UK Jewish Wedding Archives - Page 4 of 6 - Smashing the Glass

An Essense of Australia Bride for an Elegant Jewish Wedding at Sopwell House, St Albans, UK

22/09/2023 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple pulls together a fabulous team of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to make their Jewish wedding dreams come true – which is exactly what today’s duo did. Alberta, who works in marketing, and Scott, in digital sales, made things official at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Sopwell House, the perfect country house venue nestled in the Hertfordshire countryside. They loved the private outside area, where they opted to hold their chuppah, as well as the variety of indoor function rooms they were able to choose from!

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band kept the dance floor full ALL night long, and guests couldn’t stop raving about the band after the wedding. Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claudine Hartzel was responsible for the dreamy photos, in her trademark bright and luminous style, and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Michael Pearl handled videography. The couple initially weren’t planning on having a videographer at all, but now they’re so glad they did – and they report watching their highlights video daily! Yet another beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Toastmaster Jango, was on hand to make sure the day ran smoothly.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll hand you over to Alberta, who looked so elegant in her gown from Essense of Australia, for the rest…

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How We Met

Alberta, the bride: We first met via JSwipe and went out for some drinks.Continue Reading

A Gemy Maalouf Bride for a Jewish Wedding Inspired by Italy at Loseley Park, Guildford, Surrey, UK

31/10/2022 by Karen Cinnamon

Get ready to be blown away by the seriously stunning Jewish wedding of Jessica and Ross. The pair, who live in Surrey, initially wanted to get married on Lake Garda in Italy, but opted to stay closer to home due to the uncertainty of the pandemic.

In the end, they put together a one-of-a-kind wedding at Guildford’s Loseley Park that combined the very best of English countryside chic and Italian glam, and we are OBSESSED. From naming all our tables after favorite towns around Lake Garda, to playing Italian classical music, to serving Aperol Spritz followed by a four-course Italian meal for dinner, the Italian theme carried through the day.

Even Jessica’s exquisite gown stuck to the Italian theme: with the help of the wonderful team at beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror Bridal, she made it official in the ‘Capri’ gown by designer Gemy Maalouf, which she knew was the one even before she got engaged! The dress, featuring a V-Neck, A-Line style and plenty of intricate beading and 3D flowers, was an absolute knockout – and Shamel at Mirror Mirror Bridal “was an absolute angel in turning the dress into ‘my’ dress.” Don’t miss it in the luminous pics by Meg from Wild Fern Photography!

Another thing we love is that in lieu of a traditional gift list, Jessica and Ross set up a contribution found for their honeymoon with Prezola, since they didn’t need anything for their home but dreamed of an amazing honeymoon (they’re going to Thailand in January!) and loved the idea of having their family and friends be a part of it.

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll let Jessica take it from here…

How we Met

Jessica, the bride: We met on Tinder almost 7 years ago in December 2015. It was the time between Christmas and New Year so were both bored at home with nothing to do so happened to be swiping. A couple of days after we matched, we met on a typical London rainy night on London Bridge. As we lived on opposite ends of London – Ross being in south London and me living in north-west London, it seemed like the only suitable place between us.

We walked along the Thames in the pouring rain trying to find somewhere to have a drink. I remember Ross ordering a vodka and diet coke and was horrified, but he still managed to charm me. (Now we can happily share a bottle of wine together, I’ve taught him well!) We spent the whole night talking, not wanting it to come to an end. We met again for our second date just two days later and have been inseparable ever since. We haven’t gone one day without speaking to each other since that first date.

We fell in love over a shared passion for good food, love of dogs, and travel. I certainly wasn’t a sports enthusiast, but we quickly fell in love nevertheless.Continue Reading

A Joyous Jewish Wedding Featuring a Personalized Outdoor Chuppah at Sopwell House, St Albans, UK

28/10/2022 by Karen Cinnamon

We are so thrilled to be featuring the Jewish wedding of our Bride’s Club member Ines today! Ines, a professional chef, wed Andy, a property investor, at Sopwell House in an outdoor ceremony under the most gorgeous personalized chuppah – just one of the many special touches the pair included in their day – and we are all about it.

So about that chuppah… Ines and Andy worked with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People on the chuppah of their dreams – which they topped with the most exquisite personalized canopy handmade by Israeli artist Bella Alon – and they can’t stop raving about how much they loved working with the incredibly helpful team.

We also love that Ines opted to wear her mother’s wedding dress on the big day – how special is that?! Ines’s father had tragically passed away from Covid, and wearing her mother’s gown was such a meaningful way to honor his memory and make him part of the day. Don’t miss the incredibly special pics by Leivi Saltman.

Ines and Andy worked with a whole bunch of wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors, including Noa Attias, who designed their beautiful ketubah; talented wedding filmmaker Robert of CCS Video, who made the couple’s wonderful wedding video; planner Events by Natasha; and Shir, who Ines describes as “the most amazing band ever!” Shir kept the dance floor packed all night long, and they even taught in Israeli dance lesson to get all the non-Jewish guests in the loop!

How we Met

Ines, the bride: We met years ago at a friend’s house… It was instant attraction, but took us around 2 years to start dating… But at the end of our 1st date, we were already deciding what to do on our 2nd date! And our 3rd date we had the most magical weekend in Monaco, staying at the Hermitage Hotel….Continue Reading

A Hayley Paige Bride for a Florida-Meets-Norfolk Jewish Wedding full of Tropical Touches at Titchwell Manor, UK

17/10/2022 by Karen Cinnamon

We just love seeing a couple merge their unique backgrounds into one fabulous big day – and that’s exactly what Rachel, an educational psychologist, and Matt, a sales specialist, did!

Rachel is from Florida, while Matt’s British – and the couple’s big day at Titchwell Manor Hotel combined tropical chic with country house cozy in the most wonderful way – and it also happens to be near the beach, which Rachel loves. They took advantage of the venue’s beachy touches, like white wicker chairs, bright colors, and a large conservatory for the reception space, and added in vibrant orchids and tiger lilies, chocolate shells, Mai Tais, and Rum Punch – check it all out in the vibrant photos by Kate Lowe.

Read on for the rest of the story in Rachel’s own words – and don’t miss her perfect Hayley Paige gown!

How we Met

Rachel, the bride: I grew up in Florida, spending summers as a camper at Camp Kenwood in Kent, Connecticut and returned there to work as a ropes course counselor for three summers. During the summer of 2012, Matt was employed through a British agency called Camp Leaders, which recruits English university students to work at American summer camps, as a ropes course counselor at Kenmont and Kenwood Camps.

We quickly became inseparable that summer, spending most of our time together working on the ropes course and all our time off together with our fellow ropes course counselors. For the next 7 years, we continued our relationship long distance with me in America finishing my education and Matt in England. During that time, we visited each other over 30 times, Skyped nearly every Sunday, and exchanged countless WhatsApp texts and calls. I then moved to England in 2019 and have lived here with Matt since.Continue Reading

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…