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A Nicole Milano Bride for a Destination Jewish Wedding By the Sea at Caesar Yam, Caesarea, Israel

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Danielle and Alex, Caesar Yam, Caesarea, Israel

Stunning venue alert! New Yorkers Danielle, an artist and dress designer (she’s launching her first dress brand early next year!) and Alex, who works in marketing, met during a year abroad in Israel, and they wanted to hold their Jewish wedding in the country that meant so much to them.

We love that they found their venue, the gorgeous Caesar Yam right here on Smashing The Glass, and the fell in love with the look, feel, warmth, and beauty of the natural surroundings right on the Mediterranean. The couple’s chuppah – designed by Danielle – took place just before sunset against the backdrop of the ocean, and it was really something special. Don’t miss it in the wonderful photos by Haim Afriat and video by Avichai Wechsler.

Danielle and Alex chose Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Rabbi Naomi Efrat, who is based in Israel, as their officiant, and they couldn’t be more thrilled with their choice. In Danielle’s words, Rabbi Efrat is “the kindest and most wonderful rabbi… She is truly incredible, warm, knowledgeable, an amazing communicator, her English is perfect, and we are so honored to have had her be our rabbi for our magical wedding and Auf Ruf a few days before!!!” It doesn’t get much better than that!

Danielle and Alex, Caesar Yam, Caesarea, Israel

Danielle and Alex, Caesar Yam, Caesarea, Israel Danielle and Alex, Caesar Yam, Caesarea, Israel Danielle and Alex, Caesar Yam, Caesarea, Israel

How We Met

Danielle, the bride: In 2013, Alex and I met on a gap year program in Israel, called Young Judaea Year Course, after high school! We started dating while we were living in Jerusalem with only a month left before returning home but even that early on we both knew we were in love! 💕 We complete each other and have been on the most wonderful journey together since! When we returned to the US we both went to college in NYC and have been together ever since!!

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A Trish Peng Bride for a Romantic Spring Jewish Wedding at Bayaar, Hadera, Israel

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Alice and Jonathan, Bayaar, Hadera, Israel

There’s something so special about a Jewish wedding in Israel, and the romantic springtime nuptials of Tel Aviv couple Alice and Jonathan are no exception. Alice hails from London, while Jonathan is Israeli, and blending both backgrounds was key to them as they planned their big day – as was showcasing their love for the home they’ve built together in Israel.

As nature lovers, the duo fell head over heels for their venue, Bayaar in the Hadera Forest. They loved the romantic indoor outdoor atmosphere and the relaxed, natural feel – which inspired their springtime wildflower color palette and free-flowing florals (including an absolute stunner of a floral chuppah – don’t miss it in the wonderful photos by Tzahi Shemesh!).

The couple’s planer, Yana from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia Events, “was with us every step of the way before, during and after the wedding. Planning a wedding in Israel isn’t always straightforward, and there were times when we genuinely didn’t know whether our wedding would go ahead as planned. We experienced many cancellations from guests travelling from abroad and uncertainty due to the security situation, but throughout it all Yana was an incredible source of calm, kindness and support.”

The complications continued on the day itself, when, after weeks of quiet, alerts of incoming missile attacks came in just after the simcha dancing. The instructions were for everyone to move into the center of the hall, and despite the scariness of the moment (especially for overseas guests, any of whom hadn’t experienced the sirens before), the guests’ reaction was so incredibly heartwarming. In Alice’s words, “Spontaneously, our guests erupted in singing and dancing. People formed a circle around us, waving Israeli flags and singing songs, drowning out the sound of the siren. The band’s sound system had to be switched off, but the saxophonist stood in the middle of the crowd and continued playing acoustically, creating one of the most moving moments. Our guests danced even harder than before, determined to make sure we had the best wedding possible in the circumstances… It was such a show of incredible strength, resilience and joy that we have as a people.”

Read on for the full story of this very special day in Alice’s own words…

Alice and Jonathan, Bayaar, Hadera, Israel Alice and Jonathan, Bayaar, Hadera, Israel Alice and Jonathan, Bayaar, Hadera, Israel Alice and Jonathan, Bayaar, Hadera, Israel

How We Met

Alice, the bride: We met through our shul in Tel Aviv. Alice had recently made aliyah from London, while Jonathan had moved to Tel Aviv from Kfar Saba. We quickly became close friends, with Alice looking to build a community and make more Israeli friends, and Jonathan being a self-confessed Anglophile.

After seven months of friendship (and Jonathan secretly harbouring feelings for quite a while!), he finally asked Alice out for a drink at a Lag BaOmer BBQ on the rocks overlooking the sea at Charles Clore Park, and the rest is history.

The challenges of living through the war in Israel brought us even closer, and after just six months together we got engaged and 6 months after that, married.

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A Grace Loves Lace Bride for an Ultra-Personal Jewish Wedding at Home in Old Westbury, New York, USA

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Elana and Seth, Old Westbury, New York, USA

We love it when a couple makes their Jewish wedding totally, completely them – and that’s exactly what Elana and Seth did. Every single choice they made – from incorporating family and friends at every step of the process to deciding to wed at their family homestead, where Elana’s family has lived for more than thirty years and the couple now make their home – was rooted in their desire to plan a celebration that felt more like, in the couple’s words, a “participatory cultural gathering” than a conventional wedding.

