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A Rosa Clará Bride for a Wedding Planner’s Traditional Jewish Wedding with a Twist at The Langham, London, UK

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We always love seeing what choices Jewish wedding pros make when it comes to planning their own big day – so naturally we’re thrilled to be featuring the wedding of Lara, the wedding planner behind Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Uptown Events! She and Grant, a data analyst, had the most fabulous London Jewish wedding at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Langham, one of the city’s most iconic venues.

Having worked on so many incredible weddings, Lara had lots of time to think about what she’d want to do for her own – which was honoring tradition while bringing in some original twists. One of these twists was the color scheme: rather than leaning into classic white, Lara opted for a palette focused on soft pinks with touches of green – and was it ever gorgeous! We’re especially enamored with Lara and Grant’s stunner of a floral chuppah – don’t miss it in the incredible photos by Katie Rogers!

We also love the fun culinary touches the dessert-loving couple brought to their wedding menu. Instead of a wedding cake, they opted for a giant tiramisu – and there was also a crumble bar, where guests could mix and match between different fruit bases and crumble toppings. How good does that sound?! And if that wasn’t enough, they had not one but two roaming desserts: a chocolate mousse trolley and a doughnut belt!

There are so many more fun details – everything from the way the couple included their beloved dog in the day via an AI cartoon image they used on custom matchboxes to the Picante tower the tequila-loving duo dreamed up instead of the classic Champagne version – but we’ll leave it to Lara, who looked so elegant in her beautiful lace gown by Rosa Clará, to tell you the rest…

How We Met

Lara, the bride: We met at secondary school when we were 18!

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A Rosa Clará a Greek-Jewish Wedding at Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK

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Esmé and Luke, Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK

We love an English countryside wedding, and Esmé and Luke’s is really something special. Bury Court Barn in Surrey provided the most charming venue for the couple’s fabulous Greek-Jewish wedding, complete with a gorgeous spot for an outdoor chuppah; overnight accommodations for family and friends; and even an in-house florist, Arboretum, that created natural florals that melded perfectly with the surroundings. Don’t miss it in the beautiful documentary-style photography by Richard Galloway.  

We also love the way Esmé and Luke combined their Jewish and Greek backgrounds for a one-of-a-kind celebration. The pair opted for a bespoke Jewish ceremony under a chuppah, making sure it was fully inclusive for those who had never been to a Jewish wedding before. Their rabbi explained each element of the ceremony so that everyone could be involved and understand what was happening at each point. Then, after the ceremony and yichud, Esmé and Luke kicked off the reception with a hora – and ended the night with Greek Zorba dancing!

Now over to Esmé, who’ll fill you in on all the rest…

Esmé and Luke, Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK Esmé and Luke, Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK Esmé and Luke, Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK Esmé and Luke, Bury Court Barn, Farnham, Surrey, UK

How We Met

Esmé, the bride: We met over Hinge. Esmé works in the arts and Luke is in technology, so with (very different) but busy schedules it took us a while to meet in person!

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A Rosa Clara Bride for a Laidback Hampstead-Meets-Haifa Jewish Wedding at Home in London, UK

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Natasha-Coren-family-residence-UK

We love it when a couple does their Jewish wedding, their way – and that describes Natasha and Coren’s wedding to a T! Opting to wed at the bride’s family home in Hampstead, London, these two did away with the usual formal seated dinner in favor of a chill evening party featuring comfy sofas, open fires, and big sharing tables for people to sit at between the dancing. Don’t miss the super cool setup in the photos by David Pullum!

In Natasha’s words, structuring their wedding this way “gave a relaxed, organic, authentic energy to the evening, people could move around and speak to who they wanted” – and it was such a hit their friends are now asking to borrow the idea! This is such a great reminder that your wedding can be whatever you want it to be – you don’t need to do things that don’t feel authentic to the two of you, just because they’re “the done thing.”

We also love that Natasha and Coren worked with a number of fabulous Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their wedding the smashing success it was. Their planner, Joe of #STGvendor Goodnight Events, perfectly understood the couple’s style and vision, and helped them manage family dynamics and competing priorities throughout the planning process. #STGvendor Dvash handled catering, serving up Ottolenghi-style sharing dishes so utterly delicious that “people were shocked it was kosher!” And #STGvendor Denee Motion was responsible for Natasha and Coren’s exquisite videography.

There’s so much more to say about this beautiful Jewish wedding, but we’ll leave it to Natasha – who looked radiant in Rosa Clara – to fill you in on the rest…


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How we Met

Natasha, the bride: In 2017, I was living in Edinburgh after having recently graduated there. Coming home to London one September I wanted to meet someone Jewish so switched on J-Swipe. Coren and I started chatting and arranged to meet when I was next in London. So, that December, Coren asked if I wanted to meet him for a drink on Christmas Eve. Politely declining, because I’d already planned to go to a party at KOKO that night, I told him, I’d be happy to meet him on Boxing Day instead.

