If you can’t get enough of Israeli weddings, we’ve got a treat for you! The fabulous Jewish wedding of Alexa and Nitay, at gorgeous Hagiva, has all the things we love about weddings in Israel: a gorgeous outdoor setting filled with greenery and Jerusalem stone, gorgeous chuppah, Israeli food and music, and, of course, epic party vibes.
Nitay is Israeli, while Alexa is American – and the pair perfectly combined the best of both wedding traditions to make sure everyone felt comfortable and included on the day. They turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Vanessa Ohayon to help bring their vision to life – and did she ever! In Alexa’s words,
Vanessa is a true professional at what she does. When we first met Vanessa, we connected instantly and she understood our vision from the start. Vanessa brings her amazing energy into every detail of any wedding. She had a solution for everything and when there were any hiccups (there are always hiccups), she knew how to bring us down to earth and find the best way to handle them. We couldn’t have done it without her!
We’re also obsessed with the couple’s exquisite photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tzahi Shemesh. Have a scroll through and we’re pretty sure you’ll agree with Alexa’s assessment:
He made us laugh, feel comfortable, and most importantly, captured our “in the moment” memories. Him and his team were at every angle and made sure to not miss a thing! He is an artist and makes us relive our special day every time we look back at the photos. They’re magnificent!
There are so many more fabulous details to share about this very special wedding – we’ll turn you over to the bride, who looked timelessly elegant in Vera Wang, to fill you in…
How We Met
Alexa, the bride: Nitay and I both lived in Chicago after college. We had many mutual friends who all met up one night to go out in January 2017. Nitay approached me the second he saw me and made sure he didn’t leave without getting my number! Later that week we went on our first date to a sushi restaurant. The rest is history 🙂
A Wedding in Israel
Our wedding took place at Hagiva in Givat Brenner, Israel. We loved the garden-esque vibe, along with the Jerusalem stone building style, which made it great for photo ops and views for our international guests. The venue was not far from Tel Aviv, which gave our guests plenty of options for accommodations. We loved how Hagiva was an indoor/outdoor venue. At every part of the night, our guests were led to a different area of the venue and each area was unique.
Our guests ate and drank under the string lights in the beautiful garden. We also wanted our guests to feel like they were at a dance club so we added black drapes, hung dramatic greenery with lights above the dance floor, and gave our DJ the lighting backdrop he deserved!
Classic Vibes
We wanted a classic and timeless wedding. Most importantly, we didn’t want our theme/color scheme to compete with the beautiful garden at Hagiva. Because of that, we kept our colors minimal – whites, creams, beiges, and greens with black and gold accents.
We had a unique path to our wedding. My husband, Nitay, is Israeli from an Orthodox Jewish family. I am fully American and an Orthodox Jewish convert. My parents have never been to Israel before. It was important to us that traditions were kept and both families felt like they were a part of it. We incorporated typical Israeli themes (order of night, badeken leading to the chuppah, Israeli food and music), while keeping classic American wedding traditions (our first dance, speeches, and cake).
We wanted to make everyone feel part of our special day and we felt that it is exactly what was produced. We won’t lie though, some Americans saw cigarettes on the dance floor for the first time but when in Rome! We had a black and white photobooth for our guests to take pictures and be silly with. It was a huge hit throughout the night and it was another keepsake our guests could take home with them. It was also fun for me and Nitay to look at the photos and see how they took a turn as the night went on!
As for planning, we worked with Vanessa Ohayon to help bring our vision to life. Vanessa is a true professional at what she does. When we first met Vanessa, we connected instantly and she understood our vision from the start. Vanessa brings her amazing energy into every detail of any wedding. She had a solution for everything and when there were any hiccups (there are always hiccups), she knew how to bring us down to earth and find the best way to handle them. We couldn’t have done it without her!
Invitation
We chose Robinson Creative House for our wedding stationary and event branding. We were so happy with the quality and received many compliments from our guests! Camille is exceptionally talented at her job and made the entire process seamless for us. She packaged everything nicely with labels for Israel guests, US guests, photographer, etc. It was very much appreciated and helped me stay organized too!
We wanted to gift our guests something memorable they could take home. Nitay got baseball hats created with our wedding logo on them. Our guests still wear them to this day!
Hair + Makeup
I wanted to look like an elevated version of myself on my wedding day. Osher Saadon did an amazing job doing just that for hair and Nofar Mishali worked her magic with my make up. Both came with me to the venue to do touch ups before and after the chuppah. I was so grateful for that!
