Micklefield Hall Archives - Smashing the Glass

An Essense of Australia Bride for a Drive In Jewish Wedding at Micklefield Hall, Hertfordshire, UK

04/01/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Happy 2021! To ring in the new year, we’ve got something extra special for you today: the drive in Jewish wedding of Sophie, a program manager at a beauty college, and Marc, a TV set designer! When faced with England’s 15-guest limit, these two came up with the most creative way to include more of their guest list in a legal and COVID-safe way, retooling their vision for the big day to encompass a retro drive in movie theater style setup at their original venue, Micklefield Hall, who “were amazing throughout adapting to all our plans.” We can’t get over the incredible day they crafted, and once you have a peek at Iain Gomes Photography’s incredible photos, we bet you will too.

They ended up with 41 cars outside, with 86 people watching the proceedings on a big screen and listening through their car radios (plus a Zoom stream for those who couldn’t make it to the drive in). The wedding was also streamed on zoom so everyone who couldn’t make the drive in could watch online. Marc being a designer, he created videos, graphics, and artwork to amp up the drive-in feel, including a fun welcome pack delivered to each car on arrival. The packs included photo props – the couple asked guests to take selfies with the props, which they then assembled into a guest book – and a wedding speech bingo card: the couple read out wedding speech phrases from the barn, and guests in cars honked their horns when they won! Then, after the ceremony, the pair drove around on a farm truck greeting their drive in guests (from a safe distance, of course).

Extreme Production filmed the day – and lit it to look good on the big screen – with some films by Marc, pre-recorded wedding speeches and a video with the couple’s first dance song playing in the background so guests could dance along from their cars or from home, played in between the live broadcasts.

Sophie and Marc couldn’t have pulled this epic day off with help from some wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, including Alexandra’s Florist, who not only created the couple’s gorgeous floral chuppah but was also “amazing throughout and always adapted to our ever changing plans,” the legendary Toastmaster Jango, and ever-innovative kosher caterer Feast by Ed Shaerf, who were “so understanding with constantly changing plans” and put together a fantastic afternoon tea featuring sandwiches, cakes, doughnuts, and macarons with iced tea – all packed in boxes and delivered directly to guests’ cars!

We just love how Sophie and Marc found so many creative ways to make sure their drive in guests were truly involved and engaged – read on for more of their excellent ideas!

How we met

Sophie, the bride: We met in December 2016 after matching on Jswipe! Marc moved to London in March 2016 from Manchester and I’m from Stanmore. Our first date was in a bar in Shoreditch. I actually saw Marc in the same carriage as me on the way to our first date and thought it would be awkward to get off together at the same station so I stayed on an extra stop and luckily went back!

A Relaxed Summer Jewish Wedding at Micklefield Hall, Hertfordshire, UK

14/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Isn’t summer just the best? The sunlight, the long days, the greenery… they all come together to make it a fantastic time for a Jewish wedding. And we love the way today’s couple, Zippy, a social worker, and Danny, a rabbi, really made the most of the season.

Their venue, Mickelefield Hall, has the most picturesque English garden outdoor space, and the couple took full advantage by holding their chuppah in the open air. Warren from Howell Jones Photography captured the beautiful setting so well – not to mention all the emotion and fun of the big day. Zippy says she and Danny chose Warren because “every photo he took tells a story,” and we couldn’t agree more. Videographer Moon & Back made the most gorgeous, moving trailer – don’t miss it!

We love that Zippy and Danny chose the mega-talented The Matzoh Boys – their lead singer is Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson – as their band. And how sweet is it that Zippy borrowed her wedding dress from her sister, who’d gotten married months earlier? There’s so much more to say, but we’ll le the bride take it from here…

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How we met

Zippy, the bride: Before we met a number of our people had remarked that we would go well together. Our paths finally crossed when Zippy went to a meditation class that Danny was leading. The rest was history.

An Enzoani Bride for a Rustic, Bright, Colorful and Whimsical Jewish Wedding at Micklefield Hall, Rickmansworth, UK

11/12/2017 by Karen

Woweeee! After a very cold and (beautifully!) snowy weekend here in central London, we could definitely use a splash of color to transport us out of deepest, darkest winter and into a bright, whimsical dreamscape of a Jewish wedding! Who’s in?

Claire and Dave tied the knot in a rustic, vintage-inspired celebration in the grounds of beautifully picturesque Micklefield Hall. Graphic designer, Claire, turned the full force of her fantastic creative eye to her big day, with expert attention to detail.

Every last decoration was bursting with color and perfectly matched the theme, from the magical paper lanterns by The Hanging Lantern Company to the quirky and adorable grass “LOVE” letters by Ever So Vintage Party Hire. Butterflies were dotted everywhere, from the floral arrangements to the stationery suite and beyond. The entire effect is truly something to gaze longingly at – absolutely breathtaking.

Of course a wedding with THIS much pretty in it had to have a supermodel of a chuppah. And what a beauty Claire and Dave’s outdoor chuppah was – a rustic wooden dream with bright and bold flowers adorning the sides. We couldn’t take our eyes off it, and we’re sure you won’t be able to either. Alexandra’s Florist did just the most amazing job.