Christmas eve rolled around and in the middle of KOKO, we locked eyes 2 metres away from each other on the dance floor. A couple of seconds later, he came up to me and said “Hey Natasha, we’re meant to be going on a date in two days, but why don’t we start now?” And that was it! We still met on Boxing Day, which turned out to be our second date.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Rosa Clara Bride for an Elegant Ballroom Jewish Wedding at the Kimpton Fitzroy London, UK

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Chloe & Mike, Kimpton Fitzroy London, London, UK

There’s nothing like that feeling when a couple teams up with some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to craft an absolutely jawdroppingly stellar Jewish wedding – which is exactly what our Brides Club member Chloe, a senior internal account manager for an IT reseller, and Mike, who works as a group management accountant for a pharmaceutical company, did!

First off, these two opted to make it official at one of our most beloved London venues, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kimpton Fitzroy London in Russell Square. After taking one look at the hotel’s exquisite ballroom, they knew it was the spot for them – and scrolling through their beautiful photos by David Pullum Photography, can you blame them?!

Kimpton Fitzroy London is known not only for its dreamy interiors but also for its top-notch customer service, and indeed Chloe and Mike can’t stop raving about how amazing the events team was through the planning process – which included not one but two COVID postponements!

We’re delighted to report that the couple found a whole bunch of their other vendors through Brides Club – including fabulous videographer Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion and swoonworthy florist Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alexandra’s Florist. Speaking of Alexandra’s Florist – she’s the one responsible for the pair’s lush floral ketubah in shades of green and white, and how perfect is it?!

Chloe and Mike also opted to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Adam Nathan Catering, Kimpton Fitzroy London’s kosher-style catering partner, who was “a dream to work with” – and whose food is still getting rave reviews from guests!

Finally, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Toastmaster Jango “took care of absolutely everything on the day,” – so much so that one of Chloe’s top recs to engaged couples is to book yourselves a toastmaster of your own!

There’s so much more to be said about this wonderful day, but we’ll let Chloe – who looked positively ravishing in Rosa Clara – fill you in on the rest…

Chloe & Mike, Kimpton Fitzroy London, London, UKChloe & Mike, Kimpton Fitzroy London, London, UKChloe & Mike, Kimpton Fitzroy London, London, UKChloe & Mike, Kimpton Fitzroy London, London, UK
How We Met

Chloe, the bride: Mike and I met all the way back in 2014 on a well-known dating app…(Tinder!). I had just graduated university and wasn’t looking for anything too serious, but when we met we just clicked. We are two totally different people! He’s very relaxed and chilled, and I’m the other end of the spectrum but somehow it works wonderfully!

We did long (ish) distance for over 4 years, with Mike living in Essex and me in Hertfordshire. The first few years were tough, with us only seeing each other twice a month. In 2018, Mike made the move to Hertfordshire where he rented a room in a house (on the same road as my parents) which made it so much easier from then on. It was that same year Mike came to me with the idea that he wanted to convert to Judaism, something that we had previously discussed but I never pressured him into. Having already had Jewish ancestry on his father’s side, it was something he was passionate about and wanted to realign his roots. After 18 months of conversion classes and shul on Saturday mornings, Mike converted at Radlett Reform Synagogue . It meant so much more to us standing under the chuppah on our wedding day, knowing that all his hard-work and dedication led us to that special moment, and I will forever cherish that.

We now live together in our house in Borehamwood, with our gorgeous rescue dog Rose! Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Rosa Clara Bride for a Country Chic Jewish Wedding at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, UK

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Jewish wedding The Old Swan Hotel Harrogate UK_0037
We’ve seen some pretty cute table plans, but today’s Jewish wedding has got one of the very best: tangerines! Yes, bride Emma (who just happens to be a dietitian — how perfect, right?!) and groom Joseph (a citrus-living lawyer) had the clever idea to pin a paper “leaf” with each guest’s name and table number on one piece of fruit, and it was just the most adorable thing.

And that’s just one of the wonderful, personal touches these two incorporated into their wedding day in beautiful Harrogate, North Yorkshire, perfectly captured by Ruthless Images. There’s the quintessentially Yorkshire venue, the modern chuppah adorned with asymmetrical florals, the smoking shots served to guests on the dance floor (!) — and that’s just for starters.

The simple dark wooden frame was dressed with an asymmetrical floral design. Loose tendrils of soft ruscus and ivy trailed down.

Now over to Emma, who looked so classically elegant in Rosa Clara…


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How we met

Emma, the bride: Joe and I started dating after we sat next to each other on the plane on the way to our gap year, seats were allocated alphabetically — Emma Coupland was sat next to Joseph Davis! Seven years later Joe proposed to me with the help of my family dog (Joe put the ring on his collar!). It was adorable, my favourite boys together!

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