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A Maggie Sottero Bride for an Autumnal Rustic Jewish Wedding with a Joint Speech at The Brewery, London, UK

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We love an autumnal Jewish wedding – and Londoners Rebz and Ben had one of the very best! Rebz, a senior product designer, and Ben, a freelance video editor, love their home city and didn’t want to wed anywhere else. And they found the absolute perfect venue in Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Brewery, right in the heart of the City.

The Brewery ticked all the couple’s boxes – it accommodated their 200-person guest list, was easy for everyone to get to, and fit Rebz and Ben’s brief for a cool industrial aesthetic. And the property’s history was perfectly suited to Ben’s love of beer, as a bonus!

The pair let their wedding date dictate the décor, with autumnal burnt oranges, leafy greens, dark reds, and natural hessians for an urban rustic vibe. David Pullum Photography captured all the detail and emotion of the day exquisitely, and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Michael Pearl Films crafted the duo’s ultra-moving wedding video.

One thing we love is that Rebz and Ben opted to do a joint speech! In Rebz’s words,  “Ben was not keen on doing a speech on his own, he hates public speaking and I’ve never understood why it’s always just the men that get to share stories. I absolutely loved doing a speech together and without blowing my own trumpet, I’ve had lots of people mention to me how much they loved it too.” What a fab idea!

We’ll let the bride take it from here…

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How We Met

Rebecca, the bride: We met on JSwipeContinue ReadingContinue Reading

A Gemy Maalouf Bride for a Jewish Wedding Inspired by Italy at Loseley Park, Guildford, Surrey, UK

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Get ready to be blown away by the seriously stunning Jewish wedding of Jessica and Ross. The pair, who live in Surrey, initially wanted to get married on Lake Garda in Italy, but opted to stay closer to home due to the uncertainty of the pandemic.

In the end, they put together a one-of-a-kind wedding at Guildford’s Loseley Park that combined the very best of English countryside chic and Italian glam, and we are OBSESSED. From naming all our tables after favorite towns around Lake Garda, to playing Italian classical music, to serving Aperol Spritz followed by a four-course Italian meal for dinner, the Italian theme carried through the day.

Even Jessica’s exquisite gown stuck to the Italian theme: with the help of the wonderful team at beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror Bridal, she made it official in the ‘Capri’ gown by designer Gemy Maalouf, which she knew was the one even before she got engaged! The dress, featuring a V-Neck, A-Line style and plenty of intricate beading and 3D flowers, was an absolute knockout – and Shamel at Mirror Mirror Bridal “was an absolute angel in turning the dress into ‘my’ dress.” Don’t miss it in the luminous pics by Meg from Wild Fern Photography!

Another thing we love is that in lieu of a traditional gift list, Jessica and Ross set up a contribution found for their honeymoon with Prezola, since they didn’t need anything for their home but dreamed of an amazing honeymoon (they’re going to Thailand in January!) and loved the idea of having their family and friends be a part of it.

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll let Jessica take it from here…


How we Met

Jessica, the bride: We met on Tinder almost 7 years ago in December 2015. It was the time between Christmas and New Year so were both bored at home with nothing to do so happened to be swiping. A couple of days after we matched, we met on a typical London rainy night on London Bridge. As we lived on opposite ends of London – Ross being in south London and me living in north-west London, it seemed like the only suitable place between us.

We walked along the Thames in the pouring rain trying to find somewhere to have a drink. I remember Ross ordering a vodka and diet coke and was horrified, but he still managed to charm me. (Now we can happily share a bottle of wine together, I’ve taught him well!) We spent the whole night talking, not wanting it to come to an end. We met again for our second date just two days later and have been inseparable ever since. We haven’t gone one day without speaking to each other since that first date.

We fell in love over a shared passion for good food, love of dogs, and travel. I certainly wasn’t a sports enthusiast, but we quickly fell in love nevertheless.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Hayley Paige Bride for a Romantic Jewish Wedding at Villa Oliva, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

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What a wedding! If you’ve ever fantasized about jetting off to Tuscany to get married, the exquisite Jewish wedding of Stephanie and Dan, who did just that, is going to knock your socks off. In fact, it’ll probably do that even the thought of a Tuscan wedding has never even crossed your mind!

The couple’s wonderful planner, Michelle Jacobs of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante By Michelle J, took all the pressure out of planning while making sure the big day was as elegant, romantic, joyful, and memorable as it could possible be. And she connected the couple with their amazing roster of vendors!

