Israeli Weddings Archives - Page 4 of 19 - Smashing the Glass

A Romona Keveza Bride for a Glam Multicultural Destination Jewish Wedding at Ronit Farm in Kfar Shmaryahu, Israel

03/08/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We’ve blogged a lot of gorgeous multicultural Jew-ish weddings here on STG, from Jewish-Greek to Jewish-Japanese. But every once in a while we’re reminded that even a wedding where both partners were born Jewish can be a merging of cultures in its own right.

Today’s wedding is a prime example. American bride Jillian and Israeli groom Eliad brought their backgrounds together in their bilingual ceremony — most of the bride’s guests spoke only English, while many of the groom’s spoke only Hebrew — and combined the best traditions from their both their cultures to create one stunning day.

Jillian’s side fell in love with the Israeli tradition of guests coming into the chuppah to congratulate the couple following the ceremony, rather than the couple exiting in a procession!

The pair also came up with a few great traditions of their very own. One we think it just genius: they decided to reserve toasts and speeches for the pre-wedding welcome dinner, so that they could get some quality time in with family and friends beforehand and then focus on keeping the party going on the day. Such a smart way to break things up, rather than trying to pack it all into a few hours!

Oh, and did we mention that this wedding was ultra-glam and oh-so-romantic, with twinkly lights aplenty? As if you couldn’t tell from that gorgeous rose chuppah.

Photographer Ronen Boidek and videographer Itzik Elemelich captured everything about the day so exquisitely, from the details to the emotion. Jillian — who looked SO chic in her silk ballgown from Romona Keveza (purchased from Kleinfeld) — will fill you in on the rest.

How we met

Jillian, the bride: We met on JDate in NYC!

A Laid-back, Colorful Jewish Wedding (with two glass smashes!) at High& in Tel Aviv, Israel

27/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

What’s better than smashing the glass at a Jewish wedding? How about smashing TWO glasses? Today’s fab couple, Yael, a travel coordinator, and Kfir, an enterprise manager, had a smash glass each at their free-spirited Tel Aviv wedding. What an awesome way to add some gender equality into the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony — and to double the drama of the big moment!

From start to finish, this Jewish wedding is full of one-of-a-kind touches like that, and we love that Yael and Kfir did so much to combine their tastes and personalities with tradition.

For example, Yael followed tradition and chose to wear white — but she went for a super simple, yet very sexy, dress, rather than an OTT ballgown. And to keep the all-white look from getting too cookie-cutter, she made sure to add in fuchsia shoes and an ultra-colorful flower headpiece in fuschia and violet — as brilliantly captured by photographer Lior Rotstein.

And the double smash glasses weren’t the only unusual thing about the ceremony, either. Yael and Kfir opted not to get married through the Israeli Rabbanut, opting instead for a customized ceremony that embodied their own values while remaining true to Jewish tradition. Our favorite (well, second favorite) bit? Their officiant opened the ceremony with a special speech he wrote based on things the pair had told him about themselves and their relationship. Aww!

Yael will fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Yael, the bride: We met on OK Cupid 🙂

A Chana Marelus Bride for a Pretty in Pink Fairy Tale Jewish Wedding at Ein Chemed, Jerusalem, Israel

20/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We just cannot get enough of today’s Jewish wedding. We see a lot of beautiful weddings here at STG, but this one is really and truly unlike anything we’ve encountered before. Bride Daniella always wanted “a fairy tale princess wedding,” and she and groom Natan went ALL OUT to make it happen.

It didn’t hurt that this is pretty much the ultimate industry insider wedding — wedding planner Adena Mark at A to Z Events just happens to be the mother of the bride, and Daniella herself is a bridal makeup artist. So it’s safe to say this mother-daughter duo knew what they were doing.

Between the knockout pink flowers on the ultra-romantic chuppah, the pink chiffon arches lining the entrance, and the pink sweets table, this wedding really was, this was the kind of Jewish wedding that would do Cinderella proud. You’ve got to check out Shabi Kedem’s photos of it all.

And then there’s that dress. We love that Daniella wasn’t afraid to make a bold choice, bypassing traditional white for a sparkly pink princess gown she custom designed together with Chana Marelus. With intricate floral beading and a huge, poufy skirt, this is the kind of gown that absolutely takes center stage. Now over to lovely Daniella…

How we met

Daniella, the bride: Natan and I grew up in the same small community, so it’s amazing we didn’t meet earlier than we did. We met on my 15th birthday through some mutual friends. Through the years we were close friends and hung out in the same social groups but we both dated other people through high school.

