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A Mirror Mirror Bride for an Enchanted Forest Jewish Wedding at Luton Hoo Walled Garden, Luton, UK

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Get ready for a Jewish wedding FULL of emotion! Danielle, a midwife, and Jake, a vet, had the most special day in the verdant surroundings of Luton Hoo Walled Gardens, and it was as meaningful as it was gorgeous.

There were so many special touches to this day, but one of the best has to be Danielle’s wedding dress from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror. Lots of brides make Mirror Mirror their first stop because of its fab service and selection, but this bride had an additional reason: Mirror Mirror was where Danielle’s mum had bought her own dress for her wedding to Danielle’s beloved stepfather, who tragically passed away before Danielle got married. Needless to say, Danielle adored her Mirror Mirror experience – and the wonderful Inbal Dror gown she found not only looked stunning, but also served as a special reminder of her stepdad on the big day.

One look at the moving photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Chloe Delmonte is all it takes to see what an emotion-filled day it was for all involved. In Danielle’s words, Chloe “was sensational and just when we thought her talents couldn’t get any better she kept outdoing herself. The entire morning I was getting ready she was my absolute rock!” Doesn’t get much better than that!

We’re also in love with the couple’s wedding videography by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Michael Pearl. Michael has quickly become a favorite among London-area Jewish couples, and it’s easy to see why looking at the results – plus, in the bride’s words, the man behind the camera is “extremely kind and lovely to work with,” and great at putting video-shy couples at ease.

 Read on for all the rest of the details in Danielle’s own words…


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How we Met

Danielle, the bride: We met at the University of Birmingham. I was living in Jewish accommodation, Hillel House, and Jake was living in the university kosher flats. Jake was friends with some of the same people I was friends with and so he would often come to Hillel House or we would see each other on a night out and it all blossomed from there.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Enzoani Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding at Warren Weir at Luton Hoo, UK

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There’s not much that makes us happier than seeing a couple pull off the Jewish wedding of their dreams thanks to the work of some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors. So as you can imagine, the wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Natasha, a marketing manager, to Simon, a recruitment consultant, is giving us ALL the feels.

Natasha reports that she loved her time in Brides Club – in her words, “it was so great to know there was a group of other brides going through similar things that you could confide in, get advice from or just get support where needed” – and she also found two of her wonderful vendors through the group! Natasha and Simon’s toastmaster, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jango, is a firm favorite among Brides Club members, and true to form he kept everything running smoothly on the big day. And a recommendation via Brides Club led Natasha to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ann Louise Bridal, where she found her gorgeous Enzoani dress and veil! Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alexandra’s Florist was responsible for the incredible floral chuppah, featuring an elegant mix of white hydrangeas, white roses, and greenery.

We’re also obsessed with the fact that Natasha and Simon opted to open their ceremony with a flashmob by the amazingly talented Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor XS Showband! What a fun surprise for the guests – and indeed, Natasha reports that people are still talking about it to this day!  

This is truly a special wedding – be sure not to miss the emotion-packed photos by Chiko and trailer from AtMotion!

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How we met

Natasha, the bride: We were set up by Simon’s sister. I became friends with her through some mutual friends and she always said that she wanted to set us up. Simon was living in Manchester at the time and one day we arranged to go on a blind date at Dim T in Hampstead. As the say, the rest is history…

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A Pronovias Bride for an Ultra Chic Floral-ful Jewish Wedding at the Conservatory at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden, Luton, UK

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There’s not much we love more than a good signature cocktail. Except for, say, FOUR signature cocktails, like today’s couple had at their gorgeous Jewish wedding.

Lauren, a beauty journalist, and Phil, a business development manager in financial services, went all out and came up with a Manchester Margarita (the groom is from Manchester), a Quinn & Tonic bar (Quinn is the couple’s last name), a Lauren’s Lychee Martini, and a Phil’s Passion Fruit Mojito. Um, we’ll take one of each!

But it’s not just the drinks we’re mad for at this wedding; the aesthetics were pretty fab as well. Lauren and Phil ran with the walled garden venue theme and crafted the coolest flower wall (they did it themselves) and decked their gorgeous pink(!) chuppah out in flowers and eucalyptus leaves. Photographer Grace Pham captured all the details SO perfectly.

Also we LOVE that these two met in the security line of Luton airport (like something out of a movie, right?!) and so chose a venue in Luton, near to where they first met.

