UK Archives - Page 55 of 57 - Smashing the Glass

Steph & Juls | Boho English Country Garden Jewish Wedding, Narborough Hall, Norfolk

30/12/2013 by Karen

When I knew I’d be blogging this beauty of a wedding I whooped, hollered and clapped my hands with glee… Its filled with so many wonderful details, and the bride, Steph describes it all so beautifully.

It’s set in the depths of the Norfolk countryside at the resplendent garden venue that is Narborough Hall, and it’s full of creative details, fashion-inspired touches, and an achingly chic bride and groom ( well they do both work in fashion industry – in fact that’s how they met, but more about that later on).

Now not only do we have the delights of photographer extraordinaire, Katherine Ashdown, but we also have a wonderful film of this wedding included in the post, by the awesome Sugarfish.

You guys are in for a treat. Seriously. this wedding is a dream.

VENUE
Steph, the Bride: I fell in love with Narborough Hall as soon as I saw it… somewhere where we could feel at home, and relaxed. We were originally going to get married in Ibiza, but my family are farmers, so they couldn’t be away from the crops and the animals for any long amount of time, not to mention that my grandad wouldn’t be able to travel that far..

Narborough ticked all the boxes in terms of being a bit boho and absolutely beautiful, and somehow really tranquil and fun.. not at all stiff or pompous.

The fact that the flowers could all be sourced from Narborough’s own gardens also made it feel very natural and not ‘plastic’ or put on.

THEME
I sort of toyed around with loads of magazine tears and ideas from the internet..The problem was that trend seemed to be for kitsch, hand made, english country wedding, and although I love all that, I didn’t want our wedding to look like it had been taken straight out of someone else’s wedding shoot or too ‘theme’ wedding rather than my wedding..

So I began to look at films and other inspirations and found some fantastic images of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and that kind of era, mixed with a bit of faded English glamour and tarnished jewels became the background theme.

Philippa & Andrew | Romantic City Chic Jewish Wedding at the Mandarin Oriental, London

20/12/2013 by Karen

Philippa and Andrew’s big day is the epitome of romantic elegance. The exquisite colour scheme of purples, greys, golds and pastels pervades everything in their wedding; it’s present in Philippa’s luscious bouquet (that frankly looks good enough to eat) and their beautiful dessert table too… right down to the invitations, menus and lighting.

And how gorgeous is our bride, Philippa? Doesn’t her Audrey Hepburn / 50s inspired Stephanie Allin dress look immense? And I am swooning over her awesome Lulu Guinness ‘lips’ bag (her lovely husband actually surprised her with it on the day… so cute)

Anyway I won’t delay you any further; go on check out Philippa and Andrew’s splendid day for yourselves: ogle over the gorgeous imagery by Mark Seymour and, at the end of the post, the wonderfully atmospheric film by The Dreamcatchers.

A BALLROOM VENUE WITH BEAUTIFUL PARK VIEWS
A countryside wedding was our original plan, however this was proving difficult because at the time we had 200 guests to invite. We didn’t want to go to a beautiful countryside manor and have to use a marquee — what’s the point of going to a stunning location to be put in a marquee and have to spend thousands dressing it? So we decided that interior was key and the Mandarin Oriental was the perfect answer. We had the best of both worlds, a beautiful ballroom with Hyde Park literally on your door step.

THEME + STYLE
We went for a ‘romantic and elegant’ theme. Being a makeup artist I love to mood board so this was always going to be a fun task . The colour scheme and the style of the wedding was so important. Purple was the chosen dominant colour used throughout the wedding on the invitations, menus, flowers, ties etc) with greys, golds and different coloured pastels to compliment. The ballroom was dripping in gold and had lots of huge mirrors inside and so the romantic mood was enhanced with soft purple and pink lighting. Candelabras were placed on every other table with a small floral display on top & pastel coloured scattered petals on the mirrored base. The alternate tables had a low flower display with tea lights and scattered petals so not to block anyone’s view. Purple was used throughout the flowers in different shades to enhance and compliment the mood.