Elana and Seth, along with Elana’s parents and other family and friends, spent months preparing the property for the big day, doing everything from growing flowers to clearing paths and rigging infrastructure. The couple’s intimate Jewish ceremony, which took place on a Friday, featured so many personal touches, from a pre-wedding bathtub mikvah to an elemental procession involving all the guests to Seth’s family chuppah to the couple’s fabulous ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Once Upon a Paper.

The duo worked with artist Elena to create a bespoke design, and, in Seth’s words, “She welcomed every out there idea we brought to her and created something that felt both ancient and entirely personal. The final result is a true reflection of us.” Don’t miss her incredible work in the images by Kali Taylor and Thais Aquino.

There’s so much more to say about this very special celebration (which included a Wedding Crashers-themed party the Saturday following the chuppah), but we’ll let the couple fill you in on the rest…

 

Elana and Seth, Old Westbury, New York, USA Elana and Seth, Old Westbury, New York, USA Elana and Seth, Old Westbury, New York, USA Elana and Seth, Old Westbury, New York, USA

How We Met

Seth: We first crossed paths in Lake Tahoe in 2014, when Elana was touring as a performing artist. I remember feeling her energy before we had even properly met or had a deep conversation. We remained loosely connected through overlapping community throughout the years, but it was not until 2022 that we truly sat down together and started to get to know one another.

Elana: I thought it was a business meeting. Seth had other ideas.

Seth: I remember saying jokingly, not jokingly, “I’m Jewish, you’re Jewish… our mothers are going to love each other ;)” Elana rolled her eyes but was intrigued at my boldness.

Elana: At the time, I was amidst a year of celibacy and consciously creating space to call in a life partner. Seth arrived right at the threshold of that year. It gave us space to deepen a genuine friendship while our love organically revealed itself to both of us.

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A Lihi Hod Bride for a Sophisticated Jewish Wedding Weekend at Columbia Beach Resort, Pissouri, Cyprus

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Noa and Idan, Columbia Beach Resort, Pissouri, Cyprus

We’re obsessed with today’s ultra-chic Jewish wedding weekend in Cyprus! Bride Noa, a clinical psychologist, and groom Idan, a graphic designer and video editor, wanted a destination wedding where they could celebrate with their nearest and dearest for an entire weekend, and they found the perfect venue in Columbia Beach Resort.

As a graphic designer, it was important to Idan that the wedding had a unique and cohesive visual identity, and every detail was designed to feel like it belonged to the same story. The couple balanced their two styles – Noa’s more timeless and classic; Ida’s bolder and more eye-catching – and worked with Noam Salach of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Kai Wedding Planners to create something that felt like both of them.

As a designer, Idan wanted every detail to feel intentional and personal, and he contributed so many personal touches to the wedding, from creating a custom mobile wedding website to designing personalized swag for guests (including custom tote bags, branded ouzo bottles, and parasols for the Cyprus sun) to editing the couple’s wedding video using the stunning raw cinematography captured by Kreative Films. Catch all the wonderful details in the elegant, effortless imagery from Anna Gomeniuk.

Read on for the full story in Idan’s own words…

Noa and Idan, Columbia Beach Resort, Pissouri, Cyprus Noa and Idan, Columbia Beach Resort, Pissouri, Cyprus Noa and Idan, Columbia Beach Resort, Pissouri, Cyprus Noa and Idan, Columbia Beach Resort, Pissouri, Cyprus

How We Met

Idan, the groom: We met through a mutual friend back when I was working as a bartender and Noa was still studying psychology. Our mutual friend invited me over to her apartment one day, and that’s where we met for the first time. Neither of us knew it then, but that casual introduction would turn into the greatest love story of our lives.

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An Ultra-Personal Hindu-Jewish Wedding at Bell Works, New Jersey, USA

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Anisha and Chad, Bell Works, New Jersey, USA

We love a multicultural Jewish wedding, and Anisha and Chad’s Hindu-Jewish celebration at Bell Works in New Jersey is truly something special.

The couple opted to hold a single Hindu-Jewish ceremony, co-officiated by a Hindu priest and a rabbi, which they followed up with a non-denominational ceremony led by Anisha’s uncle and godfather.

In crafting their interfaith ceremony, Anisha and Chad found so many parallels between the two cultures, from circling rituals to the significance of the number seven (including seven blessings) in both traditions to the “manduppah” – the combined mandap and chuppah under which the ceremony took place. Don’t miss all the details in the images and trailer by Visionary Artists, who captured all the love and energy of the day on photo and video,

Now over to Anisha…

 

Anisha and Chad, Bell Works, New Jersey, USA Anisha and Chad, Bell Works, New Jersey, USA Anisha and Chad, Bell Works, New Jersey, USA Anisha and Chad, Bell Works, New Jersey, USA

How We Met

Anisha, the bride: We technically crossed paths long before we ever met. During the 2007–2008 school year, Chad was in 8th grade and I was in 6th grade at the same middle school, though we didn’t know each other at the time. As the junior yearbook editor, I happened to come across Chad’s yearbook photo and thought he was cute, never imagining our paths would cross again years later.

Fast forward seven years to May 2015, when we connected on Tinder. At the time, we were both living at home while attending college. On our first date at the end of June 2015, I brought Chad back to my house and showed him the yearbook, proving that I had remembered him all those years later from his 8th-grade photo.

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