Jenny Packham Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Jenny Packham Bride for a Greek Island Fantasy Jewish Wedding at the Royal Myconian Hotel, Mykonos, Greece

14/02/2022 by Karen Cinnamon

Ok, who could use a sunny island getaway about now? Yeah, we thought so. For those of us not lucky enough to be jetting off to beachy paradise, do the next best thing and live vicariously through the fabulous Jewish wedding of UK couple Claudia, who works in advertising, and James, who works in affordable housing, who tied the knot in their favorite holiday destination, Mykonos.

We’re not sure what we love more, the totally epic locale, or the fact that Claudia and James worked with an amazing team of beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their dream day a reality. Their first port of call was Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante by Michelle J, who was, as always, “a dream to work with and took a lot of the stress off us in the planning process and the day.” Michelle helped the duo translate their island-perfect color scheme of crisp whites an blues into the fabulous day you see in the wonderful photos by Anna Roussos.

The couple’s stationers, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Cartalia, designed the most exquisite pocket-style invitation suite in coordinating blues and whites, and the couple’s chazzan, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson – who they flew out from London along with two of his musicians – performed in their trademark unforgettable style at the chuppah and again for the Israeli dancing.

And we haven’t even mentioned the fact that Claudia was lucky enough to have a bespoke wedding dress designed for her by a close friend of her mum’s – none other than Jenny Packham herself! We’ll turn you over to the bride for the rest…

How We Met

Claudia, the bride: We met through mutual friends in 2013, James had just finished his masters and Claudia had just finished her second year at university.Continue Reading

A Jenny Packham Bride for an Ultra-Romantic Destination Jewish Wedding at the Great Synagogue and Villa Aurelia, Rome, Italy

20/06/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Where do you go for an uber-romantic Jewish destination wedding when you already live in the City of Love? Paris-based couple Prescilla and Nathanael opted for Rome, with their ceremony held in the bastion of old-fashioned elegance that is the breathtaking Great Synagogue of Rome and their reception at the magnificent Villa Aurelia. We are positively swooning over their fairy tale-perfect day.

With mega-luxe florals in a soft, classic color scheme of white and pink and hundreds of candles hanging from trees on the grounds of the villa, the visuals of this wedding could not have been dreamier — check out photographer Framelines’ epic shot of the couple under a canopy of trees, lit only by the candles (at the very end of this post). Is that just the loveliest, or what?

The couple, who are both doctors, can’t say enough in praise of their wedding planner, Elisa, from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Le Ràªve.

Elisa was recommended to Prescilla by a friend in Paris, and when the couple first met with her it was, as the bride says, “love at first sight.” Elisa connected the pair with their many fantastic vendors, and she helped them achieve the romantic look they were going for — and if you take a peek at the photos, and videographer Inesse’s beautiful capture of the day, we think you’ll agree she knocked it out of the ballpark.

Now over to Prescilla, whose vintage-esque Jenny Packham dress blended old-world elegance with modern chic ever so exquisitely…

A Wedding in Rome

Prescilla, the bride: We got married in Rome, with a religious ceremony in the main synagogue and a great party in the magnificent Villa Aurelia.

A fairy-light filled Jewish Barn Wedding with a crowd-surfing Enzoani Bride at Tewin Bury Farm, Hertfordshire

19/06/2017 by Karen

If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years about Essex couples, it’s that they know how to party – and party is exactly what fun-loving Sammy and Wayne did, with gusto! In fact, they partied so hard to STG Recommended Vendor, Totem‘s, set, that bride Sammy threw caution to the wind, and herself into the arms of her guests, becoming our first crowd-surfing bride!

Sammy, an assistant producer with credits on just about all of your favourite entertainment shows, and Wayne a lettings manager, met as teenagers, and these childhood sweethearts stayed together through thick and thin, tying the knot on their ten-year anniversary.

The pair chose a rustic barn theme, with an abundance of gypsophila and a plethora of twinkling fairy lights, creating an absolutely magical atmosphere.

Sammy looked sensational in her Enzoani gown, and Jenny Packham heels, which she later swapped for embellished, personalized Converse, echoing one of her favorite films, Father of the Bride.

All of the details (including that epic crowd surf) can be seen in much-loved STG Recommended Vendor, Denee Motion‘s, film (below) and the gorgeous images by photographer, Reportage By Limited.

We’ll pass you on to Sammy for the full lowdown on her and Wayne’s special day!

How we met

Sammy, the bride: We went to King Solomon High School in Essex, but Wayne was two school years above me and emigrated from South Africa when he was 14 years old. We never spoke at school.

When I was in sixth form and Wayne was on a gap year before university, we met at a mutual friend’s birthday party in a nightclub. We clicked straight away, and went on our first date a week later.

On our first date, we went to a restaurant where we chatted for five hours, we practically got chucked out of the restaurant as we didn’t want the night to end. The rest, as they say, is history.

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 faà§ade 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.

Continue Reading

A whimsical woodland Jewish wedding with a Jenny Packham gown at South Farm, Royston, UK

06/02/2017 by Karen

Pull on those wellies, we’re taking another trip to whimsical Hertfordshire venue, South Farm, for Clare and Toby’s magical, woodland-themed wedding. This country-inspired Jewish big day had everything from berries in the bouquet to a spot of light duck herding at the drinks reception — as you do!

There are so many divine details to drool over, from the beautiful moss, foliage and rose-heavy floral arrangements to the sublime scented candles, provided by the bride’s sister.

Fortunately, every last detail was perfectly captured in a collection of stunning images by much-loved sponsor and incredibly talented photographer Ria Mishaal.

We’re also totally head-over-heels in love with beautiful bride Clare’s drop-dead-gorgeous wintry and etherial Jenny Packham gown, paired with sparkly Jenny Packham headpieces.

Oh, and we’ve already mentioned the duck herding, but seriously, how cute are those ducks? It’s enough to make us think that every wedding should have a cheeky pen-full of feathered friends handy.

We’ll leave you with Clare now for the full report. Take it away, Clare!

How we met

Clare, the bride: We met at work. Toby was a bit hesitant about dating someone at work so we ‘courted’ for about a year before we finally became official.

A laid-back, intimate venue at South Farm, Royston

We got married at South Farm in Royston. I thought it was such a beautiful, laid back and intimate venue. Plus, I love animals so the animal enclosure sold it to me. On a more practical level it had everything we needed: rooms for the night, indoor and outdoor ceremony options and a separate room for tea and coffee.