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A Hayley Paige Bride for a Romantic Jewish Wedding at Villa Oliva, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

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What a wedding! If you’ve ever fantasized about jetting off to Tuscany to get married, the exquisite Jewish wedding of Stephanie and Dan, who did just that, is going to knock your socks off. In fact, it’ll probably do that even the thought of a Tuscan wedding has never even crossed your mind!

The couple’s wonderful planner, Michelle Jacobs of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante By Michelle J, took all the pressure out of planning while making sure the big day was as elegant, romantic, joyful, and memorable as it could possible be. And she connected the couple with their amazing roster of vendors!

Truly, these two used so many of the very best out there, from the amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Totem – who Stephanie and Dan flew over from London because they wanted to make sure their big day featured some EPIC Israeli dancing, and if you know Totem you know they get the party going like no one else – to mega-talented stationer Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bigday Designs (love the stationery suite they came up with!) to a gift list with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Prezola.

Photographer David Bastianoni and videographer Federico of Waterfall Visuals both captured the day so beautifully, and we love that they were committed as to capturing the love between the couple – including lots of sweet casual moments – as to featuring the beautiful setting and décor (looking at you, floral chuppah!).

If you’re wondering how you can make your wedding as awesome as Stephanie and Dan’s, don’t miss our Facebook Live with none other than Michelle Jacobs herself, all about creating an ultra-memorable experience for your guests. It’s happening this Thursday, March 5, at 7:30 PM GMT / 2:30 PM EST / 11:30 PST, right on the Smashing The Glass Facebook Page.

But for now, we’re going to turn you over to the lovely Stephanie, who looked simply ravishing in Hayley Paige…

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Venue

Stephanie, the bride: We got married in Villa Oliva, near Lucca in Tuscany. I’ve always dreamed of having a romantic wedding abroad and, luckily, Dan saw the appeal. We picked Tuscany because we both love Italy – from the food and wine to the art, landscape and scenery.

Dan and I are both nature lovers, so the idea of getting married in a Tuscan garden really appealed to us. The venue we chose had several gorgeous gardens surrounding the villa and we fell in love.

We also wanted each area of the party to be a surprise for the guests, so we got married at the front of the villa; had the drinks reception behind the villa; and dinner and dancing was held in a large garden slightly further away from the property. The front of the villa had a beautiful grotto, which was the perfect backdrop for the chuppah.

We were very grateful for the support of our family and friends flying out to celebrate our special day with us. The guests were able to get to know each other at the welcome party and by the pool, so everyone was friendly at the main event. It felt like a big holiday!

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A Made with Love Bride for a Tropical Jewish Wedding at The River Rooms at The Mermaid, London, UK

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A tropical wedding in London? Sounds crazy, you say? Well, you might want to wait until you see the gorgeous Jewish wedding of Michelle, a fundraising manager at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, and Joel, a property developer, before passing judgment.

Inspired by their engagement in Curacao, these two knew they wanted a relaxed Caribbean party vibe filled with beautiful tropical plants and colours – and they didn’t see their desire to wed in their hometown of London as a barrier.

And with some help from fantastic wedding planner Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rachel Flax – who Michelle says “seriously saved my sanity” during the last few months! – they pulled it off and then some.

From their fab tropical chuppah with its lush green canopy and soft pink florals to the balloon installation in tropical pinks and peaches by the bar (not to mention the giant flamingo balloon at the corner of the dancefloor), we’re totally getting those beachy Caribbean vibes. Photographer Martin Phelps captured the day SO perfectly in his trademark documentary style.

Michelle and Joel chose fabulous Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Totem to make sure their big day not only looked like a party but felt like one too. It’s no surprise that Totem created a killer atmosphere and kept guests on the dance floor all night long – but what was a surprise was that they secretly worked with the groom on a musical performance of his own! Much to Michelle’s surprise, Totem announced Joel onstage and accompanied him as he sang‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ ! There’s nothing like a fun surprise element to make your day super memorable!

Now over to the bride, who looked radiant in her Made with Love dress and Hollywood glam look courtesy of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Pamela and Andrea Makeup…

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How we met

Michelle, the bride: We met on a Sunday afternoon in the pub, The Kings Head in Crouch End. We were both with friends having a chilled afternoon and got talking and the rest is history!

