Orah and Josh, two olim who met and fell in love in Israel, planned a Jewish wedding that’s an absolute love letter to the country where they’ve built their life together – and also happens to contain some beautiful lessons about finding joy in tough times.
Orah tragically lost her mother the year prior to the wedding. Naturally, that made the leadup to the big day extra emotional. But since Orah’s mom was “all about simcha and joy,” and known for being a happy and positive person, the couple made a conscious effort to emulate those qualities. They focused on joy and love in the face of grief, planning the kind of day they knew Orah’s mom would be smiling down on every second of the way.
The couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman, captured all the emotion of the day so beautifully – and Orah and Josh report he did a stellar job making them feel comfortable and open up to the camera. They also loved that he’s a native English speaker, which meant their families could easily communicate with him.
When it came to their ketubah, bride and groom had competing visions: Orah wanted flowers, while Josh wanted to highlight his favorite color, blue. In the end, the pair decided to mix both ideas by going for both blue rings – which not only met Josh’s criteria but also symbolized Israel – and flowers. They knew Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor BritColors was just the person to make their dreams a reality – and the couple loved working together with the Tel Aviv-based artist to create a unique piece of artwork.
There’s so much more to say about this gorgeous Israeli wedding – but we’ll leave it to Orah, who looked radiant in her gown by Israeli designer Mia Pava, to take it from here…
How We Met
Orah, the bride: Josh, who had just made Aliyah, was brought to a kiddush through a mutual friend of the host. Which luckily enough turned out to be a best friend of Orah׳s. He saw her from the other side of the room with a smile that lit up the room but was too nervous to walk up and speak to her.
Two days later, after Orah had taken a COVID test at the health fund and was waiting for the bus, Josh just happened to be there too and still couldn’t work up the courage to speak to her, and she was whisked away worried that awkward guy would find her again. Seemingly you’d think losing out but as it turned out she did have Corona!
Fast forward a few months after recovering from COVID, Orah was at a Shabbat lunch with her Ulpan friends. Josh had just finished a call shift at the hospital and was bored so he crashed the meal. In his total lack of sleep he worked up the courage to speak to Orah, and after falling asleep next to her on that couch he couldn’t imagine falling asleep next to anyone else.
Under the Stars
We had 3 criteria on our list: We wanted an outdoor wedding to be married under the stars, We wanted something close to Jerusalem and we wanted something pram and wheelchair friendly so all our guests could be welcomed with open arms. We went to see 4 different venues, Ein Hemed was the last.
We loved that the venue could tell our story for itself, with an amazing layout from the nature reserve next door where we did our first look to the reception at the entrance which leads straight through to the chuppa and then into the hall right beside.
Blush, Peach, and Sage
With the help of our wedding planner Gilda from Epic Events, Orah was able to incorporate her favourite colours- blush pink, peach and sage as well as floral patterns. We used these colours for the invitations, table decor and the bridesmaids and it turned out better than expected.
Invitation
We have a good friend who is a graphic designer and she offered to help us create our wedding invitation. We used the colours in our theme. It was important for us to have a Hebrew version as well which she did to match the English one.
Hair + Makeup
Leah Neppe truly created my dream wedding hair and make up. I wanted the same person to do both and 1 requirement I had was hair extensions for volume. Leah and I did a consultation a few weeks before the wedding where we discussed the details. Each step of the way she asked me to check and see if I was happy. She made me feel so calm and comfortable and I had the best time working with her. She really exceeded all expectations and I couldn’t have felt more perfect.
A Mia Pava Dress
Since I made Aliyah I have been following Mia Pava’s instagram page, and I knew that one day when I got married I would go there and find my dream dress. I had in mind what style I wanted, something busier at the top and plain net at the bottom, but my main requirement was that it needs to be comfortable so I could dance the night away. When I tried this “Mia” dress on I just new it was the one. I felt like a princess bride and it was so comfortable and light, especially for the Israel summer heat.
