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An Ultra-Personal Chanukah Jewish Wedding Micklefield Hall, Hertfordshire, UK

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Ella and Aaron, Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, United Kingdom

We love a Chanukah wedding, and Ella and Aaron’s is one of the best we’ve seen! Their vision for their winter Jewish wedding was “twinkly winter wonderland with lots of doughnuts, latkes and joy,” and they worked with the most talented team – including a number of beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors – to bring it to life.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Uptown Events planned the day to perfection, recommending vendors – including the couple’s stunning venue, Micklefield Hall, after their original location fell through – and making sure everything ran smoothly on the day. They also guided Ella and Aaron to choose a DJ Live act when it came to entertainment – and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Twentysomethings ended up being “such a hit that they’ve since become the unofficial band for our whole group, with two other couples booking them since!”

Ella and Aaron made all the stationery themselves (with their small business It IS Personal) – including the most adorable dreidel-shaped reserved seating signs and matchbox place cards in honor of Chanukah. Also perfectly on theme? The duo’s wedding menu, which included latkes, a full salt beef bar, and savoury pulled beef doughnuts (in addition to the sweet kind). Don’t miss all the fabulous details in the exquisite photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel, who captured all the emotion and joy of the day so beautifully.

Another Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Carmel Designs, painted the couple’s wonderful custom ketubah, merging their vision for a design in keeping with their rustic wedding vibes, incorporating the Tree of Life and reflecting Ella and Aaron’s love of animals.

Read on for the full story in Ella’s own words…

 

Ella and Aaron, Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, United Kingdom Ella and Aaron, Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, United Kingdom Ella and Aaron, Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, United Kingdom Ella and Aaron, Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, United Kingdom

How We Met

Ella, the bride: We met the way so many modern couples do these days – on good old Hinge! We first met in June 2022, when Aaron was finishing his teacher training year, and Ella was working at her local synagogue. Aaron is now Pastoral and Wellbeing Manager at his old Jewish secondary school, and Ella works as Children and Family Educator at the synagogue we’ve joined together, while training to be a therapist. Our professions are an example of how well our values align – something we were both aware of when we met, and is one of the many reasons we instantly clicked and fell for each other so quickly! Not even a month into dating, we’d booked our first holiday to Israel together for Chanukah that year.

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A Joyous Same-Sex Jewish Wedding at Shenley Cricket Club, Hertfordshire, UK

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Chris and Benji, Shenley Cricket Club, London, UK

The Jewish wedding of Benji, an agent for photographers and directors, and Chris, a creative director and writer, was  one for the books. Featuring an outdoor chuppah, soulful music by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Shir, an “Outdo the Grooms” dress code, and even a drag queen, this was truly an epic celebration.

The chuppah was incredibly moving, and between hearing the couple’s rabbi speak about the significance of performing his first-ever same sex chuppah to the very special Sheva Brachot, all read in English translation by dear friends of the grooms who are also all gay Jewish men, there was hardly a dry eye in the house.

As a photography agent, Benji knew only the best of the best would do when it came to capturing the big day – and he and Chris ended up choosing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Liam Smith for his candid shots and unique eye.

Read on for the full story in the grooms’ own words…

Chris and Benji, Shenley Cricket Club, London, UKChris and Benji, Shenley Cricket Club, London, UK Chris and Benji, Shenley Cricket Club, London, UKChris and Benji, Shenley Cricket Club, London, UK
How We Met

Chris and Benji, the grooms: We met on JSwipe! After Chris made the move from Cape Town, South Africa, to London in December 2020, he immediately opened JSwipe once his plane landed at Heathrow. Who was the very first Nice Jewish Boy in his feed that superliked him (You get one superlike free on JSwipe I think a year?)? Benji!

Chris swiped right and they began chatting while Chris waited out his isolation period (Covid romances… *sigh*). Their first date was during lockdown, so they walked around Little Venice in London and (24 000 steps later, according to Chris’ Apple Watch, in the early-January snow) the rest is history.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Elegant Jewish Wedding with Unforgettable Music at Mar Hall Golf & Spa Resort, Scotland, UK

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Sam-and-Sophie-Mar-Hall-Golf-Spa-Resort-Scotland

Sophie and Sam’s Jewish wedding at Mar Hall, outside Glasgow, was the most perfectly elegant celebration, featuring a stunning indoor/outdoor venue, a moving ceremony (complete with gorgeous floral chuppah), and unforgettable music from start to finish.

Sophie and Sam knew from the get-go that music was a high priority, and they chose Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Twentysomethings to create the perfect atmosphere throughout the day. The couple worked closely with the band to craft their setlist, including personalized wedding procession songs. From the emotional chuppah performance by The Twentysomethings Duo and their Israeli vocalist through to the 9-piece band that kept guests on the dancefloor all evening long, it’s safe to say The Twentysomethings totally rocked it.

Take one look at the photos by Ashley Coombes and you can see what a fabulous time was had by all. Now over to the couple for all the details…

Sam-and-Sophie-Mar-Hall-Golf-Spa-Resort-Scotland Sam-and-Sophie-Mar-Hall-Golf-Spa-Resort-Scotland
A Classic Venue

Sophie, the bride and Sam, the groom: We had multiple run throughs and visits with the venue, Mar Hall, and Nicola from the events team who were always willing to accommodate our plans and needs.  She helped ensure specific family were placed in accessible rooms where needed.  The beautiful grounds of the hotel and stunning visual of the hall itself made for some amazing photos. Our pre-ceremony / drinks were held within the hall itself, our ceremony took place in Morton House (Part of the estate next to the main Hall) and dinner / dancing took place in the Garden Pavilion.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A DIY Jewish Garden Micro Wedding in London, UK

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Rebecca-Joel-UK

We are absolutely in love with the quintessentially English garden micro wedding of Rebecca, a teacher, and Joel, an engineer. These two needed a convenient all-outdoor venue where they could throw a COVID-safe celebration – and fortunately, the school where Rebecca teaches happens not only to have a gorgeous garden but is also located just around the corner from the pair’s home.

With some help from their friends, Rebecca and Joel put together a beautiful day starting with a tisch and badeken in the couple’s own garden, followed by a procession down the street to their venue. Then there was the ceremony – which came together with lots of participation from not only those guests who were able to attend in person, but also some VIPs who joined in via the couple’s livestream. These included the bride’s parents, who were able to give the couple a blessing, and her brother, who sang to them as they stood under the chuppah.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kate Swerdlow captured the day so perfectly in her emotion-filled photos – and Rebecca and Joel can’t stop raving about how much they loved working with a photographer who not only put them at ease on the day with her warm, easygoing nature but also just “gets Jewish weddings”!

Now over to Rebecca…

Rebecca-Joel-UKRebecca-Joel-UKRebecca-Joel-UKRebecca-Joel-UK
Garden Venue

Rebecca, the bride: We got married in the garden of the school where I work which is around the corner from our home. We picked this venue because it was beautiful, surrounded by an orchard, a vegetable patch, with easy parking and close by. It had a big green space where we had small marquees with tables that we used for lunch.

The chuppah was made out of bamboo and designed and constructed by my husband and his friends, and they built it onsite. The location was intimate and green and perfect.Continue ReadingContinue Reading