The Wedding Gallery Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Pronovias Bride for a Tuscany-in-London Jewish Wedding at The Brewery, London, UK

08/02/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s not every day one of our beautiful blogging brides gets married — and at one of our very favorite London venues, no less! Everything about the Jewish wedding of Charlotte, (a much-loved member of our Brides Club for Jewish Brides) and James is pure #weddinggoals.

Not that you can really go wrong when you get married at Smashing The Glass Recommended Venue The Brewery. Though the location could hardly be more central, this is not your run-of-the-mill London venue — with its flexible spaces and vintage architectural touches like exposed brick walls, wood-beamed ceilings, The Brewery somehow manages to have a ton of character while also serving as an amazing canvas for wedding dreams of all stripes.

Like, for instance, recreating an outdoor Tuscan wedding indoors in London. Sounds impossible, right? But with the help of long banquet tables, romantic lighting, and seriously elegant florals (how cool is the high/low tabletop dà©cor scheme?!) we think these two managed to pull it off. Be sure to take it all in via Adam and Hannah’s exquisite documentary-style photos and AT Motion’s stellar videography.

There’s so much more good stuff about this awesome wedding, from the fact that Charlotte and James used one of our Smash Glass pouches to the espresso martini syringe shots they served on the dancefloor to keep everyone’s dancing energy up to the fact that the couple registered with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Prezola… but we’ll leave the rest of it to the bride, who looked so classically elegant in her Pronovias gown.

How We Met

Charlotte, the bride: I met James through a mutual friend nearly four years ago, before going on a night out to none other than Ministry of Sound. We really hit it off and have been inseparable ever since.

A Gemy Maalouf Bride for a Destination Jewish Wedding at Villa Tiberio, Marbella, Spain

18/01/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Okay, can we talk about beautiful bride Olivia’s AMAZING dress for a quick sec? The elegant plunging neckline, the sleek fit, and, above all, the very modern lace — all trademark Gemy Maalouf.

It’s no surprise she’s a Mirror Mirror bride. One of our favorite bridal boutiques, this London institution — and beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor — is renowned for their wonderful selection and top-notch service (do you see how perfectly that dress fits Olivia?!).

Not that anything about Olivia and Paul’s big day was anything short of extraordinary. The couple’s planner, Dyana Dessar Simmons from STG Recommended Vendor Optimum Weddings, made sure every detail was picture-perfect — and Olivia reports, made their planning “really easy,” even with the wedding being abroad! And STG Recommended Vendor Jeremy Standley took the most incredible photos of the day — he really captures the love between these two, not to mention the dreamy setting.

We especially love Olivia and Paul’s chuppah setup: their stunning floral structure was roofless, meaning it didn’t technically fit the bill, so the pair had four of Paul’s ushers hold a tallit over their heads — no poles, just an edge of the fabric for each usher to hold on to! What a very special, personal way to involve loved ones in the ceremony.

Olivia will fill you in on the rest…

A Villa in Spain

Olivia, the bride: I picked Villa Tiberio because I thought it was so stunning. I always wanted to get married abroad and because I’ve frequently visited Spain since I was a child it seemed like the best place.

I loved how simple, understated yet timeless the venue was and thought it represented me and Paul well. I actually went to the venue a year and a half before with Paul and I said to him although we weren’t engaged, when we are, we are getting married here! He didn’t have a choice really!

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Jewish Wedding at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London, UK

07/11/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

For years, we’ve been dreaming of blogging a Jewish wedding at one of the most spectacular venues in all of London: the majestic Natural History Museum in lovely South Kensington. An absolute masterpiece of Victorian architecture, it doesn’t get much more iconic than this.

And today, our wedding blogger dreams are coming true with the epic wedding of Orly and Zak! Following a ceremony at the New West End Synagogue in Bayswater — no slouch in the architecture department itself — the pair and their guests decamped to the museum’s stunning Hintze Hall — if you’ve been, or seen it in pictures, it’s the main space with the whale skeleton overhanging! HOW awesome is that?! And how cool are the epic action shots from Pascale at Reportage Gallery?

Orly, an OB/GYN, and Zak, who works in property development, rounded out their marvellous day with kosher catering from fabulous STG Recommended Vendor Food Story (the pair are STILL getting compliments on their unique canapà©s, cocktails, and everything else by the amazing Food Story team), and they also benefitted from the ultimate day-of coordination (plus a little assistance wrapping up the last few weeks of planning) from the amazing Georgia of Moriarty Events.

Orly’s princess-perfect Monique Lhuillier gown purchased from much-loved STG Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club (who added the PERFECT lace straps to keep Orly’s shoulders covered for the ceremony).

