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An Epic Enchanted Garden-Themed Jewish Wedding with Airplanes, Classic Cars, and a Carousel at Bicester Heritage, Bicester, UK

06/08/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Where do we even start with today’s Jewish wedding? It’s got to be one of the most amazing we’ve seen, like… EVER. Do you see that chuppah?! We’ve honestly never come across one like it before, like an actual magical forest transported indoors (thanks to the never-ending talents of Amie Bone Flowers)– and it’s about the size of one, too.

Shier, a junior doctor, and Xander, a product designer, went BIG with everything from their venue – an actual airplane hangar that they transformed into an enchanted forest for the day – to their glorious chuppah (!!!) to Shier’s wonderfully OTT flower crown.

The pair brought a Victorian-style carousel in for the day, and post-ceremony Shier and Xander drove onto the dancefloor in one of Xander’s many classic cars, a baby blue open top from the 1960s. Seriously. Check it out in At Motion’s brilliant video of the day. Oh, and the groom flew into the wedding, landing a 1930s open-top airplane in feet away from the crowd of guests.

When we say this pair went big with everything, we do mean everything. Dessert-loving Shier couldn’t bear to choose just one cake, so Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor Food Story put together a dessert table with literally dozens. The couple’s guests couldn’t stop raving about how delicious the food was, and many were shocked when they found out it was kosher (as is often the case with the amazing Food Story!).

Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor David Pullum did SUCH an amazing job photographing the day, capturing the drama of the setting, the emotion of the ceremony, and the fun of the party so well, we feel like we were there ourselves. We certainly wish we were – we’ve fallen head over heels for this wedding, and we’re pretty sure you will too.

Oh, and did we mention there’s a super cool story behind Shier’s fab gown (and no, it’s not a Vivienne Westwood). Read on to find out its unexpected journey – and all the other details of this most epic of weddings.

🙌🏻😍 If we could BE a Chuppah… this is what we’d be. Hands down! Who else is as obsessed with this floral masterpiece by 🌸 @amieboneflowers as we are?! 📋 @everyeventlondon – #chuppahgoals #chuppah #chuppahs #chuppahideas #chuppahflowers #weddinggoals #weekendvibes #weddingflowers #jewishwedding #jewish #jewishweddings #bridetobe #ceremonydecor

A post shared by Jewish Wedding Blog (@smashingtheglass) on Jun 9, 2018 at 12:05pm PDT

Not Your Average Venue

Shier, the bride: We got married in a beautifully alternative venue, an airplane hangar within a site called Bicester Heritage. The site is a repurposed WW2 RAF bomber station now dedicated to all things relating to classic cars and motoring. My brother initially read about the site in a classic car magazine and immediately thought of Alexander (my now husband!) and me because Alexander’s biggest passion in life, apart from me of course, is his classic car collection and all things related.

I sent an email over to their event manager Tiggy Atkinson and the rest was history! Initially even Tiggy was a bit skeptical as they had never hosted a wedding before, although they do host many large-scale events such as car auctions and classic car conventions. Our families and friends were also very skeptical upon hearing we wanted to get married in what was essentially an empty 50,000ft garage, however Jess from Every Event London (our wedding planner) and my brilliantly creative mum consistently reassured us that together we could turn this monolithic empty space into a dream wedding venue.

A Pronovias Bride for an Ultra Chic Floral-ful Jewish Wedding at the Conservatory at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden, Luton, UK

01/08/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

There’s not much we love more than a good signature cocktail. Except for, say, FOUR signature cocktails, like today’s couple had at their gorgeous Jewish wedding.

Lauren, a beauty journalist, and Phil, a business development manager in financial services, went all out and came up with a Manchester Margarita (the groom is from Manchester), a Quinn & Tonic bar (Quinn is the couple’s last name), a Lauren’s Lychee Martini, and a Phil’s Passion Fruit Mojito. Um, we’ll take one of each!

But it’s not just the drinks we’re mad for at this wedding; the aesthetics were pretty fab as well. Lauren and Phil ran with the walled garden venue theme and crafted the coolest flower wall (they did it themselves) and decked their gorgeous pink(!) chuppah out in flowers and eucalyptus leaves. Photographer Grace Pham captured all the details SO perfectly.

Also we LOVE that these two met in the security line of Luton airport (like something out of a movie, right?!) and so chose a venue in Luton, near to where they first met.

Let’s hand over to Lauren, who looked ever so dreamy in her sparkling beaded gown from Pronovias…

How we met

Lauren, the bride: We met on a Jewish university trip to Israel. Specifically, we met in the security line in Luton airport. Phil cut his knee when he was going through security and I rushed up to him with a plaster (I always carry an emergency bag – haha). It went from there, and our incredible holiday romance turned into a long-distance relationship – we travelled between Manchester, where Phil lived, and London every weekend for a year and a half. Following this, he finally moved to London!

