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Ros & Alex | Contemporary cool Jewish wedding with 50’s and 60’s touches, at The ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts), London, UK

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London Theme Wedding at the ICA
Ros and Alex mixed contemporary and vintage styling to perfection, and I adore the sleek modern venue they chose: The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA). It’s an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square, and is one of the capital’s most beautiful contemporary spaces. I am beyond excited to be blogging what I believe is the only Jewish wedding ever to have taken place there, and a totally jaw-dropping one at that.

Ros’s wedding report is one of the loveliest I’ve ever read so if you can get 5 minutes with a cuppa to sit and read Ros’s words as well as ogle over the stunning photography from Especially Amy I promise you will fall in love with this wedding story. Ros also gives some excellent money-saving tips at the end in her ‘advice to other brides’, as well as some super useful planning advice.

There’s lots to love but I am particularly taken with Ros’s beauty and style and the London theme details such as the London Underground map table plan, and miniature black cabs and double-decker buses on the tables.

Here is their story…

London-themed contemporary cool Jewish wedding at The ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts), London
London-themed contemporary cool Jewish wedding at The ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts), London
HOW WE MET
Ros, the Bride: We met at Bristol University in September 2002, as Fresher’s living in the same student halls. Our first date was breakfast at a greasy spoon cafe down the road! Alex popped the question in February 2011 at the boutique Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City before whisking me off for dinner and cocktails. We have always loved New York, so it was perfect. That night, the lights on the Empire State shone for us in the snow. After a lot of planning and juggling of dates, we married 18 months later.

London-themed contemporary cool Jewish wedding at The ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts), London
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Rachel & Zach | Intimate City Chic Jewish Winter Wedding at Old Finsbury Town Hall, Islington, London

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LONDON JEWISH WEDDING
Rachel and Zach were married at Old Finsbury Town Hall, which has to be one of the most beautiful wedding venues in London. They threw a really relaxed, fun wedding party and organised most of it via the wonders of the internet from their home in New York.

They ditched a lot of the traditional wedding formalities too: they chose not to have a bridal party, wedding cake, expensive dress or favours, and had some brilliant ideas, like using Rachel’s enormous collection of New Yorker magazines as individual place cards for each guest. They also devised a very traditional, but totally egalitarian, Jewish ceremony with tons of personal twists, and an utterly unique ketubah. They also wrote an inspired wedding program. The beautiful bride, Rachel, elaborates below.

Chris Giles, their photographer, does city chic romance effortlessly, and even the way he captures Rachel’s shoes perched on a side table is like something out of a modern fairytale. Enjoy every one of Chris (and his wife, Laura)’s gorgeous images, and whisk yourself away to a warm-hearted wintery December in London.

Finsbury Town Hall London Jewish Wedding_0012

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Missy & Yoni | Super cool and colourful South East London Jew-ish wedding at Asylum Arts and The Big Red Pizza Bus

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South-London-Wedding
When I first looked through these Jew-ish wedding images submitted by the legendary Laura Babb I was doing a little happy dance over every detail…

Smashing a piñata instead of a glass? SQUEAL!  Derelict crumbling chapel for a Jew-ish ceremony venue? HOLY MOLY!  Vivienne Westwood glittery red shoes? HOT DAMN! A colourful mariachi band ? WHOA! A DJ outfit called the Wedding Smashers WOW! I mean this wedding is just begging to be blogged on Smashing the Glass!

Aside from being an amazing day full of fun, laughter, heart and joy, and apart from being documented by the outrageously talented (read major photographer crush) Laura Babb, one of the things that I love most about this wedding is that the couple tried their hardest to source everything from local suppliers in their area of South East London.
Colourful London wedding at Asylum Arts and The Big Red Pizza Bus How do I get ‘link to none’ when I am inserting an image as a defaultHow do I get ‘link to none’ when I am inserting an image as a default

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Amanda & Brian | Romantic elegance Jewish wedding at the Rosewood London

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Rosewood-London-wedding
I hope you are ready for elegance and sophistication this Monday afternoon folks. Amanda  and Brian’s  gorgeous wedding has more than a touch of class about it and I’m delighted to be blogging  the first ever wedding to have taken place at the the coolest new hotel kid  on the block, the  Rosewood London  in High Holborn.

And as for the photography well….I don’t know how on earth Amanda  and Brian  ever chose what to put in their album, I was in raptures over the shots of the stationery and the rings before I even got to the delicious details and all important ceremony and party shots.

There’s a bride and groom that positively exude the whole happy-ever-after. There’s an  utterly mesmerising chuppah. There’s laughter and crazy dancing  and guests having the time of their lives. There are stunning portrait shots. It’s essentially a whole LOT of city chic glamour  people, all courtesy of the genius that is  David Pullum.

Oh and then there’s THE dress.
It’s breathtaking.

Just before I hand over to Amanda for her wedding report,  I must just add  that I was  thrilled  to hear that she  was inspired to make a bride’s speech after reading an article in the Times, in which I was quoted,  that talks about how the modern day bride is finally breaking her silence. I certainly feel that when you put your heart and soul into the planning, you do want to express yourself and say something… Amanda, being a rocking STG bride, has more to say on the  subject (and so much more!) in her heartfelt and  detailed write-up below.
Romantic elegance Jewish wedding at the Rosewood Hotel Covent Garden London_0037 Romantic elegance Jewish wedding at the Rosewood Hotel Covent Garden London

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10 of the coolest London wedding venues

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cool-london-venues
Image: Vowed & Amazed

UPDATED: September 2016

Today’s post is written by Deirdre from Chic & Boutique Wedding Venues. Deirdre curates only the coolest, hippest and most fabulous wedding venues,  and I’m thrilled that she’s picked out 10 extraordinary London spots covering every kind of style, for capacities of 25 all the way up to 700!

