So we’ve seen surprise Jewish weddings where the bride and groom spring their plans on unsuspecting guests day of. But we’re pretty sure this is the first ever wedding we’ve seen planned entirely by the groom, as a surprise for the bride!
When South African couple Gemma, a PhD student in virology, and David, who has his own business developing properties, set off on their trip to Israel, the bride had no idea what her soon-to-be groom had in store for her. Gemma thought she was just off on holiday, but turns out David had actually spent the past 11 months secretly planning a whirlwind engagement (at the Kotel!) and wedding!
Unbeknownst to Gemma, David even coordinated with the couple’s friends and family from around the world, who all flew in for their surprise bash. We’re obsessed with David’s venue pick of Olmaya, with its jawdroppingly epic views of Jerusalem’s Old City, and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Luz Weddings Photography captured it all so exquisitely – we’re in love with their gorgeous shots of the breathtaking outdoor chuppah!
Gemma looked so ravishing in her Irena Burshtein gown, you’d never guess she had only one day to choose it – between her whirlwind engagement and wedding! The amazing team even managed to turn around her alterations in three days.
This is one unique wedding, and we’re so excited to let Gemma fill you in on all the details…
HOW WE MET
Gemma, the bride: We met in 2013 after being set up on a blind date by our mothers. Not the most romantic story, but quite a funny one. Moms do know best!
A Wedding in Israel
We got married at Olmaya, Jerusalem. My husband had always dreamed of getting married in Israel. Olmaya was the perfect blend between old and new and had the most amazing view.
It was amazing to overlook where we got engaged (the Kotel) the week prior. David took me to see the venue the day after we got engaged (so everything was still quite a blur!) and I couldn’t believe how spectacular it was.
Long-Distance Planning
Natalie Abraham was our wedding planner. Our respective mothers and sisters planned the details of the wedding (since it was a complete surprise to me!) but as they were based in South Africa, they needed a wedding planner in Israel to put everything together.
Natalie did an incredible job putting everything together and making sure everything went smoothly and seamlessly! She made the process fun and easy and made sure that everything was done according to plan.
She helped to secure our amazing vendors and made the cross-country planning a breeze. She was always available to help with even the smallest detail and her passion and excitement for planning weddings made everything feel even more special. She was so dependable and trustworthy, very important characteristics for a wedding planner.
We knew that she had everything under control and this allowed us to just enjoy our incredible, perfect wedding. The colour scheme was yellow, my favourite colour. All the details had me in mind, which was so special.
Invitation
We used Greenvelope, an awesome website where you can design invitations to be sent via email. The subject line: David’s Big Secret! The invitation was designed by my family and the groom and reflected the colour scheme of the wedding.
Of course, it had strict instructions about keeping the wedding a secret from me! I first saw the invitation a week before the wedding after getting engaged. So I was technically the last person invited to my wedding!
Hair + Makeup
The amazing Yossi Nachmias did my hair and did an incredible job. I wore it down and curled with a fun braid and a white rose. I loved my makeup! I had a smoky eye and nude lip and was made up by the very talented Vered Bardosa.
An Irena Burshtein Dress
I had a day to choose a wedding dress. It was basically the only thing that I, as the bride, had to do. My mother and sister had scoped out some stores on a previous trip to Israel and I found a dress at the first store that they had made an appointment at.
The designer is Irena Burshtein. She has amazing ethereal dresses and they were all so beautiful so it was easy to choose one from there. The hardest part was only choosing one! I ended up choosing an amazing dress embellished with 3D leaves over the bodice and skirt.
It was the perfect dress for me. She is also such a lovely, warm person and was incredible to work with. She managed to have all the alterations done within our unusual timeline (2/3 days!) and was so excited to be a part of our unique wedding.
Accessories
I wore a veil from Irena Burshtein for the badeken and chuppah ceremony.
Shoes
I wore medium height sparkly silver block heels. The block heels were a great decision, as I wore them all night with no problem.
The handsome groom
The groom wore grey slack pants, a white button up and a navy blue blazer. It was a very casual, modern, put together look! Really relaxed and fun. Unbeknownst to me, David had been getting fittings on a previous trip to London when he was actually there on a trip for his friend’s 30th! David’s friends wore navy blue chinos and white shirts.
