A Berta Bride for a Sunset Jewish Wedding with a Very Special Chuppah at Kochav Hayam in Caesarea, Israel - Smashing the Glass

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We love a gorgeous chuppah. We love a meaningful family heirloom. When you put those two things together? A totally unforgettable Jewish wedding.

There’s so much to love about the joyous union of Lee, a fitness studio manager who is also working on her bachelor’s in business management and sports, and Roy, who recently retired from the IDF, where he had been serving as a frontline soldier.

But our favorite part is the story behind their chuppah. Obviously it’s gorgeous – the bamboo poles, sweet floral accents, and billowy white fabric are the perfect complement to the seaside setting – but what we really love is the canopy. It was made by Roy’s cousin years ago, and since then it’s been passed around his family from couple to couple as cousins marry. When a new couple marries under the chuppah, they get their name embroidered on it. What a beautiful family heirloom!

We’re also obsessed with the gorgeous sundrenched photos from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Noam Salach. He captured all the emotion of the day – not to mention all the fantastic details – so perfectly, and the couple adored having him around on their big day, too.

Now over to Lee, who looked stunning in Berta…

How we met

Lee, the bride: While I was posting my “flat belly challenge” on Facebook, Roy messaged me. To be honest I usually don’t reply to these kind of messages, but something in Roy interested me.

The first thing he said to me was “I think a 10K run would be a great ice breaker for us” and that’s what we did, 2 weeks later we met at 6am on the beach for a “sunrise run”, we clicked instantly.

After 1 year together, Roy ask me to marry him while we were on holiday at hotel Bereshit in the South. We celebrated 2 years together the same day as our wedding day.

Sun and Sea

We got married at Kochav Hayam in Caesarea. We picked this place because we both love sunsets and the sea. That was the first venue we saw and it was love at first sight. We got married during a beautiful sunset and amazing sea breeze atmosphere, just like we dreamt.

A Berta dress

The dress designer was Berta. To be honest, I was looking for a long time. I went to a few places but once I got to Berta, I knew I found my dream dress. It was a perfect fit, it didn’t require any significant alterations.

Hair + Makeup

My makeup artist was Yasmin Bedussa. She was gentle, sweet and so professional. I went for a natural style and the makeup lasted all day long – and I got tons of compliments.

My hair stylist was Sagi Sasson. He’s charming and a real pro. He was with me the entire day, always keeping my hair looking perfect – and he did it all with a big smile on his face.

The handsome groom

Roy want for a black Bamos suit. Let me tell you, Roy makes everything look good, he is just one of these guys who can come to his own wedding in a t-shirt and look amazing. But seeing him in that suit… wow! He looked so handsome, it was a perfect fit.

A Family Chuppah

The chuppah was indeed special. It is a chuppah that’s been in Roy’s family for many years now, it was made by his cousin and is passed to each couple who gets married. Every married couple has their name knitted on this special chuppah. Other than that, we added some gentle green/white/pink flowers.

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A Moving Ceremony

The part I most remember from the chuppah was Roy and me walking to the chuppah, we held hands and looked at our families who were waiting for us inside the chuppah while in the background my sister sang the most amazing song by Idan Raichel – ‘Mimaamakim’ . While walking to the chuppah, seeing this amazing sunset in front of us, and hearing all of our loved ones from every direction, that was our perfect moment.

Our music choice

My older sister sang a song by Idan Raichel – ‘Mimaamakim’ – and our first dance song was John Legend – ‘You & I’.

Photographer

Our photographer was Noam Salach. Other than the fact he is an amazing photographer, he is such an awesome person. We clicked from the first meeting with him, and once we got to see his work we knew it was a done deal. This guy is very creative, very relaxing and professional, and a great guy to spend the day with. So happy we chose him.

A Surprise Song

Both of our families surprised us and did a song about the way Roy and I met. It was extremely funny, emotional and special for us. During the song there were pictures from our childhood and it was so exciting to have everyone together, happy and laughing.

Honeymoon in the Philippines

For our honeymoon, we are planning to go to the Philippines to explore its beautiful beaches and travel a lot there.

Advice to couples currently planning their wedding

We will be more then happy to pass the tips we got:

Always stay happy and relax,
Trust the suppliers you chose,
Enjoy the small things,
Everything goes by so fast, so remember to cherish every minute of that special day,
NEVER leave the dance floor/don’t hide during the reception.

Lee & Roy’s little white book

Photography – Noam Salach

Venue – Kochav Hayam
Bride’s dress – Berta
Hair + Makeup – Sagi Sasson and Yasmin Bedussa
DJ – Alpha Music