Wedding Dresses Archives - Smashing the Glass

Jewish Bridal Style from the Experts at The Wedding Club

28/02/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Image by Robert Shack from Lauren & Ross’s Jewish wedding

The Wedding Club is one of my very favourite UK bridal retailers – I love their wonderful range of designers and luxurious spaces, I love their ultra-attentive customer service, and I love how much they love Jewish weddings!

One of the world’s leading bridal boutiques, The Wedding Club carries some of the world’s most exclusive British and international designers – including STG favorites like Suzanne Neville, Berta, Savannah Miller, Bliss Monique Lhuillier, and more – plus accessories from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Victoria Percival.

The Wedding Club caters to fashion-conscious brides – many of whom have featured in STG real weddings (we’re constantly getting rave reviews about the level of service!) – but they firmly believe that every bride should follow their heart, not the trends – which is SO in line with our philosophy of “Your wedding your way” here at STG. They want to help each and every bride find a dress that’s truly her, and I couldn’t possibly support that mission more.

Photo by David Pullum from Hannah and Andrew’s Jewish wedding

They’re pros when it comes to working with brides going for modest styling – whether that’s for the whole wedding, or just to cover up a bit under the chuppah. They’ve got plentiful options with sleeves and higher necklines, and truly appreciate the beauty of modest bridal style. Plus they’ve got s serious knack for pairing stylish coverups with gowns is par for the course at The Wedding Club – they’re always on top of the latest trends and innovations.

Photo by David Pullum from Salena and Stefan’s Jewish wedding

With two locations in London – the Knightsbridge showroom is filled with mega-glam gowns from the likes of Zuhair Murad, Caroline Herrera, and Berta Couture, while the South Kensington shop has a slightly more laid-back, boho slant with collections like Savannah Miller and Costarellos – and one in Birmingham, showcasing more classic styles from Suzanne Neville, Jenny Packham, and more, The Wedding Club’s got the full spectrum of bridal styles covered.

Get the Look – Modern Bohemian Luxe – from Francis Bridal

21/10/2016 by Karen

Just imagine how Pippa Middleton is feeling? She’s already stunned the world once in that ivory Alexander McQueen thunder-stealing gown when she walked down the aisle in 2011 behind her sister at Westminster Abbey. Now she somehow has to top that for her own wedding, to hedge fund manager James Matthews.

Will she decide to set herself apart from that now iconic maid of honour silhouette and choose a completely different style? Will she move more towards opulent and embellished, floaty and ethereal or minimal and modern?

The point is Pippa is no different from any other bride — yes she is in the public eye but at that very moment she finally chooses her dress, she is saying to the rest of the world “this is how I want to be seen on the biggest day of my life”. And every bride is saying exactly that.

Famous or not, you’ve got to find your own true wedding style. After all it is a (beautifully elevated) representation of yourself.

Francis Bridal Design — Bohemian Luxe

If that ‘look’ that you are envisioning is tumbledown tresses and beautifully finished, bohemian elegance then you are in luck, I have just the designer for you!

I’m delighted to introduce to STG, Francis Bridal Design – the first bridal collection from designer Trish Irving.

This look is modern, low-key luxe — serious boho if you like. Just take a look for yourself at these gorgeous unstructured, vintage-feel masterpieces.

Each piece — designed and made in London – is created with the best, carefully selected fabrics (right down to their signature stretch satin linings), the detailing is exquisite, the quality is sublime and the result is delicate, radiant, free-moving, elegance. It’s such a fresh approach to bridal. Chuck out your corsets — this is a love letter to bohemia.

Immediately it’s clear with Francis Bridal’s collection that there is a distinct and coherent personality and a very accomplished character – from Etienne – the gorgeous silk georgette bridal gown to the beautiful ivory embroidered lace Albi dress.

And this definitely was the intention.

If you build it they will come

New Zealand-born Trish began the Francis Bridal collection after struggling to find her own wedding dress. All the boho styles that she was drawn to were too skimpy and not particularly accommodating to the more, lets say, bountiful bosom. She also felt like boho was perhaps becoming a bit of a clichà© and wanted to introduce something a bit more modern in the mix.

So after a 15-year career in luxury fashion, trained pattern cutter Trish Irving decided to tap into this wealth of experience and harness her unyielding energy and creativity to orchestrate her own exquisite portfolio of elegant boho luxe dresses for modern brides.

I love her vision and totally understand her drive and passion. The idea for STG came to me when I was also preparing for my wedding and I couldn’t find what I was looking for (one single place that brought inventive and original ideas together for a style-focused Jewish bride). I knew exactly what I wanted but had to create it myself. Just as Trish has.

