There’s not much we love more than blogging the Jewish wedding of one of our beloved Brides Club members, so naturally we’re thrilled to be featuring the fabulous Newport, Rhode Island nuptials of Brides Club grad Sarah, an advisor at a research and advisory firm, and Gal, a software engineer.
Sarah always dreamed of getting married on the beautiful Rhode Island coast, where she grew up spending summers, and the couple took their cues from their elegant New England surroundings, choosing a soft color scheme of ivory, blush, and lavender.
They also had a watercolor wedding crest designed, featuring their venue, dogs, and favorite flowers – and we love the way the crest became a focal point tying together all of the many wedding details! Sarah and Gal even had custom cookies decorated with their crest on the tables for their guests – check them out in the gorgeous photos by Adeline and Grace!
Animals are a big part of Sarah and Gal’s life, and they had a gorgeous custom cocktail sign painted in watercolor featuring their dog Teddy and horse Jasper – and Teddy even came to the venue for some special pre-chuppah pics with his humans!
There’s so much more to say about this exquisite wedding – like, how cool is it that Sarah and Gal had a live wedding painter on hand to capture their first dance? – but we’ll let the bride take it from here…
How We Met
Sarah, the bride: Gal and I met in 2012 in Tel Aviv at a popular bar called Drink Point on Dizengoff Street. I was in Israel doing a Masa Internship Program and Gal had just finished with the army and was working at Live Person. I had been on Birthright the year before and became friends with an Israeli soldier in our group. When I decided to do an internship program in Israel the following year my friend had wanted to introduce me to all of his friends.
Gal is one of his best friends. In 2013, I made Aliyah and we lived in Tel Aviv. In 2016, we decided to move to the United States with our dog Lilush. Gal was an exchange student at Carnegie Mellon University and I was working on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Campaign in Pittsburgh. In 2017, we moved to Washington, DC where we have been living ever since with our Golden Retriever Teddy. Gal proposed in the Icelandic countryside on horseback in 2018.
A Newport Wedding
Our wedding was the perfect start to the summer season as it fell on Memorial Day Weekend in a much-loved summer destination, Newport, RI. It was always my dream to get married in Newport as I grew up spending all of my summers at out beach house in Narragansett and have a lot of family there. Our venue was OceanCliff.
When we moved to the US I could not wait to bring Gal to Rhode Island and we have been there 10 time since. Gal is from Israel and all of his family still lives there so he was intrigued with my idea of having our wedding in the US in a special destination where his family could visit that means so much to us. We had a second wedding in Caesarea, Israel as it was so important to us to celebrate in both places.
New England Vibes
We wanted our wedding to be elegant and classic while paying homage to our stunning New England setting. The color scheme was soft colors of ivory and pastel blush and lavender. We had a watercolor wedding crest made which included our venue, dogs at the time and my favorite flowers. This was a wedding focal point and found across all of our details.
What ‘Smashing The Glass Brides Club’ Did For Us
I was a member of Smashing the Glass’s Brides Club leading up to our initial wedding dates of 2020. The group was extremely supportive and always had great advice. Being a bride in 2020 was full of uncertainty, chaos and overall sadness from COVID-19. Everyone in the group was facing these emotions and all of the brides provided so much support.
Karen especially took a front role in helping us problem solve and lean on each other. I will never forget the Zoom meeting she hosted in which we could all voice our concerns and challenges and talk about the best ways to navigate them with the group. A member who is a graphic designer also helped me make a new “Change of Date” card for our guests that I cherished.
I found a lot of vendors for our Israel wedding through Brides Club and Smashing the Glass including our kippahs, ketubah artist, videographer, DJ and wedding venue (Caesar Yam).
Invitation
My favorite part about wedding invitations is that I got to work with the same woman who made my Bat Mitzvah invitations! Renee from The Paper Place helped me design the most perfect invitations by Checkerboard. I wanted the same invitation as my Bat Mitzvah but in Ivory.
The rosettes and bows were no longer available but we were able to make something very special to match my vision. I love the way our crest was incorporated on the top and the beautiful layered papers along with the ivory ribbon and embossed ink. The envelope lining was a perfect ivory and gold pinstripe.
Hair + Makeup
I used Ali Lomazzo Beauty for hair and makeup. Ali and her team were incredibly organized and communicative leading up to the wedding. Her team was so professional and everyone looked beautiful the day of. I felt like the most glamorous version of myself!
