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Win a Stay at the Kimpton Fitzroy London – Just by Watching Today’s Jewish Wedding Music Facebook Live!

22/06/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Struggling to hit just the right notes when it comes to picking music for your Jewish wedding? Then I’ve got just the Facebook Live for you… and it’s happening TODAY, Tuesday, June 22!

At 7:15 pm GMT (2:15 pm EST/12:15 pm PST), I’ll be going live (click here to watch it) at one of my very favourite London venues, Kimpton Fitzroy London, with the fabulous Sensation Band, the world-class wedding entertainment outfit beloved by so many Jewish couples in London and beyond, and incredible catering by Adam Nathan Catering!

What’s more, one lucky person watching the Facebook Live will also win a FREE overnight stay at the Kimpton Fitzroy London for themselves and a guest! It’s super easy to enter but you’ve got to be watching live to find out what to do – and you have to enter whilst I’m live too!

A firm favourite with STG brides, Sensation Band is truly the very best (their version of Boi Kallah below has had more than 100,000 views on YouTube – you have to listen to it if you haven’t already!) – they’ll be not only performing some favorite pieces from their vast repertoire of Jewish music but also helping you choose the right tracks for YOUR Jewish wedding.

There’ll also be delectable nibbles on hand from Adam Nathan Catering, Kimpton’s preferred partner for kosher-style catering!

Interspersed with Sensation Band’s unforgettable Jewish music will be a live Q&A, where you can ask me, Sensation, and the Kimpton Fitzroy London weddings team anything you’ve ever wanted to know about either Jewish wedding music OR this in-demand Jewish wedding venue. Definitely not to be missed!

But that’s not all! Once we’ve wrapped up with Sensation, we’ll be launching straight in to Facebook Live #2 of the evening, a venue tour of the Kimpton Fitzroy London starting at 8:00 pm GMT / 3:00 pm EST / 12:00 PM PST.

And then, after the venue tour, I’ll announce the details of what you need to do to be entered in our competition to win a night’s stay at the Kimpton Fitzroy London for you and a guest!

#SmashingTheHashtag: Find Your Perfect Wedding Hashtag with Wedding Hashers

17/06/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

#CinnamonSpiceAndMarriedForLife | Photo by Earthy Photography

An awesome wedding hashtag is the perfect way to set the tone for your big day. You’ll get your friends and family jazzed for the big day – not to mention your guests’ social snapshots are easy to find and save for posterity after you’ve made it official.

But coming up with just the right hashtag can be incredibly frustrating. What if neither of your names rhyme with anything fun? Or you’re just not very pun-ny? You might even be worried that if neither of you is a comedic genius, you’re out of luck when it comes to a memorable hashtag.

Enter Wedding Hashers. They’re a fab team of professional writers – never random generators! – creating awesome hashtags, personalized for your wedding.

While there are plenty of free automatic hashtag generators out there, every hashtag you receive from Wedding Hashers is crafted by a real live human with tons of industry experience – and a great sense of humor.

The Wedding Hashers team will take into account all the information you provide them – everything from your names and date to your wedding theme and location to special requests – and handcraft an awesome collection of custom hashtags for you to choose from. And collectively, the team has written over a million wedding hashtags – so you can be sure they know what they’re doing! Check out some of their recent favorites on their site – laughs guaranteed!

Believe it or not, our founder Karen Cinnamon didn’t have a hashtag at her own wedding – they weren’t such a thing yet back in 2013 – but we thought it would be fun to ask the Wedding Hashers team to come up with an awesome hashtag summing up her glorious London wedding to Jeremy, aka Mr STG!

And did they ever come through – we’re obsessed with ALL of the options they sent through, though in the end we had to go for #CinnamonSpiceAndMarriedForLife as our top pick! (Though who can resist #CinnamonsStickTogether?) Wedding Hashers are absolute pun masters, and even if you happen not to have a last name quite as cool as Karen’s, with their wordplay prowess they’re guaranteed to come up with something that will make you laugh.