An Industrial Warehouse Winter Jewish Wedding at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, UK

23/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

After the popularity of last week’s winter wedding, we’re thrilled to be sharing another incredible (and very different!) winter Jewish wedding that’s cooler than a polar bear’s toe nails (sorry couldn’t resist that!).

Despite getting married in February in Manchester – when daylight is at a minimum, and you can pretty much forget about sun – Danielle and Jason (who run the travel blog 52WeekendsNY) had the most stunningly gorgeous day.

Knowing what they were up against, the couple decided to play up the dark, wintry vibe. Their venue, Victoria Warehouse – a former Kellogg’s factory – is just the kind of cavernous warehouse space that lends itself to some serious cozying up. Danielle and Jason did such a fantastic job warming up the concrete floors and unfinished brick walls with florals in claret and dark green, a candle aisle (!), and the dreamiest chuppah (built by Danielle’s dad!): pared-down in keeping with the industrial vibe of the day, but with the poles still wrapped in greenery and purple flowers – plus some fairy lights for a super magical wintry look.

We just love how the couple created such a unique and beautiful aesthetic for their day – and photographer Liam Crawley of The Crawleys did the best job of capturing not only the lovely details of the day but also all the emotion, of which there was plenty to go around.

One other thing we loved about this wedding is that not only did the bride give a speech, so did both of the mothers! On our Facebook group lately, there’s been some discussion about the English tradition of only the groom, best man, and father of the bride speaking.

Understandably, a lot of today’s brides aren’t so comfortable with this all-male lineup, but it’s not always easy going against such a longstanding tradition. So we’re always excited when we see brides – and their female relatives and friends – standing up and speaking out on their big days. Now over to Danielle…

How we met

Danielle, the bride: We met at university and now live together in NYC.

A Stella York Bride for a Winter Wonderland Jewish Wedding at Warren Weir, Luton Hoo, UK

18/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Don’t mind us, we’re busy picking our jaws up off the floor after seeing today’s stunning Jewish wedding portraits in the snow. Almost enough to make you rethink that summer wedding, are we right?!

When Mel, a project manager, and Mitch, who works in IT, first chose Chiko Photography, they were drawn to a photo of his with a couple under an umbrella in the snow. Who would’ve thought they’d get to recreate it themselves?!

This is also a special wedding for us because bride Mel was one of our blogging brides but not only that, Mel was also a founding member of our Club for Jewish Brides, and as such, she and Mitch were the very first couple to ever use our own-brand (and super gorgeous!) smash glass pouch for breaking the glass under their chuppah!

We loved following Mel’s wedding planning journey, and we’re so glad to hear that the feeling was mutual. Mel found several of her amazing wedding vendors through Smashing the Glass, from their incredible videographer, STG Recommended Vendor Denee Motion,to another much loved STG Recommended Vendor XS Showband, best known as pioneers of the wedding flash mob!

XS Showband provided entertainment throughout the day, but we can’t take our eyes off Denee Motion’s fantastic video of Mel and Mitch’s very own musical wedding flash mob, just before their ceremony started. They wanted a special surprise for their guests, something to make sure their day really stood out, and we think this more than did the trick. You’ve got to check it out for yourself!

Do also take a moment to read through Mel’s fabulous account of her planning and prep, there are some really useful tips and a generous helping of super advice at the end. Over to Mel now (and by the way we think she looks SO elegant in her lace fishtail gown by Stella York. . .

How we met

Mel, the bride: We met on JDate in 2013. After chatting for a while we met for a drink. Our second date was an eight-hour lunch! I thought if someone can keep me engrossed in constant conversation for that long without getting bored then I am on to a winner.

A Mori Lee Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding at St. Pancras Renaissance, London, UK

09/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Okay, how much do we love Natasha and Tal’s wisteria chuppah?! SO romantic, and yet somehow also understated, since the couple kept everything else about the structure super simple. What a great reminder that you don’t necessarily have to go all out and do something super dramatic and involved to have a beautiful, memorable chuppah at your Jewish wedding.

There’s so much more that was beautiful and memorable about this day, too – you’ve got to check out Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor David Pullum’s photos of all the action. But if you just see one, make sure it’s the pic where Natasha’s being tossed six feet in the air (!) on a tablecloth – scroll a bit, and you won’t miss it. It’s pretty dramatic, and we’re not even a little surprised that guests are still talking about it.

From that photo alone, you can probably guess that Natasha and Tal had a pretty rockin’ party. That was partly thanks to Smashing the Glass Recommended Vendor The Function Band, who the couple describe as “truly show-stopping.” They made sure the dance floor was packed all night, and guests are still remarking on their fantastic performance.

Now we’ll turn you over to Natasha, who looked stunning in her Mori Lee dress…

A London Venue

Natasha, the bride: We got married at St Pancras Renaissance. We were struggling to find a venue that we agreed on. We walked up to the front of the venue and were instantly wowed. We walked around imaging the photographs and knew it was going to be the one.