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Anna & Jon | City chic Jewish wedding full of personal touches, at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, King’s Cross, London, UK

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Anna and Jon’s inspired Jewish wedding  at London’s St Pancras Renaissance Hotel  is super special, but before I tell you  all about it I quickly want to remind you  that  you only have until Thursday night  to enter STG’s amazing competition to win a luxurious overnight stay for two at this ravishing  venue.

The prize includes champagne and strawberries, dinner for two, butler service, an in-room bath ritual, a history tour of this magnificent building, as well as  breakfast the following morning, so don’t delay…  enter the competition right here!

Now, back to Anna and Jon.

Nineteen years after the Spice Girls belted out Wannabe on the iconic staircase of the St Pancras hotel, Anna and Jon put their own quirky stamp on this treasured central London landmark.

Theirs really was a STG type of wedding — creative, brimming with personality and totally idiosyncratic.

Not many weddings include a running theme of monkeys and robots — yes, really — or have a 10.30pm fried chicken break to fuel their guests.   And most couples would have to end the night when they reach the music curfew set by the venue, but not Anna and Jon, who simply, but brilliantly just switched to a silent disco.   Inspired.

Their big day was infused with the bride and groom’s personality and charm and this was most evident with the Jewish ceremony itself which they personalised in such a thoughtful way through their choice of song and readings.   And I think this is the first time I’ve seen both the bride and groom smash the glass simultaneously.   So good they did it twice! (take a look at  James & Lianne Photography‘s  fab shot)

They also managed another individual twist when it came to the budget — they saved money on the bride and bridesmaid’s outfits, of all people.

As Anna’s dress was so exquisite, she bought a very uncomplicated head veil online, for a third of the price it would have normally cost in a wedding boutique and she saved on simple high street accessories.   Meanwhile the bridesmaids’ dresses were bought in the January sales.

And every single one of them looked impeccable.

I’ll let Anna fill you in on the rest and please do read to the end for her “how we met” story!

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel Wedding

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Naomi & Michael | free spirited ‘Wedstival’ Jewish wedding in a field in Epping Forest, Essex, UK

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Now this folks, this is how you do a ‘Wedstival’ wedding. Naomi and Michael have, in my opinion, only gone and nailed the most perfect laid back, fun-filled outdoor field wedding with a real festival vibe. There’s a Volkswagen Beetle photo booth, super sized balloons, wild flowers galore, madcap crazy Jewish dancing, a surprise speech by the bride especially for her groom, and a tent village for the glamping guests.

One of my favourite details from the wedding has to be Naomi’s bouquet made entirely of brooches. I’ve never seen anything like it before, and it’s such a heart-warming and impactful idea. Naomi told me. “I asked all the women to give me a brooch but didn’t tell them why and then used them in my bouquet. This meant all the women were walking down the aisle with me. I also used a couple of brooches from my grandmas, which was nice as they are no longer with us.”

This is one of those weddings that radiates a wholesome warmth that I can never seem to put into words. There’s just so much love, and it’s all been captured perfcetly by the super talented Adam and Hannah Photography making their debut on Smashing The Glass. Don’t miss the wonderful wedding film at the end of the post by One Wedding too. No matter what mood you’re in, I guarantee you’ll feel totally uplifted after watching it!

Naomi and Michael met on the first day university and had been together for 8 years when they got married. They have written their wedding report together.

Wedstival wedding
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Roupa & Marcus | central London Jewish Hindu ‘HinJew’ wedding at The Criterion, London, UK

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As a huge fan of glorious  colour, multi-cultural weddings are such a visual treat for me and I love all the creative  ways that our  interfaith couples fuse their varying cultures, ceremonies and traditions into one magical blended  feast.

Today’s couple are a prime  example, and Marcus, the groom, puts  it brilliantly, “Quite simply we amalgamated both religions, building the symbolic chuppah/mandap and so weaved together a merry religious dance come ceremony.”

