Jason Millan Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Riki Dalal Bride for a Fabulously Floral Jewish Wedding at The Langham, London, UK

02/04/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

How incredible is this floral chuppah?! It’s really a stunner – which is no surprise when you find out that today’s bride, Gaby, is a former wedding planner and floral designer, now working in interior design. Gaby’s got a serious passion for flowers – so much so that she and groom Alex, who works in finance operations/business intelligence, picked their wedding date in part based on when the best selection would be in bloom!

As if that chuppah (and Gaby’s credentials) weren’t giveaway enough that this pair has impeccable taste, we were also delighted to learn that they worked with some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to bring their dreams to life.

First, the amazing Dimitria Jordan, who crafted the couple’s exquisite wedding stationery with so much attention to each and every detail – don’t miss the wonderful results, featuring delicate florals, gold foil, scripted font, custom wax seals, and more, in Mike Garrard Photography’s breathtaking photos.

Then there’s Philippa Louise, who did Gaby and her mum’s makeup – in addition to looking like absolute perfection, Gaby reports that Philippa set the perfect calming tone for the morning.

And last but certainly not least, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band was Gaby and Alex’s pick for entertainment – one of their top priorities in planning their day. They went with a 16-piece band and can’t stop raving about the energy Ambassador brought to their day – or what a fab job the group did with music for the Israeli dancing!

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked simply smashing in Israeli designer Riki Dalal…

How we Met

Gaby, the bride: Alex and I have known each other for some time. We both went to JFS sixth form and then onto Leeds Uni, but we didn’t officially get together until after Uni.Continue Reading

A Madi Lane Bride for an Intimate Jewish Wedding at Norrice Lea Synagogue, London, UK

19/03/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Like so many 2020 couples, London couple Anna, a paralegal, and Simon, an English teacher, had to rethink their Jewish wedding plans when the pandemic hit. The pair had originally planned a 300-guest destination wedding in Israel for May 2020, but given the uncertainty of the situation they opted to shift things closer to home with an intimate synagogue wedding in London in September 2020, with a bigger celebration in Israel to follow when possible.

Anna and Simon chose Norrice Lea Synagogue as their new venue, and they were able to hold the wedding in two separate shifts – one for the chuppah and lunch afterward, attended by 30 members of the couple’s immediate families – and a second dinner shift just for 30 close friends who hadn’t attended the first half of the day.

As always, we’re absolutely in love with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel’s dreamy photos of the day – and we’re totally unsurprised to hear that the couple found Claudine an absolute joy to work with on the big day.

We’ll let Anna take it from here…

How we Met

Anna, the bride and Simon, the groom: We were introduced by a mutual friend of our parents; she told us very little about each other. We added each other on Facebook and messaged briefly before going on a ‘blind date’. Things flourished from there – it was an old fashioned introduction.Continue Reading

A David’s Bride for a Winter Jewish Wedding with an Epic Dessert Indulgence Bar at The Grove, Watford, UK

16/11/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re so excited to be sharing the gorgeous winter wonderland Jewish wedding of Dorothy, who’s not only a beloved Brides Club member but also happens to be the winner of a very special competition we ran last year with luxury sweet purveyors GC Couture.

Dorothy and Dan were the lucky winners of an amazing kosher Indulgence Bar® by GC Couture, an assortment of luxe sweet treats from cookies to cake pops to macarons to brownie bites to cupcakes plus a fabulous centerpiece wedding cake. The pair can’t stop raving about their tasting at GC Couture‘s Mayfair offices, where they settled on red velvet as their cake flavor – along with intricately decorated biscuits, cake pops, cakes, and macaroons matching the couple’s winter white color scheme. Everything looks SO mouthwateringly delicious – don’t miss this epic spread in Chiko Photography’s images and Yoni Cohen’s trailer!

Lest you think the party ended there, Dorothy and Dan also booked phenomenal Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Function Band, who, true to form, kept guests on the dancefloor all night with their incredible energy and played something for everyone. The couple also worked with the wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Toastmaster Jango, who kept everything in check and ensured things ran smoothly on the day.