Claire looked like an A-lister in her glamorous Enzoani gown, surrounded by her best gals in picture-perfect floral, flowing dresses.

The details, love and joy of the day were all captured by the expert eye of photographer Jordanna Marston, who really brought the camera-shy couple out of their shell to create a spread of sublime shots, while the romantic trailer below was created by none other than wonderful STG Recommended Vendor, the one and only Denee Motion.

We’ll leave you in Claire’s capable hands for the full writeup – we hope you enjoy this visual feast of a wedding, and that it warms you all up too!

How we met

Claire, the bride: We met on Tinder in 2013 and it just grew from there.

A Maggie Sottero Bride for a Jewish Wedding with a Living Tree Chuppah at Micklefield Hall, UK

27/11/2017 by Karen

Hold up – press pause on your day, put down that deadline for a minute (I know, we’re terrible influences) and take some proper time to appreciate the utter gorgeousness that is Becky and Adam’s Jewish wedding!

We thought we’d seen every chuppah design out there, but a living-tree chuppah, adorned with friends’ and family’s blessings and wishes for the couple’s future is such an awesome, unique idea. There are so many incredible hidden gems at their venue, Micklefield Hall, but Becky and Adam were the first couple to get married underneath that tree, making their own mark on the venue’s story.

To say Becky and Adam did things their way would be an understatement – they did things their way, and then some.

We LOVE that bride Becky stayed true to herself, even when under pressure, and went with her own beeeeautiful minimalist makeup look. Becky did so with the confidence that, in the words of the couple’s wonderful photographers, Adam and Hannah, “the best photos are of a happy bride”. And right they were – Becky’s happiness and ease with herself glows through in the stunning spread of wedding pictures Adam and Hannah provided.

Becky’s detailed Maggie Sottero gown also looked like a dream on her, and was a perfect fit for the rustic, boho-style aesthetic of the day as a whole.

The couple opted for a really personalized Jewish ceremony, with both bride and groom smashing a glass. We are SO here for that, and it’s a prime example of how Jewish customs don’t have to be antiquated. You can absolutely make them your own and construct a ceremony that works with your own values.

THREE of our incredible Recommended Vendors were involved with this love-filled big day. The ketubah was lovingly made by Ink With Intent, wedding band The White Keys rocked the reception and videographer Moon & Back made the cinematic, heartfelt wedding video below, which you simply MUST watch!

There’s so much more to say about this breathtaking day, we haven’t even had time to touch on the divine dà©cor, but we’d be going on forever, so we’ll pass you over to Becky, and Adam, for the full report.

How we met

Becky, the bride: We met when we both lived in Moishe House London, a home-based community for Jewish young adults. I interviewed Adam to live in the house and it went from there…
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Yvonne & Craig’s rustic chic, beautifully personal Jewish wedding at Micklefield Hall, Hertfordshire ,UK

15/11/2016 by Karen

Some weddings are a feast for the eyes — some are a treat for the heart. And some weddings are beautifully both! Yvonne and Craig’s contemporary rustic chic wedding at Micklefield Hall in Hertfordshire, UK, shot by our inimitably talented Smashing Supplier Laura Babb, was a beautiful blend of eye-catching dà©cor and eye-dabbing personal detail.

Bride Yvonne, who recently converted to Judaism, works in design and boy can you tell. The wedding was dotted with perfectly pulled together design details; a colour scheme in soft blush pinks and whites, rustic ladders, chalkboards featuring gorgeous typography, a naked Victoria sponge — and then there was that stationery.

Yvonne took on the brave and loving task of designing and creating her whole stationery suite: from her box-set themed table signage to the 150 lovingly handcrafted (and hand gilded) invitations received by her guests.

Oh, and adorable favour idea alert: Yvonne and Craig treated each guest to a hand-decorated personalised mini bottle of pink champagne and stripy straw so they could be enjoyed during the festivities. How cute is that?

Yvonne and Craig’s big-hearted wedding also involved some astoundingly touching personal details, including a framed photograph of Yvonne’s late mother, which took pride of place during the ceremony. Yvonne and her father made the chuppah together from materials from both sides of the family, and don’t even get me started on the lovely personalised gift that Yvonne sent to Craig on the morning of the wedding…

I hope you love staring at this divine, detail-laden dream as much as I did — and make sure you check out the quirky and cool Marryoke video at the end? What’s that, you ask? I won’t ruin it for you. Enjoy!

How We Met

Yvonne, the bride: Craig and I met in a pub in Islington after Craig walked over to me and announced that he ‘had to introduce himself’! Craig played it very cool after that and waited another three weeks until he asked me out on our first date. We have been together for six years now and have made some incredible memories together. I decided to convert to Judaism a couple of years ago and although it was extremely hard work, it really was the most incredible experience and really brought me and Craig even closer together. Craig was a great support and spent hours helping me to revise and learn all the Jewish customs he was familiar with.