So on Monday we saw a gorgeous destination Jewish wedding where the event planner bride decided to take a hands-off approach, turning the bulk of the work over to her amazing planner to ensure the wedding stayed stress-free. Today, we’ve got the wedding of not one but TWO mega-talented event designers/planners where the couple decided to go all in on their big day.
When we say all in, we really do mean all IN! Bride Tom and groom Matan, who together run Tomka Designs in Israel, were on the job 24/7 in the weeks leading up to the wedding, and even the day before they put in a 12-hour session at the venue.
But all that hard work paid off in a BIG way. The couple’s ultra-romantic Laduree-inspired wedding was nothing short of magical, with epic flowers, candles, soft pastels, and, of course, some seriously impressive macaron towers.
We’re totally obsessed with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ran Bergman’s photos — and to look at them, would you ever guess the wedding fell on a day with absolutely appalling weather? It rained nonstop on Tom and Matan’s wedding day, meaning their original plans for an outdoor photo session were out. But like the true pro he is, Ran stayed calm and scouted out an alternate location for the portrait session that just might have turned out even better than Plan A would’ve: a local patisserie! Okay, so it’s not Laduree, but it’s still pretty adorably on theme.
It just goes to show that a really talented photographer (which Ran most certainly is!) will be able to take amazing photos on even the most dismal of days — so don’t be so quick to snub that winter date your dream venue has open.
Now over to Tom, who looked simply smashing in her gown by Israeli designer Gali Karten…
How We Met
Tom, the bride: Matan and I have been best friends since the age of 15. We were in the same class in high school, lived together in an apartment through our bachelor’s degrees, travelled all around the world together etc…
What seemed to be obvious to everyone around us took us 15 years to realize.
2.5 years ago, alongside a beautiful friendship, we became business partners — we are the proud owners of Tomka Designs, a company for wedding designs in Israel. This partnership turned to be the best decision we ever made as it led to a beautiful love story.
After a year of working together, something we can’t really explain happened and a close friendship turned into a strong relationship. At the age of 30, we both knew “this is it” and that we were heading for a wedding.
All in the Details
We got married at Pekan Garden. We really love this venue because of its beautiful atmosphere.
Furthermore, we knew we needed a lot of cooperation and flexibility from our venue because we wanted design our own wedding. We put a lot of effort into the details of our wedding design and wanted to make sure it would be executed perfectly.
Laduree Love
As wedding designers, deciding how to design our own wedding was a hard task since we’ve already seen and worked in so many different styles. I wanted our wedding to be special, but I also wanted it to reflect my tastes and preferences as a bride, and not only a wedding designer.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with the magical Laduree patisserie in Paris. I fell in love with this place from the first time I visited, and came back each visit to Paris.
The elegance, clean-cut yet classy and romantic atmosphere, gentle pastel colors, and chic aesthetic all captured my heart inspired my wedding.
We wanted to give the venue a Parisian atmosphere. Street lamps were scattered around the reception and French chansons played in the background.
We combined a lot of matte gold elements, candles, massive amounts of flowers that were spread around the venue, and of course impressive macaron towers that were handmade especially for the occasion.
What made our wedding truly unusual and special is our childhood story and the outstanding detailed design. We put a lot of effort into making it happen, considering the fact we were the bride and groom. We worked very hard on planning each and every detail, we were on it 24/7 the weeks prior to the wedding, and we even worked for 12 hours at the venue the day before our wedding.
What ‘Smashing The Glass’ Did For Us
We visit Smashing The Glass often as we love to see real Jewish wedding around the world as it’s always really inspiring.
Laduree-inspired Invitations
Our wedding invitation was also Laduree inspired in its design.
Hair + Makeup
Choosing a makeup artist was the hardest decision for me. Like every girl, I wanted to look perfect yet not “over done.” I went to few makeup trials at several places and none of them felt right.
After much consultation and research, I chose to go with the highly recommended Inbal Margalit. Inbal is a true professional, not only did she make me feel and look like a true princess, but she has an amazing attitude. She’s very pleasant, patient, and attentive. All very important on such a significant and overwhelming day.
To be honest, I always knew I’d be a “hair-up” bride. That look always suited me best. I chose Aviel Shmaya, an energetic, fun and talented hair stylist. My hair came out exactly how I wanted it- simple yet classy.
A Gali Karten Dress
I had my eye on a certain wedding dress before I even got engaged. The dress was by the Israeli designer Gali Karten. My only fear was that it wouldn’t fit me.
I went with my mother to a few designers and though my mom fell in love with some dresses, I knew I have to wait until I tried on the Gali Karten dress. When I did try it on, it took me no more than a second to know it was the one.
