Okay, Hagit and Tom are officially our new favorites. They merged two wonderful things, Jewish weddings and the super fun holiday of Purim, into — wait for it — a Purim costume wedding taking advantage of Tel Aviv’s epic street party in honor of the holiday. We’ve never seen anything like it before. But we hope we will again, because it’s the actual best.
Bride Hagit a bridal fashion designer, heading up Hagit Kassif Bridal in Tel Aviv, while groom Tom is a wedding photographer, so it’s safe to say these two know Israel’s wedding scene inside and out. Naturally, the bride designed her own super cool boho dress (and the bridesmaids’ — all in fuchsia!).
In keeping with the free-spirited nature of the day, Tom passed on smashing the traditional glass in favor of… a Kinder egg!! Love it.
Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ben Kelmer took the most stylish (yet ultra-natural) photos — seriously, if you want gorgeous documentary photos that don’t scream “wedding” (and might, perhaps, look at home in, say, the pages of Vogue), he’s your man.
Take it away, Hagit!
With a Little Help from Our Friends
Hagit, the bride: We got married in our best friends’ apartment during Tel Aviv’s yearly Purim street party.
A Costume Wedding
We planned the wedding ourselves. We had only 50 guests, just family and our best friends. Because the wedding took place on Purim, we decided to make it a costume party – with a theme of “wedding”!
Hair + Makeup
Noa Levi did my hair and makeup – I’ve known her since I was 6 and we work with a lot of the same brides, so I trust her. I wanted to look natural, the way I look everyday just prettier. She did a great job! Noa kept things very simple, and it took less than an hour for her to do my hair and makeup.
A Dress by Hagit Kassif (That’s the Bride!)
I have my own wedding dress studio, Hagit Kassif Bridal, so I made my own dress, and the bridesmaids’ dresses too. I had a vision of a bride in white with 5 bridesmaids wearing fuchsia dresses, and the result was exactly the way I imagined it.
My wedding dress is a version of a dress I made myself a year ago to wear to a festival. I really loved this dress, and when I had to design a wedding dress for myself I knew it was going to be that same design.
Bridal Flats
I wore flat shoes – I just wanted to feel comfortable. After the ceremony I changed to white sneakers from Superga.
The handsome groom
Tom wore a navy suit with white shirt. We bought it in Amsterdam 3 weeks before the wedding.
Smashing the… Kinder Egg?!
We didn’t have a religious ceremony – instead, a friend officiated at our ceremony. It was very exciting and intimate. Tom smashed a huge Kinder egg instead of a glass…
All I Want Is You
Before the ceremony Tom sang a U2 song – All I Want Is You. After smashing the Kinder egg we played Eize Yom Sameach Li Hayom.
Our fabulous photographer
Our photographer was Ben Kelmer. Tom is a wedding photographer, so it was important for us to choose someone that understands our style – we didn’t want to have a posed photography session beforehand, for example – we just wanted him to capture the natural moments – and this is exactly what he did! We love our photos.
…and videographer
We had a videographer, Itay Madar. He is a good friend of ours and works a lot with Tom. He knows us well, so of course he made us the perfect wedding video – funny and exciting at the same time.
Purim Party
We had Tel Aviv’s Purim street party! Who needs any more entertainment than that?
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Take it easy – it is just one day!
Hagit & Tom’s little white book
Photography – Ben Kelmer
Videography – Itay Madar
Bride and bridesmaids – Hagit Kassif Bridal
Bride’s shoes – Superga
Hair + Makeup – Noa Levi
I like all the pictures. The photographer has done a great job. Simply awesome. The bride is looking pretty in dress wedding dress and the groom too. Good luck.