We always love seeing how Jewish wedding pros plan their own big days – and the wedding of Tel Aviv-based event planner Steve Bar, who has a production company focused on weddings, bar\bat mitzvahs, and corporate events, and bride Sapir, who works in real estate, does not disappoint.
Together, Steve and Sapir planned a breathtaking affair they conceptualized as elegant traditional dinner-meet- music festival, reflecting their shared connection to Judaism and love of music, as well as the bride’s childhood in Europe, which inspired some of the more formal touches, like crystal chandeliers and over 1000 (!) candles.
Oh, and did we mention their chuppah overlooked the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem? Photographers Yaniv Cohen of Dynamica Studio and Shay Ohayon photographed the day so beautifully, and videographer Ronen Abayev created the couple’s fab trailer.
We’re also totally obsessed with Sapir’s TWO gorgeous gowns from beloved Israeli designer Alon Livne. For the chuppah, she opted for a traditionally romantic number heavy on the lace and tulle – and topped with a 5-meter long veil! Then, for the reception, she changed into a sleek, contemporary strapless number, which she reports as perfect for dancing. We’ll let her fill you in on the rest…
A Jerusalem Wedding
We chose to get married in Jerusalem at the David Citadel Hotel. We picked this location because of several reasons. First, we had our first date in Jerusalem at the restaurant of the Mamilla hotel which is right around the corner.
Second, we are very connected to the Jewish religion and having our chuppah in front of the walls of Jerusalem was magical.
Third, most of our guests and family are from Tel Aviv + the surrounding areas and abroad. Since most of our guests never been to a wedding in Jerusalem, we chose to do something different and create a whole experience for them, starting with a beautiful wedding on Thursday evening and ending in a Jerusalem weekend with our friends and family.
Elegant Vibes
My husband’s firm is ranked as one of the top for events production in Israel. Together we built a whole concept. I spent most of my childhood living in Europe, therefore it was important for me to have an elegant and European style. We picked thousands of pinkish-cream-white roses, crystal chandeliers and over 1000 candles in high-ball crystal cylinders of various heights and sizes.
The event hall has a color scheme of blue which doesn’t exactly match every girl’s wedding fantasy, however, we took this blue as inspiration for a royal look and were able to integrate it perfectly into our vision.
The concept of the wedding was elegant and traditional high-end dinner meets music festival with live singing by my father in-law, who used to have a band, and live singing by my sister in-law, who is one of the most iconic models in Israel (Sendi Bar). A Belgian violinist came specially to play at our wedding, Bavo Meeus. He played live-on-DJ all the way through the wedding, from the chuppah to playing live with the DJ’s during the party.
Our DJ for the night was Yair Green who played various kinds of music where we had a taste of fun 90s music, mainstream, local music and electronic music during the late night. Last but not the least, we had the amazing Tomorrowland DJ Skazi who took us all by storm.
Invitation
Our invitation was super clean with a rough matte texture with golden imprinting of our names and date. The text was in royal blue and the envelope was made of recycled canvas. We also ordered a wax stamp with our names so all our invitation envelopes were stamped with melted red wax.
Hair + Makeup
In my daily routine I wear light makeup so I wanted my makeup to be light but with bridal presence. The eyes were pinkish-gold and the lipstick was light and pink by Reem Sharvit.
My hair was brushed babyliss curls and my hair was down. I am used to having my hair down and therefore chose it so I could feel like myself.
I made both decisions on the spot on the same morning of the wedding.
Two Alon Livne Dresses
My dresses were from Alon Livne studio. The first dress (chuppa dress) was romantic with handmade lace, open back and lots of tulle. The veil was around 5m long and the total look was beautiful.
I knew it was the one because I felt really myself in that. It didn’t feel like a costume and it had a lot of presence.
My second dress was very clean style, pearl white made of silk. The design was strapless & slim which was very comfortable for dancing.
Accessories
I had a tiara and earrings from a private collection of my grandma. I chose not to wear any other jewelry as I did not want to take away the attention from the pure beauty of the dresses. I personally believe that less is more. My veil was from the studio of Alon Livne which matched my chuppah dress perfectly.
Shoes
For the first part of the evening (reception + first session of dancing) I had high-heels with some platform. Later that evening I changed into Fila sneakers so I could really jump and dance freely without having any fear of hurting feet the next morning.
The handsome groom
My husband wore a tuxedo, when I first saw him he had the roses in is hands, we were both super excited. This is the first moment of the day that felt like “it’s really happening today!”
Bridesmaids
We only had flower girls walking down the aisle with us (5 years old girls from our family)
Ceremony
The ketubah was a meaningful moment with the men of both families and our rabbi. It was a moment of lots of blessings and strength, a few moments before we became one.
It’s hard to pick a favorite part of the ceremony, it was completely special in every part and detail, from walking down the aisle to our favorite song with the amazing violinist and the actual ceremony, blessings, wine, rings and smashing the glass!
Chuppah
We designed the chuppah very elegantly, we did not want it to stand out too much due to the breathtaking view of the Western Wall so we kept it clean and classy.
Our music choice
Our chuppah song was ‘con te partito’ by Andrea Bocceli which was super powerful and really made us feel like we were in a Disney movie. The first dance was ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocceli which will be our highlights video song too.
Flowers
The flowers we chose were roses in light colors (pink cream and white) for the bouquet, chuppah and the table centers. We also had a lot with candles and crystals.
Photographer and videographer
The photography team was Dynamica Studio by Yaniv Cohen and Shay Ohayon. We chose Yaniv due to his previous work which we really liked, and the fact he is super organized and on top of things.
We picked Shay Ohayon because he has a fun approach and his pictures are less formal, you laugh a lot during the shoots with him and the outcome is very natural.
Our videographer was Ronen Abayev.
Food and cake
Our catering was done in-house by the catering of the David Citadel Hotel. As a special addition for the big day, the chef Kobi Bachar created our wedding menu and was the main chef for the event, right from the reception and dinner to the after party.
Honeymoon
We are addicted to Italy, so our honeymoon was on the Amalfi coast, we visited Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Sorrento and it was dreamy. The food, view, weather and hotel experience. Top hotels are Villa Tre Ville and La Medusa Hotel. We did a road trip, rented an Italian car (alpha) and enjoyed every moment of this magical place.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Best way to make sure you are stress free is to have a team you trust and feel comfortable with. Your wedding planner needs to be there for you at every stage so you won’t even need to think about any logistics on the day.
Regarding hair and makeup – trial before the wedding is a must! This is something I didn’t do and feel I should have done it.
What ‘Smashing The Glass’ Did For Us
We used Smashing the Glass for planning our wedding and got many ideas and inspiration for the décor, the location and the experience we would like to have for our guests. It’s interesting reading different couples’ stories and it’s amazing to see how each couple creates a wedding suited to their personality and wishes.
SAPIR & STEVE’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Dynamica Studio by Yaniv Cohen, Shay Ohayon
Videography – Ronen Abayev
Venue – David Citadel Hotel
Bride’s dress – Alon Livne
Bride’s accessories – Alon Livne
Hair + Makeup – Reem Sharvit
Violinist – Bavo Meeus
DJ – Yair Green, DJ Skazi
Stationery/Invitation – Real Colours
Production company + design & décor : Steve Bar
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 Clubhere.