A Pnina Tornai Dress
I had two dresses for my Newport wedding, both by incredible Israeli designers. Shopping for my first dress was so much fun. I started with my mom in Florida, shopped with some friends in DC and then traveled to NYC with my mom and some friends to visit the bridal stores I was most excited about. I always knew what I wanted in a dress. An all lace A-line gown with sleeves, a scalloped hem and dramatic train. I wanted to be a modern version of my Bubbie, growing up I always admired her timeless gown.
I fell in love with a Monique Lhullier gown while in NY and thought “this is it.” The following day we had an appointment at Kleinfeld for Pnina Tornai’s trunk show. I wanted to cancel the appointment knowing I found my dress but my mom was still eager to visit Kleinfeld since we were all already in NY. Getting to Kleinfeld was chaotic that day as NY was celebrating Pride and we got caught in the middle of the parade and showed up late to our appointment. I told my bridal consultant exactly what I wanted and how I already had a dress I expected to get. She brought in a couple of options.
The second dress I tried was a Pnina gown that had every single aspect I was looking for in a dress. The added plus was her being an Israeli designer. Pnina came over and introduced herself and I just knew it was my dress. Pnina was so excited because she said I was the first bride she ever said “are you saying yes to the dress” in Hebrew. It was a very special moment filled with happiness and excitement. My veil was also custom made by Pnina with the scalloped lace matching my dress.
My second dress for the reception is from Clair Bridal in Kfar Saba. I fell in love with the dress on their Instagram and contacted them right away about having one made for me. They were hesitant about designing a dress for me I have never seen in person. I assured them I knew I would love it and sent them my exact measurements I had gotten from Pnina at Kleinfeld. It was the perfect sparkly gown with pearl buttons down the back and a beautiful bow in the front.
I was looking for a dress that was comfortable and easy to dance with. I had it altered with them when I was in Israel and they were incredibly talented and kind. I also have a third dress I purchased from Clair Bridal for my Israel wedding in Caesarea. It is a beautiful ivory color with 3D floral appliques.
Accessories
My veil was custom made with scalloped lace by Pnina Tornai. My beautiful hair piece was made by Victoria Percival. I love all of her pieces and she made my tiara for my Israel wedding. The diamond earrings I had on used to belong to my Bubbie.
Shoes
For shoes, I had the most beautiful pair of blush Manolo Blahnik‘s. I have known since I was little I would wear Manolo’s on my wedding day.
Bridesmaids
The girls wore blush dresses by Hayley Paige with Monique Lhullier crystal belts from Bella Bridesmaids.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Our chuppah was designed by our incredible florist Giti from Botanica Wedding Flowers. Our chuppah was the focal point of the beautiful backdrop of rolling lawns and spectacular ocean views. I wanted it to be whimsical and romantic. It was covered in all of my favorite flowers – peonies, garden roses, hydrangeas, lilacs and minimal greenery. My favorite part of the ceremony was walking down the aisle to see Gal.
A string quartet played ‘Sunrise, Sunset’ from Fidler on the Roof as I walked down with my parents. I had been dreaming of this moment since childhood when I was obsessed with the movie and play. It was so special and emotional. We wanted to honor our friends from Israel in the ceremony and a very close family friend who all came up to read the seven blessings.
We flew in our Rabbi Yitzy Ceitlin from DC to do our ceremony so it was so special to have a Rabbi who knew us so well leading it. He was a great storyteller. Smashing the glass was also one of the best memories! We were so excited after we forgot to dip for photos after walking down the aisle.
Ketubah
Our ketubah was designed by Amalya Nini from Tzur Hadassah. It is an intricate one-of-a-kind watercolor papercut design with 24 Karat gold that represents Spring in Israel. It has many wild flowers such as iris and lilies and birds and butterflies are gliding among the flowers on the hills of Jerusalem. It’s an absolute work of art, the photos don’t do it justice. Gal’s twin sister and her husband flew with it from Israel which wasn’t easy but we are eternally grateful. I found out about Amalya’s work through the Smashing the Glass Brides Club.
Our music choice
Our band was Nightshift Entertainment from Boston. They were incredible and kept the dance floor packed the whole evening. The lead singer was on The Voice and made it quite far on Adam Levine’s team. We left the music up to them but requested a few songs very special to us – ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love‘ for our first dance, ‘Wonderful Tonight’ and ‘Annie’s Song’ for the parents dances, ‘Somebody to Love’ for our cake cutting and ‘Sweet Caroline’ for our final song. When the band took a short break, we had a DJ dance set of our favorite Israeli Songs! Lots of Omer Adam and Moshe Peretz. I’ve never seen our guests dance so much. We had little Israeli flags too. It was the most perfect evening.
