reading today’s touching write up. 

Dani’s sister, Megan (the bride), wasn’t really into the whole wedding thing. She just wanted to be married and have fun at the wedding. So Dani planned the party of a lifetime for her dear sister. What an incredible gift, and what a phenomenal job she did all round. Dani organized every detail, with Megan deciding on her shoes (personalized Converse – we love it), the groom and the first dance. Probably not quite in that order.

Dani describes gorgeous bride Megan as “quirky, independent, strong and yet beautiful” – the wedding she planned completely reflected Megan and her new husband, Sam. 

With everyone in Converse, even the rabbi, a sweet bar and a Shwarma goodie bag, this unique big day was planned with so much love and attention to detail, and Dani found so many wonderful ways to honor their mother.

Photography was provided by Chiko Photography and the beautiful film by AT Motion is below.

Let’s hand over to Dani to tell Megan and Sam’s story in the lovely and eloquent writeup below. Tissues at the ready, guys. 

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How they met

Dani Tucker, the sister of the bride: Megan and Sam met on Jcrush. Her work colleagues set up her profile and swiped for her – set up the date for her – he lived in Manchester, came down for the date and then a few months later, she went on holiday. He picked her up from the airport in London and never went back to Manchester other than to collect his things.

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