Paul Toeman Photography Archives - Smashing the Glass

Real Jewish Bride: Sarah on a Chrismukkah Miracle

17/12/2020 by Smashing The Glass

Sarah will be marrying Rich on 20th June 2021 at Tikitano Beach, Marbella, Spain. Click here to read all Sarah’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) Sarah knew Rich was the one when he brought a gift of dog treats for her toy poodle Nuala along to their fourth date! (2) They are crafting an amazing destination wedding weekend in Marbella with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended vendor optimum weddings as their planner. (3) Sarah is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!

Since my last blog post a lot has happened! Last month I was busy co-ordinating with my wonderful wedding planner (and now boss!) Dyana to get a third backup date in place for June 2022. I wasn’t sure where we would be Covid wise, but I knew that with the number of new weddings and postponed ones, I didn’t want to leave getting our desired date in place to chance. All of our providers have afforded us incredible generosity and flexibility and I am enormously grateful for that.

Needless to say, I hoped and still do hope that this date is just a cautious formality. November really was a month filled with ups and downs, the world had some great news (a breath of fresh air for 2020) with the election of President Elect Joe Biden and in less exciting news, the UK was plunged into lockdown round two.

Real Jewish Bride: Sarah on a Covid-19 Silver Lining

22/10/2020 by Smashing The Glass

Sarah will be marrying Rich on 20th June 2021 at Tikitano Beach, Marbella, Spain. Click here to read all Sarah’s planning posts to date.

It has a been a while since I last blogged but I’m back! It has been quite the few months and I will be exploring that in my next blog. In the meantime, I thought it is a good time for some positivity because I think we could all do with it!

Last November, I finally secured my training contract after three law degrees and countless unsuccessful applications. I felt relieved that I had fulfilled my purpose having undertaken all my legal training. I was lucky enough to work with a group of really lovely people and make lifelong friends, I acquired a wealth of knowledge and was given many fantastic opportunities, I won the first case I worked on and I will always be grateful for this experience. To all extents and purposes, I was fulfilling my “dream” … or so I thought.

Real Jewish Bride: Sarah on The Wedding Day that wasn’t, and Looking Forward

01/07/2020 by Smashing The Glass

Sarah will be marrying Rich on 20th June 2021 at Tikitano Beach, Marbella, Spain. Click here to read all Sarah’s planning posts to date.

The Wedding Day That Wasn’t and the Wedding Day That Will Be

I always thought that when I wrote this blog post I would be bathing in the bliss of being a newlywed (perhaps with a hangover and sore feet!). However, I am writing it as an excited bride to be, filled with hope and positivity about my wedding day on June 20^th 2021.

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Modern Rustic Jewish Wedding at The Grove Hotel, Chandler’s Cross, Hertfordshire, UK

07/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s always a special day when we get to blog the real Jewish wedding of one of our wonderful Brides Club members, and today it’s Sami’s turn!.

Sami and Toby (#happilywebberafter) had the most wonderful big day, and we’re so thrilled to be able to share it with you. We’re also totally blushing at Sami’s kind words about the club:

“It was so heart-warming to have lots of lovely ladies around you sharing the build up and excitement. I feel like it is one big family and everyone wants the best for everyone else and their wedding!”

We think Brides Club is pretty special too – and the doors are open for new members to join (we now have almost 200 members!). Do come on in and join us too! If you’re planning a Jewish or Jew-ish wedding, it’s truly an incredible resource and community and we are offering 30 free days to every bride-to-be if you join before this Monday 11 June!

But back to Sami’s wonderful wedding – we’re pretty jazzed that she and Toby worked with so many of our very favourite UK-based Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, from the amazing Jonny Mosesson, who sang during the chuppah (and we totally agree with Sami’s description of him as having the voice of an angel!) to The Function Band, who created an electric atmosphere that kept everyone dancing from start to finish, and videographer Denee Motion, who not only captured the emotion and energy of the wedding so perfectly (don’t miss their trailer!) but also developed a wonderful friendship with the couple over the buildup to their wedding.

We’re thrilled that Sami had a fantastic experience shopping for her Monique Lhuillier gown at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club – she’d had a preventative double mastectomy prior to the wedding, so it wasn’t a given that wedding dress shopping would be smooth sailing. In fact, Sami’s experience was so wonderful that since the big day she’s left her old job in fashion buying to work for The Wedding Club, where she’s now store manager and runs operations for both of their London boutiques!

As joyful as this wedding was, the fact that Sami’s mum tragically passed away from cancer 5 and a half years prior cast a bittersweet shadow. We love that Toby bought Sami a locket with a photo of her mum to attach to her bouquet so they could still walk down the aisle together – what a meaningful touch.

There’s so much more to this fab celebration, but you’ll have to read Sami’s beautiful writeup (and immerse yourself in Paul Toeman’s wonderful photos) for the rest…

How we met

Sami, the bride: Toby and I met in a club in Birmingham, he was in his first year of university and I was on my gap year. We got on straight away, although at the time I was with somebody else. It started as an incredibly strong friendship, and after a year and a half (by which time my other relationship had ended), it turned into love, and we haven’t looked back since.

A Suzanne Neville Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, London, UK

13/05/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple really brings their skills and passions into their Jewish wedding – and Samantha and Alex did just that. The bride, a video editor by profession and lifelong music lover on the side, added THE most special, personal touches to her big day – teaming up with some of our very favourite London vendors to make it happen.

Given Samantha’s career, it’s no surprise she wanted only the best when it came to choosing a wedding videographer – and indeed, she opted for beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion. But instead of having her videography handle the whole business from start to finish, the team at Denee Motion handed their stunning footage over to Samantha and she edited it into her very own highlights film and wedding video – so special! (As if that’s not awesome enough, she also made a save-the-date video rather than sending out a standard paper note.)

This multitalented bride also happens to be an AMAZING singer, and she wanted to surprise Alex by performing at the wedding. She worked with the couple’s band, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Totem – who are just beyond awesome; in Samantha’s words, “watching them perform is like being at the greatest concert of your life” – to perform a song with Totem’s newly formed gospel choir. It made for such a special moment; please do scroll down and check out the video of her performance!

We love how photographer Paul Toeman captured all the emotion and energy of the day (and we’re totally obsessed with the post-wedding shoot he did of the couple wandering around London at midnight!). There’s lots more we could say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll let the bride – who looked smashing in Suzanne Neville – tell you the rest…

Oh… and one final detail – the groom’s mother is the the manager at my daughter’s much-loved nursery. Mazal Tov Tina and family!

How we met

Samantha, the bride: We met at 18, he moved into the same flat as one of my best friends when he was at university in Manchester. I went up to visit my friend Anthony and ended up speaking to Alex for 2 hours instead. Fast forward 7 years when I happened to join his gym and bumped straight into him, a couple weeks later we went on a 3 hour dog walk and the rest is history.