We are absolutely in love with the gorgeous Jewish wedding of Melissa, who works in social media, and Lavy, a data scientist. Their outdoor celebration at Israel’s Idit Winery drew inspiration from Sorrento, Italy, with lots of blues and yellows, and naturally tons of lemons!
This wedding was so full of special touches – from the “shop” Melissa and Lavy set up, full of fun items for their guests like sweets and personalized t-shirts, and an emotional first look under the chuppah. The couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si, captured everything exquisitely. In Melissa’s words,
What I liked about his photography was that his photos felt really romantic but with an artistic edge. I loved the colors of the photos and how they were edited, as well as the range of compositions he used. And about Jossef – he was an absolute pleasure and so calming to be around which is exactly what we needed! As well as that, his pictures say it all. Just gorgeous.
Read on for more from the bride – who looked so chic in her gown from Israeli designer Eisen Stein…
How We Met
Melissa, the bride: We met on Tinder and our first date was in Independence Park in Tel Aviv.
A Winery Wedding
We got married in Idit Winery. This was the second venue we saw, and I knew even before we arrived there, just the way our wedding planner described it to us, that this would be the one! It’s sort of ‘off the beaten track’ and only in the past 2 years or so has been used for weddings. It’s totally empty, just beautiful greenery and a feeling of being abroad. Also we loved the idea of having a blank canvas and working with that to create our dream setting. It was also really important to us to have our wedding outside.
Italian Vibes
Our wedding planners are Efrat Tzur and Ami Dayan from Icon333. We are very lucky that they have been doing Lavy’s family events for years now, so we knew how amazing they are. Also they work with the most incredible designers Reut and Sivan of Zagoni Goltz .Together as a 4, they are the most talented, incredible team to work with. We wanted our wedding to feel like we were in Sorrento, Italy. We loved the idea of blue and yellow and using lots of lemons! The beauty of the venue really helped with that feeling too.
We also had a shop at our wedding! It was so fun. Obviously no one had to pay for anything but it was set up like a shop and full of fun things like jewelry, sweets, bags, beach blankets, personalized tshirts etc. Everyone loved it! Also our friends did a flashmob dance for us! It was SO fun and so unexpected.
Our wedding planner hired a choreographer to teach like 40 of our friends / family a dance and after the speeches they performed it. It was a dance to ‘Spice up your life’ by the Spice Girls and it was amazing! Was definitely a highlight!
An Eisen Stein Dress
My dress was from Eisen Stein. My parents flew to Israel to help me look for a dress. We had 7 appointments at different designers over two weeks and Eisen Stein was the third place we went. After that appointment I cancelled all other appointments as I knew this dress was the one. It was important I felt like myself on my wedding day and this dress did just that. I felt so comfortable in it and loved it from the moment I saw it.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Our chuppah was also our first look. It was really important to me especially that we would do it that way, rather then be photographed together before the wedding – it was something I always dreamed of, and it was the best decision! We got married through Tzohar. It was important to us that we read our vows to each other. That for us was a really special moment.
Our music choice
We had Caliente do our music. Live music was very important to us. In the reception we had Fusion. For the chuppa we had singer Hananel Edri. For the main band we had Legend Band For the late night DJ we had DJ Danny Tuval.
We were very particular about the music. It was the #1 most important thing for us and Caliente did an absolutely incredible job. We wanted the music to resonate with guests of all ages, so the band, led by producer Udi Or-Haim, perfomed an amazing blend of old school, pop, and classic hits. Later on, Danny seamlessly carried that vibe into the night, mixing timeless favorites with fresh remixes that kept everyone on the dance floor.
Flowers
We didn’t have someone separate for the flowers – our incredible designers Zagoni Goltz who I mentioned above, did everything. The details were incredible and so intricate.
Photographer and videographer
Our photographer was Jossef Si, and there’s a funny story behind how we ended up choosing him. I was having a hard time finding a photographer I liked – I went through so many! One day, my husband casually showed me a picture on Instagram from a photographer he stumbled upon, and as soon as I saw it, I said, ‘he’s the one!’ Little did I know, my husband actually knew it was Jossef, a friend he studied with, but he didn’t want to influence my decision, so only told me once we made the decision to contact him.
What I liked about his photography was that his photos felt really romantic but with an artistic edge. I loved the colors of the photos and how they were edited, as well as the range of compositions he used. And about Jossef – he was an absolute pleasure and so calming to be around which is exactly what we needed! As well as that, his pictures say it all. Just gorgeous.
I found Avichai after searching through a lot of videographers, plus he was recommended by a few people. Avichai wasn’t available to shoot our wedding but he sent someone he works with called Roy. We haven’t received the videos yet but are really excited!
Honeymoon
Yes we are going to Japan in November! We are so excited.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
If you can, take a wedding planner. It takes off so much stress! Also, if you don’t care to have loads of pictures, don’t do the photoshoot before the wedding. I know it’s very common in Israel but so many people told us that they wish they would have done it the way we did, and that the photoshoot before the wedding is really tiring (and hot if you get married in the summer). That’s just our opinion though.
MELISSA & LAVY’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Jossef Si
Videography – Avichai
Venue – Idit Winery
Planner – Icon333
Bride’s dress – Eisen Stein
Hair + Makeup – Hair by Lindsay, Mel Bueno Makeup
Flowers + Design – Zagoni Goltz
Music – Caliente
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.
