Jonny Mosesson Archives - Smashing the Glass

The Songs You’ll Need for Your Jewish Wedding {Facebook Live with Kimpton Fitzroy London and Jonny Mosesson}

06/03/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 17, at 7:00 pm GMT (3:00 pm EST/12:00 pm PST), I’m so as excited as I’ll be going live at one of my very favourite London venues, Kimpton Fitzroy London, with the ridiculously talented Jonny Mosesson, the chazan I had at my own wedding!

A firm favourite with STG brides, Jonny is truly the very best – and when it comes to Jewish wedding music, his knowledge is positively encyclopaedic. And he’ll be sharing it all with us, as he performs a multitude of songs from different traditions that you may consider including at various points on your big day.

He’s here to help you choose the right music for your Jewish wedding, so this is your chance to ask away!

Interspersed with Jonny’s angelic singing will be a live Q&A, where you can ask me, Jonny, and the Kimpton Fitzroy London weddings team anything you’ve ever wanted to know about either Jewish wedding music OR this in-demand Jewish wedding venue. Definitely not to be missed!

We’ll be filming live from Kimpton Fitzroy London’s magical Palm Court, complete with a soaring glass ceiling that floods the room with light, comfortable clusters of seating, and lots of gorgeous greenery — the vibe is conservatory meets lounge meets members club, and it is exactly as fabulous as it sounds. Intimate yet fun, hip yet classic.

But that’s not all! Once we’ve wrapped up with Jonny, we’ll be launching straight in to Facebook Live #2 of the evening, a venue tour of the Kimpton Fitzroy London starting at 8:00 pm GMT / 3:00 pm EST / 12:00 PM PST.

Located oh-so-centrally in Bloomsbury’s Russell Square, the Kimpton Fitzroy London combines historic charm with modern luxury. It’s a mega-luxe, uber-stylish place, with every inch full of the chicest of contemporary details.

There’s no place like it for an urban glam Jewish wedding in London, and I can’t wait to take you along as I tour through all the stunning spaces on offer for your big day.

In between it all, we’ll be enjoying delectable canapés and drinks from Adam Nathan Catering, Kimpton Fitzroy London’s preferred partner for kosher-style catering.

A Mary Poppins-Themed Jewish Wedding at Bevis Marks and Behind the Bike Shed, London, UK

03/01/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Happy 2020! Seeing as this is our first real Jewish wedding feature of the year, we wanted to make it something really special – and we found just the thing. Emma, a product manager, and Pete, a data scientist, wanted a wedding that showcased their love of London in a fresh, unexpected, and whimsical way – and did they ever hit the jackpot when Emma realized her love of Mary Poppins was the perfect theme to center it all!

The couple’s wedding planner, the amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante By Michelle J – whose experience, knowledge, and knack for handling wedding logistics seamlessly made it easy for the duo to stay focused on the fun details and creative touches – helped them transform their dream into reality, crafting a Mary Poppins-perfect day that always stayed classy and never veered into the cheesy or childish.

Bringing in iconic touches like kites, umbrellas, carpet bags, lampposts, chimneys – for example, Emma and Pete had a giant table plan where the numbers were kites and everyone’s names were hanging down on the bows – and fun details like cocktails with Poppins-inspired names, the whole team really went all in.

And nowhere is this more evident than in the choice to center the reception décor around a totally incredible balloon arrangement by Balloonista, who the couple’s planner connected them with. Working with Emma and Pete’s wedding colours and theme, Balloonista created a stunning, one-of-a-kind overhead installation featuring balloons, and, in true Mary Poppins style, hanging umbrellas too.

The amazing photographer STG Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel did a great job capturing all the special moments and details of the day, as did videographer Marco Windham.

And speaking of STG Recommended Vendors – we love that Emma and Peter opted to work with so many of them, from Philippa Louise Makeup, the force between the bride’s glam bridal look, to the mega-talented Jonny Mosesson, who not only sang beautifully during the chuppah but also went above and beyond helping the couple choose their music.

Now over to the gorgeous bride, Emma…

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Bevis Marks to Bike Shed

Emma, the bride: Pete and I both come from fairly traditional Jewish backgrounds but are also quite liberal in our thinking and outlook on life. Our wedding had to be a balance between honouring our families’ perspective and the Jewish tradition that we love while keeping true to our values, lifestyle and quirky taste.

We always knew we wanted to have a London wedding and something that captured the way we live together now, which is very much about living in London Bridge and spending a lot of time around the City and East London.

We knew we wanted to have a wedding in a synagogue – we both grew up going to synagogue and being in a venue that was part of Jewish life and connected to years of simchas felt like it would make the service more spiritual for us.

In this respect we got so lucky to be able to get married at the historic Bevis Marks. I had seen a friend get married there years ago and the beauty of the synagogue left such a strong impression on me that it was the first place I thought of when we got engaged. Bevis Marks is also a short walk from our flat so it fitted perfectly with our idea of a local London wedding. We loved getting more involved in the community as we prepared for the wedding.

A Pronovias Bride for a Wintery Chanukah Wedding at West London Synagogue and Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, London, UK

23/08/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We love a good Chanukah wedding – and there’s no time more special than the eighth and final night. We’re loving the way Emma, an account director at a medical education communications agency, and Mike, an accountant, made the most of the holiday in their beautiful Jewish wedding.

