Rachel Simpson Archives - Smashing the Glass

An Enzoani Bride for an Interfaith Jewish Wedding with Tons of Creative Touches at Offley Place, Great Offley, Hitchin, Hertfordshire UK

30/08/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s always a special day when we get to blog the big day of one of our beloved Smashing the Glass Brides Club members, and Shelley’s gorgeous interfaith Jewish wedding is no exception. She and groom and Chris not only crafted an ultra-personal celebration full of creative touches, they used some of our very favourite vendors to pull it off too!

First and foremost, we love that the bride, who’s Jewish, and the groom, who isn’t, chose to work with the wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rabbi Paul Glantz (who they found right here on Smashing The Glass!) to craft an individual Jewish blessing that truly reflected the pair as a couple – complete with a lovely floral ketubah reflecting their theme of rustic elegance from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubata.

This wedding is just so full of love and emotion, perfectly captured by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rafe Abrook in the exquisite photos. And speaking of photos, we love that Shelley and Chris gave each table an ‘Instagram Challenge’ to complete, with instructions like ‘your whole table must take a photo that recreates a famous movie scene’ – what a great way to get everyone involved and socializing, right?!

Lovely Shelley could not have looked more radiant on the day, and we’re in love with her gorgeous bridal beauty look from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Makeup by Katy. Between the beautiful makeup and perfect gown from Enzoani, it’s no wonder she felt like a princess all day!

And we love that Shelley and Chris worked with the wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Abby Taubman of Colletts Travel to plan their fab honeymoon to Singapore, Bali and Hong Kong.

We so loved having Shelley in Brides Club and helping her along as she planned this amazing day – if you’re planning a Jewish or Jew-ish wedding of your own and could use a little support, guidance, community, referrals to great vendors, or anything else you can think of that will help make your day the very best it can be – do sign up for your free 30-day trial and join us!

Now over to Shelley…

offley place hotel jewish wedding hester ballroom hertfordshire wedding_0047

How we met

Shelley and Chris, the bride and the groom: It’s Chris writing this part! Shelley and I are teachers, as you probably would have guessed from all the crafty things we incorporated into the wedding! We met training on our PGCE, where I knew that she was the one I was going to ask to be my wife. 6 years, two houses and one cat later, we are now Mr and Mrs Amoss ☺

A Pronovias Bride for a Colorful Jewish Wedding With a Stunning Chuppah at The Berkeley, Knightsbridge, London, UK

16/02/2018 by Karen

Natasha and Barry’s Jewish London wedding was all about color – and boy did they go all out! The stunning chuppah, created by extraordinary florist, Amie Bone, made an incredible centerpiece for the entire celebration.

The wedding was held after Shabbat on Saturday night, Israeli style, and was a full-on family affair, with everybody close to the couple playing an important role in the big day.

Beautiful bride Natasha looked simply incredible in her Pronovias gown, which was purchased at the 11th hour with a lot of help from the wonderful staff at Bridal Rogue Gallery. You’d never know there was behind-the-scenes dress drama, as Natasha looked like a dream!

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor and world-renowned kosher caterer, Food Story, outdid themselves with what can only be described as a sumptuous feast, complete with desserts with a little something extra…

Photographers Reportage Gallery captured all the action of the day and the wonderful writeup below was provided by bride Natasha, who we’ll hand you over to now! Take it away, Natasha!

How we met

Natasha, the bride: After dating for just under a year and a half, Barry proposed in Paris under the Eiffel Tower — no clichà©s at all! Without me knowing, he’d been planning this for a few months and had even bought a beautiful ring, made for me, which luckily fit!
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A Bright and Beautiful Family-Oriented Jewish Wedding With a Homemade Chuppah at St Andrew’s Scottish Guesthouse in Jerusalem, Israel

01/12/2017 by Karen

It’s no secret that we LOVE an Israeli wedding – but there’s something about a wedding in Jerusalem that is particularly spine tingling. Jerusalem is the beating, living, bustling heart of the country, and means so much to so many religions and cultures. It’s also absolutely divine, with an energy like nowhere else, and a beauty that is really hard to describe in words – to get married there is something truly special.

Ronee and Lior’s Jewish wedding took place at St Andrew’s Scottish Guesthouse. There’s something really brilliant about the idea of a little slice of Scotland in the Middle East, and for bride, Ronee, it was the perfect little nod to her British background.

We were bowled over by the happy couple’s self-made chuppah. Every element of it had deep, personal meaning, including groom Lior’s family crest in the center, and friends and family were also involved in contributing squares with their own symbol for the bride and groom. This is such a gorgeous idea, and they pulled it off magnificently.

Bride Ronee looked absolutely beautiful in her two wedding dresses, and stunning braided up ‘do – simply breathtaking – we’re sure there will be a fair few brides Pinning her style!

We’re also pretty sure you’re going to want to steal the couple’s unique mirror ‘reveal’, a great idea for personalizing for the traditional badeken, and the brainchild of fabulous photographer, Larry Brandt Photography who expertly captured the gorgeous big day.

Hannah Larkin Photography was also on hand to capture some truly sensational images, and there were also SO many unique touches and flourishes – the very Israeli flower station trend juxtaposed with a fantastically fun, and very British, game of wedding bingo, that really made the night – oh and illuminated balloons on the dance floor! Fantastic!

Groom Lior was so instrumental in the wedding planning that friends joked he should be on Don’t Tell the Bride, while bride Ronee made a speech. This gets ALL the thumbs up from us!

It’s Ronee’s turn as our latest STG bride to take over the blog for a post, so we’ll leave you in her capable hands. Take it away, Ronee!

