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Smashing the Sake Barrel: A Multicultural Same-Sex Chinese-Japanese-Jewish Wedding at Spring Studios, Kentish Town, London, UK

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Just about all the weddings we blog feature a couple smashing the glass, but we’re pretty sure this is our first where the couple’s also smashed a sake barrel! Beautiful London-based brides Phoebe and Misa, both software engineers, planned the most smashing (sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves) lesbian Jew-ish wedding combining Phoebe’s Jewish background with Misa’s Chinese and Japanese heritage – and we’re obsessed!

These two wanted their day to truly reflect them as a couple, and we don’t think they could possibly have done a better job. With a Jew-ish ceremony led by Phoebe’s childhood rabbi, Chinese and Japanese canapes, personalized sake cup favors for the guests, and a blessing in Japanese from Misa’s mum, we’re obsessed with how seamlessly multicultural the duo made their day.

And back to the smashing of the sake barrel – did you know that it’s a Japanese custom to break the lid of a sake barrel with a wooden hammer on special occasions? What a cool parallel to smashing the glass (which Phoebe and Misa also did, naturally) – and the sake from that smashed barrel was used for the final toast of the night!

We’re obsessed with Phoebe and Misa’s incredible photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Marta Ilardo. The camera-shy couple wanted a documentary-style photographer who’d make them feel comfortable on the day, and Marta fit the bill perfectly – plus, how stunning are her photos?

Now over to the Phoebe and Misa, who looked gorgeous in their dresses by Aesling and Mikaella, respectively…

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How we Met

Misa and Phoebe, the brides: We actually met at a coding bootcamp (Makers Academy) in 2016! Phoebe was working in finance and Misa was doing a PhD in partnership with Cancer Research UK, when we both decided to re train as Software Engineers.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Essense of Australia Bride for a Foodies’ Jewish Wedding at Wild by Tart, London, UK

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Chelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UK

Today’s couple, Chelsie, co-founder of Blondies Kitchen, and Rob, founder and owner of Brown Butter Dining, had visions of tying the knot on the beach in Marbella in July 2020, feasting on paella and sangria to their hearts’ content. As you can probably guess, though, COVID got in the way. At first the couple opted to postpone, hoping things would go back to normal in time for a July 2021 wedding… but as we all know, that’s not quite how things went.

Eventually, the pair shifted gears and started planning a local wedding in London – and somehow they managed to put something together that combines the best of their home city with the laid-back Mediterranean vibes of their Plan A wedding. With a ceremony at New West End Synagogue followed by a reception at Wild by Tart in Belgravia (which is not only an event space but also a restaurant – hence incredible food that met the duo’s tough standards), Chelsie and Rob pulled off the most perfect day -even if it looked different from what they’d first envisioned. They even finished off the night with a cookie cart from Chelsie’s cookie business, Blondies Kitchen, so that everyone could take home a special treat at the end.

We’re obsessed with the natural photos by Alex Wysocki and stunning cinematic video from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion – watching the trailer really makes us feel as if we were right there with Chelsie and Rob!

We’ll leave it to Chelsie, who looked so glam in Essense of Australia, to take it from here…

Chelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UK Chelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UK Chelsie & Rob, Wild by Tart, London, UK
How we Met

Chelsie, the bride: We actually met through a friend because I went to train to be a chef and Rob was one. Our passion for food connected us.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Rosa Clara Bride for an Elegant Ballroom Jewish Wedding at the Kimpton Fitzroy London, UK

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Chloe & Mike, Kimpton Fitzroy London, London, UK

There’s nothing like that feeling when a couple teams up with some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors to craft an absolutely jawdroppingly stellar Jewish wedding – which is exactly what our Brides Club member Chloe, a senior internal account manager for an IT reseller, and Mike, who works as a group management accountant for a pharmaceutical company, did!

First off, these two opted to make it official at one of our most beloved London venues, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kimpton Fitzroy London in Russell Square. After taking one look at the hotel’s exquisite ballroom, they knew it was the spot for them – and scrolling through their beautiful photos by David Pullum Photography, can you blame them?!

Kimpton Fitzroy London is known not only for its dreamy interiors but also for its top-notch customer service, and indeed Chloe and Mike can’t stop raving about how amazing the events team was through the planning process – which included not one but two COVID postponements!

We’re delighted to report that the couple found a whole bunch of their other vendors through Brides Club – including fabulous videographer Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Denee Motion and swoonworthy florist Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alexandra’s Florist. Speaking of Alexandra’s Florist – she’s the one responsible for the pair’s lush floral ketubah in shades of green and white, and how perfect is it?!

Chloe and Mike also opted to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Adam Nathan Catering, Kimpton Fitzroy London’s kosher-style catering partner, who was “a dream to work with” – and whose food is still getting rave reviews from guests!

Finally, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Toastmaster Jango “took care of absolutely everything on the day,” – so much so that one of Chloe’s top recs to engaged couples is to book yourselves a toastmaster of your own!