Truly, these two used so many of the very best out there, from the amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Totem – who Stephanie and Dan flew over from London because they wanted to make sure their big day featured some EPIC Israeli dancing, and if you know Totem you know they get the party going like no one else – to mega-talented stationer Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bigday Designs (love the stationery suite they came up with!) to a gift list with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Prezola.

Photographer David Bastianoni and videographer Federico of Waterfall Visuals both captured the day so beautifully, and we love that they were committed as to capturing the love between the couple – including lots of sweet casual moments – as to featuring the beautiful setting and décor (looking at you, floral chuppah!).

If you’re wondering how you can make your wedding as awesome as Stephanie and Dan’s, don’t miss our Facebook Live with none other than Michelle Jacobs herself, all about creating an ultra-memorable experience for your guests. It’s happening this Thursday, March 5, at 7:30 PM GMT / 2:30 PM EST / 11:30 PST, right on the Smashing The Glass Facebook Page.

But for now, we’re going to turn you over to the lovely Stephanie, who looked simply ravishing in Hayley Paige…

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Venue

Stephanie, the bride: We got married in Villa Oliva, near Lucca in Tuscany. I’ve always dreamed of having a romantic wedding abroad and, luckily, Dan saw the appeal. We picked Tuscany because we both love Italy – from the food and wine to the art, landscape and scenery.

Dan and I are both nature lovers, so the idea of getting married in a Tuscan garden really appealed to us. The venue we chose had several gorgeous gardens surrounding the villa and we fell in love.

We also wanted each area of the party to be a surprise for the guests, so we got married at the front of the villa; had the drinks reception behind the villa; and dinner and dancing was held in a large garden slightly further away from the property. The front of the villa had a beautiful grotto, which was the perfect backdrop for the chuppah.

We were very grateful for the support of our family and friends flying out to celebrate our special day with us. The guests were able to get to know each other at the welcome party and by the pool, so everyone was friendly at the main event. It felt like a big holiday!

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Gifts That Won’t Cost Your Guests a Penny: Social Gifting with Prezola

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I’m so excited to share a new wedding list innovation from our friends at Prezola, the UK’s leading wedding registry, and the only gift list service in the UK we hand on heart recommend. I think we’d all agree that the best gifts don’t always cost money, and Prezola’s found a fantastic way to facilitate gifting the precious resource of time.

That’s why I think you’re going to love social gifting, which allows you to register for meaningful experiential gifts that don’t need to cost guests a penny. Now, in addition to traditional gifts from hundreds of retailers, a honeymoon fund, cash contributions, and charity donations, Prezola’s enabling your guests to promise to do something, not just buy something, to commemorate your special day.

WHAT ARE SOCIAL PROMISES?

Prezola’s Social Promises can be anything close to your heart — you can choose from a selection of pre-created promises, or create your own.

Whether it’s volunteering at a charity that’s meaningful to you, helping you move house, or looking after your pet while you’re on honeymoon, you can create and add Social Promises to your gift list just like any other gift, completely free of charge.

Social Promises put the focus of gift-giving squarely on sharing time and experiences with loved ones. It’s also a great way to reduce the pressure for guests to spend a lot on attending your wedding — such a win-win.

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A Pronovias Bride for a Tuscany-in-London Jewish Wedding at The Brewery, London, UK

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It’s not every day one of our beautiful blogging brides gets married — and at one of our very favorite London venues, no less! Everything about the Jewish wedding of Charlotte, (a much-loved member of our Brides Club for Jewish Brides) and James is pure #weddinggoals.

Not that you can really go wrong when you get married at Smashing The Glass Recommended Venue The Brewery. Though the location could hardly be more central, this is not your run-of-the-mill London venue — with its flexible spaces and vintage architectural touches like exposed brick walls, wood-beamed ceilings, The Brewery somehow manages to have a ton of character while also serving as an amazing canvas for wedding dreams of all stripes.

Like, for instance, recreating an outdoor Tuscan wedding indoors in London. Sounds impossible, right? But with the help of long banquet tables, romantic lighting, and seriously elegant florals  (how cool is the high/low tabletop dà©cor scheme?!) we think these two managed to pull it off. Be sure to take it all in via Adam and Hannah’s exquisite documentary-style photos and AT Motion’s stellar videography.

There’s so much more good stuff about this awesome wedding, from the fact that Charlotte and James used one of our Smash Glass pouches to the espresso martini syringe shots they served on the dancefloor to keep everyone’s dancing energy up to the fact that the couple registered with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Prezola… but we’ll leave the rest of it to the bride, who looked so classically elegant in her Pronovias gown.

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How We Met

Charlotte, the bride: I met James through a mutual friend nearly four years ago, before going on a night out to none other than Ministry of Sound. We really hit it off and have been inseparable ever since.

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