We love it when a couple has their Jewish wedding, their way… and that’s exactly what today’s couple did! Laura, a photographer, and Ray, a public health consultant, made it their top priority to craft a wedding that was “so incredibly us,” and they put their own stamp on everything from the color scheme to the vibe, the music to the souvenirs.
Laura and Ray even designed the invitation themselves, along with matching programs and seating cards! And when it came to the ketubah, they opted for a gorgeous design by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush.
Laura is a mother of six mostly grown kids, and it was important to her that they all had major roles in the wedding ceremony. Two of the kids were the emcees, Laura’s oldest daughter was her attendant, two kids sang Laura down the aisle, and her youngest daughter was her maid of honor – so special!
Given that Laura herself is a professional photographer, she naturally wanted only the best when it came to photographing her wedding – and so she opted for none other than Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman! His images of the day are so full of emotion and love, we can’t stop scrolling through them.
Read on for more fabulous details of the day in the couple’s own words…
How We Met
Once upon a time there was Ray, a public health professional living in the US with no plans to move anywhere. And there was Laura, a divorcee, mom of 6, living in a settlement in Israel. Their mutual friend, Shoshanna, came up with the crazy idea that these two people should date each other. She told them. They were unimpressed… And did nothing about it at the time.
When Covid took Laura’s dad summer of 2020, just a few months after it took Ray’s dad, Ray reached out to Laura via Facebook messenger with a really kind message and even followed up a few weeks later to see how she was. Laura was impressed. With the ice broken they began speaking occasionally via Facebook messenger. Laura was charmed by Ray’s unique sense of humor and skill at SongPop. Ray was astounded by Laura’s seemingly endless cocktail concoctions and her ability to stay up later than God…
Their conversations grew more frequent and deeper and by October they were messaging daily, and starting to add phone calls and FaceTime as well. And yet, they had never met in real life. Because of covid, they could not even entertain the idea of travel for months. Finally, in April 2021, Laura flew to the US and they met for the first time at the airport when Ray came to pick her up. That first date lasted 11 hours and started two weeks of what they dubbed ‘concentrated craziness’.
Since then Ray and Laura have been back and forth to Israel and the US numerous times, documenting it all with a steady stream of photos. They even managed to meet in ‘neutral territory’ with a trip to Switzerland. Finally, on July 8, 2022, on a bluff overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and over a glass of cabernet, Ray proposed to Laura and the rest is history 🙂 (Meanwhile, there’s no doubt that their dads have met up in heaven and are kvelling together over this beautiful turn of events…)
A Forest Venue
Laura, the bride and Ray, the groom: Our venue was Tur Sinai right outside Jerusalem. We liked that it was what we called ‘upscale rustic’. A beautiful forest with twinkling lights, flowers and a beautiful view of Jerusalem.
Planned to Perfection
We used Adena Mark of A to Z Events Israel – She was great throughout, but the day of she had a whole team making sure not a detail was overlooked. We can’t imagine making the wedding without her. And yes, the wedding was definitely about us. Everything from the color scheme (purple and sunset colors!), the vibe, the music, the schedule, souvenirs… everything was so incredibly us.
We designed the invitation ourselves, made matching programs, seating cards… our planner had us even do the table numbers so everything coordinated. We did a number of things that were unique. We weren’t interested in following anyone’s expectation of what a wedding should look like. It was exactly what we wanted… and simply perfect.
Invitation
We designed everything ourselves… We went with our color palette and did things our way, rather than what is ‘typical’ or ‘expected’. Then again, that’s what we did for everything…
Hair + Makeup
Leah Neppe was the amazing hair and makeup artist who came and spent hours to make me look like my absolute best me… Both the hair and makeup looked simultaneously natural, and fabulous. Nothing looked forced, the makeup didn’t look caked on… I literally look at myself in the photos and think ‘that’s me!’ and not some temporary alternate version of me. She was also an absolute pleasure to work with!
A Mia Pava Dress
My dress was from Mia Pava in Jerusalem. Her dresses are stunning and unique, and not ‘heavy’. My daughter was with me when I went looking and she found this one incredible dress in the ‘sale’ rack… meaning I couldn’t have it made for me as there was limited fabric to even make any alterations on the existing dress.
It just barely fit… But it was PERFECT. So I took a chance and bought it, praying that I wouldn’t gain weight before the wedding. I didn’t. If anything, I lost a few pounds and the dress was absolutely fabulous. It was unique, special, worked so well with my figure, and was just everything I had hoped!
Ceremony & Chuppah
As a mom of six mostly grown kids, it was very important that they have major roles in the wedding ceremony. Two of the kids were the emcees, my oldest daughter was my attendant, two of my kids sang me down the aisle, and my youngest daughter (13, and the only one still living full time at home) was our maid of honor.
Rather than having the veil placed over the brides face before the ceremony, we chose to do it during the ceremony. My mom walked me partway down the aisle, Ray met me there, and placed the veil over my face right then, after which we walked the rest of the way down the aisle. As Laura is a photographer and social media consultant, Laura & Ray surprised the crowd with a selfie of them all mid-chuppah.
Ketubah
Very special… We picked something we really loved, had it framed and on display at the chuppah. The designer is The Delicate Brush.
Our music choice
We surprised everyone with a ‘first dance’ as a couple. (Ray NEVER danced, and no one expected us to do it…) We danced to ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri. We had a fabulous band called Mebereshit. They had amazing energy and knew how to read the room.
Flowers
We gave our color palette and some pinterest ideas to Noa Barashi, our florist/designer, and trusted her to handle the rest… She totally understood our vision and created a beautiful chuppah and truly brought our ideas to life!
Photographer and videographer
With the bride being a professional photographer, the big question on everyone’s lips was ‘Who’s going to photograph your wedding??’ But the answer was easy: Herschel Gutman is known as THE wedding photographer in Israel and he didn’t disappoint!
We had an amazing magnet Photographer, Michael Laurence Photography, who was really like a second photographer. His pictures were incredible and the magnets with such a great touch and souvenir.
As for videographer, we used Chaim Snow who did a combination of livestream and capturing the whole event for a keepsake video.
Extra Details
We created personalized programs, one that explained the Jewish wedding traditions, plus a specific Chuppah program, all that followed our design motif. We had ‘Grace after Meals’ (benchers…) made with beautiful Israel photos taken by the bride. We also had adorable little bottle opener/keychains made as gifts, though they don’t work so well so kind of a bummer! But they’re still cute…
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
We highly recommend having an event planner (and if you don’t, then having a coordinator for the day of is still a must!) Also, trying to let go of the little details… things won’t necessarily go as planned… but the day will be wonderful regardless. Just enjoy every moment!!
LAURA & RAY’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Herschel Gutman {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Ketubah – The Delicate Brush {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videography – Chaim Snow
Wedding planner – A to Z Events Israel
Venue – Tur Sinai
Bride’s dress – Mia Pava
Hair + Makeup – Leah Neppe
Flowers – Noa Barashi
Band – Mebereshit
Magnet Photographer – Michael Laurence Photography
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.
