Kate Nielen Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Phase Eight Bride for an Interfaith Jewish-Scottish Wedding Planned in Two Months at the Pergola on Hampstead Heath, London, UK

22/05/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Can you believe this gorgeous interfaith Jewish wedding was planned in under two months?! Yes, that’s right – a beautiful wedding in under sixty days!

Jude, a business analyst, and Del, who works in regulation, made it work by keeping the crowd small – they held an intimate celebration with just immediate family and their closest friends – and the day streamlined.

Their venue, the Pergola on Hampstead Heath, not only had a ton of meaning to the couple (it’s where Del proposed to Jude!), it’s also the kind of naturally stunning space that easily stands on its own without any need for additional décor.And given the timeline, the bride opted to shop the high street, endingup with a lovely ‘20s inspired beaded gown from Phase Eight.

We love how these two brought together the bride’s Jewish identity and the groom’s Scottish heritage, too. They made sure traditions from both sides were represented, smashing the glass together and choosing flowers that incorporated Del’s Scottish heritage.

We’re obsessed with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kate Nielen’s soft and dreamy photos of this big day… read on to hear all the rest of the details.

How we met

Jude, the bride: We met on Match.com

Review of Sassi Holford’s Twenty17 Collection, Occasionwear, and Mother Of The Bride collections – plus a Facebook Live chat with the designer herself

01/03/2017 by Karen Cinnamon

All images by Kate Nielen

One of the best things about being a wedding blogger is, undoubtedly, that I get to go and gaze at exquisite wedding gowns — for my job! For that reason and many others, including the impulse to share cutting-edge bridal fashion with you guys, I’m really passionate about promoting incredible bridal designers.

With that in mind, it was a real treat to be invited to the 2017 Open Day of the one and only Sassi Holford, a leading international designer with a plethora of awards and accolades, earned over 35 years in bridal design. As the official blogger I wanted to get ALL the coverage so I asked Sassi if she would do a Facebook Live showcasing her designs and talking about current wedding trends.

With the opportunity to interview such a wedding world heavyweight, I came dressed for the occasion (even wearing a floral dress to echo one of Sassi’s most sublime designs, and my Emmy London shoes) — and armed with questions.

Despite a couple of small hiccoughs with the live feed, it was a fabulous experience, which you can catch up with above — and a couple more at the end of the post. (Also, a very special thank you and shout out to Pamela and Andrea, who did my makeup to perfection).

A 50’s inspired bride for a chic Jewish wedding at New London Synagogue and the Royal Institute of British Architects, London, UK

05/07/2016 by Karen

Rachel and Stephen won their wedding photography through a competition on this very wedding blog, and when their fabulous photographer, Kate Nielen, excitedly emailed me with the resulting gorgeous photos, I couldn’t wait to post them! Part of what Kate Nielen and I loved about Rachel’s winning entry was what she wrote below:

A Jewish wedding ceremony is steeped in tradition, ritual and spirituality. These are the elements I want to capture at the beginning of the ceremony whilst RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) is a classy and classic venue. We also have a New Orleans jazz band who will be playing klezmer.”

To me, this epitomises a Smashing The Glass couple. The desire to blend wonderful ancient Jewish wedding rituals with twists like a New Orleans jazz band playing traditional Jewish klezmer. I just wish I could have been a guest at the wedding myself!

There were so many lovely personal touches, like the mother of the bride creating a beautiful painting that was incorporated on all the stationery and was also displayed on a screen at the entrance of their gorgeous reception venue, RIBA, in the heart of central London. She also made their very arty three-tier wedding cake – what a talented mama!

One of the best things about this job is how uplifting it is to look at images of people in love. And I think it’s fair to say that Rachel and Stephen are insanely, crazily, and meant-to-be-together-forever in love. That besottedness radiates from every image captured by Kate Nielen. Enjoy this one folks!

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White Gallery London 2016

20/05/2016 by Karen

On Monday I attended The White Gallery in London’s Battersea Evolution which is essentially the London Fashion Week of the bridal industry. It’s a trade event for UK and international bridal designers to showcase their 2017 collections to press and buyers, and it feels like stepping through a vortex into the bridal apparel future.

The show took place in the heart of a blossom-filled Battersea Park inside a pavilion that was transformed into an elegant showroom, complete with catwalks and press lounges. The event ran over three days and offered press and buyers access to a diverse range of designers, runways, and of course industry lovelies!

You may have already seen a few sneak peeks of my photos on Instagram, and live commentary and video on Snapchat (and if you’re not yet on Snapchat, you’re missing out on ALL the fun and behind-the-scenes footage!). This post takes it up a notch with my favourite wedding dress and wedding shoe designers, and my six key bridal trends for 2017 as spotted at White Gallery.

If you’re currently on the hunt for your wedding dress or shoes, I do hope that this post will inspire you. All the gorgeous images (unless otherwise stated) are by the super talented Kate Nielen who accompanied me to the show. Feel free to pin and share them to your heart’s content!

Below: clockwise from top: Sassi Holford catwalk show / Emmy London / YolanCris

Stephanie Allin Couture

Stephanie Allin designed my wedding dress and is genuinely one of the loveliest people in the business. What appeals to me about Stephanie, besides her wonderful service and giving nature, is her contemporary take on classic couture and her desire to create wedding dresses for the ‘real bride’ as opposed to what looks best on a model. Her latest collection is inspired by the Italian lifestyle and artistic flair, and incorporates compelling fabrics including metallic jacquard prints on silk organza, and concepts like bridal separates of bra-lets teamed with dramatic skirts.

One a side note, Stephanie definitely gets the award for the most inspired creative campaign (shot by Matt Bird). How uh-mazing is the shot below taken from Stephanie’s new Bellisima collection?!

Win your wedding photography (worth £2450!) by the internationally acclaimed wedding photographer, Kate Nielen

13/11/2015 by Karen

If you’re a sophisticated, creative couple who are currently on the hunt for your perfect wedding photographer, let me introduce you to the internationally acclaimed luxury fine art wedding photographer, Kate Nielen.

Based in London, but shooting weddings all over the UK and beyond, Kate travels the world to photograph beautiful weddings with her distinctive dreamy, cinematic style. Her gentle, fine art editorial approach creates timeless, luminous images that show her couples and their special day at their most romantic, natural and beautiful.

Kate works for the most discerning clients who appreciate photography and want the best wedding photography experience available, so you can only imagine how thrilled I was when she asked if I’d host a competition for her, and I was even more excited when she told me she wanted to very generously give away a completely FREE wedding package together with an engagement shoot in London, to one lucky couple anywhere in the world. Wow – just WOW! If you’re getting married before July 2017 and you haven’t organised your photographer yet, then today is most definitely your lucky day!

Even if you’re not fortunate enough to win, Kate would like to offer every couple that enters 15% off their wedding photography if you then decide to go on and hire her (but you must book with her before 31st January 2016.)

Thank you so much Kate! Be sure to check out more of her work at Kate Nielen Fine Art Photography.