I had a good experience throughout the entire process with this bridal studio and its staff. They were attentive, professional and patient. I felt like a true princess!
Simple Accessories
I’m not the jewelry type. Also, my wedding dress is very sparkly and ornate, so I didn’t want it to look “too much”.
My headpiece was quite simple. I bought it in a vintage 2nd hand store in south Tel Aviv.
Sparkly Shoes
I had elegant, sparking, and gentle heels which fit the dress perfectly. They were bought at a casual Israeli shoe store…
The handsome groom
Matan wore a black suit from the Israeli designer Blue Navy. Underneath the jacket he wore a white buttoned shirt, Bordeaux tie, a grey hip vest and black-grey stylish shoes to match his vest.
A Simple Chuppah
Although we’re wedding designers and know the effect of a designed chuppah, we always dreamt of a traditional chuppah where our brothers and close friends would hold it for us and stand there with us.
A Moving Ceremony
The entire ceremony was exciting and moving for me. I cried throughout most of the ceremony. ☺
Having my parents walking me down the aisle was really emotional and touching. I dreamt of this moment for a long time and it was really beautiful. Of course the moment when Matan took me after my parents “let me go” was very touching as well, my heart was pounding and I felt goosebumps everywhere.
Sky Full of Stars
Since the entire atmosphere at the venue was Parisian, we asked the DJ (Noam Zellner) to play French chansons during the reception to put the guests in the mood.
Processional song – ‘Sky Full Of Stars’ by Coldplay. I knew this would be her chuppah song since the day it came out, before I was even dating Matan. All my girlfriends knew this and although I was the last to get married, they all saved the song for me and didn’t use it at their own weddings.
Recessional song – ‘More Than You Know’ by Axewell & Ingrosso. We wanted a party-like, fun and rhythmic song since we wanted to get the party started right after the chuppah.
First dance – We didn’t have a first dance but we had a “last dance” at the end of the wedding – ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ by Gerry & The Pacemakers. This song is the official Liverpool Football Club anthem. We chose this song since Matan has 2 loves – Tom & Liverpool FC and this song’s lyrics matches them both.
Our talented DJ, Noam Zellner, kept the crowd on fire and provided us with awesome party. There was a variety of music styles playing, from Israel popular mizrahit, some Moroccan traditional music (because of Tom’s family), some main stream, some reaggaton and some old time goodies (twist etc.) for the older guests.
Romantic Flowers
We chose romantic, classy, and elegant flowers. Since it was winter time in Israel, we were a bit limited choosing which flowers to use but eventually we found the right combination.
We used different shades of pink and peach and worked mainly with tulips and roses. I didn’t want a bouquets but our florists, who know us for a long time, insisted on making me beautiful one, and they used the same flowers from the rest of the wedding.
Photographer
We chose the one and only Ran Bergman, a talented Israeli photographer. Since we work in the industry, we have seen his work a few times before and knew we wanted him for our wedding. Not only is he a true talent and a true professional, he’s also pleasant, attentive and patient – all very important since he’s with you the entire day.
Unfortunately, the weather on our wedding day was very bad – it didn’t stop raining and it was very cold. We had to cancel any plans for outdoor shooting, but that didn’t stop Ran from staying calm and providing us with alternative indoor cool locations. We went to a cozy patisserie and ice cream shop in our hometown, which blended with our entire wedding theme. Ran took amazing photos there and during the wedding itself (even though Tom drove him nuts all day long). We can’t thank him enough for capturing our beautiful day in the best way there is.
All the Macarons
We had tons of macaron towers throughout the entire venue 😉 )
Honeymoon in Mexico
For our honeymoon, we’re planning on going to Mexico next December. We love to travel and have been to many places around the world, but we’ve never been to Mexico, so the choice was easy.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Dear future brides,
This is your fabulous and most magical day. Remember that it passes faster than the blink of an eye, so make sure that you enjoy not only the day itself, but the entire process and events leading up to the main event.
Also, make sure that you surround yourself with pleasant and patient vendors whom you can trust and feel in good hands with, because they’re going to be a big part of your day.
Stay loyal to what you want, and no matter how stressful the entire process feels remember that no matter what, it’s going to be an outstanding day, and you’re going to be surrounded with so much love and excitement that your heart is going to burst. ☺
Tom & Matan’s little white book
Photography – Ran Bergman {offers an exclusive gift to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Designer – Tomka Designs
Venue – Pekan Garden
Bride’s dress – Gali Karten
Hair + Makeup – Aviel Shmaya and Inbal Margalit
Groom’s attire – Blue Navy
DJ – Noam Zellner
