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

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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 ReadingContinue Reading

An Eliza Jane Howell Bride for a Summer Garden Party Jewish Wedding at Southend and Westcliff Hebrew Congregation and Rankins Cricket Club, UK

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We could not be more delighted to be featuring the gorgeous Jewish wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Chloe to groom Eli! They crafted the most gorgeous summer garden party celebration – and did it all while Chloe moved halfway across the world from Singapore back to the couple’s shared hometown of Southend in the UK!

They followed their ceremony at Southend and Westcliff Hebrew Congregation, where both families have deep roots, with the most fabulous garden party reception at Rankins Cricket Club, featuring colorful florals, lush green foliage, tons of paper lanterns, and delectable kosher-style cuisine by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Adam Nathan Catering. 

The day was captured so exquisitely by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Liam Collard Photography. Chloe and Eli wanted a photographer who could capture all the fun, love, and energy of their big day, and did Liam ever deliver!

We’ll let the bride – who looked so glam in her vintage-style beaded gown by Eliza Jane Howell – fill you in on the rest…

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How We Met

Chloe, the bride: I’d been living in Singapore since 2012 and was back in the UK for my cousin’s wedding, my first visit for 2 years thanks to Covid. Montine, Eli’s younger sister, slid into my sister, Fiona’s, Instagram DM’s to see if I’d be interested in going on a date with her eldest brother. I was hesitant at first because I wasn’t living in the same country, but you can’t expect different results from doing the same things, so I took the plunge and responded back with my number to Montine.

Right from the start, I knew Eli was different, his opening text was a great one, a massive attention grabber and so we planned our first date, then another…and on our 3rd date, Eli asked when I was moving home. At the time I felt it was a bit presumptuous, but after 15 months of flying between Singapore and Westcliff, I was making my final descent into Heathrow to start our new life together. On a visit home last summer, 2022, Eli booked us a short getaway to the Isle of Skye.

We spent a wonderful few days foraging, dolphin and puffin spotting, sampling some delicious Scottish fare and generally getting to know each other. On our second to last morning, whilst getting ready for a rainy stroll, he stubbed his toe on the bed, and fell to his knees. The next thing I knew he rummaged in his pocket and whipped out the most gorgeous ring, and before he could even finish proposing, it was a massive YES from me!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Stella York Bride for a Rom-Com Inspired Jewish Wedding at Chiswick House & Gardens, London, UK

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A rom-com inspired Jewish wedding?! Um, yes please! We love that today’s bride, Lucy, planned her wedding to groom Joel with inspiration from the romantic comedies she grew up on. In her words, “I always wanted my wedding day to give me and my guests that warm feeling inside I got from watching them as a little girl” – and we think she nailed it!

From the dreamy garden setting at London’s Chiswick House & Gardens to the fabulous chuppah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Happy Chuppah People to Lucy’s princess gown by Stella York to the wonderful music by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ambassador Band that kept guests on the dancefloor (including to two sings from The Parent Trap, one of the bride’s favorite films!), this day was picture perfect from start to finish.

And speaking of pictures – the photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kate Swerdlow Photography were pretty darn perfect too! Lucy and Joel wanted someone who could capture authentic moments throughout the day, and Kate fit the bill perfectly. Kate also made them feel comfortable on the day – something that’s so important to factor in when choosing a photographer!

Now over to Lucy…

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How We Met

Lucy, the bride: I am an Account Manager in Influencer Marketing and Joel is a Sales Director. We met on a dating app called Hinge in 2019 and met shortly after 3 days later. I immediately knew Joel was the one. We instantly clicked and it was a feeling I had never had with anyone before. We spent loads of time together before being intensely locked down during Covid. This only served to bring us closer together. We already wanted to spend every single day together and when Covid struck it meant we could and without external distractions. 

Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Interfaith Jewish Wedding with Tons of Personal Touches at West London Synagogue, London, UK

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Get ready for a fabulous interfaith Jewish wedding! We love everything about the way Nicole, a client manager for a technology company, and Pedro, a data analyst, built their relationship with Judaism as a couple, and how that shaped their plans for the big day.

When Nicole, who’s Jewish, got together with Pedro, who isn’t, she knew she’d need to find an open-minded and inclusive Jewish community that would welcome the two of them as a couple. She found exactly that in West London Synagogue, where the couple attended classes and an interfaith marriage workshop together, in addition to celebrating Shabbats and holidays.

Given the important role West London Synagogue plays in the couple’s lives – not to mention the fact that it’s absolutely stunning – getting married there was a no-brainer. We love the personal significance of the venue – as well as the other wonderful personal touches Nicole and Pedro included, like having Pedro’s sister hand paint their ketubah, and assigning close friends to give them original blessings rather than the traditional sheva brachot.

The day was captured so beautifully by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Claire Jonas, who not only captured the Jewish traditions fabulously but also took some knockout portraits of Nicole and Pedro on the streets of Marylebone. We’ll let Nicole take it from here…

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How We Met

Nicole, the bride: We are both Brazilians, and we met at a bar while we still lived in Rio, back in 2017. It’s a funny story actually – I was about to leave the bar because his friend was being too loud. On top of that, when he approached me he told me he was an airplane pilot, and I thought he was just showing off. But he was cute, and when he asked for my number I thought “why not? If I don’t want to speak with him, I don’t have to answer!”. Nevertheless, on his first message he actually apologized for his friend, so I ended replying – and here we are 6 years later! We currently live in London.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Stella York Bride for an Ultra-Personal Jewish Wedding at Marriott Regents Park, London, UK

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When Georgia, a Speech and Language Therapist for the NHS, and Joel, a Marketing and Communications Manager, set out to plan their ultra-personal London Jewish wedding, they knew they wanted to be able to enjoy the big day with their nearest and dearest stress-free.

And so they made what turned out to be one of their best wedding planning decisions: hiring with Victoria from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Linda Abrahams & Co for on-the-day coordination. Georgia and her mum planned most of the wedding themselves, and then, with 12 weeks to go, Victoria came on board. In Georgia’s words, she was “an absolute dream to work with” and took all the pressure off so the couple could enjoy the lead up to the wedding without worrying about logistics – not to mention the day itself!

And you can tell just what a wonderful time everyone had in the end from Smashing The Glass Recommended vendor Liam Smith’s wonderful documentary wedding photography. Georgia and Joel “have always felt that our favourite photos are the ones where we didn’t know they were being taken,” and Liam’s discreet style was the perfect fit, allowing him to capture ALL the love and emotion.

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll let Georgia – who looked radiant in Stella York – take it from here…

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How We Met

Georgia, the bride: We met on our first day of university when we moved into Hillel House in Birmingham (the Jewish halls of residence). Joel asked me out on a date a few weeks later and we’ve been together ever since! It is actually a family tradition to meet your wife in Birmingham – as all three of Joel’s older brothers started dating their wives while attending university in Birmingham! Continue ReadingContinue Reading