The Jewish Chronicle
Simchah of the week: Sonja Stewart and Warren Bader
Pollokshields, Glasgow
November 13, 2008 10:34
By, Anonymous
1 min read
Pollokshields, Glasgow
November 13, 2008 10:34ByAnonymous, Anonymous
Sonja was raised in Renfrewshire and Warren in Benoni, South Africa.
She studied at Glasgow University gaining an MA (hons) in Hispanic studies, after which she taught English in Madrid.
She is now joint chief executive of the Sco-Fro food services group in Glasgow. Warren attended the University of Witwatersrand and worked as a producer of commercials and music videos in South Africa.
He is currently burial officer for Glasgow Hebrew Burial and Cathcart Hebrew Burial societies. They live in Pollokshields, Glasgow
How they met
"In Glasgow in April 2003," Sonja recalls. "Warren said he liked my new sheepskin coat, purchased on a skiing trip. He called me the next day but nothing else happened. We then met again by chance in July 2003. We chatted, had a drink and the rest is history."
The proposal
"It was in May 2007 in the kitchen of our apartment. He said: ‘So would you like to get married?'"
What was special about your simchah?
"We didn't feel there was anything we needed for our home and many of our guests were travelling from all over the world," Warren explains. "So instead of wedding presents, we said that if people felt they really wanted to give something, they could make a donation to a charity. We chose My Israel, a new charity which supports grassroots organisations in Israel. So far, our guests have donated almost £1,000 to projects it supports, with much of the money going to the Forgotten People Fund, providing emergency assistance for Ethiopian families in and around Netanya."
The honeymoon
"We spent a couple of days in Almeria, Spain, after the chupah at Pollokshields Burgh Hall," Sonja says. "But we will honeymoon in South Africa and Mozambique later in the year."