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A Creative Indoor Forest Jewish Wedding with a Ritva Westenius Bride at One Embankment, London, UK

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Oh Genna and Seth, where to start? What a wonderfully cool and creative wedding these two had! 

But we have to start somewhere, so what better place than with the venue design? This included effectively transporting a magical woodland into an urban, London venue – the beautiful One Embankment. You genuinely have to look hard to realise that the chuppah did not, in fact, take place in an enchanted forest. We are also seriously into those stairs leading to the chuppah – what an entrance!

The wedding was submitted by illustrious kosher caterer, Food Story, for whom Genna and Seth had nothing but glowing praise, and, being very familiar with their work, we have to agree! 

Genna looked every bit the breathtaking bride in her astoundingly gorgeous Ritva Westenius gown, which was made just for her (and wow, it really shows), and STG Vendor Sensation Band entertained the crowd with a spectacular live music soundtrack, working very closely alongside the bride and groom in the run-up to their Big Day (that’s an STG Vendor for you!)

Genna and Seth did not see or speak to each other for a whole week before the wedding, and, literally surrounded by friends and family at the chuppah, were totally overwhelmed with emotion and excitement. We think this is an absolutely wonderful idea for those who possess the self control, and it clearly made the moment even more special and electric for them. 

You can check out all the details below, including all the images by Earthy Photography, the moving, vintage-inspired movie by videographer, Mariage a la Mode, and beautiful words by the gorgeous bride, Genna.

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How we met 

Genna, the bride: I wouldn’t call this a romantic fairytale story… Seth and I have know each other for 15 years. We had a first kiss when we were just 14, then again aged 16, where I totally and utterly fell for Seth but the feeling wasn’t quite mutual.

Eight years then passed without speaking or bumping into each other, until we met again at a friend’s party. After an awkward conversation, and a lot of drinks, we set another time to go on a date, and the rest was history.

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Bringing the countryside to the city – a rustic Jewish wedding with a Phillipa Lepley bride at St Pancras Hotel, London, UK

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If it’s impractical to have a countryside wedding, there’s one clear solution: bring the countryside to the city – and that’s exactly what rustic-loving couple, Miranda and Gabriel, decided to do. 

Their beautiful wedding incorporated elements of farmhouse chic, including doodled dress codes (what a fantastic idea) a multitude of painstakingly collected jam jars, and loose, tumbling floral arrangements – oh, and a Chuppah (designed by the amazing Blue Sky Flowers)  to stop you in your tracks. Have you ever seen such a thing of beauty? We are in LOVE! 

All of this was lovingly captured by our beloved Recommended Vendor, Ria Mishaal, whose work has graced the pages of STG many times before. 

In fact, it was one of her past real weddings, Claudia & Ed, who inspired much of the cast of Miranda and Gabriel’s big day. Miranda actually attended that wedding as a guest, and when she later saw the feature on STG, she knew that she couldn’t go wrong by contacting a few of their vendors!

Miranda and Gabriel ended up using Claudia and Ed’s photographer, planner AND florist, and were delighted with their choices.

There’s so much more to talk about, including the bride’s beautiful Philippa Lepley gown, the couple’s egalitarian ceremony and speeches and the simplification of bridesmaid politics, so we’ll hand over to Miranda to tell you all about it! 

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How we met

Miranda, the bride: I’m a teacher and Gabriel is a doctor. We met through a fix up – his brother and my sister were friends from university, and my sister passed on my number to Gabriel at a dinner party.

Then, after an awkward phone call, and some unsuccessful attempts at Facebook stalking on my part, we went on a completely blind date (all I had to go on was my sister’s description – “he is extremely tall with large hair”) to the extremely romantic (!) Cottons Rum Shack in Chalk Farm. We met at eight and stayed out until 2am, talking and laughing – it just went from there!

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An industrial-romantic Jewish wedding at London’s last lighthouse, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, UK

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Nicole and Daniel’s lighthouse / warehouse industrial-meets-romantic wedding is cooler than a polar bear’s toenails. FACT.

From the alternative, urban venue, to the dress designed by gorgeous bride, Nicole, the atmospheric lighting to the floating-effect Chuppah design, the bridesmaids in black to the groomsmens’ bow ties – everything about this big day looked picture perfect.

We love how the pair, who had been together for 15 years before saying ‘I do’, took everything in their stride. When their photographer disappeared on them, they found two more, with just days to go (kudos to James Frost, and a second shooter, Benjamin Wheeler, for stepping in and saving the day). When the lights went out during their meal, they ran with it, calling it atmospheric, and continued by candlelight. If they can cope so calmly with wedding day mishaps, then they’re truly prepared for the rollercoaster ride that is marriage.