A venue reflecting both backgrounds

Ronee, the bride: We got married in the grounds of the St Andrew’s Scottish Guesthouse in Jerusalem, on the top of what is known as the ‘Bible Hill’. We wanted a wedding venue which reflected our geographical backgrounds (I’m from the UK; Lior is from Israel). My favorite place in the UK is the quiet, beautiful and historical land of Scotland. The Scottish Guesthouse therefore seemed a fitting place to get married!

There were also some practical considerations – we got married in July and wanted the wedding outdoors and we didn’t want to risk the humidity and heat of Tel Aviv. This decision was the right one, as there was a heatwave in early July, so we were very happy to be in Jerusalem!

The Guesthouse is a mini castle in Jerusalem with a beautiful terrace with a stunning view over the old city. We had the chuppah on the terrace overlooking the walls of the old city.

Our fantastic lighting supplier, Ofer, made the castle and garden look beautiful in the night with romantic and atmospheric lighting; each light was perfectly colored and positioned to create a unique atmosphere. This worked brilliantly!

We were very lucky, as on the evening of our wedding there was a light show on the walls of the old city, which was part of the light festival of Jerusalem. We also managed to accommodate our 60 foreign guests at the Guesthouse, so they didn’t have to go far after the wedding! Everyone loved staying at the Guesthouse (including us!). It was immaculately clean and comfortable. The staff were all so friendly and accommodating and we look forward to returning next year for a holiday.

Debbie & Eyal | A Jewish Turkish lovebird-themed wedding, filled with colour, at The HAC (Honourable Artillery Company), London, UK

01/09/2015 by Karen

It absolutely makes my day when I read that the couple who’s real wedding I’m putting together found their photographer via Smashing The Glass. That’s exactly what Debbie and Eyal did in order to discover the amazing Marianne Chua — and oh my goodness, aren’t Marianne images awesome?

Debbie and Eyal chose a really unusual theme… birds! They both adore our feathered friends so weaved them into their wedding stationery, their guestbooks, on top of their wedding cake, into their ‘nest’-style table centrepieces, and even as dancing props later on in the evening! Such an unexpected theme and so well-executed.

Not surprisingly with Debbie working in events, and Eyal being a theatre lighting designer, there’s a whole heap of personality and creativity flowing throughout the day. From the wedding logo of two birds, sketched by the bride, to their super fun wedding website, to the surprise song and dance performed by friends, to the highly personalised Jewish wedding ceremony punctuated by musical interludes, this W-Day is overflowing with individuality and character.

Debbie’s report is longer than average, there’s no denying it but it’s well worth an in-depth read. Perhaps gawp at the emotive imagery and then come back later for a proper sit down. I’ll admit that parts of Debbie’s report brought me to tears. It’s brilliantly written, straight from the heart, and she gives some of the best advice I’ve ever heard from a bride at the end of the post. An absolute must-read.

By pure coincidence, I also had the pleasure of meeting Debbie in the run-up to her wedding when I was giving a talk at Brides The Show last year. After the talk she came over for a chat to ask my advice on her big day. One of the things she wanted to know was how she could come up with an idea for a meaningful chuppah design. Well, without wanting to pat myself on the back, I must have said something right, as what Debbie and Eyal came up with couldn’t have been more perfect. It’s a great example of how your chuppah canopy can be one of the most meaningful and personal elements of your wedding day. I’ll let Debbie divulge the details — it’s so very special.

Oh, and the wedding film at the end of the post, by The Dreamcatchers is an absolute must-see too. So much love and happiness oozes out of it, I literally found myself gazing at it thinking how lucky I am to be able to watch this breathtaking film as part of my job. Don’t miss it!

Ok lovely Debbie, take it away…

how we met

Debbie, the Bride: I was moving in with two friends, Alma and Shiri (my BridesMates!) who introduced me to Eyal. He helped us move into the flat actually. We were friends for a few months, and got together the day before he went off to South America for almost four months away. Timing! We thought we’d ‘pick up’ when he got back, but in fact we ended up Skype-ing, writing and essentially starting out as a couple. He returned in February 2013 and the rest was history.

Naomi & Michael | free spirited ‘Wedstival’ Jewish wedding in a field in Epping Forest, Essex, UK

17/03/2015 by Karen

Now this folks, this is how you do a ‘Wedstival’ wedding. Naomi and Michael have, in my opinion, only gone and nailed the most perfect laid back, fun-filled outdoor field wedding with a real festival vibe. There’s a Volkswagen Beetle photo booth, super sized balloons, wild flowers galore, madcap crazy Jewish dancing, a surprise speech by the bride especially for her groom, and a tent village for the glamping guests.

One of my favourite details from the wedding has to be Naomi’s bouquet made entirely of brooches. I’ve never seen anything like it before, and it’s such a heart-warming and impactful idea. Naomi told me. “I asked all the women to give me a brooch but didn’t tell them why and then used them in my bouquet. This meant all the women were walking down the aisle with me. I also used a couple of brooches from my grandmas, which was nice as they are no longer with us.”

This is one of those weddings that radiates a wholesome warmth that I can never seem to put into words. There’s just so much love, and it’s all been captured perfcetly by the super talented Adam and Hannah Photography making their debut on Smashing The Glass. Don’t miss the wonderful wedding film at the end of the post by One Wedding too. No matter what mood you’re in, I guarantee you’ll feel totally uplifted after watching it!

Naomi and Michael met on the first day university and had been together for 8 years when they got married. They have written their wedding report together.