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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

A Pronovias Bride for a Glam Jewish Wedding on the Bosphorus at the Four Seasons, Istanbul, Turkey

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Ezgi and Benjamin, Four Seasons, Istanbul, Turkey

Today we’re so thrilled to be featuring Smashing The Glass’s first ever wedding in Turkey! And we couldn’t have asked for a better introduction than the fabulous Jewish wedding of Ezgi, an associate director of analytics, and Benjamin, a senior technical business development manager.

The couple, who live in NYC, are frequent visitors to Ezgi’s hometown of Istanbul – and for their big day, they wanted to showcase the city they love. And did they ever go all out! From their venue choice of the Four Seasons, where they were able to wed against the iconic backdrop of the Bosphorus, to  the way they incorporated elements of Turkish culture into their décor (not to mention their epic wedding welcome bags), to their exquisite custom invitations featuring Turkish motifs and a map of Istanbul, Ezgi and Benjamin left no detail unattended.

And we are totally and completely obsessed with their fabulous mirrored chuppah! Swathed in blue and white floral arrangements, reflecting the turquoise waters of the Bosphorus at sunset in the background – chuppahs don’t get much better than this! Don’t miss Puci Wedding Story’s exquisite photos.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll turn you over to Ezgi – who looked so glam in Pronovias – for the rest…

Ezgi and Benjamin, Four Seasons, Istanbul, TurkeyEzgi and Benjamin, Four Seasons, Istanbul, TurkeyEzgi and Benjamin, Four Seasons, Istanbul, TurkeyEzgi and Benjamin, Four Seasons, Istanbul, Turkey
How we Met

Ezgi, the bride: We met on campus at the University of Pennsylvania, where we both went to college. One lucky weekday night, we were both pulled into planning a midnight birthday party for one of our mutual friends. Benjamin walked into Ezgi’s dorm room with his big radiant smile and introduced himself.

As we started decorating the room for the birthday girl’s arrival and started chatting, Ezgi was really taken by his confidence, intellectual curiosity, and positive energy; she asked their mutual friends to set them up on a date. Benjamin had a good feeling about Ezgi as well; he thought she was beautiful even in the old lounge clothes she wore on the day they met, and could tell she was a kind soul only after spending a few hours with her. So he said yes. The rest is history.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 Galia Lahav Bride for an Intimate Destination Jewish Wedding Weekend on the Italian Riviera at the Belmond Caruso, Ravello, Italy

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Marianna-Ari-Belmond-Caruso-Italy

Get ready to be blown away by one of the most exquisite Italian destination Jewish weddings we’ve seen in, well, ever! Travel lovers Marianna, an artist and handbag, footwear, and accessory designer, and Ari, a hospitality entrepreneur, worked with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Infinity Weddings to plan a truly unforgettable multi-day celebration with 50 of their nearest and dearest, making the most of the Amalfi Coast’s incredible food, vibrant culture, and stunning landscape. 

Being a designer herself, Marianna wanted to be closely involved in the design process, yet she and Ari also wanted to work with a planner who could help them execute their vision with as little stress as possible. Sara of Infinity Weddings was the absolute perfect fit, executing the couple’s vision perfectly and allowing them to be fully present to enjoy the day.

We couldn’t be any more in love with the couple’s venue, the Belmond Caruso, which Marianna calls “the epitome of Italian Riviera.”  The whole thing looks like a dream, and the amazing Nakutis Photography captured it all so artfully.

There’s lots more to say about this exquisite wedding – we haven’t even mentioned the bride’s unreal Galia Lahav gown – but we’ll leave it to Marianna to fill you in on the rest…

Marianna-Ari-Belmond-Caruso-ItalyMarianna-Ari-Belmond-Caruso-ItalyMarianna-Ari-Belmond-Caruso-ItalyMarianna-Ari-Belmond-Caruso-Italy
How we Met

Marianna, the bride: Ari reached out to me on Facebook when I came up for him as a suggested friend. After a few unanswered message and pick up lines about “sending me a kiss” (my last name is Senderkis), I finally replied. A few days later he surprised me by calling me through the Facebook app. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed our conversation. I agreed to meet him for lunch near my office. Although we only had 20 minutes together before I had to rush back to work, we were both instantly attracted to one another. We became a couple very soon afterContinue ReadingContinue Reading