During my post-high school year of National Service and while he was waiting for his draft date into the IDF, we found ourselves hanging out just the two of us more often and talking on the phone for hours until morning. One night rather than directly asking me out, he tricked me into a date. I thought we were meeting with our big group of friends but when he picked me up alone I discovered he had asked everyone else not to come. Unbeknownst to us, they followed us and joined us for sushi dinner and then just he and I went back to his place, watched a movie, and carved a watermelon into a shark.

We’ve been together through his entire 3.5 year army service, an earthquake in Nepal, too many family losses, and lots of celebrations, and throughout it all, we never doubted the strength of our relationship. Four and half years later he finally popped the question and, now, 5 years later we share a last name ðŸ˜Š

A Limor Rosen Bride for a Playful DIY Jewish Wedding at Ikea and Alma, Even Yehuda, Israel

29/06/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We’ve got two words for you: Ikea. Wedding.

Okay, maybe we’re exaggerating just a tad. Today’s couple didn’t literally hold their Jewish wedding inside the Swedish furniture giant. They did that at Alma, a beautiful venue set amidst a lush garden (where they held their fab outdoor chuppah, natch).

But bride Carmel, a computer science student, and groom Etai, an education and political science student, did do their photos amidst the Billy bookshelves and Malm beds. They went for Ikea Israel due to its abundant A/C on an unexpectedly hot day, but the photos Flea Studio shot there turned out just wonderfully — such an unexpected and cool (in all senses!) location, and we love that this pair wasn’t afraid to have fun with their wedding pics.

The Ikea photoshoot wasn’t Carmel and Etai’s only cool idea. This wedding is chock full of heartfelt DIY touches, our favorite being their DIY patchwork chuppah canopy, assembled from squares inscribed with messages, quotations, and drawings by their family and friends.

Oh, and did we mention that this duo has a super touching how we met story? We’ll leave it to Carmel, who looked so stunning in her off-shoulder Limor Rosen gown, to fill you in on the rest…

How we met

Carmel, the bride: We first met in the army, and we were good friends but not a couple. We served together on the same base, when we came home only once every two weeks. After a year in the Israeli army I transferred to another base and a month after that Etai discovered that he was sick with leukemia.

Since I was in a closer base I had a chance to visit him a lot, and during this time I saw him every night, took care of him, and tried to make him happy. We fell in love at the hospital, and after a few month Etai got a bone marrow transplant, which luckily was successful. After he beat the cancer it was clear to us that we were in love and we decided to be a couple. 7 years later we got married <3

A Yolan Cris Bride for a Dreamy Outdoor Destination Jewish Wedding at Givat Brenner in Rechovot, Israel

22/06/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Where to begin with today’s positively divine Jewish wedding? This one is chock full of clever ideas and sweet traditions — and did we mention that the couple are basically models? Oh, and the venue’s not bad looking either! Eye candy all around today!

Robyn, an area manager and one half of @tworealfoodies, and Josh, a property surveyor, live in Manchester but had their hearts set on an Israeli wedding with a fairy tale garden vibe, and that’s exactly what they got at Givat Brenner. Take one look at Ronen Boidek’s breathtaking photos and we think you’ll agree.

Beautiful Robyn, who looked just like a fairy tale princess in her lace gown from Yolan Cris, is lucky enough to have grown up with some of the best Jewish wedding musicians around: Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Portnoy Brothers, who specialize in performing at chuppahs. Naturally, they sang at Robyn and Josh’s — and their father, who happens to be a rabbi, married the couple!

Speaking of keeping it in the family, Robyn’s family has the most beautiful chuppah tradition: when her parents got married, her mum handmade a canopy from her own mother’s wedding dress. Afterward, the couple embroidered their initials on it. From then on, the canopy was passed from relative to relative, with new initials added each time it was used. Robyn’s and Josh’s are the latest additions. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful tradition to start?

We haven’t even gotten to the sweet “message in a bottle” favors/place cards Robyn handwrote (and stuffed!) for every single guest, but we’ll let her tell you more about that — along with all the rest of the details of this dreamy day…

How we met

Robyn, the bride: We met when we were 12 years old at Habonim summer camp. We went to summer camp every year together until we were 16, when we went to Israel on tour for a month. Those were definitely some of the best summers, with friendships and memories that last a lifetime. We stayed close but didn’t become “official” until after we finished University in Nottingham in 2012 and have been together ever since.