Suzanne Neville Archives - Smashing the Glass

New York Bridal Market Fall 2019 Recap {and Top Bridal Trends for 2019}

16/10/2018 by Emily Sacharin Leave a Comment

Ines Di Santo’s afterparty at the Baccarat Flagship Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images

5 days, 18 appointments, approximately 57 million Insta stories (if you missed them, you can catch the best bits in our highlights), and countless fantastic dresses later, New York Bridal Fashion week is over for another season. Basically Fashion Week for wedding dresses, Bridal Fashion Week (aka Bridal Market) is easily one of the most fun times of a wedding blogger’s year.

Some of the collections are presented at full-on runway shows (and Ines Di Santo put on a particularly epic one this Bridal Market, plus the coolest afterparty at the Baccarat Flagship), while others are shown at more intimate appointments for small groups of buyers from bridal boutiques (plus press, of course), sometimes with the designers present.

Suzanne Neville

Limor Rosen

Ines Di Santo Photo by FIRSTVIEW

I had some fantastic conversations with designers and PR reps, learned a ton about everything from who actually buys those epic but unwearable-looking designs you see on the runway (answer: often no one, since some designs are purely intended for editorial impact and never even make it to production) to the differences between what American and British brides are looking for in a gown (according to Sassi Holford, it’s half an inch: Americans invariably want deeper sweetheart necklines, while the Brits prefer theirs with less of a dip). The more you know!

There’s so much fantastic bridal fashion in the pipeline for next year, and I’m so excited to share it with you, along with my take on some of the top trends we’ll be seeing (or, in some cases, continuing to see) over the next year. From classic elegance inspired by Meghan Markle’s gown to a burgeoning range of alt coverups from capes to ruffs (perfect for under the chuppah!) to unexpected bursts of color, 2019’s going to be an exciting year for bridal. Pin your favorite looks!

Caroline Castigliano

Suzanne Neville

A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Super Luxe Destination Jewish Wedding at the Great Synagogue of Florence and Villa de Maiano, Florence, Italy

03/10/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

BRB – booking a ticket to Florence. Okay, maybe not, but we are a million percent tempted by today’s dreamiest of Italian destination Jewish weddings. Between the ceremony at the majestic Great Synagogue of Florence to the swoon-worthy reception at Villa di Maiano, Paige and Richard‘s day was as dreamy as it gets (and they also had an adorable wedding hashtag – #paigegetsrich).

Much-loved STG Recommended Vendor Michelle Jacobs of Eleganté by Michelle J helped the couple pull all the fab design elements together from London, where they live. From the magical floral chuppah (who would’ve thought such a fresh, natural design would be the PERFECT fit for such a grand, historic space?) to THE most stunning top table we have ever, ever seen complete with a pergola, crystal chandeliers, hanging glass globes filled with tea lights (seriously, check out David Bastianoni’s photos – it is not to be missed!), we can safely say she hit a home run with this epic day. Oh… and Waterfall Visuals‘s film below is the dreamiest thing ever.

We’re thrilled to have a chance to chat with their awesome planner, Michelle Jacobs, live on the Smashing The Glass Facebook page tomorrow at 7: 30 p.m. GMT/2:30 p.m. EST tomorrow, Thursday, October 4. And if you love today’s wedding as much as we do, do not miss this one as we’ll be covering all the ins and outs of planning a Jewish (or Jew-ish) wedding in Italy. Please do tune in, and bring your questions!

Another wonderful STG Recommended Vendor, Totem (who Paige and Richard loved enough to fly out from London!) provided ultra-emotional chuppah music before transitioning to party mode at the villa, where they kept the dancefloor packed all night. Talk about a smashing party! Oh, and speaking of things that are smashing, did we mention Paige and Richard used one of our very own Smash Glass pouches?!

We are also LOVING their exquisite stationery by Ruth Kaye Design another STG fave and Recommended Vendor… we’re literally dying over how fabulous everything about this wedding is. –don’t you agree?

