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A Caroline Castigliano Bride for a Super Stylish Jewish Wedding with Shabbat Dinner Vibes at Kin House, Wiltshire, UK

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Ben and Lauren, Kin House, Wiltshire, UK

We are totally and completely obsessed with Lauren and Ben’s super stylish Jewish wedding. Their vision for the big day was modern countryside with Shabbat dinner vibes – how awesome is that?!

Kin House in Wiltshire, England, with its combination of classic country exterior and quirky, modern interior, was the perfect setting for the celebration – and the couple’s fabulous florist, Sarah of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Way to Bloom, put together the most exquisite arrangements (not to mention a stunner of a chuppah) that added Lauren and Ben’s unique stamp to the space.

In Lauren’s words,

We both agree that Sarah and her floral arrangements, were the highlight of our wedding. Sarah doesn’t know the word “no” — she was always ready to try a new idea, offer some advice, and take charge where needed. We are forever grateful to her and her expertise for making our wedding shine, and we are lucky to still consider her a friend to this day.

For their band, Lauren and Ben chose another amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, The White Keys. Their 8-piece band – including both a saxophonist and an electric violinist – kept the dance floor packed all night (including an epic 12-minute hora!).

Lauren and Ben’s wedding day fell on Shabbat, and we love the fact that they wanted their wedding breakfast to feel like a giant Shabbat dinner. The couple lit the candles, their rabbi led the blessings, and they even had a challah tug-of-war! Spoiler: Lauren won. Don’t miss it in the incredible photos by Natalie J Weddings and video by John Taylor Films.

We’ll let Lauren fill you in on the rest…

Ben and Lauren, Kin House, Wiltshire, UK Ben and Lauren, Kin House, Wiltshire, UK Ben and Lauren, Kin House, Wiltshire, UK Ben and Lauren, Kin House, Wiltshire, UK

How We Met

Lauren, the bride: We met on a dating app in 2020. Fun fact – after our first date, I called my mom and told her, “I met my husband!”

Ben proposed in Dulwich Park in October 2022. A truly special place for us both, it reminds us both of Central Park in NYC, which is where I lived before moving to London and Ben spent a lot of time as well. We always called the bridge in Dulwich Park our “happy place” so it was fitting to get engaged there.

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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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Chelm & Jake | Uber cool Jewish Wedding at the Doodle Bar + Testbed1, Battersea, London

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cool-london-wedding
I promise that what you’re about to see is truly epic. This folks is how to do a super cool, super fun, superfly wedding.

There are so many things that I love about this W-day that I’d be here until midnight listing them all, but I’ll just mention Los Desterrados playing ‘The Final Countdown‘ in the synagogue; pornstar martinis and chilli martinis as the cocktails of choice in the reception; an after-party stretching until sunrise, a Jenny Packham bride with her Vivienne Westwood groom… and I’ll stop now. You just need to see it.
Chelm and Jake
Chelm and Jake
Chelm and Jake
And as fabulous as this wedding is, some of my favourite elements are the way in which Chelm and Jake personalised their Jewish ceremony — in particular what they did with their Sheva Brachot, and also their spin on the traditional circling of the groom.

They chose the Doodle Bar in Battersea (don’t you think it’s one of the best venue websites you’ve ever seen?) for their reception. It’s housed in an old dairy in Battersea, on the banks of the Thames and the adjoining space, Testbed1, where the party continued, is normally used as an arts venue. It’s an incredible warehouse space that Chelm and Jake and their very creative friends decorated with real pizazz and flair. I’ll let Jake continue with all the details – yes it’s our cooler-than-a polar-bear’s-toenails  groom reporting the wedding today! He’s a real character – we need more groom wedding reports!

The photography is phenomenal and it’s by our newest Smashing Supplier and STG favourite, Blake Ezra Photography.

Chelm and Jake
Chelm and Jake Chelm and Jake Chelm and Jake Chelm and Jake Chelm and Jake Chelm and Jake
VENUE

Jake, the groom: Friends of ours own Doodle Bar in Battersea and I’d visited the place several months previously and thought it was very cool – a bit of East London in Battersea! I asked my friend if there was any chance that it would make a workable wedding venue, and to my delight, he said yes – they’d already done a lot of parties there.

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