Tel Aviv-based couple Maya, who works in marketing, and David, who works in tech as a front end developer, opted to get married in Tarrytown, close to both of their hometowns. But naturally they wanted to bring the epic vibes that come with a good Israeli wedding all the way to New York – and did they ever pull it off!
First off, how elegant is Maya’s dress from Israeli designer Helena Kolan, purchased at her atelier in Tel Aviv?! And we love that Maya and David flew in an Israeli singer to perform their favorite Israeli pop hits and help cultivate that unmistakable Israeli wedding atmosphere. The pair even incorporated some Middle Eastern style foods into their menus for the cocktail hour and dinner!
We’re so in love with Maya and David’s incredible trailer from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kiss the Bride Films and photos by Amy Sims. We’re obsessed with the way, as Maya says, both teams captured the special “in-between” moments of the day, with so much emotion and love.
Now over to Maya…
How we Met
Maya, the bride: We met in college through a very close mutual friend, thanks Taco! We were friends for a few months before we started dating.
Keeping it Local
We got married at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Tarrytown, New York. I’m from New York and he’s from New Jersey, so most of our guests were located in the tri-state area. We wanted a venue that was beautiful and interesting on its own without the need to dress it up with a ton of flowers and draping, a space that didn’t feel like a wedding factory, and something that was close enough for our friends and family to travel to comfortably.
Tel Aviv Meets Tarrytown
We didn’t really have a theme. Because we live in Tel Aviv we wanted to bring a little taste of Israel to our wedding. We incorporated some Middle Eastern style foods for the cocktail hour and dinner, and brought in an Israeli singer to help cultivate the vibe for the ceremony and reception.
Invitations / stationery
We designed our own digital invitations.
Hair + Make-up
I wanted simple hair and makeup that would make me feel like an elevated version of myself. Kim Kinch was my makeup artist and Cat Cook did my hair. Both were incredible and made everyone from my bridesmaids to my grandmothers feel gorgeous.
A Helena Kolan Dress
My dress was from Helena Kolan in Tel Aviv. My mom came to visit me and we had one day together to go dress shopping so we were determined. We had gone to a few other places prior to Helena Kolan, but I ended up going with the first dress I tried on there.
Accessories
My engagement ring is a vintage ring, and David designed earrings using stones from a family heirloom to match. I didn’t know what they looked like until the wedding day.
The handsome groom
David wore a custom tuxedo from My.Suit. He wore his grandfather’s studs and watch, and I got him cufflinks to match.
Ceremony
The officiating Rabbi, Rabbi Joe Wolfson, is a close personal friend of both of ours who got to witness our relationship as it developed. The ceremonial cups we used to make sheva brachot were family heirlooms from both of our families.
Ketubah
David’s grandfather hand wrote the ketubah for our wedding, as he has for all of his grandchildren.
Chuppah
Our chuppah included two taletim, one from each of our grandfathers. It was important to us to include as many family heirlooms as possible to keep our loved ones who couldn’t be with us physically on our special day close. We kept the rest of the chuppah relatively simple in order to highlight the taletim.
Music Choice
David’s family walked down to ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ by The Verve, his groomsmen walked down to ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Rick Astley, and David and his parents walked down to ‘The luckiest’ by Ben Folds. My family walked down to ‘Home We’ll Go (Take My Hand)’ by Steve Aoki and Walk Off The Earth, my bridesmaids walked down to ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’ by The Kooks, and my parents, step-parents and I walked down to ‘The book of Love’ by Peter Gabriel.
Flowers
Dean and Shelley at Forever in Bloom were the amazing florists who helped elevate the venue. They had done weddings at Sleepy Hollow before and knew the space and exactly what it needed.
Photographer and videographer
Amy Sims was our photographer and Alwyn from Kiss the Bride Films was our videographer. Having a woman-led team was awesome. Amy’s photos really spoke to us because she does such a good job of capturing the most special “in-between” moments, those were really important to us. She also managed to finish our family photos early (!) and leave us a few minutes to take a breath before our guests arrived. Alwyn did the same thing in video form.
Looking back at the photos and videos, they both managed to capture all the most important moments as they developed but they never felt intrusive – we barely even knew they were there.
Food and Cake
Steve at Pride Caterers did the catering. He was amazing in helping us think of unique food options for the cocktail hour and dinner. We didn’t have a cake, we opted for passed deserts – more time for dancing!
Entertainment
Shai Barak flew in from Israel to sing at our wedding. For dancing we wanted to focus on including lots of Israeli pop music because it’s great to get people moving and we wanted to bring some of the atmosphere that we love in Israel and at a typical Israeli wedding to our own.
Honeymoon
We had planned to go to Northern Europe for our honeymoon, but because of COVID we weren’t able to. When it’s safe to travel again we still plan to go somewhere fun for a very delayed honeymoon.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Throughout the planning process we tried to keep it in perspective – planning a wedding from another country is stressful, choosing a person to spend the rest of your life with is a big deal. But it’s not about the day, it’s about the rest of your life, and your wedding day is just a massive celebration of that.
The best advice that we got was to try to take it all in during the day. Everything happens so fast, but if you can, find a moment to look around and take it all in.
MAYA & DAVID’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Amy Sims Photography
Videography -Alwyn, Kiss the Bride Films
Venue – Sleepy Hollow Country Club
Bride’s dress – Helena Kolan
Bride’s accessories – Custom designed by groom
Groom’s attire – My.Suit
Hair – Cat Cook
Makeup – Kim Kinch
Flowers –Forever in Bloom
Band – Shai Barak
Catering – Steve, Pride Caterers
Stationery/Invitation – Invitation – Paperless Post, Stationery – Minted
Rabbi – Rabbi Joe Wolfson
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.