A Vera Wang Dress
My wedding dress was designed by Vera Wang and I found it at Bella Bianca in Chicago. Early on in our engagement, I was visiting my sister in Chicago when we decided, on a whim, to try on wedding dresses for me. I knew I wanted a timeless and modern dress. I tried on this dress and loved it but wasn’t sure it was the one. After that weekend, I kept looking at pictures of myself in it and thinking about it. I went back to Chicago a month later, brought my mom along, and knew it was the one when I tried it on again. I loved it so much and was so excited to wear it on my wedding day.
Later in the night, I changed into a mini dress designed by Trish Peng, a New Zealand designer. It was the perfect number to dance the night away!
Accessories + Shoes
I wanted to look and feel like a bride the morning of my wedding day. I wore a cami set with a long robe from Le Rose. Because my dress was simple, I wanted to have more fun with my other wedding looks. The robe had beautiful 3D flowers, pearls, and beaded details that added a glam factor while I was getting ready. I kept my accessories minimal with my wedding dress and wore beautiful pearl drop earrings. My shoes were Aquazzura and added the perfect touch of sparkle.
The handsome groom
The groom wore a custom tux from Enzo Custom with an off-white linen kippah designed and created by Lux Kippot.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Our ceremony took place in the outdoor garden at Hagiva. It was important to us that our ceremony incorporated both American and Israeli Jewish traditions with a modern Orthodox approach. Nitay walked down the aisle first with his mother and father and then our siblings walked down the aisle. Before I made my entrance, our violinist walked down the aisle and began playing my song, ‘Boee Beshalom‘. It added a special and dramatic moment during our ceremony. I walked halfway down the aisle with my mother and father and Nitay met me for the badeken.
Our chuppah design was intentionally traditional – white flowers, candles along with the aisle, and both of our parents under the chuppah with us. As the ceremony started, the candles lit up and our guests had a gorgeous view of the Israeli sunset. Our designer, Ortal of Odem Events, made everything perfect.
Ketubah
Our ketubah was beautifully written and was unique to us as a couple. Our ketubah designer was Shikma Paper Art. Shikma creates beautiful 3D paper flower ketubahs. When we saw her work, it reminded us of our wedding venue and we knew she had to design ours. It was perfect in every way!
Our music choice
We love to dance and go out as a couple so music was very important to us! We started out with traditional hora music and separate dancing then came together to enjoy a mix of classics, EDM and party music. We also had in mind all ages, with the idea that we want all of our guests to participate while keeping the energy high. Our DJ, DJ Gal Brami, did a great job reading the crowd and matching the energy to keep the party going for 8+ hours!
Our violinist, Irina Shklyar came on the dance floor throughout the night and played with Gal. The vibes were electric and everyone loved it! Plus, our planner made sure there was no shortage of tequila shots on the dance floor.
Flowers
Because Hagiva had a substantial amount of greenery already, we added white, cream, and light pink flowers. I kept my bouquet simple with baby’s breath flowers. We chose Odem Events for our florals and overall wedding design. Ortal is amazingly talented and the sweetest!
Photographer and videographer
Tzahi Shemesh was our photographer. He made us laugh, feel comfortable, and most importantly, captured our “in the moment” memories. Him and his team were at every angle and made sure to not miss a thing! He is an artist and makes us relive our special day every time we look back at the photos. They’re magnificent!
Our videographer, Ronen Abayev, was so attentive to the small details which were important to capture our day. He was there early in the day and late into the night. We loved that everyone was in our video and not just us and our families. The highlights and full video were amazing. We can feel the emotions when we watch it!
Food and cake
Hagiva had an in-house caterer and the food was insanely good! We served family style and our guests raved about how tasteful everything was. We had two flavors for our wedding cake by Adi Barak. A classic white cake with fresh berries (the bride’s favorite) and a hazelnut with chocolate filling (the groom’s favorite).
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
The day and night go by so fast. Try to take it all in and enjoy special moments with each other as much as possible.
ALEXA & NITAY’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Tzahi Shemesh
Planner – Vanessa Ohayon
Videography – Ronen Abayev
Venue – Hagiva
Ketubah – Shikma Paper Art
Bride’s dress – Vera Wang found at Bella Bianca
Reception Dress – Trish Peng
Bride’s shoes – Aquazzura
Groom’s attire – Enzo Custom
Kippot – Lux Kippot
Hair + Makeup – Osher Saadon, Nofar Mishali
Flowers & Chuppah – Odem Events
DJ – DJ Gal Brami
Violinist – Irina Shklyar
Catering – Hagiva
Cake – Adi Barak
Stationery/Invitation – Robinson Creative House
Sound & Lighting – Albert Erba
Cami set and robe – Le Rose
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.
