UK Jewish Wedding Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Smashing the Glass

A Wed2B Bride for an Egalitarian Jewish Wedding at Kew Gardens, London, UK

03/10/2022 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple makes their values the center of their Jewish wedding. Which is exactly what Anya, who works at an international development NGO, and Søren, a PhD student and research assistant working on DNA repair, did in their gorgeous Kew Gardens wedding.

The couple’s egalitarian values were front and center in their ‘shutafut’ (partnership) ceremony — an egalitarian alternative to the traditional ‘kiddushin’ marriage service under the auspices of Masorti. Their rabbi rabbi helped them create a ‘shtar shutafut’ (partnership contract), also known as a ‘brit ahuvim’ (lovers’ covenant), for their ketubah text, where they mapped out their commitments to each other and values they wanted to focus on in their marriage – how special is that?!

We also love that Anya and Søren opted to work with a whole bunch of our beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their dreams a reality. The duo chose #STGvendor Claudine Hartzel as their photographer for the way she beautifully captures candid moments, and they could not have been more thrilled with the results.

#STGvendor Dvash provided outstanding catering, meeting special dietary requirements with aplomb, and Anya and Søren report that guests are still raving about their favorite canapes!

#STGvendor Happy Chuppah People provided the couple’s birch chuppah – a perfect fit for the setting – and, continuing the botanical theme, and Anya and Søren found their exquisite Tree of Life ketubah via #STGvendor Ketubah.com.

There’s so much more to say about this very special Jewish wedding, but we’ll let the newlyweds take it from here…

How we Met

Anya, the bride and Soren, the groom: We met through JSwipe in October 2016.Continue Reading

An Enzoani Bride for a Family-Focused Jewish Wedding with a Stuning Floral Chuppah at Offley Place, Hitchin, UK

05/09/2022 by Karen Cinnamon

The wonderful Jewish wedding of Sophie, a sustainability executive, and Daniel, a legal technologist, has so much going for it – stunning florals, a gorgeous chuppah, rockin’ music, and an exquisite venue, to name just a few things.

And we adore them all. But most of all, we love that these two made it their highest priority to make sure their big day felt like a big, welcoming community, centered on happiness, love, and family. Especially meaningful was the fact that Dan’s dad – who’d been in hospital and rehab for 8 months recovering from Covid – was able to be there, and you can just feel the emotion come through in each and every one of the photos from Jo Russell of Chiko Photography, and every frame of the epic wedding video by Max from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion.

Sophie and Daniel opted to work with a number of our beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, including their venue, #STGvendor Offley Place – which “ticked every single one of our boxes and then some” between its welcoming staff, beautiful grounds, and accessible spaces – and #STGvendor Toastmaster Jango, who helped to ensure the day ran smoothly – and also provided invaluable assistance in the runup to the big day. They also opted to make their wedding gift list with #STGvendor The Wedding Shop, who we love for their fab selection of not only general home goods but Judaica too!

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave it to Sophie – who looked simply ravishing in Enzoani – to fill you in on the rest…

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How we Met

Sophie, the bride: The story of how we met depends on who you ask! However, we can both agree we met at the University of Manchester, and have been together coming up to 10 years.Continue Reading

A Watters Bride for a Summer Colors Jewish Wedding Weekend at Elmore Court, Gloucestershire, UK

06/06/2022 by Karen Cinnamon

Over the past months, it’s been so beautiful to see big, festive Jewish weddings coming back. And for so many couples, it’s been all that much sweeter getting to celebrate together with loved ones after spending so much time apart.

That was very much Ilana and Sam’s experience – from day one, their vision included a big, fun party for their nearest and dearest, and while the pandemic certainly added stress and uncertainty to their planning, it made the end result – just three weeks after UK COVID restrictions had been lifted! – that much more meaningful.

To make the most of having everyone gathered together after so long, Ilana and Sam opted to turn their Sunday wedding into a full-on wedding weekend, renting out a nearby house with both their families to host Saturday welcome drinks and generally get in some extra bonding time.

