Carmel & Edo | Forest theme rustic Jewish wedding at Baya’ar Hadera, Israel

Carmel and Edo certainly know how to throw a party. And throw a party they did — more specifically a big day that embraced their American and Israeli backgrounds, with lots of Jewish traditions modernised  by the couple in a fun,  original  way.

Personally I have a lot of love for this wedding. Carmel’s exquisite Mira Zwillinger wedding gown?  I  adore  it.  The incredible song that Carmel walked down the aisle to?  I love it and cannot actually stop listening to it… Personalised  ‘CARMELychee Martinis’ and ‘MojEDO’  cocktails? Yes, absolutely need those in my life!

And let’s not forget the epic dancing at the end — this hot couple and their  guests had  ALL the moves!

AN AMAZING VENUE SURROUNDED BY NATURE
Carmel, the Bride: The venue we decided to have our wedding at was Baya’ar, which translates to “In the Forest”. It was actually the very first and last venue we went to — we both completely fell in love with the place the second we arrived and booked it immediately.

I wanted to be surrounded by nature during my wedding, which is exactly what this beautiful place offers. The grounds are filled with every colour of green imaginable; it really feels like you’re in a forest. This feeling is just the same inside, which is filled from floor to ceiling with glass windows with a view to the same beautiful greenery. The best part about the place is its lighting! It has the most incredible lighting system, which creates an amazing ambiance both during the dinner and especially on the dance floor! On top of everything, the owners of the venue took such great care of us and were there from early in the morning during set up and literally ordered us a cab to go home at 3:00am!

A NATURAL, RUSTIC THEME
My wedding planner, Naama Raicher, was perfection. I can sing her praises all day long! Not only did she make our day absolutely perfect in every aspect, but for the full year of wedding planning she made us so calm and was so incredibly easy to work with. I really have no idea what I would do without her! Luckily, we also had very similar taste, so together we decided we wanted to make the wedding theme very rustic and natural.

We decided to go with an incredible designer named Orit Yaari who completely understood my vision and made it a reality! I literally only sat with her once and told her what I like and don’t like and she knew exactly what I wanted.

THE INVITATIONS
I wanted my invitation to be in the same rustic theme as the wedding, but still be playful and colourful. We had our invitations designed and made by Red Tuna Designs — they also designed all of the graphics for the wedding. They were amazing to work with and worked so  incredibly quickly on everything!

A ‘NON-TYPICAL’ WEDDING DRESS BY LIHI + MIRA ZWILLINGER
I had my dress made by Israeli designers Lihi + Mira Zwillinger. The dress was so unique and elegant at the same time. In the beginning I was a little nervous about wearing a non-typical wedding dress, but then I thought, “Screw it! When will I ever have a chance to wear a dress like this again?” I am so  ecstatic I made the choice I did — I felt 100% me in that dress.

ACCESSORIES
I got these amazing earrings and matching bracelet from Israeli designer Efrat Cassouto — she has really incredible vintage-style jewellery for brides.

I wore a very simple veil which I got from the dress designer — I really couldn’t afford to go with anything dramatic since my dress was so dramatic!

My favourite “accessory” that I wore that day was Gypsophila flowers in my hair. I saw these flowers on pinterest and knew I had to have them in my hair — they are so simple but beautiful.

COMFY HEELS…. AND FLIP FLOPS!
I bought medium sized heels — I’m pretty bad at walking in heels, so I was positive I would die in high heels. They were Adrianna Papell shoes that were exactly the same powder colour as my dress. Thank God they ended up being comfy! I of course switched to flip-flops on the dance floor though.

A FRESH, NATURAL LOOK
Edo only had a few requests for the wedding — one of his biggest requests was that I look natural and like myself on the wedding day. My hairstylist and makeup artist, Andrey Levin, was able to do exactly that. He made my makeup look fresh and natural and I wore my hair down. He braided my hair and wove the Gypsophila flowers within the braids. It was natural and absolutely stunning. He is a true artist!

MUSIC FOR THE CEREMONY
We walked down the aisle to a cover of Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love With You by Jess Kellner. We both love the original song and liked the idea of walking to a classic song that everyone knew, but we wanted a younger and more hip version.

THE DAPPER GROOM
Edo looked so handsome in that suit and tie! He wore a charcoal grey suit that we got at Men’s Warehouse when we were in California. He wore a white shirt and a black skinny tie, and I made him wear a tie clip too, which made him look extra dapper!