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A Galia Lahav Bride for a Magical Private Island Jewish Wedding at Osea Island, Essex, UK

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Looking for an ultra-memorable venue for your Jewish wedding? How about renting out your very own PRIVATE ISLAND?! That’s what today’s nature-loving couple, Jasmin and Brett, did – their big day took place on the magical Osea Island, a private island off the coast of Essex. Trust us, you don’t want to miss  Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel’s epic photos of this dreamy day that is full-to-the-brim packed with incredibly talented STG Recommended Vendors.

It all came together with a little help from the wonderful (and multitalented) James Alexander from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor and legendary band Totem, who the couple worked with to plan their big day – and yes, Totem also gave one of their unforgettable performances during the wedding. And how cool is it that, on the coordination end, James brought in none other than master planner Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Michelle Jacobs from Elegante by Michelle J ?

One special touch we’re totally obsessed with: knowing that they wouldn’t be able to talk to each and every one of their 300+ guests, Jasmin and Brett decided to write a little ‘message in a bottle’ (so perfect for the private island venue, right?!) to thank each of their guests for being there.

And how sweet is it that the couple’s rabbi surprised them during the ceremony by calling the bride’s grandfather to read the pair’s beautiful ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubata?

Jasmin knew she wanted to wear an Israel designer, and she found the gown of her dreams – a one-shouldered fantasy of blush tulle and glitter from the inimitable Galia Lahav– at beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Browns Bride in London.

Also, are Jasmin’s luscious locks giving anyone else serious hair envy? Anyway, we’ll hand you over to her now…

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How we met

Jasmin, the bride: My husband and I first crossed paths at a mutual friend’s restaurant and the rest is history 🙂

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A Suzanne Neville Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, London, UK

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We love it when a couple really brings their skills and passions into their Jewish wedding – and Samantha and Alex did just that. The bride, a video editor by profession and lifelong music lover on the side, added THE most special, personal touches to her big day – teaming up with some of our very favourite London vendors to make it happen.

Given Samantha’s career, it’s no surprise she wanted only the best when it came to choosing a wedding videographer – and indeed, she opted for beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion. But instead of having her videography handle the whole business from start to finish, the team at Denee Motion handed their stunning footage over to Samantha and she edited it into her very own highlights film and wedding video – so special! (As if that’s not awesome enough, she also made a save-the-date video rather than sending out a standard paper note.)

This multitalented bride also happens to be an AMAZING singer, and she wanted to surprise Alex by performing at the wedding. She worked with the couple’s band, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Totem – who are just beyond awesome; in Samantha’s words, “watching them perform is like being at the greatest concert of your life” – to perform a song with Totem’s newly formed gospel choir. It made for such a special moment; please do scroll down and check out the video of her performance!

We love how photographer Paul Toeman captured all the emotion and energy of the day (and we’re totally obsessed with the post-wedding shoot he did of the couple wandering around London at midnight!). There’s lots more we could say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll let the bride – who looked smashing in Suzanne Neville – tell you the rest…

Oh… and one final detail – the groom’s mother is the the manager at my daughter’s much-loved nursery. Mazal Tov Tina and family!


 
How we met

Samantha, the bride: We met at 18, he moved into the same flat as one of my best friends when he was at university in Manchester. I went up to visit my friend Anthony and ended up speaking to Alex for 2 hours instead. Fast forward 7 years when I happened to join his gym and bumped straight into him, a couple weeks later we went on a 3 hour dog walk and the rest is history.

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A Nurit Hen Bride for a City Chic Urban Jewish Wedding at 8 Northumberland, London, UK

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We knew we were going to love Francesca and Brad’s London Jewish wedding the moment we learned the couple found inspiration for their gorgeous white floral chuppah (the perfect place to put their Smash Glass pouch to use) right here on STG — do these two know the way to a wedding blogger’s heart, or what?!

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Francesca, who works in finance as head of customer service, and Brad,  who works for Linzi, his family’s shoe business, worked with some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, from the wonderful Mirror Mirror, where the bride found her fishtail Nurit Hen gown, to powerhouse band Totem — as Francesca says, “no one gets a party started like they do”!

And then there’s the couple’s wedding planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rachel Flax. She brought their dreams of a fresh white ballroom aesthetic to life — and, even more importantly, took the stress right out of planning. So much so that Francesca’s top tip for other couples planning weddings is “get a Rachel Flax”!

Oh.. and did we mention that we love how these two met?! You never know where love is going to strike you…

Photographer Benjamin Toms and videographer AtMotion captured all the excitement of the big day so perfectly — read on for all the fun details from Francesca!


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How we met

Francesca, the bride: We had always known each other from school although we were in different years, but we met and started talking in a Tesco car park on my 17th birthday and have been inseparable ever since.

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