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Good News: Some of Our Favourite London Bridal Boutiques Are Reopening!

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This news has Team STG almost as excited as Olivia and Paul after they smashed the glass! Olivia found her STUNNING Gemy Maalouf gown at Mirror Mirror, which reopens 4 July

As lockdown regulations loosen throughout the UK, we’re reaching an exciting milestone for the wedding world: bridal boutiques are starting to reopen! Over the next month, some of London’s very finest – including Morgan Davies Bridal, Katya Katya, The Wedding Club, Andrea Hawkes, and Mirror Mirror – will start seeing brides for in-person appointments again for the first time in months, and we are ready for it!

The experience will look a little different than before – like most places these days you can expect plenty of masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and social distancing measures, and boutiques are taking a variety of extra safety measures including the following:

  • Limiting each bride to one guest – although most boutiques are more than happy for you to Facetime the rest of your crew so they can participate virtually
  • Requesting that brides bring their own shoes to try on with gowns, and that the bride’s guest help dress her rather than a member of the team
  • Disinfecting fitting rooms and common areas between appointments
  • Steaming and sanitizing gowns between appointments

But one thing’s going to be just the same, and that’s the absolute magic of finding the dress of your dreams. That, and the absolutely above and beyond service all of these wonderful shops provide for each and every bride. Read on for the details.

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A Millanova Bride for a Destination Jewish Wedding with a View at Olmaya, Jerusalem, Israel

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Lauren-Anthony-Olmaya-Jerusalem

Who’s ready to book a flight to Israel as soon as lockdown ends? Team STG definitely is, and you just might be too after you finish drooling over Lauren and Anthony’s stunner of a Jewish wedding.

The London-based pair picked their venue Olmaya, based on its breathtaking views of the Old City of Jerusalem – which just happens to be the place these two became friends AND got engaged. Best chuppah backdrop ever, or best chuppah backdrop ever? We’re pretty sure you’re going to be just as obsessed with the incredible photos by Haim Afriat and video by Avichai Weschsler as we are.

We’re also in love with Lauren’s gorgeous Millanova dress, which she found at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club’s Birmingham location. The bride had spotted her dream dress on Instagram three years before the big day – before she even got engaged – but, Millanova not being a widely available brand in the UK, was struggling to track the style down until she found out about a trunk show at The Wedding Club – and the rest is history!

Lauren loved the lace fishtail gown just as much as she hoped she would, and she can’t stop raving about her fab experience working with the team at The Wedding Club. In her own words, “I looked forward to every fitting, and wish I could go there every day as it was honestly the best experience.” Lauren capped her look off with a sleek high ponytail (perfect for that Israeli heat!) styled by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Yonatan Yaeish, who not only totally got the bride’s vision but also made sure her ‘do didn’t budge all day.

Over to you Lauren!

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How we met

Lauren, the bride: I work in marketing in a Jewish charity and Anthony is a director of fundraising and development at a Jewish charity. We met at the JLE, but became friends on a trip to Israel. It was on a balcony overlooking the Kotel where the journey began, and the journey is never ending.

We got engaged on a balcony overlooking the Kotel too, and the next day after the wedding, we took all our guests to the Kotel for a special Kotel experience, we had musicians, a hand held chuppah and danced and sung our way to the Kotel, it was very special.

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Coming Together in the Face of Coronavirus: #STGvendors Helping #STGbrides

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Mayan and Mola’s micro Jewish wedding in the face of COVID-19 | Photo by Jossef Si

In these uncertain times, one thing we’re finding really comforting is seeing how all strands of the wedding community are coming together to support each other. We see it every single day in our Brides Club, and we’re seeing it in all the new initiatives our wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors have come up with to help couples whose weddings have been affected by the pandemic.

A digital change-of-date design by Liv & Luc

There’s no denying that this is a challenging time, but the outpouring of generosity we’re seeing these days is so heartwarming, and we want to share with you some of the creative ways vendors are working to help couples make the best of this difficult situation.

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Kristin and Bryan‘s ketubah by The Ketubah  | Photo by Perfect Circle Photography

Change the Date

A stunning suite of wedding stationery by E.Y.i. LOVE

If coronavirus has forced you to postpone your wedding, you may as well inform your guests in style. And luckily, a bunch of our wonderful stationers agree – and they want to help!

E.Y.i. LOVE – one of the finest bespoke luxury wedding stationers around – are offering a free digital design service to couples who need to let guests know they’ve been forced to postpone their weddings. If that’s you, get in touch at info@eyilove.com.

How cheery is this floral change of date card from Papier?!

Papier has a wonderful range of change-of-date or postponement cards – whatever your style, whether sleek and modern, whimsical, using a photo from your engagement shoot – they’ve really got all tastes catered for.

Liv & Luc are also providing complimentary digital save-the-date designs. They’ll pop your names and date into one of four gorgeous templates, and you can even mix and match your preferred colors and fonts. If you’d like one, get in touch and they’ll get you set up.

Malka Klein has created a free digital file for couples to download to announce that they’re rescheduling or postponing their weddings, and she’ll even add your names in calligraphy.

Dresses at Your Doorstep

A Berta gown from The Wedding Club | Photo by David Pullum from Salena and Stefan’s wedding 

The Wedding Club, one of London and Birmingham’s very finest bridal boutiques – and a favorite among STG brides -have made a selection of sample sale dresses available for delivery right to your doorstep, available to purchase via email – perfect for any bride finding herself in need of a dress ASAP during this time of self-isolation whether it’s due to manufacturing delays or because you’ve had to move your wedding date up. The range of gowns on offer includes pieces from Pronovias, Berta, and many, many more. For more info and to see the styles and sizes currently available, email appointmentsbham@thewedding-club.co.uk

Take Away, but Make It Gourmet

Adam Nathan’s delectable canapés for Bethany and Gavin‘s wedding | Photo by Voyteck

Adam Nathan Catering – one of our very favorite London-based kosher-style caterers – has risen to the present challenge of, in his own words, “having to create new businesses overnight” by temporarily pivoting from events catering to home delivery. Yes, this London-based kosher-style caterer is now bringing his delectable Middle Eastern-inflected dishes right to your (UK) doorstep – at very reasonable prices. And it’s all kosher-style (so no meat+dairy), using kosher meat. Plus, everything’s freezable, so you can buy in bulk and save for later.

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A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Modern Rustic Jewish Wedding at The Grove Hotel, Chandler’s Cross, Hertfordshire, UK

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It’s always a special day when we get to blog the real Jewish wedding of one of our wonderful Brides Club members, and today it’s Sami’s turn!.

Sami and Toby (#happilywebberafter) had the most wonderful big day, and we’re so thrilled to be able to share it with you. We’re also totally blushing at Sami’s kind words about the club:

“It was so heart-warming to have lots of lovely ladies around you sharing the build up and excitement. I feel like it is one big family and everyone wants the best for everyone else and their wedding!”

We think Brides Club is pretty special too – and the doors are open for new members to join (we now have almost 200 members!). Do come on in and join us too! If you’re planning a Jewish or Jew-ish wedding, it’s truly an incredible resource and community and we are offering 30 free days to every bride-to-be if you join before this Monday 11 June!

But back to Sami’s wonderful wedding – we’re pretty jazzed that she and Toby worked with so many of our very favourite UK-based Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, from the amazing Jonny Mosesson, who sang during the chuppah (and we totally agree with Sami’s description of him as having the voice of an angel!) to The Function Band, who created an electric atmosphere that kept everyone dancing from start to finish, and videographer Denee Motion, who not only captured the emotion and energy of the wedding so perfectly (don’t miss their trailer!) but also developed a wonderful friendship with the couple over the buildup to their wedding.

We’re thrilled that Sami had a fantastic experience shopping for her Monique Lhuillier gown at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club – she’d had a preventative double mastectomy prior to the wedding, so it wasn’t a given that wedding dress shopping would be smooth sailing. In fact, Sami’s experience was so wonderful that since the big day she’s left her old job in fashion buying to work for The Wedding Club, where she’s now store manager and runs operations for both of their London boutiques!

As joyful as this wedding was, the fact that Sami’s mum tragically passed away from cancer 5 and a half years prior cast a bittersweet shadow. We love that Toby bought Sami a locket with a photo of her mum to attach to her bouquet so they could still walk down the aisle together – what a meaningful touch.

There’s so much more to this fab celebration, but you’ll have to read Sami’s beautiful writeup (and immerse yourself in Paul Toeman’s wonderful photos) for the rest…



How we met

Sami, the bride: Toby and I met in a club in Birmingham, he was in his first year of university and I was on my gap year. We got on straight away, although at the time I was with somebody else. It started as an incredibly strong friendship, and after a year and a half (by which time my other relationship had ended), it turned into love, and we haven’t looked back since. 

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Jewish Bridal Style from the Experts at The Wedding Club

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Image by Robert Shack from Lauren & Ross’s Jewish wedding 

The Wedding Club is one of my very favourite UK bridal retailers – I love their wonderful range of designers and luxurious spaces, I love their ultra-attentive customer service, and I love how much they love Jewish weddings!

One of the world’s leading bridal boutiques, The Wedding Club carries some of the world’s most exclusive British and international designers – including STG favorites like Suzanne Neville, Berta, Savannah Miller, Bliss Monique Lhuillier, and more – plus accessories from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Victoria Percival.

The Wedding Club caters to fashion-conscious brides – many of whom have featured in STG real weddings (we’re constantly getting rave reviews about the level of service!) – but they firmly believe that every bride should follow their heart, not the trends – which is SO in line with our philosophy of “Your wedding your way” here at STG. They want to help each and every bride find a dress that’s truly her, and I couldn’t possibly support that mission more. 

Photo by David Pullum from Hannah and Andrew’s Jewish wedding

They’re pros when it comes to working with brides going for modest styling – whether that’s for the whole wedding, or just to cover up a bit under the chuppah. They’ve got plentiful options with sleeves and higher necklines, and truly appreciate the beauty of modest bridal style. Plus they’ve got s serious knack for pairing stylish coverups with gowns is par for the course at The Wedding Club – they’re always on top of the latest trends and innovations.

Photo by David Pullum from Salena and Stefan’s Jewish wedding 

With two locations in London – the Knightsbridge showroom is filled with mega-glam gowns from the likes of Zuhair Murad, Caroline Herrera, and Berta Couture, while the South Kensington shop has a slightly more laid-back, boho slant with collections like Savannah Miller and Costarellos – and one in Birmingham, showcasing more classic styles from Suzanne Neville, Jenny Packham, and more, The Wedding Club’s got the full spectrum of bridal styles covered.

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