Joanna & David | Amazing Jewish Wedding at the London Transport Museum

19/12/2013 by Karen

This morning I have the ideal antidote to the stormy weather and the general sub zero antics that appear to be going on outside. Steve from Newlywed Films recently contacted me to share one of his favourite wedding films from 2013 and it’s perfect for brightening up a particularly inclement day such as today.

There are so many details that I love about this wedding, from the groom’s theatrical top hat and the bride’s Vivienne Westwood-esque dress (especially that bustle) to the fact that their reception took place in the London Transport Museum – how fun and fabulous is that?! Their guests chatted and ate on the different buses throughout the museum and as Joanna, the bride, says, “The London Transport Museum had never held a wedding reception before which meant it was a really fun and creative process for us and felt very unique and special.”

Beforehand they held their ceremony in David’s old school, UCS in Hampstead, and it featured an absolutely beautiful chuppah with the most vibrant coloured flowers and talit.

Anyway, enough from me, check out the wedding film for a sun-in-your-heart Thursday feeling.

http://vimeo.com/75596726

Joanna, the bride: We don’t have an exciting/romantic backstory in terms of using the London Transport Museum as our wedding venue – we just came across it when we were venue searching and then nothing else seemed to compare!

We didn’t want a sit down meal but we also wanted our guests to be occupied the whole time so a museum space with fun exhibits seemed perfect, especially as we knew that there would be kids at the reception. It turns out that it was the adults who probably enjoyed it the most though! Also, the transport museum had never held a wedding reception before which meant it was a really fun and creative process for us and felt very unique and special.

Victoria & Oliver | Super-Creative Back Garden Jewish Wedding in Highgate, London, UK

12/12/2013 by Karen

Today folks we have back garden glamour abound, with a wedding hosted in the bride’s parents’ home followed by a reception at the bride’s grandparent’s home. How lovely is that?

There’s loads of super creative DIY, a gorgeous Alice Temperley bride, a Routemaster bus, some swimming pool action, and some immense photography from Richmond Pictures.

Victoria, a creative arts therapist, and Oliver, a theatre producer, met during their time at the Newcastle University Theatre Society where they played two drunks in Kebab! The Musical . What an awesome ‘how did you meet’ opener!

VENUE + LOCATION
Victoria, the Bride: We had the ceremony in my parent’s garden in Highgate. They have a lawn down some garden steps, which makes it feel like a secret garden almost. We then took red London buses to my Grandparent’s house, also in Highgate, as they too have a lovely garden – we had a marquee here. I grew up in both these gardens so both venues had a lot of sentimental value and my fiancà©e loved the gardens too. (My Grandpa died a few years ago but my Grandma was thrilled to host everyone — she danced all night. This was particularly special as she passed away 6 months later. We have such great memories of her as hostess with the mostess!)

Sara & John | Incredible ‘Granny Chic’ vintage Jewish wedding, Kidbrooke Park, Sussex

28/10/2013 by Karen

Sara is one incredibly beautiful and creative bride. And I’m talking creative with a capital ‘C’ folks. Yep all the amazing decor and imaginative touches you see in the pictures below were all hand made by Sara. It’s one big explosion of colour and thrills with lots of vintage prettiness everywhere!

As the bride herself says, “With our wedding it was more “what did you leave alone?” than what did you create! It was the biggest project of my life but I was so happy with the way it all came together!”

Sara and John met at work in Sara’s first ever contract job as a copywriter. She left the job pretty soon afterwards but kept a special souvenir!

Over to Sara for the story of her gorgeous W-day.

VENUE
Sara, the Bride: Our wedding was at Kidbrooke Park in Sussex. We chose this venue because it’s actually my old school. At first I’d ruled it out because I thought it would be strange to get married just outside the room in which I sat all of my exams, but the first venue we booked fell through when they insisted we use their preferred caterers who priced us right out of our own wedding and wouldn’t do a simple meal for us citing colours and presentation (or something silly).

After that I revisited the idea of getting married at my old school and suddenly felt like it would be really great to say “I do” somewhere so close to my heart. There is a beautiful, crumbling outdoor theatre which is covered with flowers in the spring and summer, and I suddenly had a vision of making my entrance through the doors of the theatre. It was such a nice daydream that I booked immediately!

Share this post:

Share this post:

Share this post:

Share this post:

Share this post: