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A Mediterranean Garden Wedding Full of Love, Lemons, and Olive Trees at Beit al Hayam, Jaffa, Israel

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Elinor & Daniel, Beit al Hayam, Jaffa, Israel

Some Jewish weddings just make you feel like you’ve stepped into another world. In the case of Elinor, a business manager in LA for people in the show business world, and Daniel, a software engineer, that world is a Mediterranean garden fantasia full of vibrant blue and yellow tones, olive and lemon trees, and, of course, plenty of flowers.

Elinor and Daniel knew they wanted to craft a wedding that would make their friends and family from abroad feel as if they were stepping into the couple’s home – and to make their vision a reality, they opted to work with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bebke Productions. Gev and Inbal of Bebke are masters at putting together weddings that transport you, and they were the absolute perfect choice for this very special day.

In Elinor and Daniel’s words, Bebke Productions was “simply amazing,” working closely with the couple and handling every detail of the day with aplomb – as well as creating a killer atmosphere filled with fun touches like signs styled like Mediterranean tiles, an epic cocktail bar with signature drinks, a dining area modeled after an Italian courtyard, and so much more – don’t miss all the wonderful touches in the photos from Jen Sladkov.

There’s so much more to say about this very special Jewish wedding – read on for the whole story!

Elinor & Daniel, Beit al Hayam, Jaffa, Israel Elinor & Daniel, Beit al Hayam, Jaffa, IsraelElinor & Daniel, Beit al Hayam, Jaffa, IsraelElinor & Daniel, Beit al Hayam, Jaffa, Israel
How we Met

Elinor, the bride and Daniel, the groom: Our moms were in the army together and stayed friends. When I moved to LA, I was invited by Daniel’s mom to a Chanukkah party at her home and there I met Daniel.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Arava Polak Bride for an Indoor/Outdoor Jewish Wedding at Bayaar, Hadera, Israel

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Samantha & Tsach, Bayaar, Hadera, Israel

There’s nothing like an Israeli wedding. And Samantha and Tsach’s is Exhibit A as to why! The duo, who own their own gym in Haifa, called Fitbox, crafted the most magical Jewish wedding that brings out the best Israel has to offer with a little help from a fantastic planner, Yana Andreev from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia Events.

In Samantha’s words, Yana “quickly became more like a best friend who helped me make my Pinterest dreams come to life!” She listened to the couple’s ideas, used her planning and design genius to bring their dreams to life, and soled problems right and left all through planning. Samantha and Tsach wanted an effortless, natural look to bring out their venue Bayaar’s beauty – and Yana did the best job bringing it all to life. She even went wedding dress shopping with Samantha, helping her find her dream gown from Arava Polak!

We’re in love with the indoor/outdoor vibes of this wedding, and we can’t get enough of the exquisite photos from Haim Afriat!

Read on for more details – plus Samantha’s great advice for all Jewish brides-to-be!

Samantha & Tsach, Bayaar, Hadera, IsraelSamantha & Tsach, Bayaar, Hadera, IsraelSamantha & Tsach, Bayaar, Hadera, IsraelSamantha & Tsach, Bayaar, Hadera, Israel
How we Met

Samantha, the bride: We actually met in the gym! I had showed up to Tsach’s gym 3 days after opening in 2019 and signed up for an annual membership and became his 2nd client. We began working out together and realized we both share the same passions and interests in life. Shortly after meeing, our friendship grew into the beautiful relationship we have today. It was love at first sight for lack of a better cliche and now we do what we love together.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Mirror Mirror Bride for an Ultra-Romantic Jewish Wedding on the Beach at Caesar Yam, Caesarea, Israel

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Leanna-Mottie-Caesar-Yam-Israel

Get ready to be blown away by today’s Jewish wedding – absolutely everything about Leanne and Mottie’s big day is pure #weddinggoals, from their incredible venue RIGHT on the beach in Israel (don’t miss their chuppah!) to the ultra-romantic photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ori Carmi Photography to Leanne’s exquisite gown found at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror in London – bridal style doesn’t get any more classically elegant than this!

Leanne and Motttie were initially supposed to marry in summer 2020 – and while they didn’t end up making things official until 2022 thanks to the pandemic, we’re pretty sure you’ll agree that the finished product was more than worth the wait. So was Leanne’s beautiful Mirror Mirror gown in London – she fell in love with the dress at first sight just after getting engaged back in 2020, and two years later she adored it just as much!

And we haven’t even gotten into the sheer perfection that is Ori Carmi Photography! His photos are the perfect blend of authentic emotion and good old wedding day glitz – and of course he did a fab job capturing the breathtaking setting too. Leanne and Mottie can’t stop raving about their photos – and neither would we!

