A Colourful, Traditional Jewish Wedding with a Twist in London + an Eliza Jane Howell Dress

Miriam and Lazarus chose The Brewery as the setting for their eco-friendly, dancing-filled day. Don't miss their late-night, tipsy photoshoot too!

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Hannah Watkin

11 December, 2019

Miriam and Lazarus prove that you can find true love online! Even though Miriam was living in London and Lazarus on the South Coast, the couple decided to meet for a drink halfway between their homes, and, soon after, fell in love.

They moved in together in London and got engaged just two years later. To pop the question, Lazarus took Miriam to his parent’s home in the Hampshire countryside.

To keep things low-key, intimate, and romantic, Lazarus proposed in the back garden, underneath a grapevine.

“We didn’t tell anyone until the next evening and spent the next day walking on the beach before we made the announcement and the craziness started.”

After a ten-month engagement, the couple got hitched in March at The Brewery in London in front of 250 guests. They had a traditional Jewish ceremony, but personalised the day with lots of feminist and eco-friendly touches.

Photographer: Michael Lee Photography

The Wedding Dress

Along with her gorgeous Eliza Jane Howell dress, Miriam also wore a pair of bright blue Manolo Blahnik shoes bought for her by her father-in-law.

“My dress was fitted, short-sleeved, with a boat neckline and a scooped back. It was a 1920s style dress with lots of beading and a long beaded train. I bought it from her shop in Connaught Village, London.

“I loved the style of Eliza Jane Howell and had tried on a few of her dresses at other shops before I found my dress. I love the way the shape of the dresses really flatters curves – big princess dresses really looked terrible on me!

“I had always wanted a glamorous, beaded, Twenties style with short sleeves and this one ticked all the boxes. I went to four shops in total, including a really cool vintage wedding dress place in a designer’s house.

“I wore ruby and diamond earrings that my mum lent me – they had been my grandma’s and I’ve always loved them.

“I was super relaxed in the morning but my mum kept trying to make me eat – she kept pushing bits of cake in my mouth while I was having my hair done! It was just really lovely spending that time with my Mum and sister.”

Bridal Beauty

Miriam describes herself as someone who “isn’t very groomed” so she trusted the professionals to do her makeup and hair beautifully.

“Sarah Field did my makeup. She had been recommended to me by lots of friends and was absolutely amazing. My hairdresser, Liz Finnegan, did my wedding hair. She’s been doing my hair since I was 16 so I felt really comfortable with her.

“I went for a kind of dramatic look with dark lips and smokey eyes, nothing too heavy though. My hair was in a messy bun – I hate having it in my face – with a French plait around one side. I had a huge flower crown which hid most of my hair anyway!

“I had three bridesmaids: my sister as my maid of honour, my future sister-in-law, and best friend. My gorgeous three-year-old niece was a flower girl, although she refused to wear her flower crown!

“I let the girls choose their own bridesmaid dresses because they all have very different styles. I asked them to get pink or coral colours and they all ended up with dusty pink colours which looked great together.

“We did try to choose them together but it was so hard to find something everyone liked and my sister lives abroad. In the end, everyone chose separately but they all coordinated really well.”

The Groomswear

Although Lazarus chose his suit himself, he did get Miriam’s seal of approval before their big day!

“I wore a blue, checked, three-piece suit from TK Maxx, with a white shirt and a knitted, burnt orange tie. The groomsmen wore grey suits with yellow ties. It was an amazing deal from TK Maxx for a beautiful suit. I just needed a few alterations for it to be perfect.

“I wore Star Wars socks and boxers and had pig cufflinks that belonged to my late grandfather. My two brothers also wore my grandfather’s accessories. My wedding band and Miriam’s engagement ring were all made from his rings so it really felt like he was a part of the day.

“I had a lot of family travelling from Canada so the night before the wedding we all went out for Chinese food and karaoke!”