Let’s hand over to Lauren, who looked ever so dreamy in her sparkling beaded gown from Pronovias…

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Grace Pham

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How we met

Lauren, the bride: We met on a Jewish university trip to Israel. Specifically, we met in the security line in Luton airport. Phil cut his knee when he was going through security and I rushed up to him with a plaster (I always carry an emergency bag – haha). It went from there, and our incredible holiday romance turned into a long-distance relationship – we travelled between Manchester, where Phil lived, and London every weekend for a year and a half. Following this, he finally moved to London!

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A Stella York Bride for a Winter Wonderland Jewish Wedding at Warren Weir, Luton Hoo, UK

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Don’t mind us, we’re busy picking our jaws up off the floor after seeing today’s stunning Jewish wedding portraits in the snow. Almost enough to make you rethink that summer wedding, are we right?!

When Mel, a project manager, and Mitch, who works in IT, first chose Chiko Photography, they were drawn to a photo of his with a couple under an umbrella in the snow. Who would’ve thought they’d get to recreate it themselves?!

This is also a special wedding for us because bride Mel was one of our blogging brides but not only that, Mel was also a founding member of our Club for Jewish Brides, and as such, she and Mitch were the very first couple to ever use our own-brand (and super gorgeous!) smash glass pouch for breaking the glass under their chuppah!

We loved following Mel’s wedding planning journey, and we’re so glad to hear that the feeling was mutual. Mel found several of her amazing wedding vendors through Smashing the Glass, from their incredible videographer, STG Recommended Vendor Denee Motion,to another much loved STG Recommended Vendor XS Showband, best known as pioneers of the wedding flash mob!

XS Showband provided entertainment throughout the day, but we can’t take our eyes off Denee Motion’s fantastic video of Mel and Mitch’s very own musical wedding flash mob, just before their ceremony started. They wanted a special surprise for their guests, something to make sure their day really stood out, and we think this more than did the trick. You’ve got to check it out for yourself!

Do also take a moment to read through Mel’s fabulous account of her planning and prep, there are some really useful tips and a generous helping of super advice at the end. Over to Mel now (and by the way we think she looks SO elegant in her lace fishtail gown by Stella York. . . 

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How we met

Mel, the bride: We met on JDate in 2013. After chatting for a while we met for a drink. Our second date was an eight-hour lunch! I thought if someone can keep me engrossed in constant conversation for that long without getting bored then I am on to a winner.

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Jodie & Joel | Woodland-style rustic Jewish wedding at Luton Hoo, Hertfordshire, UK

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Happy 1st of the month  everyone! I hope that 2016 has been kind to you so far and that your wedding planning is going brilliantly.  If you haven’t booked  your wedding photographer yet, you might want  to enter our win your wedding photography competition with Claudine Hartzel, the brilliantly  talented camerawoman behind today’s gorgeous  Jewish wedding. Have a read of what the bride had to say about working with Claudine, further down the page — you’ll see that  if you’re the lucky couple to win this competition you’ll be starting the celebrations early!

So onto this beauty of a W Day. Although set just outside London, Jodie and Joel wanted to create a woodland-style wedding amongst  the lush gardens, lakes and waterfalls  of the beautiful  Luton Hoo  in Hertfordshire.  Initially Jodie, who runs her own mobile juicing business, wanted to get married in the middle of a forest so this setting was a perfect compromise. The table centres by  Platinum Raspberry  are particularly exceptional, and really bring the woodland theme to life.

This is a truly  inclusive wedding with family and friends involved every step of the way, from Jodie’s  step-brother singing a prayer under the chuppah (to the Indiana Jones theme tune no less), to  one of Jodie’s  oldest friends singing  Ellie Goulding’s  How Long Will I Love You   for the couple’s  first dance. Jodie’s  mum had secretly arranged  this as a surprise along with a few other  touches    – how thoughtful  is that?

Jodie has  some brilliant advice for all of you at the end of the post — I particularly love ‘Remember to say prayers for everyone you love as you circle  your groom —  it makes the ceremony that much more meaningful’.

Not only do we have the lovely images from Claudine Hartzel, but we also have the film from  Bloomsbury Films, which includes a heart warming speech from Jodie’s mum.  Without further ado, I give you Jodie and Joel.

Woodland-style rustic Jewish wedding at Luton Hoo
how we met

Jodie, the Bride:  Joel was one of my martial arts instructors. I later found him on Facebook, gave him my number, and the rest is history!

We got married in the grounds of beautiful  Luton Hoo  in Hertfordshire, just outside London. We just fell in love with the gardens — there was a lake and a waterfall and it was surrounded by trees and greenery. Initially I wanted to get married in the middle of a forest so this was a perfect compromise.

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