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A Demetrios Bride for a Stylish Jewish Wedding at Super Cool Venue Aynhoe Park, Banbury, UK

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You’re in for an EPIC start to the week with today’s Jewish wedding, set at one of my all-time favorite venues: Aynhoe Park and featuring one of STG’s all-time favorite bands (and Recommended Vendor) The Function Band!

Britain’s coolest listed estate, Aynhoe Park is a 17th-century country house bursting at the seams with taxidermy animals (including a polar bear — and a unicorn!), classical sculpture, disco balls, and an eclectic art collection.

Gorgeous couple Danielle and Alex looked at venues all over the world, but none compared to Aynhoe. Take a peek at photographer Alex Beckett’s delightfully quirky snaps of their day, and I think you’ll agree with them. I just love how Aynhoe Park combines old-fashioned English eccentricity with 21st-century edge. Saying this place has character doesn’t even begin to cover it.

I also want to mention here that groom Alex planned this whole wedding on his own, top to bottom — how awesome is that?! Danielle had her hands full taking care of the couple’s adorable baby boy, and she had enough faith in her husband-to-be’s good taste to hand the reins over — though she drew the line when he offered to choose her gown!

And it’s a good thing she did, because the racerback fishtail Demetrios dress she ended up with could not have been more perfect. Now over to Danielle…

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How we met

Danielle, the bride: I met Alex when he first came to Dubai on holiday and we had a mutual friend. We had some really good nights out as friends, but he lived in the UK and I lived in Dubai.

I came back to the UK for Xmas 2012 and we ended up having our first kiss and then we spoke every single day, every single minute of the day. We managed a long distance relationship for one year. I would fly back when I could, and he would come to Dubai when he could. I think we managed to see each other every 4-6 weeks.

Once the year was up Alex asked me to move back and move in with him, which eventually I said yes to. It was hard for me leaving all my family in Dubai, but I knew I wanted to be with Alex and knew I had to give this a go.

Two months after moving back we had a dog, one year and half after moving back I fell pregnant and we had a beautiful baby boy called Arthur, and then obviously the wedding 🙂

So we started dating from December 2012 / I moved back to UK in January 2014 / I had Arthur on May 13, 2016 / we got married July 20, 2017.

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An Oleg Cassini Bride for a Multicultural Jewish Wedding at Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel, Belgravia, London, UK

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Today’s couple, Monica, a surveyor, and Damon, an e-commerce manager, had a beautiful multicultural Jewish wedding smack bang in the center of London. Their glam day featured a champagne color scheme, stunning flower arrangements, and a super cool Perspex chuppah.

Bride Monica converted to Judaism, and it was important to the couple to incorporate traditions reflecting all of their families’ heritage into the day. They had musicians from Sweden, Germany, Israel, and London brought in to perform songs in Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, and English, and their singers even learned some Greek to make sure they really mastered the performance!

Keeping with the theme of family, they chose their venue, Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in Belgravia, partly because it’s where Damon’s sister got married previously, and they loved having that connection. The couple got their mothers to team up on the welcome speech, Monica’s dad not being much for public speaking! And Damon’s touching speech, including a musical performance by the groom himself (!) made every guest in the room tear up.

Their amazing photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor David Morgan, was likewise chosen partly because he had worked on a previous family wedding – but also because when the couple met with him they just clicked. Monica sings his praises as not only a super calming influence on the day who “saw beauty in moments you wouldn’t expect,” but also a huge support in the lead-up to the wedding.

Lucky for you UK brides-to-be, David is also offering a 10% discount on any package to members of our  VIB [Very Important Bride] Brides Club! He’s just one of many handpicked vendors offering discounts or free gifts to members of this very special group, which also features a private members-only Facebook group with around-the-clock support and advice from my team and me, plus all kinds of cool bridal extras and goodies. If you haven’t joined yet, don’t delay as we’ll be closing membership for this quarter shortly!

Monica and Damon were also delighted with their videographer, Jamie Horton at Yours Truly. Jamie had never worked on a Jewish wedding before, but he was excited to learn about a new set of wedding customs.

In the VIB Facebook community, we hear from a lot of brides who are unsure about using vendors new to Jewish weddings, and this just goes to show that so long as the vendor in question is willing to learn about new wedding traditions there’s really no reason to worry.

Here’s more from Monica, who was just gorgeous in her sparkly Oleg Cassini gown…

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How we met

Monica, the bride: We met when I was 20 years old; he is my best friend’s brother.

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A Carolina Herrera Bride for a Super Elegant Jewish Wedding at Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire, UK

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Oh my goodness, this is one elegant Jewish wedding. Lauren who works in public relations, and Ross, a chartered surveyor, wanted the day to reflect all the best elements of a classic English wedding with a contemporary twist.

The couple chose Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jenna Keller as their wedding planner (who is offering an exclusive 10% discount to all our VIB Club members!) and she helped them bring their super glam vision to life at Capesthorne Hall, a beautiful stately home in Cheshire.

