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A David’s Bride for an Interfaith Jewish Wedding with Tons of Personal Touches at Swynford Manor, Newmarket, UK

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We’re so thrilled to be sharing the beautiful wedding of our Brides Club member Charlotte to groom Adam! We so loved following Charlotte’s wedding planning journey in the group… and we’re so touched to hear she loved her time in the club just as much as we did!

In Charlotte’s words,

I loved being part of Brides Club. It is the most supportive community. There are so many resources, checklists and guides to read through to help you prioritise and make sure you haven’t forgotten anything major! There is support for the wins and when planning is difficult there is always someone in the group who completely understands what you are going through who can help you through it.

Awww! We’re so glad to hear it – and even gladder to see what an absolutely gorgeous wedding Charlotte and Adam planned! We love their focus on keeping the day relaxed and fun – for their guests, and for themselves. One of Charlotte’s coolest comfort-first moves has got to be her choice to wear her awesome bridal trainers for the whole day, rather than waiting til after the ceremony to change into them! Not that the trainers stopped her from looking totally glam, as you’ll see if you have a scroll through Point and Click Photography’s wonderful photos.

Charlotte, who’s Jewish, and Adam, who isn’t, also opted for modern English versions of the traditional Sheva Brachot, personalized to represent their love and hopes for their future life together – and they chose seven VIPs who read one blessing each.

We’re also crazy about the fact that these two had all kinds of fun touches like garden games (who doesn’t love a giant Connect 4?), and a doughnut wall (featuring flavors like Biscoff and pistachio!), and even a piñata – a surprise from Charlotte’s parents, designed to match the couple’s wedding cake!

We’ll leave it to Charlotte, who looked beautiful in her White by Vera Wang dress from Davids Bridal, to fill you in on the rest…

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How we Met

Charlotte, the bride: We met in October 2014 when a mutual friend brought Adam in to provide support in my workplace. Adam was living in Southampton, I was living in North London and long-distance dating was how our relationship started.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A David’s Bride for a Colorful Jewish Wedding with Handmade Touches at Maiden’s Barn, Chelmsford, UK

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We’re so thrilled to be featuring the beautiful Jewish wedding of our beloved Brides Club member Sophie today! Sophie married Josh in a colorful, exuberant barn wedding with some wonderful handmade touches – and lots of inspo from her fellow Brides Club members!

In Sophie’s own words, “Brides Club was totally invaluable to me! The introduction videos about where to start and guides such as ‘Questions to ask your Venue’ were excellent resources… It’s also been lovely connecting with other brides and making new friends around the world!”

Brides Club even inspired one of Sophie’s very coolest DIY touches: hand-crocheting ALL of her wedding kippot! Inspired by another member of the group, Sophie lovingly handcrafted kippot in fuchsia, orange, yellow and lilac to hand out on the day – which also became lovely keepsakes for guests to take home with them!

Sophie and Josh also found their chuppah supplier, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People, through Brides Club. They opted to rent the large Finchley chuppah, and didn’t it look just perfect in their rustic barn venue? Don’t miss it in Amanda Ward’s wonderful photos!

The pair also opted to work with another beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Toastmaster Jango, and they call booking him “one of the best decisions we made.” Jango “made us feel at ease from the first conversation and told us how he’d look after us as if it was his own children’s wedding” – and it goes without saying that he kept the day running smoothly so the bride and groom could enjoy their wedding stress-free.

Sophie and Josh added so many other fun touches to their big day – we love that they had a sweet cart in honor of Josh owning a real-life sweetshop, and how cute is it that instead of a guest book the couple asked their guests to fill in ‘Tips for the Newlyweds’ cards?! – but we’ll leave it to the bride, who looked beautiful in her David’s Bridal gown, the rest…

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How we Met

Sophie, the bride: We met on J-Swipe at the end of June 2017 when Josh was working as a sports journalist and I was working for a gift experience company. As he told everyone during his wedding speech, he was sitting on the toilet when he first saw me and decided to swipe right!

We went on our first date on 1st July 2017 and decided to meet at dinosaur crazy golf in North London. This turned out to be a great first date as it was relaxed and fun without any awkward silences! After I beat him, we decided we wanted to continue getting to know each other and drove to a pub for drinks which then turned into dinner!

We played “Who Jew you know” and surprisingly we had no mutual friends! However, after a few dates my mum was questioning me about my new mystery man and it turns out she used to work with his dad!

A few months after we met, Josh had a career change and now owns an old-fashioned sweet shop in a shopping centre and I work as an assistant to an account manager.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Jesus Peiro Bride for a Foodies’ Jewish Wedding Inspired by Italy at Offley Place Country House Hotel, Hitchin, UK

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We are SO thrilled to be featuring the gorgeous Jewish wedding of our beloved Brides Club member Ella today! Ella just happens to be a food photographer – and she and Joel, a finance analyst, are huge foodies, so naturally delectable eats played a big role in the couple’s day.

They’re also avid travelers, and despite getting married close to home in the UK, Ella and Joel chose “Amalfi lemon grove” as their theme, inspired by a favorite holiday. The pair worked with a fabulous team, including a whole bunch of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, to make their dream a reality… and did they ever succeed! We’re positively drooling over Matt Parry’s exquisite photos of the day.  