Flowers
Giti from Botanica Wedding Flowers was our florist. She was an absolute dream to work with and one of the first vendors I chose! Fun fact – I actually planned our wedding around when peonies are in season because they are my favorite flower! Giti and I had a long relationship! We first started working with each other in 2018 when our wedding was originally supposed to be in 2020.
We talked often and even had a meeting when she was visiting DC. She is an absolute perfectionist and artist who truly brought my vision to life. My guests still cannot stop talking about our chuppah and all of the flower design and arrangements. Our flowers were peonies, hydrangeas, garden roses, tulips and lilacs. Everything was so romantic, lush and whimsical.
Photographer and videographer
For photography we used Erica from Adeline and Grace. Erica was so an absolute joy to work with the day of. She took stunning shots and flawlessly managed the multiple locations, family and bridal party we were shooting with. I knew Erica would be our photographer when she said “I will take an elbow to the face to get a good Hora photo.”
Our videographer was Stop Go Love. They brought great energy the day of and did a beautiful job capturing special moments. I love how I can relive the day every time I watch out video. They did a fantastic job highlighting Newport, our wedding venue, stunning florals and all of the love we shared on that day!
Cake
Our cake was done by the talented bakers at Dessert Works. I took a lot of time and detail designing the most perfect cake with their talented team. The 4 tiers alternated in lace, swiss dot and dotted swags in Italian buttercream. There were risers between each tier that were filled with our beautiful fresh wedding flowers.
Gal and I had a lot of fun with the flavors. I chose a vanilla butter cake layered with fresh strawberries and raspberries, rich chocolate mousse and ganache accent. Gal chose a dark chocolate cake soaked with Bailey’s and layered with Madagascar vanilla mousse.
Extra Details
We had a live wedding painter who was incredible. Vesna Longton did the most beautiful job painting our first dance. It is the focal art piece in our living room and every time I see it, it brings me back to the magic of our wedding day. Her attention to detail is spectacular. She captured the true beauty of our floral arrangements, band, wedding cake and our friends and family.
We had a beautiful white floral photo booth backdrop by Wild Love Flower Walls with a custom neon “The Fishers” sign. We also had a lot of fun props including signs that said “L’Chaim”, “Newport”, and “Mazel Tov and cutouts of our dog Teddy and my horse Jasper.
On the table settings we had the most beautiful custom cookies with our wedding crest on them. We also had custom ivory kippah’s with our wedding crest embroidered in gold. We had a lot of watercolor artwork at our wedding. One of my favorites is the custom cocktail sign with our dog Teddy and my horse Jasper. We wanted our animals to be a big part of our wedding! Teddy even joined us on the day for some wedding photos before the ceremony.
Honeymoon
For our honeymoon we went to South Africa! We flew into Cape Town and spent three weeks exploring the Garden Route, Durban, two safaris, the Cape Winelands and ending in Cape Town. We travel a lot and this was the most spectacular trip we have ever been on. I had the most wonderful time planning it and making sure we visited all of the highlights of this incredible country. Everything was beyond our wildest dreams but stand out hotels and safaris were Tsala Treetop Lodge, &Beyond Phinda and The Oyster Box hotel. We saw the Big 5 and took some amazing photographs we will cherish for a lifetime. We cannot wait to go back!!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
I went through so much stress when planning, mainly because of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of when it would be safe to have the weddings we always dreamed of. Things will happen that are out of your control, but the most important thing to keep in mind is that you are marrying the love of your life and it will be always be the most special and memorable day.
Our Israel wedding was first and the day went by so quickly!! Having known how fast everything goes, we wanted to be really intentional about living in the moment for our Newport wedding. Take the time to step away and take in all of the love and joy around you.
SARAH & GAL’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Adeline and Grace
Videography – Stop Go Love
Ketubah – Amalya Nini
Venue – OceanCliff
Bride’s dress – Pnina Tornai found at Kleinfeld, Clair Bridal
Bride’s shoes – Manolo Blahnik
Bride’s accessories – Pnina Tornai, Victoria Percival
Bridesmaids – Bella Bridesmaids
Hair + Makeup – Ali Lomazzo Beauty
Flowers – Botanica Wedding Flowers
Band – Nightshift Entertainment
Cake – Dessert Works
Stationery/Invitation – The Paper Place, Checkerboard
Rabbi – Rabbi Yitzy Ceitlin
Wedding Painter – Vesna Longton
Wedding Crest – Valeriart Boutique
Honeymoon – Tsala Treetop Lodge, &Beyond Phinda, The Oyster Box hotel
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.