#CinnamonsStickTogether | Photo by Earthy Photography

The Songs You’ll Need for Your Jewish Wedding {Facebook Live with Kimpton Fitzroy London and Sensation Band}

15/06/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, June 22, at 7:15 pm GMT (3:15 pm EST/12:15 pm PST), I’m so as excited as I’ll be going live at one of my very favourite London venues, Kimpton Fitzroy London, with the fabulous Sensation Band, the world-class wedding entertainment outfit beloved by so many Jewish couples in London and beyond, and incredible catering by Adam Nathan Catering!

A firm favourite with STG brides, Sensation Band is truly the very best (their version of Boi Kallah below has had more than 100,000 views on YouTube – you have to listen to it if you haven’t already!) – and when it comes to Jewish wedding music, their knowledge is positively encyclopedic. And they’ll be sharing it all with us, as they perform a multitude of songs from different traditions that you may consider including at various points on your big day. Sensation is here to help you choose the right music for your Jewish wedding, so this is your chance to ask away!

There’ll also be delectable nibbles on hand from Adam Nathan Catering, Kimpton’s preferred partner for kosher-style catering – Adam Nathan is truly one of the best in the business, and we’re consistently blown away by both the quality and the creativity of everything he and his team cook up.

We’ll be filming live from Kimpton Fitzroy London’s magical Palm Court, complete with a soaring glass ceiling that floods the room with light, comfortable clusters of seating, and lots of gorgeous greenery — the vibe is conservatory meets lounge meets members club, and it is exactly as fabulous as it sounds. Intimate yet fun, hip yet classic.

Located oh-so-centrally in Bloomsbury’s Russell Square, the Kimpton Fitzroy London combines historic charm with modern luxury. It’s a mega-luxe, uber-stylish place, with every inch full of the chicest of contemporary details.

There’s no place like it for an urban glam Jewish wedding in London, and I can’t wait to take you along as I tour through all the stunning spaces on offer for your big day.

In between it all, we’ll be enjoying delectable canapés and drinks from Adam Nathan Catering, Kimpton Fitzroy London’s preferred partner for kosher-style catering.

Why We Love Kimpton Fitzroy London for Jewish Weddings, from Micro to Mega

03/06/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s no secret that the Kimpton Fitzroy London is one of my very favourite Jewish wedding venues. Located oh-so-centrally in Bloomsbury’s Russell Square, the Kimpton Fitzroy London’s combination of historic charm and modern luxury makes it an incredibly elegant spot equally suited for an intimate micro wedding or a post-pandemic celebration with up to 200 guests.

Originally built in 1898 (on the site of Emmaline Pankhurst’s onetime home — how’s that for a bit of feminist history to add to your wedding?!), Kimpton Fitzroy London undertook a two-year, £85 million refurbishment of the hotel before opening it in April 2018 as the first Kimpton property in the UK.

Danielle and Rob‘s Jewish micro wedding | Photo by Mike Garrard

Micro Wedding Bliss

Since then, they’ve hosted some truly exquisite Jewish weddings, from the biggest ballroom bashes to intimate micro weddings like Danielle and Rob‘s that we featured on STG last month.

For as long as government restrictions on weddings last, Kimpton Fitzroy London offers bespoke micro wedding packages to suit your every need for groups starting at 15 – all while following up-to-the-minute COVID regulations, of course.

Depending on your specific needs, you’ll have your pick of a range of delightful spaces – from the dramatic ballroom to eight-intimate rooms and four restaurants and bars, all flooded with natural light and historic details at every turn. Meanwhile, the Kimpton Fitzroy London is also booking up fast for 100+ person celebrations later this year and in 2022!

And did I mention that the team at Kimpton Fitzroy London couldn’t be more knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Jewish weddings?

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A Space to Suit Every Need

But back to the glorious space that is Kimpton Fitzroy London: The centre of the property — at least when it comes to weddings — is the ballroom, a grand event space perfect for a standout Jewish ceremony followed by a beautiful reception, boasting a private entrance on Bernard Street, original 19^th-century architectural details, a full wall of windows, and a mezzanine gallery.