Take your pick from these 10 London gems…

London is filled to the brim with beautiful, elegant and unusual wedding venues, but it can be difficult to make that final decision without a good filter. We’ve vetted and selected these 10 unique, chic and boutique venues, all located in London, and all as eclectic as the brides and grooms to whom we aspire to appeal. Tuck in to our list and find that perfect spot for your wedding!

Kensington Roof Gardens, London W8 (max. capacity 500)
Roof-Gardens-Wedding
Flamingos and Mandarin ducks thrive in an abundance of nature on the roof of number 99 Kensington High Street, – super cool, right?! In the heart of London there’s an oasis of ‘wow’ for when you want to create a wedding with charm, originality and elegance. Have a look at this real wedding at Kensington Roof Gardens as an example!

The Gardens include The Spanish Garden, based on the Alhambra in Granada which has a distinct Moorish flavour; The Tudor Garden which uses red brick walls and four Tudor style arches to take you back to another age, and The English Woodland Garden which blooms with colour when thousands of narcissus, crocus, muscari, snowdrops, and bluebells burst into life every Spring.  The English Woodland is also where the birds live including Mandarin and Carolina Wood Ducks which are native to the Southern hemisphere as well as the star resident Flamingos.

You can tie the civil knot in its stunning indoor wedding venue and then have your religious ceremony in one of the beautiful gardens with a traditional chuppah. The Roof Gardens is also great for small or large weddings as it can host standing receptions for up to 500, sit down dinners for 200 or a more intimate wedding  for only 50.

London’s Kensington Roof Gardens is a venue that gives you the best of both worlds: a garden setting with a convenient central London location.

Kensington Roof Gardens | 99 Kensington High Street | Kensington | London W8 5SA | +44 (0)20 7368 3974


Kew Gardens, Richmond, Surrey (max. capacity 400)
Kew-Gardens-Jewish-wedding
Kew’s Palm House is a vast, light, lofty space that accommodates enormous tropical large palms, boasts 16,000 panes of glass and is considered the most important surviving Victorian iron and glass structure in the world. The Palm House is a truly original backdrop for your wedding that could take place in one of the four following venues on offer at this multi-venue location.

First is Cambridge Cottage, which is the former royal residence of the Duke of Cambridge. Within the cottage grounds is the Duke’s Garden which is perfect for outdoor drinks, photographs, summer barbeques and garden parties. A chuppah would look perfect here too.

The Garden comes with the Drawing Room, licensed for civil ceremonies for up to 80 guests and the adjoining Gallery housing beautiful botanical artwork which can also accommodate 80 guests for a sit down dinner. Alternatively both rooms and the garden can be hired for a standing reception of 150.

There’s also the Nash Conservatory which is licensed for civil ceremonies for up to 200 guests. If desired, the Nash Conservatory and lawn may be used to erect a chuppah for a religious ceremony, followed by pre-dinner drinks before moving on to the Orangery for an evening wedding dinner and dance.

Other venues available for hire at Kew Gardens include The Princess of Wales Conservatory and The Orangery.

Kew Gardens | Royal Botanic Gardens | Kew, Richmond | Surrey, TW9 3AB | +44 (0)20 8332 5641


Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch, London EC1 (max. capacity 900)
Courthouse-Hotel-Shoreditch
I’m literally obsessed with this spanking new venue in the the heart of the old East End of London, Shoreditch.

Once the Old Street Magistrates’ Court and Police Station—where notorious East End gangland brothers Ronnie and Reggie Kray were once held, this Grade II listed Baroque styled building has been transformed into a £40million luxury hotel, the Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch.

Steeped in history, the 128-room Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch offers guests a rather more comfortable stay than the cells which held the notorious Kray twins, as well as a heated indoor swimming pool, a 196-seat cinema, a luxury spa, a bowling alley and a sky terrace overlooking London.

Five of the notorious former magistrates’ court’s cramped 5ft x 15ft cells have been transformed into a bar area, and guests can have a tipple in the spot where the Krays appeared at their first criminal hearing in 1965.

The holding areas, three of which are named after local criminals, still have their metal reinforced doors in tact and one even features a hard bench and commode used by prisoners.

With a maximum capacity of 900 and with so many luxury and unique facilities this stunning hotel is the perfect venue for a large wedding, honeymoon or hen/stag weekend; it’s in a great central location to boot.

Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch | 335 – 337 Old St | Shoreditch | London EC1V 9LL | +44 (0)20 3310 5555


Bush Hall, Shepherds Bush, London W12 (max. capacity 375)
Bush-Hall-London-wedding
When you think of a Dancehall you think of London and one of its most popular music scenes. And when you check out Bush Hall you know this was, and still is, the most decadent Dance Hall of its day.

Nestled in the heart of Shepherds Bush, the Hall is a jewel in the crown of West London proper. Built in 1904, it was a grand dance hall through the Roaring Twenties, subsequently suiting various purposes thereafter including soup kitchen duty during WWII and a Mod rehearsal space for the likes of The Who. Since then it has been lovingly restored to its former glory as an Edwardian dance hall.

Even more cool is that Bush Hall is still an independent live concert venue boasting Adele, Amy Winehouse and Florence & The Machine as previous performers.

This amazing ‘hall’ doubles up as a unique and elegant wedding reception space offering a wide range of options, allowing you the versatility to tailor the event to your own requirements. This could include wedding receptions of up to 180 seated guests or a fun and funky drinks reception until the early hours…

A wedding licence isn’t held, however blessings, chuppahs, and private ceremonies are welcomed.

Bush Hall | 310 Uxbridge Road | Shepards Bush | London W12 7LJ | +44 (0)20 8222 6955
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