COMEDIC + PERSONALISED WEDDING PROGRAMMES
My wedding planner suggested we pass out cards to the guests explaining what takes place in a Jewish wedding ceremony since we had many guests from all over the world who didn’t speak Hebrew and weren’t Jewish. My best friend re-wrote it to make it comedic and personalised and it was hilarious! People took it home with them and told me they are giving it to friends to use at their own weddings!

THE RABBI’S PERSONALISED POEM
Another part of the ceremony that I loved was that the Rabbi, Daniel Rothstein, wrote Edo and I a personalised poem about us and how we met. It was so cute and funny and it made us feel like we weren’t just another couple he was marrying.

A BEAUTIFUL CHUPPAH
The designer, Orit Yaari, showed me chuppot that she had done in the past and I saw one that looked so simple — with wood stands and colourful flowers — and I asked her to make the same one for me that would match the event. The chuppah was exactly the way I imagined it — it was breathtakingly beautiful!

WILD-LOOKING FLOWERS
Our amazing designer, Orit Yaari, chose all of our flowers. I honestly have to give her all of the credit. All I said was that I love more wild-looking flowers rather than “clean” flowers like roses, and that I love purple, and she did all the rest! People were talking about the flowers for weeks.

OUR MIND-BLOWING PHOTOGRAPHERS…
We chose our stills photographer, Ori Chayun and Elad Sasi, because we saw the work they did for our friend’s weddings and people said that they added a whole other life to the dance floor. We also did “Trash the Dress” photographs with them — which came out incredible! They made the day of the wedding a party from the moment they arrived, and the pictures were mind-blowing!!

…AND WONDERFUL VIDEOGRAPHER
We also got great recommendations for our videographer, Nir Tenenbaum. He was so professional and kind throughout the day. We have yet to see the wedding video, but I trust him and believe it’s going to be amazing!

INCREDIBLE KOSHER FOOD
Our caterers, Omri Magal Catering, were miracle-workers. If there was one thing I heard about non-stop after the wedding, it was “the food”, “the food”, and “the food”. Anybody who says that kosher food isn’t as yummy, should have eaten the food at our wedding to prove them wrong! You really couldn’t imagine caterers making such delicious and gourmet food for 450 people… but they did. Too bad I didn’t have time to enjoy it as much as the other guests!

A PACKED DANCE FLOOR TO 3.00AM
We had an awesome DJ named Nir Goldman from Atisuto. It was actually a given that he would be our DJ… He’s a close friend of ours who has played at parties we’ve hosted in the past — so we knew we had nothing to worry about. He had everyone on their feet — from age 4 to 93 — until the party ended around 3:00am. He really knows how to match the music to the audience and keep people partying for as long as possible!

ADVICE TO OTHER BRIDES
Tip #1: My advice is no matter how stressed you were in the weeks coming up to the wedding, when you wake up on the morning of the wedding, put all the stress behind you and enjoy every moment. It will be the most glorious day of your life if you just let it be!

Tip #2: My cousin also gave me great advice before the ceremony. She told me while I was walking up to the chuppah, to stop, take a deep breath, and try to take in everything you can. I did, and I will always remember that one moment!

Tip #3: Edo and I both love to drink and have a good time, but we made it a rule that we wouldn’t pass a certain limit at our wedding… everyone wants to drink with you, so take fake shots, and for every real shot you take drink a glass of water. You are so high on life you don’t even need anything else! We were both so grateful that we remembered our entire night, which is not something most brides and grooms can say!

Tip #4: Try to find time to dance together! There are so many people around you all the time, but this day was about us, and we wanted to spend it together. We have so many moments and memories together from the night, which made it even more special!

CARMEN  + EDO’S  LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Venue — Baya’ar
Wedding Planner —  Naama Raicher
Photographers —  Ori Chayun  and Elad Sasi
Catering —   Omri Magal Catering
Event design —    Orit Yaari
Bride’s dress —  Lihi + Mira Zwillinger
Bride’s shoes —  Adrianna Papell
Bride’s jewellery  —  Efrat Cassouto
Groom’s attire —  Men’s Warehouse
DJ —  Nir Goldman from  Atisuto
Stationery —  Red Tuna Designs
Hair + Make up —  Andrey Levin
Videography —  Nir Tenenbaum