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A Stella York Bride for a Family-Centered Jewish Wedding at The Waldorf Hilton Aldwych, London, UK

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We are totally and completely in awe of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel’s exquisite photos from today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding. The way she captures the emotion, the details, and of course the Israeli dancing (there are some seriously unmissable action shots below!) – Claudine’s work never fails to bowl us over.

Another thing that consistently gives us the warm and fuzzies? When a couple prioritizes incorporating family into their big day. Danni, who works as a fundraiser for a Jewish charity, and Sam, an accountant, did just that, from having their parents help out with the planning to including as many family members as possible in their procession to the chuppah.

Both the bride and groom’s fathers drive black cabs in London, and in honour of their dads the pair opted to incorporate black cabs as a motif – love how they included a little black cab on their invitations!

And we love that Danni opted to pair her Stella York dress with her mum’s veil – which, with a few alterations, fit seamlessly into her bridal style. We’ll let her take things from here…


How we met

Danni, the bride: Before getting married we had been together for six and a half years. We met while at university, Sam came up to Leeds to surprise my housemate (and bridesmaid) and we got chatting… a few months later we met again and started going out. We’ve been together ever since.

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A Stella York Bride for a Romantic Outdoor Summer Jewish Wedding at The Waterview in Monroe, Connecticut, USA

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This gorgeous Jewish wedding is just the absolute essence of summer. Between the idyllic lakefront setting, the soft pastel color scheme ranging through everything from the lovely bridesmaid dresses to the romantic papercut ketubah from Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com to the gorgeous in-season blooms — we’re pretty smitten with this one.

We love that Emelia, a 4th-grade teacher, and Jon, an engineer, took full advantage of their July wedding date. This wedding is positively bursting with roses, peonies, and hydrangeas — some of our summertime faves — and Shaina Lee Photography and videographer Mark Holst from Your Event Matters captured that summer sunlight exquisitely.

This duo also had a fantastic hora — no mean feat considering that Emelia converted and few members of her family had never so much as attended a Jewish wedding before! After a bit of initial confusion, Jon’s family and the couple’s friends showed them the ropes, and pretty soon everyone was joining in and having a blast.

So if you’re planning a wedding where, for whatever reason, the bulk of your guests may not be familiar with Jewish wedding customs — don’t worry! The moral of this very happy story is that Israeli dancing is easy to pick up and pretty much universally enjoyed.

Now over to Emelia, who struck the perfect balance between refined elegance and laid-back summer style in her strapless lace Stella York gown…

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How We Met

Emelia, the bride: We went to the same college, had many mutual friends (including Jon’s sister, who was in my sorority!) but didn’t meet until a few years after we graduated – on JDate!

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A Stella York Bride for a Winter Wonderland Jewish Wedding at Warren Weir, Luton Hoo, UK

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Don’t mind us, we’re busy picking our jaws up off the floor after seeing today’s stunning Jewish wedding portraits in the snow. Almost enough to make you rethink that summer wedding, are we right?!

When Mel, a project manager, and Mitch, who works in IT, first chose Chiko Photography, they were drawn to a photo of his with a couple under an umbrella in the snow. Who would’ve thought they’d get to recreate it themselves?!

This is also a special wedding for us because bride Mel was one of our blogging brides but not only that, Mel was also a founding member of our Club for Jewish Brides, and as such, she and Mitch were the very first couple to ever use our own-brand (and super gorgeous!) smash glass pouch for breaking the glass under their chuppah!

We loved following Mel’s wedding planning journey, and we’re so glad to hear that the feeling was mutual. Mel found several of her amazing wedding vendors through Smashing the Glass, from their incredible videographer, STG Recommended Vendor Denee Motion,to another much loved STG Recommended Vendor XS Showband, best known as pioneers of the wedding flash mob!

XS Showband provided entertainment throughout the day, but we can’t take our eyes off Denee Motion’s fantastic video of Mel and Mitch’s very own musical wedding flash mob, just before their ceremony started. They wanted a special surprise for their guests, something to make sure their day really stood out, and we think this more than did the trick. You’ve got to check it out for yourself!

Do also take a moment to read through Mel’s fabulous account of her planning and prep, there are some really useful tips and a generous helping of super advice at the end. Over to Mel now (and by the way we think she looks SO elegant in her lace fishtail gown by Stella York. . . 

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How we met

Mel, the bride: We met on JDate in 2013. After chatting for a while we met for a drink. Our second date was an eight-hour lunch! I thought if someone can keep me engrossed in constant conversation for that long without getting bored then I am on to a winner.

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