So I’m instantly drawn to Francis Bridal, not just because of the breathtakingly beautiful gowns Trish has dreamed up, but because I know the intention and designs come from a very real place. Continue Reading

12 non-typical designer wedding dresses featuring Lanvin, Temperley, Herve Leger, Roland Mouret, Matthew Williamson & more

30/03/2014 by Karen

[image: Grazia Daily]

If you’re looking for an “un-typical” wedding dress and don’t want to limit yourself to the dresses that designers designate as wedding apparel you’re going to love Net A Porter’s Wedding Dress Gallery.

The clever peeps at NAP have examined countless collections and selected super-cool white dresses that could work just as well for walking down the aisle as for glamming up for a Saturday night. So not only do you pull off an ‘un-typical’ look for your wedding day, you also get to wear your dress again!

I also love the idea of trying on dresses in the comfort of your own home and making a whole night of it with your mum / sister / girlfriends / champagne / dark chocolate / tea! Order as much as your credit card will allow and try on all the dresses where you feel your most comfortable.

Below are my favourites but you can ogle the entire collection here.

TEMPERLEY LONDON Romily embellished silk-blend chiffon gown: £3200
Temperley London’s silk-blend chiffon gown is decorated with floral appliquà©s and crystal and bead embellishments.

MARCHESA Chantilly lace and satin gown: £5660
Marchesa’s ivory gown echoes modern romance – Chantilly lace andtulle are beautifully draped over a full satin skirt, trailing to an elegant train.

Lee & Gary | Show-Stopping Jewish Wedding at The Criterion, London

16/07/2013 by Karen

Lee and Gary married at the gorgeously opulent Criterion Restaurant in Piccadilly, London. And when I say opulent, I’m talking a sumptuous neo-Byzantine Piccadilly haven with marble walls, decorative archways and a glorious golden mosaic ceiling.

And that’s not the only reason I’m excited to feature this wedding. You see I’m also totally in love with Lee’s couture dress and head piece which she designed herself. AND the fact that Le Gateau Chocolat, the big black transvestite opera-singer, with a penchant for being wrapped in body-hugging glittery lycra, performed at this wedding!

So here’s their story: Although this gorgeous couple are both Jewish, Lee (a former fashion designer, now a full-time mummy) and Gary, a barrister, are both, in their own words, “devout atheists”. Even so, both felt a need for some familiar cultural background in a partner and ended up finding each other on the Jewish dating site, JDate.

I’ll now hand over to Lee with all the delicious detail from the day:

VENUE + DECOR
Lee, the Bride: Gary, my then fiancà©, had been to The Criterion Restaurant before and knowing my love for art deco, thought I might like it. He literally thought of it the day after he proposed (which by the way completely flew over my head as he did it in his usual verbally subtle way!) We were on holiday at the time and arranged to see the venue a few days after our return over lunch. The moment we sat down and took the place in, we knew we needn’t look any further.

With such a beautiful venue choice, we didn’t need or want a theme or colour scheme as we didn’t want to detract from the beauty of the room with many other colours. Our floral and table layouts were fairly clean and simple too, with a combination of old school & clean modern – just how we like it!

Net-A-Porter Launch an Exclusive Bridal Collection With Dresses From Issa and More

27/05/2013 by Karen

A selection from Net-a-Porter’s exclusive bridal collection [image: Grazia Daily]

Net-A-Porter has launched an exclusive capsule collection of bridalwear teaming up with eight of their favourite designers to create a wedding dress selection on the website starting at £1,295. The edit will feature designs from Antonio Berardi, Lover, Jay Ahr, Chalayan, Rochas, Issa, Nina Ricci and Jessica Biel’s wedding dress designer, Giambatista Valli. See the gallery below to see some of the dresses on offer and shop the full collection on Net-A-Porter.

Shop Net-A-Porter’s full bridal one-stop-shop

Rochas’ taffeta-twill gown with skinny belt £5,517 [image: Grazia Daily]

Nina Ricci's lace trim crinkled silk-chiffon gown with floral lace appliquà©s £3372

Giambattista Valli's tiered organze and macramà© v-neck dress £6,600

Issa has created a flattering short-sleeve full length dress made with French lace, and sheer neckline and shoulders £2,700 [image: Grazia Daily]

Antonio Berardi’s caped back silk crepe long-sleeve gown is £9,039 [image: Grazia Daily]

Chalayan’s simple crepe column dress with silk crepe overlay £1295 [image: Grazia Daily]

Lover ivory lace dress with traditional covered buttons shows a little extra leg but the modest neckline and sleeves balance it out £2495 [image: Grazia Daily]