If that’s not enough to catch your attention, there’s also a super sweet story about the couple’s history with the venue, plus a dramatic Hora incident (don’t worry, though, it all ended well!).

We’ll hand you over to the bride in a moment, but first a quick reminder that our FREE online event, ‘The secrets to an unforgettable Jewish wedding’ with our founder and editor, Karen, is happening next Monday November 12 and spots are filling up FAST! Grab your place now to ensure that your Jewish or Jew-ish wedding is as unforgettable as Orly and Zak’s…

An Iconic Venue

Orly, the bride: We got married at the New West End Synagogue in Bayswater and had our reception in Hintze Hall at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington. The synagogue is really one of the most beautiful in London with such magnificent architecture and such a warm, welcoming community.

The Natural History Museum has always been a really special place for us as a couple — on our very first date I told Zak about a little mistake I had noticed on a poster in the dinosaur exhibition. A few weeks later, unbeknownst to me, Zak had already decided we were going to get engaged and started trying to convince them to give him the poster for when he proposed.

It took him a few years, but eventually the NHM gave him the poster and he surprised me with it during his speech on our wedding day! Now it’s up in our hallway! Hintze Hall is such a stunning space and it was such a privilege to party under Hope the whale in such an iconic London venue!

A Leanne Marshall Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding with a Rose Gold Chuppah at Dartmouth House, Mayfair, London, UK

24/10/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

This has got to be one of the very most ‘Smashing The Glass’ weddings we’ve EVER blogged. Featuring our very own blogging bride Jennifer, a whole slew of STG Recommended Vendors — from Camilla J Collins, who did Jennifer’s fantastic hair and makeup, to Monica Vinader, who designed the bride’s gorgeous necklace, to childcare from Safe and Sound Events — and of course our own-brand Smash Glass pouch, we’re totally in love with this elegant day.

Jennifer, a photographer with years of wedding industry experience, and Charlie, a solicitor, obviously had some insider knowledge that helped them make their big day so epic — for instance, photographer Paul Toeman just happens to be a close colleague and friend of the bride — but nonetheless they report finding tons of inspo and guidance on STG, from choosing their music to crafting the ceremony.

We’re obsessed with the couple’s stylish, modern wedding trailer from another amazing STG Recommended Vendor Denee Motion, as well as their fab DJ Live from STG Recommended Vendor The Function Band, who got even the non-Jewish guests enthused about the Israeli dancing and kept everyone dancing right through to the end.

And the day was full of so many beautiful details, from the rose gold chuppah to the blush florals to the couple’s super cute hashtag #ballblatts, an amalgamation of their surnames.

If you want your wedding to be as memorable as Jennifer and Charlie’s, make sure you sign up to our FREE online event: ‘The secrets to an unforgettable Jewish wedding’ with our founder and editor, Karen, happening on Monday November 12 it’s going to be unmissable!

Now let’s hand over to the bride, who looked stunning in her blush dress from Leanne Marshall.

How We Met

Jennifer, the bride: Charlie and I met when we were 17 years old. We shared our first kiss on the tennis courts in Hampstead Garden Suburb. Six months later, I was cruelly dumped in the window seat of a coffee shop in full view of every school girl and boy in Highgate Village.

Ten years later, having successfully avoided each other — despite living in the same postcode — our paths crossed once again in the Steeles pub on Haverstock Hill. All it took was one misinterpreted pat on the knee for Charlie to think I was interested (again) and before I knew it we were on our second ‘first’ date.

One month later we went away on holiday together, where I essentially forced Charlie to be my boyfriend. Our history allowed us to skip those first few awkward months of dating. There were no doubts about where our relationship was going. We share such similar values and goals; it was as if we were meant to grow up apart to meet again at the right time in our lives.

Real Jewish Brides – Charlotte: My Personal Highlights And Lowlights Of Wedding Planning

17/07/2018 by Smashing The Glass

Charlotte will be marrying James on 26th August 2018 at The Brewery, in London, UK. Click here to read all Charlotte’s planning posts to date.

THREE FACTS: (1) James proposed to Charlotte in Florence… on her parent’s 36^th wedding anniversary (aaaah – we love that!) (2) They are planning a Jewish urban-rustic wedding in East London (3) They have already decided on their wedding hashtags — it’s #dropitlikeitshart !

As our wedding is now only 5 weeks away, I thought it would now be a good time to put together some of the defining highlights and lowlights from our time of planning our wedding. And there have been a few!

Knowing that The Brewery is the only place you want to get married, and it ticks all the boxes immediately.
Finding a florist who got my chuppah vision, and could do it for the budget we had allocated!