Roupa and Marcus’s wedding is extra special because it has two ceremonies and three (yes THREE!) gowns. So there’s thrice  as much wedding pretty for you, and it all takes place in the heart of London at the super opulent Criterion.

But I digress… Marcus and Roupa planned their spectacular, yet very laid back day in incredibly timely fashion, and in a very authentic,  creative way. Marcus says, “Roupa  was the planner, I was the protagonist and thorn in her side and together we planned a wedding from booking the venue to wedlock in around 12-14 weeks. We brought 160 guests together from all over the world, requesting the soothing colours or cream, ivory or  beige to be worn… apart from us! With the opulence of the Criterion, I added brilliant blues and greens, whilst Roupa wore gold and green, mauve, and a luscious red for her three outfits.”

You can understand why I love this wedding already, right? And I haven’t even told you about the  Brazilian carnival dancers, the Blues Brothers style entrance up to the chuppah / mandap, the thoughtful home-made wedding favours, not to mention the  the  DJ playing Mauritian  Sà©ga!

Roupa, our inspirational  bride, provides the full inside story  below, whilst all  the stunning photography is by  Matt Parry.

Jewish Hindu ‘HinJew’ wedding at The Criterion, London, UK
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Rochelle & Rich | Classic White City Chic Jewish wedding at Devonshire Terrace, in the heart of the City of London, UK

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Being my home city, I make no secret of how much I love  a London Wedding. And Rochelle and Rich’s indoor/outdoor venue of Devonshire Terrace right in the heart of the City and in the shadow of the Gherkin, is just about as spectacular as a London venue gets!

Rochelle is a super beautiful bride, all glowing skin and curly, glossy  locks, and  her and  Rich’s Jewish wedding is simple, elegant, relaxed, and  perfectly executed in Rochelle’s easy-going, laid back manner  (read her advice at the end if you want a stress-free wedding planning experience!).

Sit back with a cup of tea, peruse through her wedding report and enjoy all  of the  wonderful images taken by the  rather talented  Claudine Hartzel  Photography, one of Smashing The Glass’s esteemed  Smashing Suppliers.

Classic White City Chic Jewish wedding at Devonshire Terrace, in the heart of the City of London, UK

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Sarah & Nick | Uber cool and intimate ‘Red’ Jewish wedding at Forman’s Smoked Salmon Fish Factory, Olympic Park, London, UK

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One, two, three and breathe Karen…

That’s what I said to myself when Smashing The Glass reader, Sarah’s à¼ber cool London wedding to Nick dropped into my inbox, so impressed was I by their unusual venue (a smoked salmon factory in London’s Olympic Park !), their teenage sweetheart love story, and their choice of wedding transport through the streets of London. Oh yes, these two traveled from synagogue to reception in a red convertible Mustang!

And you’ve got to hand it to a bride that rocks a leather biker jacket and Ray-Bans over her Pronovias dress…

I also love the fact that Sarah and Nick invited just their very closest friends and family, and that they found their chazan (cantor), Jonny Mosesson, via the blog’s Smashing Suppliers recommended vendor list. Jonny is one of the most talented people I know and to think that this blog is able to connect brides with the industry’s very best makes me a very happy bunny indeed.

But back to Sarah and Nick — thank you for submitting your beautiful wedding and thank you to Reportage By for capturing it so wonderfully. Here’s the whole story in Sarah’s words.

Intimate Jewish wedding at Forman’s Smoked Salmon Fish Factory, Olympic Park, London
Intimate Jewish wedding at Forman’s Smoked Salmon Fish Factory, Olympic Park, London
HOW WE MET
Sarah, the Bride: Nick and I met at school aged 11. We were always friends but nothing ever happened whilst we were studying together. We stayed in touch when we left at 16 but he and his family were in Miami and I was in LA. We went on a ‘catch up’ date when we were both back in London when we were 19, and my mum even said, you will marry Nick. She has always had a sixth sense…

Intimate Jewish wedding at Forman’s Smoked Salmon Fish Factory, Olympic Park, London, UK
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