You’ll never believe the wild story behind this absolute stunner of a Jewish wedding! Amy, a social media manager (and the daughter of beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Toastmaster Jango!), and Dan, a freelance marketing consultant, had the most gorgeous Israeli Jewish wedding at Caesarea’s Al Hayam – but until two days prior, they were actually planning on marrying at a totally different venue in the south of Israel!
A security situation in the south meant they had to change things around at the very last minute – but luckily they had an amazing planner, Yana from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia Events, on hand to save the day. In the span of 48 hours, Yana secured Al Hayam for the couple – and they ended up loving it even more than their original choice. Have a scroll through the exquisite photos by Your Story Wedd and you’ll see why!
Understandably, the couple can’t stop raving about Yana. In Amy’s words, “She really understood my vision, she is so knowledgeable about the industry and is just the best person ever! She is so calming and really is there to help and guide you through the process. I can’t recommend her enough!”
Now over to Amy, who looked simply sublime in her gown by Israeli designer Dana Harel Design…
How We Met
Amy, the bride: We met at a mutual friend’s birthday in London. Dan was already living in Israel at the time and I was actually planning on moving to Tel Aviv later that year. We kept in touch and then I moved nine months later and the rest is history!
A Venue That Was Meant to Be
We got married at Al Hayam in Cesarea, Israel. It’s the most amazing venue overlooking the beach but it actually was not the venue we had booked for our wedding originally. We had to change the venue 48 hours before our wedding day because unfortunately there was a situation in the south of Israel (where our original venue was). It actually all turned out even better than we had imagined and we ended up loving this venue much more than our original choice! Everything happens for a reason!
Enchanted Garden
Our wedding theme was supposed to be an enchanted garden but as I said we had to move the location last minute. The theme was still very similar to what we had originally planned, just more of an enchanted boho beach vibe!
My planner, Yana from Craspedia Events, was beyond incredible throughout all the planning and she quite literally saved the whole wedding day. She really understood my vision, she is so knowledgeable about the industry and is just the best person ever! She is so calming and really is there to help and guide you through the process. I can’t recommend her enough! I mean who can say they re-planned an entire wedding in just two days? Yana can!
My dad is a toastmaster in London (Toastmaster Jango) so he also gave me lots of tips and advice when planning!
Stationery
We used an amazing graphic designer called Hadar Gabiz for table numbers, name cards etc.
Hair + Makeup
I used Mel Bueno for my make up and Anna Shor for my hair. I wanted to look like myself and have very natural makeup and big wavy hair. Both artists knew exactly the vibe I was after and they are both really amazing! They were also very calming and relaxed on the day. I would recommend them to any future brides!
A Dana Harel Dress
My dress was from Dana Harel Design. She is an Israeli designer and her dresses are just incredible! I used to work in the bridal dress industry so I thought I knew exactly what I wanted as my wedding dress; however when I started trying dresses, what I thought I wanted was not what I ended up going for!
I tried a lot of dresses on but when I tried on the Nur dress at Dana Harel, I knew it was the one! I had the feeling that people say you get – when you know, you know! The lace was so delicate and soft, I felt like a floating fairy in it and I never looked back! It was so comfy, I didn’t want to take it off!
Ceremony & Chuppah
Our ceremony felt very spiritual by the sea, you could hear the waves crashing against the rocks, it was so special and emotional. The chuppah was covered in white and green flowers with twigs and branches coming out to give it a rustic boho look. I always knew I wanted only white and green flowers with lots of different textures to give more of a wild look.
Our music choice
We had the most unbelievable singer for our ceremony called Tomer Raz. He is based in Israel but gets flown all over the world for weddings and events. He has the voice of an angel and everyone said they had shivers from his singing at the chuppah. He also sang all the songs for the Israeli dancing as well as our first dance which was ‘You’ve got something I need’ by Ben Haenow. Tomer sang a cover of it and it was amazing!
We then had a DJ called DJ Eli Matana after dinner and he really made it a proper party! Both Tomer and Eli really understood our international crowd and it was so fun doing the music meetings with both of them!
Flowers
Our designer was called Michal Volchok. Not only is she the nicest person ever but she is so creative and talented! She understood my vision from the moment we met. I had actually seen her work at a friend’s wedding and just thought wow! So I immediately booked her for ours. Even with the last minute changes, she made everything so easy for me. I completely trusted her and her ideas and she made the venue look magical! I still can’t get over it!
Photographer
Our photographer was Willow Rotter of Your Story Wedd. As soon as I saw his work on Instagram I fell in love with all of the photos. He made us feel so calm and relaxed while taking all the photos. We actually just got all our photos back and love them all! He is amazing and captured all of the best moments throughout the day!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
From the moment you wake up on your big day, just relax and let go. What will be, will be and everything is out of your control then so just have the most amazing day because it really is the best day of your life where you get to marry your soul mate! It also goes so so fast so enjoy every moment!
AMY & DAN’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Your Story Wedd
Planner – Craspedia Events
Venue – Al Hayam
Bride’s dress – Dana Harel Design
Makeup – Mel Bueno Makeup
Flowers – Michal Volchok
DJ – DJ Eli Matana
Ceremony singer – Tomer Raz
Stationery/Invitation – Hadar Gabiz
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
