We ADORE a laid-back Israeli wedding, particularly when the couple in question consists of two wedding planners and a wedding-planning sibling, combining the cool Israeli attitude with a gorgeous wedding aesthetic!
Arielle and Alon – a fashion-forward couple for sure – looked incredible, from handsome groom Alon’s unique suit to beautiful bride Arielle’s Meital Zano Bridal boho-style lace dress, surrounded by bridesmaids in mismatched florals. We say it a lot on Smashing The Glass, but there’s nothing quite like an Israeli dress designer!
Arielle and Alon did things their way, incorporating their own ideas to create a bespoke Jewish ceremony they felt represented who they are as a couple.
Fabulous photographer Idan Canfi captured the sensational spread of pictures you see below you, and Arielle wrote up all of the details below. We’ll leave you in their capable hands now. Enjoy!
A Galilee venue
Arielle, the bride: We got married in Ramot at a beautiful hotel overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Ramot Nofesh Hotel. We searched far and wide for a location that embodied the summer camp feel that we wanted to emulate, and a place that we could host the majority of our guests for the night.
We purposely chose a location that was a bit far from Tel Aviv, which is where we and our guests mostly live, to basically force our guests to spend the night, creating the destination wedding vibe we wanted.
Back to summer camp
Our wedding was very much about us, from the overarching summer camp concept, to each tiny detail in every hotel room.
We met at a summer camp and it very much continues to be a part of our lives. Camp is where we fell in love, and learned to work and create together. We wanted to bring our friends and family into that world.
The both of us happen to be wedding planners, so we primarily did everything ourselves with the help of Alon’s sister, Lior, who is a wedding planner at one of the leading companies in Israel, and Ronen, our amazing technical director, who walked us through every step of the way.
A wedding website
Our wedding invite was a super cool website! See for yourself here.
Celebrating Israeli designers
My dress was by the incredible Israeli designer Meital Zano. Being originally American, I initially searched in the States, and quickly realized that Israelis do bridal best! I found Meital and fell in love!
This very non-traditional casual two piece was perfect for our wedding’s atmosphere. I felt so comfortable and the best part – I wore flip flops, so I was effortlessly dancing all night long!
The sisterhood of the travelling veil
My veil had some pretty special significance. It originally belonged to my best childhood friend, Molly, and was then passed on to Gavriel, and then me. Call it the sisterhood of the travelling veil!
Comfortable wedding shoes
My wedding shoes were literally $4 nude flip flops. Cheapest wedding shoes ever. Working as a wedding planner, I have seen way too many brides suffer from their shoes on their wedding day.
I decided from the beginning that comfort and natural beauty were my mottos. I wasn’t going to let any heel ruin my night.
Sisters are doing it for themselves
Eti Albachari was on makeup, and my sister Keren did my hair. Natural and effortless was the name of the game. Special shoutout to my other sister, Eden, who touched me up right before the big moment!
The handsome groom
Alon wore an awesome pale pink blazer and white and blue checkered pants. He looked fantastic. He’s more of a fashionista than I am, so I had no doubt he would kill it.
Bridesmaids in mismatched florals
I had 15 ladies and one bridesman. I asked them to go for mismatched florals, and I think it looked awesome!
A simply beautiful chuppah
Our venue was so naturally beautiful, so we knew that keeping our chuppah simple and natural to fit the stunning backdrop was best.
Alon’s brother designed and built it, and our dear friend and wonderful event designer Tamar Lahav adorned it with the gorgeous floral arrangement in the corner.
A personalized ceremony
We decided to create a tailor-made alternative ceremony. We took the basic structure of the Jewish ceremony and adapted it to fit our lives.
We had seven special friends read seven blessings that we asked them to write in themes of love, friendship, home, tradition, etc. We also read our own vows beneath the chuppah. We asked our dear friend Eyal to write our ketubah with us. He wrote it and led the very special ceremony prior to cocktail hour.
Moving musical choices
He walked down the aisle to a non-traditional Israeli song called Lovers of the Spring. I walked to To Know Him is to Love Him by Amy Winehouse. I just love that song! Our first dance was to our song Suzanne by Leonard Cohen.
Warm, colorful flowers
We went for warm, tones, and splashes of orange and yellow. Vered Chait, who assisted tremendously with the design, picked them out!
Our fabulous photographer
Idan Canfi was our wonderful photographer! I honestly initially called him in regards to a client of mine, and he wasn’t available for them. After a short while on the phone with him, we were totally hitting it off, and I asked him about my wedding.
Truly, his photos are amazing, but his personality really sealed the deal. I think its so important to connect with your photographer, and he is the greatest guy!
We didn’t have a videographer, because for some reason, we didn’t think it would be important. Huge regret! Ladies! Don’t let your fiancés talk you out of a videographer!
Partying until dawn
The incredible Nir Segal and DJ Bago that kept us partying until 5am!
Positive vibes
The night before the wedding, we threw a joint bachelor and bachelorette party at Assaf Winery. The idea was to get our closest friends into the camp spirit the night before, and to be able to hang out more intimately with our guests that came from around the globe.
We had an amazing dinner with wonderful paired wines, which were followed by a surprise ‘girls vs boys’ color war! Hilarious things ensued naturally, and we ended the evening around the fire with a guitar and good old American s’mores.
Other than that, I can’t tell if I am biased, but the entire weekend was filled with positive energy, and because we literally set up the wedding ourselves with a few close friends and family, the entire event felt like a huge achievement on top of all the usual wedding excitement!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Take a chill pill, and let everything fall into place. Whatever you planned or didn’t plan, this is about you and your future husband, and the commitment you’re making to one another, all the rest is just extra. Focus on what’s important, and go with the flow!
Arielle & Alon’s Little White Book
Photographer – Idan Canfi
Bride’s dress – Meital Zano Bridal
Venue – Ramot Nofesh Hotel
Design – KBY Designs and Tamar Designs
DJ – Nir Segal and DJ Bago
Catering – Levona Grove
Bar – JaBar
Dancers – The Shmulikim
Bachelor and bachelorette party – Assaf Winery