We just love a floral chuppah, and Jenna came up with just the chicest variation! Lauren wanted something unique but not over-the-top, and the refined white floral canopy atop translucent poles set against the all-white marquee fits the bill exactly. It’s contemporary while embracing tradition, sophisticated and refined, just like the rest of this wedding.

To make their ceremony even more special, Lauren and Ross booked much-loved STG Recommended Vendor Boutique Chupah Music, adding to the emotional and intimate atmosphere.

Planner Jenna pointed the pair toward their wonderful photographer, Robert Shack. He did an amazing job of capturing their glamorous day, and videographer Rebecca Reville caught the festivities in live action.

Speaking of things that are glamorous, isn’t Lauren’s lace gown exquisite? It fits her like a glove, and that train! She found her Carolina Herrera stunner at yet another fabulous STG Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club in London–but she almost missed out on the dress of her dreams. At the end of a long day of shopping, Lauren was ready to call it quits after having found solid gown options at the first three of four appointments she had scheduled.

Her mum encouraged her not to cancel that final appointment, though, and luckily Lauren listened, because the very first dress her Wedding Club stylist brought out for her turned out to be the one. This goes to show that it’s always worth taking the time to check out that one last shop (or venue, or any vendor really), because you just never know where you’ll find the one! Now over to the bride herself . . .

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How we met

Lauren, the bride: We first met at Habonim Dror Winter Camp in 2007 when we were both camp leaders. I remember getting on so well; however nothing romantic happened at the time!

We met again in 2011 at Birmingham City University. We were both in the same halls and decided to join forces for drinks one night during freshers’ week. We have been together ever since!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Garden-Themed Jewish Wedding with an Allure Bridals Gown at Duntreath Castle, Blanefield, Scotland, UK

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Today’s Scottish stunner of a Jewish wedding is right out of a fairy tale. Nicole and Jonny’s day at Duntreath Castle in Scotland was chock full of dreamy florals, with the elegant grounds and gardens serving as a stunning backdrop to the festivities.

These two made the most of their Scottish setting, with a piper greeting guests as they arrived at the castle, creative Scottish-themed canapà©s (mini glasses of Irn-Bru, anyone?!), and a whisky bar featuring bottles of malt from each of Scotland’s whiskey regions. Love it!

The couple planned their wedding all the way from Sydney. Luckily, Nicole’s parents in Glasgow had just retired at the time of the couple’s engagement, and they were able to devote themselves to wedding planning fulltime!

From meeting with vendors in the couple’s place to building the chuppah–Nicole’s dad made it from scratch, and her mum turned her own wedding dress into the canopy! This wedding was truly a family affair…

Photographer Ashley Coombes documentary-style work captured the day perfectly. Now over to Nicole to fill us in on all the details.

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How We Met

Nicole, the bride: We met through close friends who introduced us.
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Sisters Doing it for Themselves at a Quirky, Converse-Filled Jewish Wedding at Rosewood London, UK

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There is no bond like that between sisters and nothing demonstrates that more readily than Megan and Sam’s Jewish wedding. Yes, today’s real wedding is a bit of an unusual one, as it was submitted (and the report was written by) Dani Tucker, the founder of the amazing Social Kitchen, and sister of bride, Megan.

Dani runs one of editor Karen’s favorite Instagram accounts (which is saying something as Karen is a huge Insta-enthusiast) and there is a very moving story behind it all, paying homage to the sisters’ late mother.

Having met Dani several times, Karen absolutely adores her and we are big fans of her here at Smashing The Glass, and even more so after reading today’s touching write up. 

Dani’s sister, Megan (the bride), wasn’t really into the whole wedding thing. She just wanted to be married and have fun at the wedding. So Dani planned the party of a lifetime for her dear sister. What an incredible gift, and what a phenomenal job she did all round. Dani organized every detail, with Megan deciding on her shoes (personalized Converse – we love it), the groom and the first dance. Probably not quite in that order.

Dani describes gorgeous bride Megan as “quirky, independent, strong and yet beautiful” – the wedding she planned completely reflected Megan and her new husband, Sam. 

With everyone in Converse, even the rabbi, a sweet bar and a Shwarma goodie bag, this unique big day was planned with so much love and attention to detail, and Dani found so many wonderful ways to honor their mother.

Photography was provided by Chiko Photography and the beautiful film by AT Motion is below.

Let’s hand over to Dani to tell Megan and Sam’s story in the lovely and eloquent writeup below. Tissues at the ready, guys. 

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How they met

Dani Tucker, the sister of the bride: Megan and Sam met on Jcrush. Her work colleagues set up her profile and swiped for her – set up the date for her – he lived in Manchester, came down for the date and then a few months later, she went on holiday. He picked her up from the airport in London and never went back to Manchester other than to collect his things.

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