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A Pronovias Bride for a Jewish Wedding with a Flashmob at Sefton Park Palm House, Liverpool, UK

16/01/2019 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

There’s not much we like better than hearing from couples that we’ve helped them plan the wedding of their dreams. So naturally we were thrilled to hear from Hannah and Jude that they booked Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor XS Showband on our founder, Karen’s recommendation!

Hannah, soon to be qualifying as a corporate lawyer, and Jude, a sales account manager, even squeezed in one of XS’s trademark wedding flashmobs – at the start of the ceremony, after the guests took their seats, instead of the groom walking down the aisle they found themselves in the midst of a flashmob performing Marvin Gaye’s ‘How Sweet It Is’! We’re so pleased (but not at all surprised) that the couple thought their band, who kept everyone dancing ALL night long, was “incredible beyond words” – some seriously high praise!

And it’s no surprise that a wedding as fabulous as this one was planned to perfection by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Qube Events and Productions, who, in addition to sorting the gold-themed décor and sourcing appropriate florals to complement the palm house venue the couple report, “took all the stress off” them on the day. Can’t ask for much more than that!

And speaking of that palm house venue – it’s a seriously stunning backdrop, captured to perfection by photographer Rob Clayton and videographer Stefan of YSD Media.

Hannah, who looked radiant in her mermaid fishtail Pronovias, will walk you through the rest, from picking the perfect exotic venue (without leaving home) to selecting flower girls and pageboys from their collective 31(!) nieces and nephews to smashing two glasses – but probably not for the reason you think…

Pssst want to ensure your wedding is as memorable as Hannah & Jude’s? Then make sure you’re signed up to Smashing The Glass’ FREE online event for Jewish and Jew-ish Brides, happening this Monday 21st January – sign up here!

How we met

Hannah, the bride: I went to Manchester University. I grew really close with the Aish campus family, which was Jude’s brother, Benji, and his wife, Shiffy, and their children. I spent alot of time with them over 4 years and had met Jude in passing but that was it.

I lost touch with Benji and Shiffy and then bumped in to Benji in Manchester 3 years later and he said I had to catch up with them. I went to see them the next week which was when they mentioned Jude to me.

Jude got in touch with me a couple of weeks later and that was it. We got engaged the day after our 1 year anniversary and married 9 days after our 2 year anniversary. Jude’s Auf Ruf was actually on our 2 year anniversary.

An Essense of Australia Bride for a Jew-ish Wedding at Poundon House, near Bicester, Buckinghamshire, UK

14/12/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

One of the things we most love here at Smashing the Glass is hearing how we’ve helped couples plan the Jew-ish wedding of their dreams. So when lovely bride Philippa (who just happens to be a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club) told us she found STG while looking for interfaith wedding inspo, it melted Team STG’s collective heart – and even more so when she told us reading other brides’ writeups of their Jew-ish weddings “made me realise we weren’t the only ones out there!”

So you can only imagine out delight in finding out that she and groom Jerome booked their officiant, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rabbi Paul Glantz, via STG! Rabbi Paul helped the couple – Philippa is Christian, Jerome’s Jewish – craft an ultra-personal ceremony that reflected both of their backgrounds and traditions, complete with plentiful description of the Jewish parts of the ceremony so everyone could follow along, plus an explanatory order of service crafted by the bride. This is such a smart idea if you know you’ll be having guests who are unfamiliar with Jewish wedding traditions!

We also love that toward the end of the ceremony, after the rabbi recited the traditional Jewish seven blessings in Hebrew, the couple invited some friends and close family to give seven humanist blessings in English!

And with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor the Function Band performing, this wedding was no slouch from an entertainment standpoint either. The Function Band are renowned far and wide for their ability to get the party started, and we’re not surprised that guest after guest came up to the couple to tell them how awesome the band was!

We haven’t even gotten to the fab rustic elegance aesthetic, the gorgeous floral chuppah, or Philippa’s stunner of a dress from Essense of Australia, but we’ll leave it to the bride – with some support from the fab photography by Pascal from Reportage, and videography by Cedar House Productions – to fill you in on all of that…

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How we met

Philippa, the bride: Jerome and I both work in the media industry – I’m a producer at a creative agency making commercials and promotional content, and Jerome is head of strategic development at a creative studio, working in VR and CGI.

We met through a mutual friend whom Jerome lived with at the time and we finally got together on a big group trip to Ibiza where we started kissing in the middle of a Hardwell gig at Ushuaia! We didn’t stop kissing after that. It didn’t take long for us to realise that it was meant to be and we moved into together after 3 months.

A Samantha Sleeper Bride for a Magical, Musical Jewish Wedding at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue and Old Billingsgate, London, UK

03/12/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

How as your first night of Hannukah last night? I love this time of year with latkes, donuts, candles, and presents! And before we dive into today’s stunning Jewish wedding do check out my TWO Hannukah gifts to you if you’re a bride-to-be!

So today’s wedding is jaw-on-the floor… That chuppah. That veil. That London summer sunshine. That gorgeous couple! This Jewish wedding is 100% pure magic, from start to finish.

Being that Adam is a filmmaker and Chloe is a photographer, it’s not surprising that ALL the visual details are totally on point. Take that chuppah. You might think such a wild natural design would look out of place in the uber-traditional synagogue setting.

