A Disney-inspired fairy tale forest-themed Jewish wedding? Um, yes please! Everything about Shelly and Harel’s big day just exudes joy, and we are for it.
We adore the way the couple’s planner and designer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Yana of Craspedia Events, brought the pair’s vision of a colorful, youthful celebration to life – a true necessity given that they’re both medical students! The whole day was a riot of whimsical, bright flowers, fairy lights, and offbeat vintage touches. Yana even took the couple out to the flower farm so they could choose their blooms themselves! Don’t miss the wonderful photos from Noa Magger and Amir Ganun.
Given the theme, it’s no surprise the bride looked like the perfect fairy tale princess – we can’t get enough of her enchanting hair and makeup by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Keren Rimon, chosen for her expertise working with long, thick, wavy hair. She really knows what she’s doing, because Shelly reports that her glam look didn’t budge all evening – even after dancing!
All seems pretty perfect, right? Well, it was… except for one thing: groom Harel forgot the couple’s ketubah at his parents’ house on the big day! Luckily, their wonderful venue Bayaar was prepared with a backup ketubah kept on hand for just such a situation – crisis averted!It just goes to show, there’s always going to be that one thing (or maybe a couple things) that won’t go to plan on the day. But they won’t make your wedding any less wonderful – and they may even leave you with a fun story or two that you’ll be recounting for years to come!
Now over to the bride…
Forest Vibes
Shelly, the bride: We got married at Bayaar, Hadera. We chose the venue because we wanted to have a “forest” vibe wedding. We both loved the nature with its green and brown colours and the magical feeling it gives.
A Colorful Wedding
We decided to go with a very colorful color scheme. We wanted to “light up” the wedding with brighter colours and lights and express some youthfulness and naughtiness. Thanks to our wedding planner, Yana (Craspedia Events), who was with us with every step of the way, our wedding really represented that vision.
Invitation
We simply chose an existing design we found online and really liked.
Hair + Makeup
I went for a gentle “glamorous” look. I chose my hair & makeup artist – Keren Rimon – based on previous experience I had with her, especially knowing her amazing quality of her product and ability to work with long, thick, and wavy hair. My hair and makeup didn’t move an inch the entire evening.
Two Dresses
We both live in Italy since we are studying medicine abroad, and I bought the wedding dress in a local atelier called Atelier Eme. I had two dresses; one for my ceremony and one for the party. When I went into the shop with my mom for the first time, she looked at the ceremony dress that was on display (literally on the mannequin) and told “this is the one”. So I tried it and fell in love with it instantaneously. For the party dress I chose a different style that is more “fluent” and “free” so I’d be able to jump and dance all night.
Accessories
The veil was from the same place as the dresses. It was really really long and had lace decorations to match the dress. Jewellery – the majority were a gift my mother gave me for the wedding. The style was gold and pearls and I had a small tiara that I chose with my hair dresser.
Shoes
Bright white shoes with high heels for the reception and ceremony. For the party, I switched to a flat sparkling silver sandals that matched the sparkly dress perfectly.
The handsome groom
TBH, I chose his suit with him, so I knew exactly what he was going to wear! He wore an ocean-blue suit (to match his eyes) with brown shoes, belt, and socks. He had a light blue dotted tie and a colourful handkerchief that we bought from a local store here in the city. I surprised him that day with a pair of cufflinks and a tie clip that I prepared for him with our names engraved in it.
Bridesmaids
We had 6 bridesmaids. All the cousins in the family (ages 6-12) wearing matching pairs of dresses – 2 in pink, 2 in white and 2 in turquoise. They all wore white ballerina shoes and had a beautiful floral tiara that our wedding manager had gotten made for them.
A Magical Chuppah
We both are massive Disney fans and we couldn’t express our wishes for the chuppah more than “we want it to be magical”. To our luck, our wedding planner and designer, Yana had the perfect vision, translation and execution to our hard-to-describe wish. The chuppah was filled with flowers and fairy lights and with enough space for the whole family including grandparents to stand in it with us. It looked perfect.
Ketubah
Harel, the groom: In every wedding movie, there is that one guy that says he really messed up that day and forgot something crucial. This was me. I literally forgot the ketubah in my folks’ house and didn’t bring it with us at all. So, the moment the rabbi arrived, the dime dropped flowing with the aching sensation that I “f**d” up my wedding right now. Luckily, the venue is an esteemed and experienced place and had another “extra” ketubah in cases like these. So we never actually used our brand new very beautiful ketubah, but a old, very “vintage”, a tiny bit torn ketubah instead.
Our music choice
Processional – ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran ft. Beyoncé. Recessional – ‘I’m A Believer’ by Smashmouth (the Shrek version). First dance – a surprising mashup of ‘Piccola anima’ by Ermal Meta and ‘Love is An Open Door’ from Frozen (Big Disney fans, eh?).
Flowers
Yana took us to choose flowers at the growers. We had various types of colourful roses, lisianthus, alstroemeria, celosia and many other fresh in season flowers. The team from Craspedia designed our event as well.
Photographers
Noa Magger was our photographer at the wedding. She is literally the groom’s family photographer. She was in his sister’s wedding, his brother’s wedding and ours.
Design photographer was Amir Ganun, who captured the centrepieces perfectly.
Food
The caterer was Avsha, suggested by the venue itself since they work tightly together. They were honestly great. We received so many positive feedback about the food served during the wedding, which was amazing to know, especially since they had to offer such a wide variety of choices. From vegan and vegetarians to meat-loving carnivores, they offered amazing options for everyone. The also built a massive pasta stand, which is perfect considering we live in Italy, and a coffee shop as well. They had these amazing desserts (we never got to taste except for the pre-wedding tasting) such as yogurt-ice cream, pancakes and more.
Entertainment
We picked an amazing DJ called Tomer Vered to DJ at the wedding. We knew him from the groom’s sister’s wedding (the easy life of the youngest brother). He matched the music perfectly to the crowd and created amazing atmosphere during the ceremony and an insane party afterwards. Other than that, we were the entertainment. 😛
Magnet Favors
We brought a polaroid photographer called Maria (Analogit) that gave every guest she filmed a polaroid image with a case and a magnet to take home as a souvenir.
Superheroes and cats
We had superhero masks given out to the guests on the dance floor and everyone wore them during the party. It was hysterical. We are also “cat people” so we chose a specific paper cutout decoration for the wine glasses in the shape of two cats playing together which was utterly beautiful.
Back to Reality
We went straight from the wedding to the beginning of our semester back in Italy. We had fun, but med school called.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
DO NOT FORGET YOU KETUBAH, and use a great planner.
Other than that – 1. have a good night’s sleep (even if it means you get dressed later) cause it’s a long day filled with excitement. 2. Eat a proper meal before the wedding, since you need your strength for the wedding. 3. Make a list of all the important family pictures you want taken and hand it to your wedding planner/close and responsible friend – so you will never miss anyone.
Shelly & Harel’s little white book
Photography – Noa Magger
Design photography – Amir Ganun
Videography – Jenn’s Studio
Wedding planner and flowers – Craspedia Events {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Hair+Makeup – Keren Rimon
Venue – Bayaar
Bride’s dress – Atelier Eme
Polaroid – Analogit
DJ – Tomer Vered
Paper cat decorations – Paperboutique
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