Rachel and Stephen won their wedding photography through a competition on this very wedding blog, and when their fabulous photographer, Kate Nielen, excitedly emailed me with the resulting gorgeous photos, I couldn’t wait to post them! Part of what Kate Nielen and I loved about Rachel’s winning entry was what she wrote below:
A Jewish wedding ceremony is steeped in tradition, ritual and spirituality. These are the elements I want to capture at the beginning of the ceremony whilst RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) is a classy and classic venue. We also have a New Orleans jazz band who will be playing klezmer.”
To me, this epitomises a Smashing The Glass couple. The desire to blend wonderful ancient Jewish wedding rituals with twists like a New Orleans jazz band playing traditional Jewish klezmer. I just wish I could have been a guest at the wedding myself!
There were so many lovely personal touches, like the mother of the bride creating a beautiful painting that was incorporated on all the stationery and was also displayed on a screen at the entrance of their gorgeous reception venue, RIBA, in the heart of central London. She also made their very arty three-tier wedding cake – what a talented mama!
One of the best things about this job is how uplifting it is to look at images of people in love. And I think it’s fair to say that Rachel and Stephen are insanely, crazily, and meant-to-be-together-forever in love. That besottedness radiates from every image captured by Kate Nielen. Enjoy this one folks!