This is genuinely a wedding to feast your eyes on, but also read Nicole’s brilliant writeup (and check out her Instagram, @nicolelevypr) and take a few minutes to watch the gorgeously cinematic wedding video below, by Our Further Project. 

Over to beautiful bride, Nicole, for the full report. 

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How we met

Nicole, the bride: Daniel and I met at a mutual friend’s engagement party nearly 15 years ago, and we’ve been together ever since. We got engaged in 2014, so I guess you could say we’ve taken our time with the whole marriage thing.

I have my own fashion PR company Nicole Levy PR, which Daniel helps me run, and he is also an IT Director for another company.

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A black-tie-meets-rustic Masorti Jewish Wedding at Manor by the Lake, Cheltenham, UK

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Tissues at the ready, folks, because if you don’t well up within the first 30 seconds of Sam and Jonny’s stunning wedding video (just below) then you’re made of stone!

Sam and Jonny met on the job as lawyers, and their meeting of minds blossomed into true love.  Together, they planned every detail of their black-tie-meets-rustic wedding, and ensured every element, from the Masorti ceremony, where the couple circled each other and smashed the glass together, to the bride’s speech, and even this write up, was completely equality driven.

The moving celebration was captured on film by Velvet Wedding Studio, and in beautiful stills by our much-loved STG Recommended Vendor, Blake Ezra – and what a stunning job they both did. 

Sensational bride, Sam, looked every bit the A lister in her show-stopping Louise Marie gown – and she did an astounding job with her own makeup. What a beauty! 

Sam and Jonny did a beautiful job describing their big day in detail, so we’ll pass you over to them now (note how well they talk about each other’s big day experience – a masterclass in marital listening).

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How we met

Sam, the bride, and Jonny, the groom: Jonny and Sam first met briefly at a law firm, on a law summer placement scheme in 2009 (whilst actually competing for a job!). Jonny and Sam then became close friends whilst attending law school in London, but it wasn’t until they worked at the same firm, when they became more than just friends.

Jonny and Sam got engaged in April 2014. Jonny proposed in a photo booth, and the couple plans to return to the same photo booth annually to capture each year of marriage.

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A Rosh Hashanah-themed Jewish wedding with a Suzanne Neville bride at Braxted Park, Essex, UK

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Anyone else have goosebumps? Scroll down. How about now? The sensation you’re experiencing is a result of extreme wedding prettiness combined with the unparalleled artistic prowess of much-loved STG Recommended Vendor and photographer extraordinaire, Blake Ezra. 

In fact, Tash & Jason’s magical secret garden-inspired wedding was a total STG Recommended Vendor-fest, with an appearance from fabulous makeup artist Philippa Louise. The couple also won their photo booth with Mega Booth in a Smashing the Glass competition. 

Now that we’re done blowing our own horn, let’s talk about the wedding horn (shofar) which was also blown (yes, smooth segue, we know). The wedding was Rosh Hashanah themed, with beautiful fresh fruits incorporated into the wildflower floral arrangements, honey pot and honey cake recipe favours and the blowing of the shofar during the ceremony. 

Gorgeous bride, Tash, is an art director and, as such, was delighted to be let loose on a wedding theme – and boy, does it show. Tash’s expert eye and attention to detail created a cohesive, overwhelmingly beautiful (and delightfully purple) theme that looks outstanding in photographs. And that wildflower-adorned Chuppah – a masterpiece! Bravo, Tash! If you fall in love with the images below and simply can’t get enough, check out her Instagram! 

We also adore Tash’s customised Suzanne Neville gown, with little embellishments to bring in her own personality and tastes. 

Tash and Jason’s Badeken and ceremony were full of heart and meaning, especially as the couple hadn’t seen or spoken to each other in a whole week! What willpower! We also adore the couple’s joint words of wisdom at the end of this post – so much fantastic advice. 

We’ll let Tash take over now to tell you all about how her and Jason’s big day came together. Tash – the stage is yours! 

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How we met

Tash, the bride: Despite having huge amounts of friends in common, and probably attending the same parties during our university days, we didnt meet until after uni, at a mutual friend’s birthday party, where else but Camden?

We were in a Blues Bar and got chatting. The instant Jason heard that I love to bake, and did gluten-free cupcakes (he was GF at the time) the match was made, and we set our first date after partying the night away! Our relationship hasn’t really changed. I still bake for him, and our worlds pretty much centre around food, family and friends.

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