We’ll let Paige, who looked goooooorgeous in her glam Suzanne Neville gown, take it from here…

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A Room with a View

Paige, the bride: Our chuppah took place at the Great Synagogue of Florence and then afterwards we moved over to Villa di Maiano, a beautiful villa in Fiesole, a small town in the hills above Florence. Villa di Maiano is where the movie A Room with a View, was filmed (just celebrating the 30th anniversary of the film).

We went to see several venues, this was the first. We had a special feeling as soon as we walked into the gardens – we both cried – so we just knew this was the place for us. We did consider having our ceremony at Villa di Maiano, but Michelle suggested we visit the synagogue… and again, the minute we walked in we just knew we had to have our chuppah there.Continue Reading

A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Flower-Forward Jewish Wedding with the Ultimate Floral Chuppah at The Grove, Chandlers Cross, UK

25/06/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Um, wow. Just when we think we’ve seen it all when it comes to floral chuppah design, we’re proven wrong. Just look at this floral chuppah of dreams. Jaw-on-the-floor WOW!

Flowers were top priority for bride Natasha, who works in the diamond industry, and her groom, Charles, a solicitor. And it shows. The couple turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Mary Jane Vaughan to realize their vision of an indoor spring garden, and did she ever!

She’s the visionary behind that chuppah – which is truly a floral fantasy, between the blossoms wrapped around the columns and the wisteria hanging from the canopy.

Their chuppah is pretty unbeatable, and the flowers they had for the reception hit the spot too. And all of it was captured so beautifully by yet another Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, the AMAZING Imaginarium Cinematography on film (below), with Chiko Photography on stills.

If flowers were priority #1, then food came in as a close second. Another incredible STG Recommended Vendor, Food Story created a menu including the likes of beef carpaccio with yuzu and pistachio (!) a totally different class to your standard kosher wedding fare. And don’t even get us started on the donut wall (we LOVE a donut wall!).

One last thing we loved about this fab day is the way Natasha got two totally different looks out of her classic strapless Suzanne Neville gown by pairing it with a demurely elegant Sassi Holford jacket for the chuppah (also handily keeping her shoulders covered).

If you love the idea of separate dresses for the ceremony and reception but don’t necessary have the budget for it, this is such a smart way to mix up your style throughout the day. Okay, now over to the bride, gorgeous Natasha…

How we met

Natasha, the bride: We met through Jcrush! We had never met before but have many weird connections! One of Charles’s best friends happened to be my cousin! We both attended my cousin’s bar mitzvah at 13 years old, and my sister and Charles’s brother were friends, having met on Israel tour together when they were younger!

A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Super Chic Seaside Jewish Wedding at Rosh Hashanah, Bait al Hayam, Jaffa, Israel

30/03/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Can you believe it’s Erev Passover this evening? How did that happen already?! And what are you doing for seder night tonight? I’m on holiday and we’re having our Seder in Tel Aviv, celebrating with my family in Israel, so it seems appropriate to post a gorgeous Israeli wedding today!

And today’s real Jewish destination wedding fully embraced another beautiful Jewish holiday: Rosh Hashanah.

London-based bride Jamie, a PR and marketing manager for a cancer charity, and groom Joel, who works in finance, opted for a chic outdoor destination wedding in sunny Jaffa, Israel, during the High Holiday season.

Opting to marry at gorgeous seaside venue Bait al Hayam, the couple had an outdoor rooftop chuppah overlooking the city of Jaffa and the sea, with the party in a beautiful air conditioned room beneath – a big deal given the Israeli climate!

In honor of Rosh Hashanah, Jamie and Joel had mini honey pots and apples at each place setting – isn’t that sweet?! We love that this couple incorporated Jewish tradition into their day in ways that were totally authentic to them.

For instance, even though, as Ashkenazi Jews it would have been customary for them to have their badeken separately from the chuppah, they chose to do it on the aisle, because that’s what spoke to them.