Danielle and Rob‘s Jewish micro wedding | Photo by Mike Garrard

And the adjoining Palm Court is the most magical backdrop for reception drinks, with a soaring glass ceiling that floods the room with light, comfortable clusters of seating, an outdoor terrace, and lots of gorgeous greenery — the vibe is conservatory meets lounge meets members club, and it is exactly as fabulous as it sounds. Intimate yet fun, hip yet classic.

I’m seriously in love with this place and it has got to be the best reception space to go with a ballroom wedding that I’ve seen in London.

Danielle and Rob‘s Jewish micro wedding | Photo by Mike Garrard

And if you’re a member of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club (our members club for Jewish and Jew-ish brides) the Kimpton Fitzroy London are generously offering you 20% off ballroom hire (blackout dates apply)!

Innovative Kosher Catering

For those needing fully certified kosher catering, the Kimpton Fitzroy London is in partnership with Ben Tenenblat as their preferred kosher caterer! And in addition to the stellar in-house team, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Adam Nathan Catering is available for delectable kosher-style menus.

Five Essential Items for All Jewish Newylweds {with aJudaica}

27/05/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s nothing like surrounding yourself with beautiful Jewish ritual objects and art to infuse your home with a sense of spirituality. Especially as you begin building your new married life together with your partner, it’s the perfect time to invest in meaningful pieces the two of you both adore.

And how much more special is it when those special Judaica pieces come directly from Israel? That’s why we love aJudaica, a fantastic online source for the best in Israeli products shipping around the world. Whether you’re looking to purchase some unique pieces for yourself or are putting together a Judaica wedding wishlist, aJudiaca’s got you covered with their outstanding selection.

Oh, and did we mention that as a Smashing The Glass reader, you’ll receive a 12% discount on all purchases? Just enter the code “STG12”.

Read on for some of our very favorite Jewish home essentials from aJudaica…

Apollo Mezuzah Case by Laura Cowan

Mezuzah

Nothing marks a Jewish home like a mezuzah, a piece of parchment inscribed with two verses from the Torah, placed in a decorative case, and hung on doorposts. A mezuzah represents Divine protection and injects a drop of spirituality into the home right from the moment you enter. It’s also an eloquent reminder of the importance of the Jewish home as a center for growth, love, and the building of beautiful relationships – So it makes a fantastic wedding gift. Today, there is a fantastic selection of mezuzah cases available – of every material, size, design, and price point. We’re loving this sleek contemporary take by Laura Cowan. Whichever option you choose, don’t forget that for your mezuzah to bring you Divine protection, it must be certified kosher with the parchment and handwritten text meeting certain requirements. So, here’s wishing you a home filled with blessing and protection!

Moon Path Trio Tray by Laura Cowan

Shabbat Candlesticks

Every Jewish home needs a pair of Shabbat candlesticks. Kindling the Shabbat lights before dusk on Friday evening is one of the most beautiful Jewish rituals around, and such a fantastic way to infuse some spirituality into your week. And how cool are Laura Cowan’s multi-purpose Shabbat candlesticks?! This bright young Israeli artist, hailing from England, has designed a gorgeous, sweet dish to grace your table all week long. Come Friday, exchange the candies for tea lights and welcome the Shabbat to your home in style.

Slide Magnet Hanukkah Menorah By Laura Cowan

Hanukkah Menorah

A menorah makes a fantastic wedding gift. Its glowing lights during the festival of Hanukkah, with one more kindled each day, are an enduring symbol of Jewish faith, spiritual strength, and the courage to survive.

These days, there’s such a vast choice of menorahs on the market. Whatever your style – traditional or modern, whimsical or minimalist – there’s bound to be a perfect fit for you. For a sleek modern style, we’re loving Laura Cowan’s Slide Magnet Hanukkah Menorah!