When it came to food, it had to be Italian – and only the best would do. Ella and Joel chose to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Feast by Ed Shaerf, one of the most innovative names in the kosher food scene. Even though Feast is based in Manchester, in Ella’s words, “Their food is worth paying for their travel down south.” The menu included a sharing antipasti, orange polenta cake and lemon sorbet served in hollowed-out lemons for dessert, and even an Amalfi lemonade stand during the reception. No wonder guests are still raving about the food!

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alexandra’s Florist brought Ella and Joel’s lemon grove dreams to life, and we are OBSESSED with the results. Alex even incorporated large leafy lemons – the bride’s favorite – into the floral arrangements! And how gorgeous is the couple’s floral chuppah?!

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band got everyone onto the dancefloor in their trademark style, and the couple loved working with Geoff in the leadup. Ella and Joel opted to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante by Michelle J as their on-the-day coordinator, and, in their words, “she basically came in as a guardian angel in the most stressful time.”

Now over to the bride, who looked super cool in her contemporary halter-top gown by Jesus Peiro…

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How we Met

Ella, the bride: We first met at a pre-meet dinner for an Aish trip to New York. It was this random pizza place in a really touristy area in Leicester square. Joel turned up an hour late wearing a bright blue Fred Flintstone t-shirt. My first thoughts…who is this haha. He has always been a bit of a joker, actually one of the things that makes me love him the most is that he always makes me laugh.

We then went on the Aish trip a few days later and he became the best friend I could have ever asked for. A few months after the trip Joel told me he loved me as more than a friend, on facebook messenger…I was scaredy cat and told him I wanted him to stay as my best friend. 9 months down the line I realised I was ready to take the leap and told him ‘I was all good’…and we were 🙂Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Etsy Bride for an Interfaith Jewish Wedding with Plenty of DIY at Farms Country Club, Wallingford, Connecticut, USA

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We could not be more delighted to be sharing the gorgeous interfaith Jewish wedding of our beloved Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Nalda! Nalda, a licensed massage therapist, married groom Dan, who works in higher education, in a heartfelt ceremony with some truly wonderful DIY touches.

First off, how special is it that Nalda’s crafty mom made the couple’s chuppah canopy and chair sashes? She also helped crochet kippot for the guests – and Nalda and Dan even learned to crochet themselves so they could join in! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to touching personal details – don’t miss the super special way the couple included Nalda’s son in their ceremony! You can tell from Misha Book‘s photos what a truly special day it was.

And of course we’re so touched by Nalda’s kind words about our Brides Club. In her words,

Brides Club was an invaluable resource during our planning. I spent so much time reading through all the Brides Club checklists and guides, on everything from choosing your planning priorities, to picking traditional music, and what to include in our programs… The other Brides Club members are always so supportive and quick to provide advice, insight, creative ideas, or just a listening ear. I can honestly say our wedding wouldn’t have been half of what it was without Brides Club.

There’s so much more to say – just for starters, the wild story of Nalda’s Etsy dress, and the couple’s surprise minimoon – but we’ll hand you over to the bride now…

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How we Met

Nalda, the bride: We met on Hinge!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Lillian Wild Bride for an Autumnal Jewish Brunch Wedding at Towne & Oak in Winnetka, Illinois, USA

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We love a good brunch wedding here at Team STG. And bagels-and-lox-loving couple Carly and Jonathan’s autumnal Midwestern Jewish wedding is one of the best we’ve seen – pandemic or not.

These two always wanted a fall Sunday afternoon wedding, but just as they began planning COVID-19 started taking hold. After much deliberation, they decided to go full steam ahead rather than waiting for the crisis to pass, embracing their intimate wedding of 13 (down from an original guestlist of 150) and sharing a professional livestream with those who couldn’t be there in person. And even though it wasn’t the wedding they’d initially planned, you can tell from each and every one of Alisha Tova‘s stunning photos what a very special day it was.

We’re obsessed with the couple’s gorgeous ketubah, custom designed and handmade for them by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor BRITcolors. Britt spent time getting to know Carly and Jonathan so she could dream up a unique ketubah that was totally, 100% them – and she totally knocked it out of the ballpark with the finished product, featuring ‘70s-inspired floral designs in a mixture of embroidery and watercolor.

There’s so much more to say about this awesome wedding – for starters, don’t miss the chic contemporary geometrics and subtle autumnal florals – but we’ll let Carly, who looked so elegant in her Lillian Wild gown, fill you in on the rest…

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How We Met

Carly, the bride: My work is in brand marketing and storytelling, and Jonathan works to develop strategic partnerships. We met during the summer of 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. My profile had appeared in the friend suggestion section of Jonathan’s Facebook newsfeed. Jonathan soon discovered that my dear friend Alex was our mutual connection, so he reached out to him asking about my status.

Alex said Jonathan was a nice guy, so I gave Alex the OK to give Jonathan my phone number. Jonathan called a few days later. After a fun 30-minute conversation, we scheduled our first date. We ate a delicious dinner at the pizzeria Spacca Napoli and then saw a beautiful performance by Sarah Jarosz at the Old Town School of Folk Music.Continue ReadingContinue Reading