Before we turn you over to Dorothy, we just have to share some of her kind words about her experience as a member of Brides Club: “During the lead up to the wedding my biggest saviour were the girls in Brides Club! Any question you ask, no matter how silly you might think you are for asking, anything that’s on your mind they’re there within seconds to help you!” We couldn’t agree more!

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Cosy Meets Luxe

Dorothy, the bride: We got married at the Grove in Watford. Set within the most beautiful grounds, it’s the perfect mix of cosy and comfortable with luxury hotel all rolled into one.

I fell in love with it after a family visit over 10 years ago and knew then I wanted to get married there one day. Continue Reading

A David’s Bridal Bride for a Disney Meets Midsummer Night’s Dream Jewish Wedding at New West End Synagogue and Jumeirah Carlton Towers, London, UK

06/01/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re so excited to be sharing the beautiful Jewish wedding of our beloved STG Brides Club member Melissa, a nanny and cake maker, to Nick, a design technician in a secondary school! Melissa, a self-described hopeless romantic obsessed with Disney, fairy tales, and butterflies, had been dreaming of her big day since she was a child, and did she ever bring all that enthusiasm to play when it came to planning!

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alexandra’s Florist helped the couple merged all these passions with a Midsummer Night’s Dream aesthetic, with plenty of white flowers with ivy, green leaves – and butterflies. Melissa and Nick’s gorgeous rustic chuppah featured was swathed in twigs, white flowers, and silver butterflies, and the wonderful centerpieces for the reception followed suit.

And we adore the unique invitations the pair designed, working with STG Recommended Vendor BigDay Designs and an architectural artist, featuring a hand-sketched illustration of their gorgeous ceremony venue, New West End Synagogue.

We also love that the pair incorporated some awesome DIY projects into their big day, most notably Melissa’s handcrafted arches (see pic above), made from cut up hula hoops and covered in artificial ivy and roses, to keep with the theme (she’s even shared a tutorial inside Brides Club should you wish to follow suit!) – and Nick’s heart-shaped wooden table name signs, each etched with the name of the Disney song the table in question was named for!

Photographer Chiko and videographer and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion captured all the special moments of the day so exquisitely – we really feel as if we were there! And Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Toastmaster Jango kept the day running smoothly and stress-free.

There’s so much more to say about this fantastic day, but we’ll let Melissa, who looked beautiful in Davidʼs Bridal, fill you in on the rest…

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Venue

Melissa, the bride: We got married at New West End Synagogue in St Petersburgh Place – ever since I was a little girl I always dreamed of getting married at this synagogue. The interior is just picturesque, with stunning stained-glass windows, too.

After the ceremony, we made our way to the Jumeirah Carlton Towers in Knightsbridge, which allows the bridal party use of their gorgeous and exclusive private park. This made for a stunning set of photos!

A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Kosher Chrismukkah Jewish Wedding at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK

01/05/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

A kosher Christmas wedding?! Sounds unlikely, but somehow Claire, a therapist, and James, who works in recruitment as a consultant in the City, pulled it off.

With a wedding date just a week before Christmas and the bridesmaids dressed in an unintentionally Christmassy hunter green, the pair decided they might as well go all out with their newfound Chrismukkah theme – even opting for a kosher Christmas dinner for the meal!

We’re also obsessed with Claire and James’s very cool chuppah – made out of copper pipes and decorated with a mix of flowers and hanging bulbs. It was a perfect fit for their stunning Victorian venue, the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. All of the emotion and elegance of the day was captured so perfectly by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Blake Ezra, whose calm attitude on the day ensured Claire and James enjoyed their wedding photography to the max.

Claire looked stunning too, in her simple, sophisticated Suzanne Neville dress and her effortless natural makeup by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Philippa Louise.

And the fun didn’t stop once the big day was over: Claire and James went on an epic honeymoon to India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, organised by Claudia Newman at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Colletts Travel in London. Claudia made sure the honeymoon ran smoothly and even threw in some extra special touches, like leaving a framed picture of the couple on their wedding day waiting for them in one of their hotel room.

Now over to the couple…

How we met

Claire and James, the bride and the groom: We went to the same university but never met there, we met at a close friend’s birthday party. The friend actually wasn’t sure it was going to work but is very happy now that it did – and was part of the wedding as a bridesmaid and witness to thank her for bringing us together!