We love that Israeli couple Noa, an ER nurse and the regional director of the Terem chain of emergency clinics, and Laurence, the VP of technical operations for a fintech company, made their Jewish wedding ultra-personal. In Noa’s words, “As an older and second-time couple, we felt very free to set aside all the traditions with which we didn’t connect. We kept our guest list small and intimate, and made sure the people that mattered most to us were involved.”
This included getting married on a Friday morning, involving family and friends in the wedding (especially the couple’s children), and planning the big day in under 6 weeks. Since the winter wedding fell on the shortest Friday of the year, the duo wanted to help their guests out with Shabbat preparations, so as favors they gave each guest a bouquet of Shabbat flowers (that matched Noa’s bouquet) and a fresh challah to take home – how nice is that?!
When it came time to choose the perfect photographer to capture their big day, there was no question that it would be anyone but Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman. In Noa’s words, Herschel “was the only vendor that I was dead set on. Thankfully he was available, even with our short engagement, and his busy schedule. Our pictures came out incredible! We are so thrilled with our choice of Herschel. He had such a calm vibe and didn’t miss a shot – he was always exactly where he needed to be.”
Read on for the rest of the story in the bride’s own words…
How We Met
Noa, the bride: We met nearly 3 years ago at the backyard pool party of a friend. I immediately noticed Laurence as he was the only person to show up in a button down shirt to a pool party!
That, and I noticed immediately that Laurence was an incredible listener, which made me really want to talk to him. Initially we were just friends, but about 6 weeks later I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
One of our first dates was a movie, then an MRI at midnight! The technicians were unable to remove one of my ear piercings and Laurence ended up using his teeth! We were able to make jokes and laugh.
You’re always told to choose a partner who can handle the hard things in life with you – for us, that’s how our relationship started. Navigating a new relationship while dealing with a devastating illness, including chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, was not easy.
Rustic Elegance
We had a few criteria for our wedding venue. We wanted it to be rustic elegant, and have an outdoor element even though we were getting married at the end of November. We wanted to get married on a Friday morning, and we wanted a more intimate wedding than the typical Israeli size.
We are both fans of wineries, and enjoy visiting wineries on Friday mornings, so it made sense to choose one for our wedding. We got married at Psagot winery, which met all our criteria. They did not normally do a Friday morning wedding, but really worked to make our dream come true.
Planning on the Fast Track
We planned our wedding in less than 6 weeks. We knew this would only be possible with a fabulous wedding planner. We were lucky to have Shani Falik Roth from Events by Shani on board. Shani was actually the wedding planner for my first wedding (20 years ago) so we knew she’d be great. In the interim she was also the wedding planner for Laurence’s niece’s wedding and his nephew’s wedding as well. Shani enabled us to pull off the wedding so quickly.
One colour element that ran through the day was the royal blue. We chose a sapphire engagement ring because I love the colour. I also wore bright royal blue shoes for the ceremony – inspired by the shoes Carrie wears when she marries Big in Sex and the City. Our flowers were autumn colors but with pops of the same bright royal blue.
Beyond that we really made our wedding about us. Only Laurence and I walked down the aisle, together, and we felt free to exclude any parts of the ceremony that didn’t feel authentic to us.
Hair + Makeup
Although 20 years had gone by, I was still traumatized by the hair and makeup person from my first wedding who arrived 3 hours late and insisted on saving me for last. As a result there was no time to do my hair at all – I wore it in a ponytail and I hated my pictures because I didn’t look nice.
This time around, I made sure to choose someone who would make me feel like a queen! We had to get started at 4 am and she only did my hair and makeup. Raz Yaffa was sweet and talented. I have never looked better – even in my mid-40’s! I felt like myself but prettier and my hair was just amazing.
A Studio Myra Dress
My dress was from Studio Myra. I was looking for a dress that was appropriate for an over 40 bride, but that still felt bridal. Initially, I thought I would choose a tea-length dress for our morning wedding. As a cancer survivor, I have some body changes that made dress shoppping a challenge, and I was worried I wouldn’t find something especially given our short engagement.
I went dress shopping with my daughter and my bonus (step) daughter. Myra was the second studio I visited and the dress was the 5th or 6th one I tried on. As soon as I looked in the mirror I started crying – so it was clear that it was the one. It was full length, sheath silhouette with a very modern and fresh lace. Myra was able to customize the dress to my preferences and I was so happy with my choice.
Shoes
My shoes!! I love the color blue – to the point that my engagement ring is a sapphire, not a diamond. I had this vision in my head of finding the Manolos that Carrie wore to marry Big in Sex and the City.
In the end, I decided to keep to the budget but was able to find an identical pair from Nine West. They were my favorite royal blue with stilleto heels.
After the ceremony I switched to a pair of bespoke sage green Converse All Stars from Etsy that were embroidered with bridal flowers, as well as our wedding date and initials “L+N”. I loved both pairs of shoes, and have reworn them both.