Bridesmaids
My incredible sister and sister-in-laws wore gold-coloured dresses of their own choice/design to match the stones of the old city and walked down the aisle as my ‘bridesmaids’.
Chuppah
The chuppah had a simple design and was adorned with flowers in our colour scheme. It was in the perfect position to frame the amazing, breathtaking view.
Ceremony
The rabbi who officiated our ceremony was the incredible Rabbi Perez who is actually originally from South Africa but now lives in Israel! It was fun to have a familiar accent under the chuppah. He was such an integral part of the wedding and made it so special and spiritual.
We had guests of different religions, many of whom had never been to Israel before, and he managed to make everyone feel like they had a connection to Israel. He gave a beautiful speech under the chuppah and made everyone feel so comfortable and relaxed. We were so honoured to have him and his wife as a part of our celebration.
Our music choice
We had the amazing singers, Schachat Brothers in Harmony, who sang at the chuppah with their wonderful pianist and we had the incredible Lee Koren on the harp. My cousin sang a beautiful rendition of ‘Yerushalayim Shel Zahav’, which was so special.
We had another harpist and a violinist play during the cocktail reception, and a live DJ saxophonist who rocked the dance floor, all from Bein Hameitarim. The musicians were all so incredibly talented and really added an amazing, intimate touch.
We had the awesome DJ Eitan Carmi who played music for the dance portion of the night and for the horahs. He definitely kept the party going!
Flowers
Our mothers and sisters said that they wanted the floral design to reflect my tastes and style. The main colour was yellow and it was complemented with lots of greenery. The design was modern and deconstructed, rather than very put together. Our designer and florist, Mookie from Pine and Clover Flowers really brought the vision to life.
Photographer and videographer
Our incredible photographers were from Luz Weddings Photography and our videographer was the awesome Sagiv Leykind. The whole team captured every beautiful moment!
Food and cake
The amazing chefs at Olmaya did the catering. The food was light and modern with a fusion of different cuisines and flavours. As I am a vegan, the food was mostly plant based with a few fish options.
Everyone raved about the food and said it was amazing. While I didn’t eat too much (time just seemed to vanish!), I do particularly remember the delicious vegan halva desserts. Yum!
Favours
We had printed out marriage prayers and provided yarmulkes. The yarmulkes were designed in South Africa with our wedding date written on the underside with a cartoon sketch of our dog. The design on the yarmulkes was a traditional African pattern, Shweshwe, as we wanted a decorative touch from our home (South Africa).
We also had a really unique and fun photo booth built inside a vintage VW Beetle where people could take photos and take them home in the form of fridge magnets.
Surprise!
I’d say the most unusual part of our wedding was that it was a total surprise to me! I went to Israel in a relationship and after 2 weeks, left both engaged and married! The whole wedding was planned in secret over the previous 11 months and I had no idea. I had the pleasure of just showing up and enjoying.
All our family and friends had been in on the surprise and made the trip to Israel from all around the world for our wedding, making it so special. Incredibly, our three grandmothers, all over 80 years old, travelled from Johannesburg, Cape Town and Herzliah to join the celebrations.
My husband came up with this incredible idea for a surprise wedding and it was the best idea ever! Thank you to our families, friends and the planners who took over the planning and stress!
Honeymoon
We are still planning our honeymoon. We haven’t planned any details yet but are so excited.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Take it from me. Everyone is at your wedding to celebrate you and have fun. They don’t care, or even probably know, about any little things that go ‘wrong’ or not to plan so try not to let any of that take away from this wonderful celebration.
I was very lucky to have had all stress taken away from me and that contributed to making my wedding the amazing experience it was for me.
GEMMA & DAVID’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Luz Weddings Photography {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club (not valid in Israel)}
Videography – Sagiv Leykind
Wedding planner – Natalie Abraham
Venue – Olmaya
Bride’s dress – Irena Burshtein
Bride’s accessories – Irena Burshtein
Hair + Makeup – Yossi Nachmias, Vered Bardosa
Flowers – Pine and Clover Flowers
Singers – Schachat Brothers in Harmony
DJ – DJ Eitan Carmi
Catering – Olmaya
Stationery/Invitation – Greenvelope
Rabbi – Rabbi Perez
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