Cool Wedding Alert! Hannah, an urban planner who hails from Melbourne, Australia, and Eitan, a contractor and Tel Aviv native, told their wedding planner and designer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bebke, that they wanted their Jewish wedding to feel like the best day at the beach you’ve ever had.
And Bebke really, really delivered. Their day, in a stunning beach venue just north of Caesaria, is truly the ultimate chilled-out seaside bash.
Ever felt like the standard formal event doesn’t quite mesh with your sensibilities? Hannah and Eitan did, and they opted to skip out on the sit-down meal and instead make their day a constant stream of food, drinks, and dancing. We love how they opted to have all different kinds of food stations, from deli to wood-fired pizza to fish shawarma! Way to keep all your guests happy.
Another thing we adore about this wedding is the ultra-personal alternative Jewish ceremony Hannah and Eitan crafted, combining tradition with their egalitarian values. They wrote their own ketubah, had their siblings read not only the traditional seven blessings but also blessings they wrote themselves for the couple, and exchanged rings with each other.
Hannah looked radiant in her green Reformation dress, proving that you don’t have to wear white to capture that bridal elegance.
Photographer Alexey Kudrik came recommended by planner Bebke, and we’re in love with his elegant documentary style. These photos look like they’ve been snatched from a super cool editorial, but at the same time Alexey could not have captured the emotion of the day more exquisitely–just take a look at the photos of Hannah and Eitan under the chuppah. We’ll leave it to Hannah to fill you in on the rest.
How we met
Hannah, the bride: We met through a mutual friend when I was in Tel Aviv visiting for another friend’s wedding in 2015 – we ended up in the same group of people hanging out on the beach one weekend – and what started as a holiday fling ended in marriage, and now a baby on the way!
A Seaside Venue
We got married at a tiny place, which is usually a fish restaurant run by a local fisherman but is essentially just a hut on the beach in a town just north of Caesarea. With a beachfront that is without doubt the most beautiful I have seen along the whole Israeli coastline, it’s protected and private, and the shore is dotted with local fishing boats.
A Laid-Back Day
Neither my husband nor I really like being the center of attention. We used a wedding planner and designer, Bebke, that specializes in creating unique weddings and told them that we wanted the wedding to feel like the best day at the beach you’ve ever had, but not focused solely around us.
The comment we got the most after the wedding was how much the wedding was a reflection of us… I think that’s because it was incredibly casual and laid back – no one had to be anywhere at any particular time; it was just one long afternoon and evening of never ending food, drinks, and dancing, without formal tables, or set meal times.
Paperless Post
We chose one of the Vera Wang designs from Paperless Post – super simple, and we only printed very limited numbers to give to some of our parents’ friends. Everyone else was invited by email or Whatsapp!
Natural Hair and Makeup
I’m not a makeup wearer – I currently own one decade-old tube of dried mascara! Nevertheless, I organized to have someone come and do my (and my sister’s and mother’s) makeup and hair for the day of the wedding.
I asked our wedding planner to recommend someone who could do natural-looking makeup for me, and she recommended the woman who did her hair and makeup for her wedding, Adi Salomon. I did a trial with Adi before the wedding and liked the natural look so went with her.
I have a lot of curly hair and don’t usually like when people try and style it for me – I prefer the natural, slightly wild thing it does on its own, but Adi went over some of my curls with a super thin curling wand just to make it a bit neater, and that was it. It went up in a ponytail on top of my head at some point during the night… Israeli summers are too hot!
A Bride in Green
I wore a green dress that I ordered online for about $300 from the website The Reformation. It’s an online store that makes beautiful dresses and uses sustainable practices in their fabric production, shipping, etc.
I didn’t not wear white on purpose; I just remember seeing that dress online before I was even engaged and bookmarking it, thinking I would buy it when I had a wedding to go to or something. When we decided to get married I thought, why not wear it to my own wedding?!
I ordered it, and it arrived all scrunched up after an unceremonious wait at Israeli customs. I had it steamed and wore it as it came, off the virtual rack.
It was breezy and light and comfortable, and I was happy spending all day in it, sitting in the sand, etc.
Gold and Emeralds
I am not a jewellery wearer in general – but my parents bought me some beautiful gold and emerald drop earrings and a simple gold necklace to wear on my wedding day. No veil or hair accessories.
Barefoot on the Beach
I wore a pair of flat matte gold leather sandals, the simplest I could find, with one thin strap across the toes and one ankle strap.
They came off literally first thing after the ceremony and I was barefoot the rest of the wedding.
The handsome groom
My husband wore a light grey suit and white shirt from Hugo Boss and beautiful, simple brown leather shoes from Allen Edmonds in New York. He has black curly hair that comes halfway down his back, and he wore it out in all its curly glory for the wedding, which was beautiful – I love his hair.
An Heirloom Chuppah Cover
We used my mother’s wedding veil as the chuppah fabric, and then just four neutral poles.