Bridesmaids
We didn’t have bridesmaids or groomsmen. Only our children. My daughter and “bonus” daughter both wore very similar dark green/teal dresses. Our sons all went shopping separately and all ended up with nearly identical suits, as well as identical to the groom.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Our entire ceremony was individual touches! Laurence and I decided that we would walk down the aisle alone. One of my best friends, Jane Jacobs, has a beautiful voice and she sang us down the aisle. Laurence went first, then I entered to the song Boi Kallah, to the tune of Hallelujah which is “my song”. It’s even my ringtone. Laurence came to meet me halfway and put the veil over my face then and we walked together to the chuppah. We had each of our eldest children serve as the emcees, and they were funny and sweet.
One of the most special moments was when my oncologist who has treated me for two cancers came up to recite one of the blessings under the chuppah. There wasn’t a dry eye to be had in the room, including my own.
Another favorite moment was when Laurence’s youngest son who was serving in a special forces unit in the IDF said the prayer for soldiers under the chuppah. Our friend who hosted the backyard pool party where we met read the ketubah.
We also included an eighth blessing under the chuppah, said by two friends of mine, which was very touching especially during wartime as it references hardships and joy in Israel.
Our music choice
Music was really important to us since we love to dance! We wanted to make sure that our variety of guests (Anglos, Israelis, religious, non-religious, young and old) all had fun.
Shani recommended Mishael Dickman who is both a DJ but also plays several instruments, and he recommended a violinst to accompany him. So we had a combination of live music and DJ. Mishael was able to read the room, as well as make sure to play the songs we requested.
“Our” song is Everytime We Touch by Cascada so we asked for that to be played when we wanted to get ourselves moving.
Flowers
I love color so the one thing I knew was no white flowers! Psagot has a wonderful in-house florist, but a few days before our wedding her close family member was seriously injured in Gaza and she needed to be with him.
Shani quickly arranged for Roni Cohen-Rokach to fill in. I didn’t even speak to the florist, yet somehow from a few Pinterest pictures she managed to create a bouquet that used every one of my absolute favorite flowers and was perfect.
I still don’t know how they did it. My bouquet included orange tulips, red and orange ranunculus and blue delphiniums. The chuppah, and all other floral elements used the same flowers and colors. Autumn colors with a pop of bright blue!
Photographer and videographer
Over the years I had seen many of Herschel Gutman‘s pictures and knew that if I ever got married again, I would definitely use him. He was the only vendor that I was dead set on. Thankfully he was available, even with our short engagement, and his busy schedule. Our pictures came out incredible! We are so thrilled with our choice of Herschel. He had such a calm vibe and didn’t miss a shot – he was always exactly where he needed to be.
We had decided that we didn’t want a videographer, then 2 days before I changed my mind. Shani was able to organize Avi Cooperberg, who was not obtrusive at all and super friendly.
Food and cake
Our ceremony started at 10:15 am so we wanted upscale brunch food. We went back and forth on the menu quite a bit – we had a very clear vision in our head of the kind of food we wanted and Psgaot was very receptive to our ideas and did a great job bringing the vision to life.
We chose which of their wines we wanted for our wine bar – and our guests really enjoyed that! We also wanted to make sure we offered our guests really excellent coffee and Shani arranged for a coffee cart to come with several baristas.
Extra Details
We really involved our children. My 16 year old daughter Hadara gave an unbelievable wedding toast where she spoke about how sick I had been and her worries about attending my funeral, not my wedding. Then she thanked Laurence for saving me – it’s true, my desire to see our story through definitely motivated me to thrive through cancer. Everyone was crying in the room. We also played the Newlywed shoe game, hosted by Hadara, where we had to answer questions like “Who made the first move?” and “who has the crazier family?”
Laurence and I both gave a speech. Laurence spoke about the humility that comes with a second marriage and finding love the second time around, and I referenced the line from Psalms “Those who sow in tears, will reap in joy” and thanked our friends who stood by us in the hard times – both during our respective divorces and also during my cancer. What a privilege to be able to “dance in joy” with those same friends.
Since we got married on the shortest Friday of the year, we wanted to help our guests out with Shabbat preparations. Each guest was given a bouquet of Shabbat flowers (that matched my bouquet) and a fresh Challah to take home. My friend Pnina also found personalised wine cork keychains, so we gave those out too.
Honeymoon
We love to travel and have already been to several unique destinations so the honeymoon had to be extra special we’ve got a reputation to uphold!
We spent three weeks in a motorhome traveling around New Zealand, where we saw the most incredible nature, swam with dolphins, white water rafted, hiked glaciers and enjoyed each other’s company. We balanced luxury with nature and it was the perfect trip.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
As an older and second-time couple, we felt very free to set aside all the traditions with which we didn’t connect. We kept our guest list small and intimate, and made sure the people that mattered most to us were involved.
We did things our way, even if that wasn’t the “done thing”, and as a result the wedding was perfect for us. There is nothing we would have changed about our wedding.
NOA & LAURENCE’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue & Catering – Psagot winery
Planner – Events by Shani
Bride’s dress – Studio Myra
Bride’s shoes – Nine West & Converse All Stars found at Etsy
Hair + Makeup – Raz Yaffa
Flowers – Roni Cohen-Rokach
DJ – Mishael Dickman
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.