There’s so much more to be said about this wonderful day, but we’ll let Chloe – who looked positively ravishing in Rosa Clara – fill you in on the rest…

Chloe & Mike, Kimpton Fitzroy London, London, UK Chloe & Mike, Kimpton Fitzroy London, London, UK Chloe & Mike, Kimpton Fitzroy London, London, UK Chloe & Mike, Kimpton Fitzroy London, London, UK
How We Met

Chloe, the bride: Mike and I met all the way back in 2014 on a well-known dating app…(Tinder!). I had just graduated university and wasn’t looking for anything too serious, but when we met we just clicked. We are two totally different people! He’s very relaxed and chilled, and I’m the other end of the spectrum but somehow it works wonderfully!

We did long (ish) distance for over 4 years, with Mike living in Essex and me in Hertfordshire. The first few years were tough, with us only seeing each other twice a month. In 2018, Mike made the move to Hertfordshire where he rented a room in a house (on the same road as my parents) which made it so much easier from then on. It was that same year Mike came to me with the idea that he wanted to convert to Judaism, something that we had previously discussed but I never pressured him into. Having already had Jewish ancestry on his father’s side, it was something he was passionate about and wanted to realign his roots. After 18 months of conversion classes and shul on Saturday mornings, Mike converted at Radlett Reform Synagogue . It meant so much more to us standing under the chuppah on our wedding day, knowing that all his hard-work and dedication led us to that special moment, and I will forever cherish that.

We now live together in our house in Borehamwood, with our gorgeous rescue dog Rose! Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Gozde Karadana Bride for a Tel Aviv-Meets-London Jewish Wedding at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK

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Alex & Fyodor, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK

Happy 2022! We wanted to start off the year with a bang… and how better to do that than with the ultra-chic Jewish wedding of Alex, who works in PR, and Fyodor, who’s in digital marketing – which you’d never guess was planned in just 2.5 weeks!

Due to COVID, the couple – who’d originally planned to wed in Tel Aviv – ended up having to change their plans three times, and by the time they settled on London’s St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, their third venue, they didn’t have much time to pull things together.

But thanks to a fantastic team of vendors – many of whom came recommended through Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club, of which Alex was a member – they pulled it off and then some.

Even after changing countries from Israel to the UK Alex and Fyodor still wanted to include some touches of Tel Aviv – and their florist, Liz Inigo Jones from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Blue Sky Flowers, helped them pull it off, combining palm leaves with bold autumnal colors complementing the Gothic Revival style of the venue.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Liam Smith Photography is behind the couple’s gorgeous pics, and we couldn’t be any more obsessed with his non-posed, documentary style shots. And another wonderful Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, Matt from York Place Studios, handled videography in a similarly fresh, candid style.

Last but certainly not least, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jam Hot Showband managed the music for the entire wedding – and not only was their performance “phenomenal,” they were a joy to work with from start to finish.

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll leave the rest to Alex, who looked uber-glam in her Gozde Karadana gown…

Alex & Fyodor, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK Alex & Fyodor, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK Alex & Fyodor, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK Alex & Fyodor, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK
How we Met

Alex, the bride: We met in Poland at a Jewish trip called March of the Living.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Caroline Castigliano Bride for a Whimsical English Countryside Jewish Wedding at Langley Park, Cotswolds, UK

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We couldn’t think of a better way to close out the year than with the fabulous English countryside Jewish wedding of STG Brides Club member Alice, who works in advertising, and Micael, founder and CEO of a licensed medical cannabis producer!

The pandemic forced these two to postpone four times, and to make a pretty drastic pivot in locale from Israel to the UK – but you’d never know it from how absolutely picture-perfect their big day turned out! While COVID meant a long-haul destination wedding wasn’t in the cards, Alice and Micael opted to keep that destination feel by booking Langley Park in the Cotswolds for an all-weekend bash.

Alice was a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club during her wedding planning, and we’re so touched by her kind words about the group:

The biggest thing in Brides Club was the support network. During the pandemic, it felt as though we would never have a wedding. It was very reassuring to be amongst people going through the same thing and there were lots of resources to help navigate through it the best way possible! We also got a discount with the brilliant Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Big Day Designs, who printed our invitations. It was the first Jewish wedding for the majority of our vendors and Smashing the Glass was great for giving them all the information they needed.

We’re absolutely obsessed with the glam photos by Elena Popa and second shooter Emily Rose Hamilton – can you believe it was their first time photographing a Jewish wedding?!

There’s so much else to say about this beautiful day – from the surprise South African touches Alice added for Micael, who had lots of guests from home who sadly weren’t able to attend in person due to the pandemic; to the incredible private badeken the pair shared after not seeing each other for a full week; to the sweet custom illustrations Alice and Micael commissioned from The Millustrator. But we’ll leave it to Alice to fill you in on all that…

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How we Met

Alice, the bride: We usually just say long story! But we met in 2009 at a party in London. He is South African and was visiting his cousins who live in London. He never actually spoke to me on the night but later messaged me on Facebook. We dated long distance for several years whilst he was at university in Israel. He finally moved to London and we had a few make ups and break ups before getting engaged in 2019.Continue ReadingContinue Reading