But you’d be wrong. You could’ve fooled us into thinking a lovely little thicket of trees just happened to sprout up in the middle of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue and we’d have believed you, that’s how perfect a fit it is.

Or Chloe’s dress (and veil!) from Samantha Sleeper – it’s the absolute perfect combination of elegance and whimsy, and those hand-sewn blush silk flowers on the veil?! OBSESSED.

Being pros themselves, the couple demanded nothing less than the best when it came to photography, and did they ever find it in Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Crawleys! From the emotion to the gorgeous details to the wild dancing, they captured every single moment so incredibly beautifully. By the time we finished looking through their exceptional photos, we honestly felt like we’d been there.

With Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jonny Mosesson on hand to deliver one of his trademark soulful performances at the chuppah, we’re hard pressed to think of anything that could have made this wedding better.

But here’s one: This multitalented couple also gave a pretty epic musical performance themselves, with Adam on guitar and Chloe on vocals – no big deal in the middle of your big day, right?! You don’t want to miss Shoot Me Now Films’ recording of the big moment – or any other details of this exceptional day, for that matter.

Alright, take it away, gorgeous Chloe!

Jewish wedding Spanish and Portuguese synagogue and Old Billingsgate in London, UK_0021

How we met

Chloe, the bride: We met through a set up of mutual friends! Chloe was living in Israel and Adam in London and we emailed one another for months before meeting! Top tip – never say never, anything can happen!

A Gemy Maalouf Bride for a City Chic Jewish Wedding at Plaisterers’ Hall, One London Wall, London, UK

26/11/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s no secret that it gets us pretty excited to hear how couples have used Smashing The Glass to help them plan their own Jewish (or Jew-ish weddings). So you can only imagine the warm and fuzzies it gave us to read these lovely words from today’s beautiful bride (and member of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club!) Aimee:

“We really wouldn’t have known where to start planning our wedding without Karen and Smashing The Glass. We used lots of STG Recommended Vendors and they were all incredible!”

Aww, we think you’re incredible too, Aimee! She and Ross planned the most fantastic day, and we’re so touched to have been a part of it. From the bride’s totally exquisite lace Gemy Maalouf gown from much beloved STG Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror London – it’s really unlike any other we’ve seen – to the lovely flowers (including succulents – how cool!) from STG Recommended Vendor The Country Flower Company to the elegant wedding stationery, complete with personalized wax seal, from STG Recommended Vendor Dimitria Jordan.

We’re always excited when a wedding with STG Recommended Vendor XS Showband crosses our path, and today’s is no exception. We’re delighted (but not surprised) to hear that they were incredibly helpful to Aimee and Ross throughout the planning, and we LOVE that the couple had one of the band members sing the prayers during their ceremony.

Even more STG-sourced vendors captured the day in all its glory: STG Recommended Vendor David Morgan took the coolest photos – we can’t get enough of his modern style – and STG Recommended Vendor Denee Motion’s wedding trailer is pure cinematic splendor, as always!

Okay, now we’ll hand you over to our new BFF Aimee…

How we met

Aimee, the bride: We first met on the same family holiday. We were both on the same cruise with our families and were introduced. However, I was quite shy and we didn’t talk too much!

Once back it turned out that I was joining Ross’ sixth form and we ended up in many of the same classes. In our second year we started dating and have been together ever since. 9 years later Ross proposed in our flat and here we are 11 months later… MARRIED!

A Pronovias Bride for a Glam Garden Party Jewish-inspired Wedding at Laura Ashley The Manor in Elstree, Hertfordshire, UK

19/11/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Squeal! Proud mom moment… yes, another one of my beautiful blogging brides is married! I’m so sad to say goodbye to lovely Clare, but also delighted to share her GORGEOUS Jew-ish wedding with you today…. and my goodness doesn’t she look gorgeous?!

Clare, a nursery school teacher, and Chris, a planning manager for a property developer in London (#onclouddeeks), started off their Smashing The Glass journey with a session with me as part of my wedding consultancy service. We worked together to to help bring her vision to life for what would eventually become her spring garden-themed day, and Clare reports that gained some incredible vendor recommendations from this session too – awww – that’s the best news!

Neither Clare nor Chris is Jewish, but the couple have Jewish family and opted to incorporate some traditions they found especially meaningful. I love the modernized, personal rewriting of the seven blessings their friends and family read to them (some of the blessings guests came up with are pretty hilarious!) and, of course, the magical birch chuppah with lanterns and candles strewn around the base.

Speaking of candles… the couple made liberal use of luxe scented candles throughout the day, which not only made their venue smell amazing but also made for wonderful memories: Clare reports that every time she smells, say, Jo Malone’s ‘wild fig and cassis’ (one of her picks), it immediately brings her back to the big day. Such a clever idea!

Photographer Catherine Carter and videographer Jeff Woods captured all the emotion – not to mention the fab creative touches – to perfection, and Clare looked beyond stunning in the exquisitely beaded fishtail-style Pronovias dress she purchased from STG Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club in South Kensington (where she had “the most amazing experience” – not that we’re surprised).

Okay, enough from us… take it away, Clare!