The pair had the bride’s two grandmothers light the menorah together during their chuppah – how special is that?! Speaking of that chuppah, we’re in love with the green and white floral creation, and we can’t go without mentioning the couple’s gorgeous green and purple ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com. Also, fabulous chazan and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson sang at the chuppah (and Emma and Mike found him through Smashing The Glass!). Oh, and they used one of our smash glass pouches.

The couple kept their general vibe wintery, with rich burgundy tones and sparkly fairy lights abounding. And to keep things in the Chanukah spirit from start to finish, they even served doughnuts in personalized paper bags for their guests to take home at the end of the night!

Emma looked stunning in her fitted mermaid lace Pronovias dress, which she found at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ann Louise Bridal – whose delightful service she can’t stop raving about. We’ll let her fill you in on the rest.

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A Family Venue

Emma, the bride: We got married at the West London Synagogue on Upper Berkeley Street. Not only is this a beautiful synagogue, but both Mike’s parents and grandparents got married here so this made it extremely special for us.

The reception and party followed at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel which has a beautiful art deco style ballroom which we loved from the first time we saw it. Dina the event planner there was an absolute dream to work with, no matter how many questions and requests we had!

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Modern Rustic Jewish Wedding at The Grove Hotel, Chandler’s Cross, Hertfordshire, UK

07/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s always a special day when we get to blog the real Jewish wedding of one of our wonderful Brides Club members, and today it’s Sami’s turn!.

Sami and Toby (#happilywebberafter) had the most wonderful big day, and we’re so thrilled to be able to share it with you. We’re also totally blushing at Sami’s kind words about the club:

“It was so heart-warming to have lots of lovely ladies around you sharing the build up and excitement. I feel like it is one big family and everyone wants the best for everyone else and their wedding!”

We think Brides Club is pretty special too – and the doors are open for new members to join (we now have almost 200 members!). Do come on in and join us too! If you’re planning a Jewish or Jew-ish wedding, it’s truly an incredible resource and community and we are offering 30 free days to every bride-to-be if you join before this Monday 11 June!

But back to Sami’s wonderful wedding – we’re pretty jazzed that she and Toby worked with so many of our very favourite UK-based Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, from the amazing Jonny Mosesson, who sang during the chuppah (and we totally agree with Sami’s description of him as having the voice of an angel!) to The Function Band, who created an electric atmosphere that kept everyone dancing from start to finish, and videographer Denee Motion, who not only captured the emotion and energy of the wedding so perfectly (don’t miss their trailer!) but also developed a wonderful friendship with the couple over the buildup to their wedding.

We’re thrilled that Sami had a fantastic experience shopping for her Monique Lhuillier gown at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club – she’d had a preventative double mastectomy prior to the wedding, so it wasn’t a given that wedding dress shopping would be smooth sailing. In fact, Sami’s experience was so wonderful that since the big day she’s left her old job in fashion buying to work for The Wedding Club, where she’s now store manager and runs operations for both of their London boutiques!

As joyful as this wedding was, the fact that Sami’s mum tragically passed away from cancer 5 and a half years prior cast a bittersweet shadow. We love that Toby bought Sami a locket with a photo of her mum to attach to her bouquet so they could still walk down the aisle together – what a meaningful touch.

There’s so much more to this fab celebration, but you’ll have to read Sami’s beautiful writeup (and immerse yourself in Paul Toeman’s wonderful photos) for the rest…

How we met

Sami, the bride: Toby and I met in a club in Birmingham, he was in his first year of university and I was on my gap year. We got on straight away, although at the time I was with somebody else. It started as an incredibly strong friendship, and after a year and a half (by which time my other relationship had ended), it turned into love, and we haven’t looked back since.

A Lyn Ashworth Bride for a Country-Meets-City Jewish Wedding at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue and the Savile Club in London, UK

05/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

A country house-style Jewish wedding with all the convenience (and fun contemporary touches) of central London? Um, yes please!

Busy Abbie and Alastair are both doctors: she’s an obstetrician/gynecologist, he’s doing a PhD in trauma and orthopedics – so it’s a good thing they found dreamy venue the Savile Club close to home: see Miki Studios’ breathtaking photography and videography for evidence.

We’re crazy about the juxtaposition of classic and quirky they worked into their big day – from the custom-designed invitations honoring the groom’s love of succulents, by wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bigday Designs (who, the bride says, were “totally charming in indulging my bizarre ideas”!) to the beautiful cake Alistair’s grandmother made the couple, covered in hundreds of handmade sugar rose petals she spent the couple’s whole engagement year making!

The pair’s music choice also mixed the traditional with the contemporary: it was key for them to find a live band who could nail both the Israeli music and party music for afterwards, and they found their perfect match in the Matzoh Boys – their singer is fantastic Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson!

And we love that, after having heard friends’ regrets about not having spent enough time with their other half on the big day, Abbie and Alastair decided to make the not-so-traditional choice of a sweetheart table, which gave them some precious quality time to enjoy each other’s company during the meal.

Oh, and we can’t hand you over to Abbie without mentioning her romantic Lyn Ashworth gown with 3/4 French lace sleeves and a full silk chiffon skirt…

How we met

Abbie, the bride: We actually met at medical school, when Abbie’s mum forced her to go to the Jewish Society Rosh Hashanah dinner in Nottingham! It was all going really well until Abbie realised that Alastair was a fresher and two years younger than her! Luckily Alastair won her back with his charms and the rest is history!