And the pair opted to follow the Jewish tradition of not seeing each other in the week leading up to the wedding… that takes some real dedication!

Their wedding also had some incredibly cool touches inspired by sources other than Jewish tradition: for one, as part of their entertainment they had a flower stall where guests could have flower wreaths, bracelets, hair slides, and boutonnieres made! Isn’t that lovely? And a great alternative activity if you’re not into some of the more standard options like photo booths.

Photographer Ronen Boidek captured the day in all its effortless elegance and the insanely talented STG Recommended Vendor Portnoy Brothers brought emotion out of all of the guest through their incredible acoustic sound and beautiful traditional songs. We can’t recommend the Portnoy Brothers enough, one of our absolute favourites! Jamie, who looked super glam in her old Hollywood-style silk Suzanne Neville gown (seriously, we’re all a little bit obsessed with it at STG Towers), will fill you in on the rest.

Hag Sameach – enjoy your matzoh ball soup wherever you’re celebrating this evening!

How we met

Jamie, the bride: I always knew of Joel… I lived with his brother at university, but I met Joel properly once I moved to London, at a friend’s birthday. He carried me out of the bar over his shoulder and we’ve never looked back! 😉

A Suzanne Neville Bride for a Stunning Midsummer Night’s Dream Jewish Wedding at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK

27/09/2017 by Karen

Hands up who wants to see the ULTIMATE London Jewish wedding? Set at an iconic London venue, with some of the city’s finest Jewish wedding vendors, and styled like an absolute dream, Lauren and Mark’s magnificent big day deserves to have praise HEAPED upon it.

Before we get to the gorgeous aesthetic of the wedding, we must acknowledge just how much this brave couple went through before the big day. Losing Mark’s mother shortly after their engagement was a terrible blow, and Lauren and Mark honored her memory in beautiful and moving ways.

Bride Lauren broke her foot, and so her dream of showing off glitzy heels in her stunning Suzanne Neville dipped-hem gown was replaced with a new dream of walking down the aisle in glitzy Converse, with groom Mark surprising her with his own matching pair.

The big day came together like a dream – a Midsummer Night’s Dream, to be exact, with an abundance of flowers, expertly arranged by Tony Marklew, culminating in the ultimate floral arch chuppah. Your eyes will pop out of your head when you see it. This was matched only by the stunning production by Outrage Events.

Of course, a Jewish London wedding was buzzing with incredible Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendors, including much-raved-about kosher catering by Food Story, sensational cinematography by the inimitable Imaginarium Cinematography, who will, incidentally, be joining me for a Facebook live chat tonight at 8pm GMT with… (drum roll) one of my all-time favorite photographers, Blake Ezra Photography, another much-loved insanely talented STG Vendor. Blake is widely known for being one of the UK’s top photographers, and the pictures below really do speak for themselves.

We’ll leave you in Lauren’s capable hands for the full report of the day – we’re sure you’ll be swooning (and Pinning) the whole way through!

How we met

Lauren, the bride: Mark and I actually met in 1991! We attended the same school when I was six and Mark was almost eight. Although he doesn’t remember me, I do remember him. It wasn’t until we were at his dad’s house when his mum had died, and got out all the memorabilia to look at, that we found an old Westwood 1991 school play programme and we were both in it! It brought the happiest of smiles to all of our faces during a very hard time. We have since watched the footage and we were standing yards apart on stage.

We finally came together almost three years ago when I was in Brasserie Zedel with my brother and his future wife. Mark and my brother go back a very long way. As fate would have it, my brother and Mark’s brother have also been best friends from the age of about 12, and even shared a ‘romantic’ trip to Marrakech together a few years ago.

Mark added me on Facebook the next morning, and the rest, as they say, is history. I knew from our first date that he was going to be the one. It was clear from the start that we shared a very special bond, and that even though our paths had tried to cross over 26 years ago that the timing was now right and that we were always destined to meet.
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