Accessories + Shoes
In order to dance the night away, we needed the appropriate foot attire. When it comes to fashion we always turn to Josh’s brother, who was super excited to help us get customised shoes for the big day. We ordered plain white Nike Airforce 1 shoes and we custom designed them to perfection with our unique swooshes.
Ceremony & Chuppah
When we were planning on getting engaged, we started discussing how we imagined a wedding. Both of us agreed that since we are creating a new life together in Israel we wanted to use as many elements of our new life together as we could. We both didn’t have a Rabbi here in Israel and as it turns out one of our good friends has Smicha. So we had the crazy idea to ask him if he’d be willing to become licensed and officiate for us. He was honoured and together we worked to make this happen.
Another important element was Saba. Before the war, Saba and Josh’s Zaydie grew up in the same town and were best friends. Both survived the war and managed to build beautiful lives that remained intertwined throughout the decades. When Josh made Aliyah, Saba and his family adopted him without pause and became our home away from home. Every time we go see Saba we get a Bracha and we wanted to have that same Bracha at such an important moment.
Most importantly, with the sudden loss of Orah’s Mom last year we knew it would be a really emotional day, but Orah’s Mom was all about Simcha and joy and she was the most positive and happy person always. So as difficult as it was we made a conscious effort to make it a Simcha and we knew she was smiling down and dancing with us on our special day.
Ketubah
As in any marriage this was a compromise. Orah wanted to add flowers to the ketubah but Josh’s favourite colour is blue and we wanted the ketubah to be something we both love. We sat and thought how to mix both ideas and we decided to do the blue rings for Israel and for Josh, and added the flowers to match the theme and for Orah.
We knew Britt from BritColors did the most amazing ketubahs with the different blues around and when we asked if she could add the flowers she was very excited to try something new and we worked together to create our special artwork.
Our music choice
After signing the venue, our next objective was the band. We had seen Rimonim at a few friends’ weddings and it was just our vibe, a mix of Israeli hits with some English pop. They also helped us tailor the music for Kabbalat Panim and our Chuppah to give us just the right atmosphere. And an added bonus was the DJ which we wanted for the end of the party to keep things going after the band had left. A mix of oldies and the latest hits kept things fresh and on fire.
Flowers
On Friday afternoon I got a delivery to the apartment and it was the most beautiful bunch of flowers from Josh. Since he is a very sentimental person, I decided to use the flowers as my wedding bouquet. So on Sunday morning while I was getting my hair and make up done by the most amazing Leah Neppe my aunts were in the kitchen cutting and prepping the flowers. The bunch was too big to use them all so I decide to just use the flowers in the colour scheme.
Photographer
Herschel Gutman had come highly recommended. We saw his work online and had heard about him from friends. A major factor in picking all our vendors was native English speakers so they could communicate with our family. With that being said Herschel isn’t just an English speaker but he also happens to be South African.
He also arranged the videographer for us so that saved us a lot of time and we knew we could leave it up to him to get us the best. He helped us feel really comfortable and open up to the camera immediately. He was flexible and kept asking us what shots we wanted to do. He also did a great job sneaking photos when neither of us were looking, creating really memorable action shots.
Food
Josh did have 2 small requests, and yes they were both to do with food.
1. Cotton candy- he always loved this and I knew that was his dealbreaker from when I threw him a surprise 30th the year before and it was a feature.
2. Chicken and waffles- Yes, you’ve read that right. This was a non-negotiable and we sealed our venue when they told us they could do it. Except here it was with a twist and they added Silan (date syrup) and pistachios. Honestly even better than imagined!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
A good friend of mine who planned their wedding a year before us told me that “if it’s what you want and it’s good enough just say yes“. This was the best advice as here in Israel, we are so lucky to have so many amazing options for everything. But that can also be incredibly overwhelming, so if it’s what you want and it’s good enough say yes!
ORAH & JOSH’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Herschel Gutman {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Ketubah – BritColors {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – Ein Hemed
Bride’s dress – Mia Pava
Bride’s shoes – Nike
Hair + Makeup – Leah Neppe
Planner – Epic Events
Band – Rimonim
Catering – Ein Hemed
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
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.