We also love Ilana and Sam’s “summer colors” theme, beautifully shown in the photos by James Davidson – complete with vibrant pink and orange florals in the bouquets, on the tables, and adorning their beautiful birch chuppah rented from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Happy Chuppah People. Speaking of which – note how Ilana and Sam went for flowers just on two corners of the chuppah. This is a great example of how doable it is to incorporate gorgeous florals into your chuppah design without breaking the bank.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to Ilana, who looked so glam in her gown by Watters…

How we Met

Ilana, the bride and Sam, the groom: We met seven years ago at a house party on a crowded ‘dance floor’ – Sam took Ilana’s number, didn’t text her for a week, then cancelled their first date because he’d started dating someone else. Ilana proposed a friendly coffee instead; Sam upped that with a trip to the Tate Modern. One seven-hour “non-date” later, Sam decided he might want to organise a real date, and the rest is history.Continue Reading

A David’s Bride for an Interfaith Jewish Wedding with Tons of Personal Touches at Swynford Manor, Newmarket, UK

29/11/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

We’re so thrilled to be sharing the beautiful wedding of our Brides Club member Charlotte to groom Adam! We so loved following Charlotte’s wedding planning journey in the group… and we’re so touched to hear she loved her time in the club just as much as we did!

In Charlotte’s words,

I loved being part of Brides Club. It is the most supportive community. There are so many resources, checklists and guides to read through to help you prioritise and make sure you haven’t forgotten anything major! There is support for the wins and when planning is difficult there is always someone in the group who completely understands what you are going through who can help you through it.

Awww! We’re so glad to hear it – and even gladder to see what an absolutely gorgeous wedding Charlotte and Adam planned! We love their focus on keeping the day relaxed and fun – for their guests, and for themselves. One of Charlotte’s coolest comfort-first moves has got to be her choice to wear her awesome bridal trainers for the whole day, rather than waiting til after the ceremony to change into them! Not that the trainers stopped her from looking totally glam, as you’ll see if you have a scroll through Point and Click Photography’s wonderful photos.

Charlotte, who’s Jewish, and Adam, who isn’t, also opted for modern English versions of the traditional Sheva Brachot, personalized to represent their love and hopes for their future life together – and they chose seven VIPs who read one blessing each.

We’re also crazy about the fact that these two had all kinds of fun touches like garden games (who doesn’t love a giant Connect 4?), and a doughnut wall (featuring flavors like Biscoff and pistachio!), and even a piñata – a surprise from Charlotte’s parents, designed to match the couple’s wedding cake!

We’ll leave it to Charlotte, who looked beautiful in her White by Vera Wang dress from Davids Bridal, to fill you in on the rest…

How we Met

Charlotte, the bride: We met in October 2014 when a mutual friend brought Adam in to provide support in my workplace. Adam was living in Southampton, I was living in North London and long-distance dating was how our relationship started.Continue Reading

A Stella York Bride for a Classic Country House Jewish Wedding at Hedsor House, Taplow, UK

28/05/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s nothing quite like a good English countryside Jewish wedding. And Kim, a secondary school maths teacher, and Josh, a quality manager, threw the absolute perfect bash at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Hedsor House, which, despite being located conveniently just outside London, feels like it’s worlds away.

Family-run stately home Hedsor House ticked all the couple’s boxes: classic feel; exclusive hire for 150 people; rooms for the bridal party to sleep in, and ability to bring in a great kosher caterer. And if you scroll through the gorgeous images from Richard Galloway Photography, you’ll see that Hedsor could not have been a more perfect spot for Kim and Josh’s special day.

We’re in love with the couple’s exquisite lace effect chuppah (to match Kim’s lace gown!), supplied by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People, which has held up by Josh’s ushers during the ceremony.

We’re also totally taken with the couple’s Jenga “guest book,” a custom Jenga tower with Kim and Josh’s names and wedding date engraved into each block, which guests could then write messages on. The pair plans to bring it out for a game every year on their anniversary – how sweet is that?!

Now over to the bride, who looked stellar in Stella York…