We’ll let the couple take it from here…

 Leanna-Mottie-Caesar-Yam-IsraelLeanna-Mottie-Caesar-Yam-Israel
How we Met

Mottie, the groom: We met on Instagram! Leanne was a bridesmaid at a wedding of a mutual friend and when I saw a picture of them, I asked my friend who Leanne was as I thought she was gorgeous. I sent her a message and that was that. We made Aliya together in 2020 and both work in HiTech now, Leanne in finance and myself in sales.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An MLM Label Bride for an American-Israeli Jewish Wedding with Yemenite Traditions at Shalosh, Or Yehuda, Israel

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It’s always a treat when we get to blog the gorgeous Jewish wedding of one of our beloved Brides Club members, and Miriam’s fabulous Israeli-American celebration to groom Idan is no exception.

There’s so much to love about this wedding. Miriam, who’s American Ashkenazi, and Idan, who’s Yemenite Israeli, lead an international, multicultural lifestyle, splitting their time between Virginia and Israel, and their big day followed suit – read on to find out about some of the beautiful Yemenite traditions the couple incorporated into their celebration, and don’t miss the stunning photos by Reouven Ben Chaim.

Miriam and Idan worked with the wonderful Yana from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia Events (who the duo found right here on STG) to plan their wedding, and they loved how she and her team not only helped them enjoy wedding planning minus the stress but also helped them add in all kinds of special details reflecting their lives and love story.

Miriam and Idan also took advantage of a Brides Club discount in ordering a second ketubah with custom text (to complement the traditional one provided by their rabbi) from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor ketubah.com. They chose a paper cut design by artist Enya Keshet, and report that they were very impressed with ketubah.com’s speed and responsiveness.

There’s so much more to say about this joyous wedding – we love that Miriam chose to focus on her values of sustainability and ethical labor when making choices like her beautiful dress from Australian brand MLM Label – but we’ll let the bride herself fill you in on the rest…


How we Met

Miriam, the bride: Idan and I met about 7 years ago while both living in Israel, in an amazing coincidence – we met as the spontaneous ‘plus ones’ to our friends’ first date at a bar in Tel Aviv. My friend (also an American, who at that point I had only known for about a week, and is today one of my best friends!) had hit it off with a guy; she asked me to come to their first date to keep an eye out as she was nervous.

The guy (Idan’s best friend) asked Idan to come with him to help translate the date, as he was self-conscious about his English. I stood in the corner and hung out with other friends to keep “an eye out”, while Idan translated the date – until his friend kicked him out :). Idan and I met again the following week at a party, and have been together ever since. And our friends are now happily married with a beautiful baby girl!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Dorit Izbizki Bride for a Pandemic Jewish Wedding at Xanadu, Petach Tikva, Israel

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Eliana-Pinny-Xanadu-Petach-Tikva-Israel

When they first started planning their wedding, Eliana and Pinny, both Americans who made aliyah on their own, put a premium on choosing a date that would allow their parents and siblings to fly in for the simcha.

However, the Omicron variant had other plans, and the week before the wedding, Israel shut its borders – even to first-degree relatives. As devastating as it was for the couple to accept that so many important family members wouldn’t be able to make it, they decided to forge on – and despite the sadness that comes with being far away from loved ones (though Eliana and Pinny did find some clever ways for their long-distance siblings to participate via Zoom!), the pair pulled off a truly amazing day. And that was largely thanks to the incredible network they’ve grown in their time in Israel – so much so that, even with international guests out of the picture, they still had a 300-person wedding!

Lucky for Eliana and Pinny, one key VIP who was able to make it was their photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman Photography. From the moment they got engaged, these two knew Herschel was the only photographer for them – so much so that, in Eliana’s words, “I wouldn’t have considered a date that we couldn’t have had Herschel Gutman as our photographer!” And Herschel and his team didn’t disappoint – in addition to being a total delight to work with on the day, they also did an incredible job capturing all the emotion and energy of this very special day.

There’s so much more we could say about this wonderful Jewish wedding, but we’ll leave it to the bride – who looked radiant in Dorit Izbizki – to fill you in on the details…

Eliana-Pinny-Xanadu-Petach-Tikva-IsraelEliana-Pinny-Xanadu-Petach-Tikva-IsraelEliana-Pinny-Xanadu-Petach-Tikva-IsraelEliana-Pinny-Xanadu-Petach-Tikva-Israel
How we Met

Eliana, the bride: Mine and Pinny’s older sisters, Shosh and Yael, have been friends for years now. Ever since I moved to Israel, 2 years after Pinny did, my sister has been saying “You have got to go out with Shosh’s little brother!” For years though the timing was never right. He’s in his fourth year of the army, and I just began law school. Finally, last May, my sister brought up his name again and we both said yes.

The day after his first text to me we went out on our first date… and we just clicked right away. Six months later, on my 21st birthday, he proposed!

After our engagement, with both of our parents and most of our siblings living in America, it was important to choose a date that everyone would be able to fly in and share in the simcha! (We had no idea of the impending omicron variant…at the time, it really seemed like we arrived at the light at the end of the tunnel with the third vaccine open for everyone in both Israel and America.) We then chose a date in December that would be the last time all of our siblings can fly in for a while, with that said, we had a pretty short engagement.Continue ReadingContinue Reading