The Ceremony

Miriam and Lazarus had an Orthodox ceremony but worked with their Rabbi to bring in a few feminist touches. For example, Miriam said a line back to Lazarus after he gave her the ring, and female guests read the Sheva Brachot in English as well as the men saying them in Hebrew.

“Our ceremony took place at The Brewery which has a beautiful separate space for the ceremony meaning the room didn’t need to be changed over for dinner.

“We had a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony with a few twists. Traditionally after the procession, the bride walks seven circles around the groom but we decided to walk around each other.

“We had our Rabbi, family and friends read out the traditional wedding blessings, and my brother gave a speech to us under the wedding canopy.

“I walked down the aisle with my Mum and Dad to a traditional Jewish song called ‘Boi B’shalom’ which means ‘Enter in Peace’.

“My band was from a local jeweller in Lazarus’ home town called Hallmark Jewellers. Lazarus had his grandfather’s wedding band resized at the same jeweller. Lazarus proposed with his grandfather’s diamond ring which we had reset.

“It’s really lovely having a ring which means so much to his family, but it was a little bit masculine for my taste, and we got it reset using the original gold to make a new band.”

The Venue

The couple loved The Brewery from the get-go. They fell in love with how different this historic events space felt to the London hotel venues they’d seen.

“It was big enough to hold our big Jewish families! We loved the amazing exposed brick walls, wooden beams and high ceiling, it had a really cool rustic feel. We also like the fact that it had a really big space for a dancefloor.

“We loved the atmosphere of the venue. It looked amazing decked out with strings of festoon lights. I also really liked that there was a beautiful courtyard for photos, we managed to get some outside in between the hail!

“Our colour scheme was bright spring colours – pink, orange and yellow. I was worried it would all be too much but I love the way it looked.

“For food, we chose sharing mezze plates to start, a Moroccan-style chicken main, and a trio of desserts – chocolate soufflé, lemon tart and ice cream. Instead of a wedding cake, we had a sweet buffet at the end and canapé reception to start.

“We did all the planning ourselves but we had Lucie from W.A. Carr & Son help us out on the day. It was a weight off our minds to have someone responsible for coordinating all the suppliers and dealing with any issues so that we didn’t have to.”

The Flowers

Flowers by Alina created a big, bright bouquet with coral tulips, pink English roses, and succulents tied with bright coloured ribbons which looked gorgeous against Miriam’s dress. She also wore a bright pink flower crown!

“We used flowers throughout our venue décor. Our traditional Jewish wedding canopy was decorated with brightly coloured flowers and we had floral centrepieces on the tables.

“We also had a display of crates covered in fresh flowers, with a fishing line strung across with the escort cards pegged on to it.”

The Stationery and Favours

As the couple have environmental-focused jobs, they made sure not to lose sight of their values throughout their wedding planning. For example, they mixed fake and fresh flowers to reduce waste.

Miriam and Lazarus also made sure that all of their guests, Jewish and non-Jewish, felt involved in the wedding. The couple sent an explanatory order of service out to guests in advance along with FAQs about Jewish weddings and videos of what dancing to expect!

“We used e-vites, although we did have menu cards and order of service books printed. We used a simple cream card with flowers in the theme colours. Our friend Janina did our stationery.

“We have an allotment and love gardening, so we made seed packet favours which doubled up as name cards. I hand-stamped the front of each envelope with a personalised stamp and spelt out the names with alphabet stamps. The seeds were for wildflowers, to help attract bees to our friends and family’s gardens.”

The Entertainment

To entertain guests, the couple hired the band Neshama to get the party started. They played English disco and traditional Jewish wedding dancing music.

“We love dancing at weddings and wanted a band to create an amazing atmosphere. Our first dance was to All Of Me by John Legend.

“We hired a photo booth, although not many of our adult guests got a look in as our nieces and nephews were in there all night!

“After all the guests had left, our photographer did a late-night photoshoot. We were pretty tipsy by that point and the photos definitely show it! But we had loads of fun and the pictures are really fun to look back on.”