A Personalized Ceremony
We did not actually get married by a rabbi but rather by a friend who is part of an organization called Havaya that facilitates alternative Jewish ceremonies.
Our ceremony included many traditional aspects of the Jewish wedding, but we wrote our own ketubah (marriage certificate) including what we promised each other over our lives together, and had our siblings read both the traditional seven blessings and their own blessings for us.
We also exchanged rings with each other rather than just the bride receiving a ring, and in general we made the ceremony meaningful for us while still having the look, feel, and significance of a Jewish wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony that felt really intimate and set the tone for the rest of the wedding.
Upbeat Music
Processional – Lovely Day by Bill Withers – both my husband and I are very emotional people, big cry babies, so we needed something fun and upbeat rather than a tearjerker for the entrance to the chuppah; otherwise we both would have bawled our eyes out even more than we did.
Recessional – we were incredibly chilled about all decisions relating to the wedding, and decided things with enormous ease, except for, strangely enough, the breaking the glass/recessional song, which we just couldn’t decide on! We told our DJ that he knew our taste in music, so we trusted him to surprise us on the day – he chose Friday I’m in Love by the Cure. I barely even remember hearing it, but it was a great choice!
We had a DJ for the whole wedding – he was really in tune with us and our style of music: lots of fun, old-school music that makes people want to dance, interspersed with some more world-music style stuff. It was great – people danced for hours. Omri Smadar from Libra Music was super receptive to our needs, and when we felt like the music needed a bit of a change or things were getting a bit quiet, he was totally on the ball. He created a serious party vibe that we loved.
Minimalist Florals
Our wedding planners did design of the wedding too, including beautiful flowers. I didn’t hold a bouquet, and the flower arrangements were minimal, casual, wildflower-type arrangements.
Our fabulous photographer
Alexey Kudrik was the first photographer we met with (also recommended by our wedding planner Bebke). He showed us some of his work, which we really liked, and more importantly, we felt like we got on well with him as a person. Neither of us wanted a very obtrusive in-your-face formal photographer; we wanted someone who could blend into the party and feel like one of the guests and get great shots – Alexey was perfect for that. He also recommended Daria to us for a videographer, they worked brilliantly together and her work is really special. They both captured the feeling of the day beautifully.
A Fabulous Spread
No cake! Just lots and lots of amazing food.
We didn’t have a formal sit-down event. There were tables and chairs but no assigned seating, and just a constant spread of food for people to eat whenever they were hungry.
We started out with a delicatessen-style buffet with breads and cheeses and olives while people were arriving, then we had a number of “stalls” serving everything from fish shwarma to wood-fired pizza throughout the wedding.
Once the food stalls packed up and left, and after a massive dessert buffet, we also served shakshuka (Israeli spicy baked eggs) with challah bread at about 1am to help soak up the booze. Ma’asia did our catering superbly.
Flip Flops for the Guests
No favors, but we did have a basket of flip flops for everyone who ignored our warnings of the wedding being on the beach and came in shoes that were less than sand-friendly!
An Epic Wedding Video
Israelis don’t really do wedding speeches – but it was important to me and my parents to speak. I spoke, and my parents did, and my husband did. Everyone spoke briefly, but it was a lovely addition to the wedding.
What Israelis do often do are videos instead of speeches. My brother- and sister-in-law made us an absolute ripper – although we didn’t know they were making one. They both work in television, and a couple of months before the wedding, my sister-in-law called to say that she heard in the office that the new season of The Amazing Race is missing one couple for casting and they’re looking for a “cool young couple” – would we be interested? We wouldn’t have to audition per se; just go and have a chat with the producer.
So we said yes, sounded like an adventure. We turned up at the television production office, and were taped for about an hour, being interviewed by the actual producer of The Amazing Race in Israel – we were asked about our relationship, our future, etc. And they asked us to do some “embarrassing” things to understand what we would be like on-screen – e.g., you’re in Mumbai and have the opportunity to spend the night in the presidential palace, but you have to convince the staff you’re the world’s best Bollywood dancers – what do you do? So we broke out into Bollywood dancing.
Turns out there was no new season of The Amazing Race… they edited a video from our audition and showed it to the entire wedding! I almost died! Everyone loved it and it was genuinely hilarious.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
The day itself – and the guests – will follow the vibe set by the couple getting married. If you’re relaxed, the guests will be too, and everyone will have a better time. Your wedding is a wonderful, fun-filled, exciting, and emotional day, but it is just one day in the rest of your lives together. Try not to get caught up in the small details – they don’t matter at all.
Hannah & Eitan’s little white book
Photography – Alexey Kudrik
Wedding planner – Bebke Productions
Bride’s dress – The Reformation
Groom’s attire – Hugo Boss and Allen Edmonds
Hair + Makeup – Adi Salomon
Catering – Maasia
Bar – Amorphy
DJ – Libra Music
Light and sound – Armadilo
Super fun wedding to shoot great shots!