A Martina Liana and Galia Lahav Bride for a Joyfully Jewish Destination Wedding at the Four Seasons Firenze, Italy

How We Met

Olivia, the bride: We actually met in high school at a party. After high school Amir went straight to Israel, but we stayed loosely in touch. Several years later (in 2019), Olivia was on a family trip to Israel to celebrate her brother’s Bar Mitzvah where they reconnected officially. A little over a year later, Amir moved back to America permanently… and the rest is history!

A Wedding in Florence

We got married at the Four Seasons Firenze. We picked this venue because we wanted a destination wedding that could be the catalyst to an epic vacation for our nearest and dearest loved ones. We loved the “FSF” because the “rainy day” (plan B) option was just as magical as plan A (and good thing it was because it rained most of our wedding day!) Italy is so romantic- it has the best food, fashion, and so much to see which is ultimately why we landed on having our destination wedding there.

Theme

Our wedding colors were bright and vibrant which made the room(s) feel happy and beautiful- exactly how we wanted it to feel! We wanted the room to match how joyous we felt and I think it did exactly that. Our wedding coordinator was the catering manager from the venue, Anna Peri. She was perfect in every way.

Invitation/Stationery

Lewe’s Lettering Co. designed our invitation suites. The front of our invitation was a water color design of the lobby of our venue. It was beautiful! A perfect introduction to the wedding week to come.

Martina Liana and Galia Lahav Dresses

My gown was from Boca Raton Bridal and it was a Martina Liana simple A-line dress that made me feel like a ballerina. I grew up going to ballet class and when I tried my gown, I felt like a more beautiful/bridal version of myself. I wanted to look like me, but better and my gown embodied that. I felt like an elegant, classy, and timeless bride. My second dress was from Galia Lahav. It was short, sparkly, and pink. My second dress was where my personality shined and allowed me to dance the night away.

Ceremony & Chuppah

Our ceremony was magical. Amir’s rabbi from growing up married us and that was truly so special. Our chuppah was ornate, bright, and beautiful and we stood under Amir’s grandfather’s Tallis. The vision for the chuppah design was the same as the florals- emulate happiness. Our favorite part of the ceremony was probably hearing what we said about each other to the rabbi. We didn’t read our own vows, instead, we wrote a little something about each other and sent it to the rabbi. There was no prompt or word limit. Just simply, “send me some notes about what you think of the other person.” Tears were shed.

Ketubah

Our ketubah is beautiful! We got it from Ketubah.com and it is canvas, making it look super refined. The designer is Britt Yudell.

Our music choice

We used Elan Artists and had a combination of live music and a DJ. We truly had a mix of genres throughout the evening, including a surprise performance by three tenors who sang Italian opera. We had string artists for the ceremony and dinner and a jazz band for cocktail hour. During the dancing portion of the evening we had a DJ play the best music to dance to from all generations accompanied by a live saxophonist and percussionist.

Flowers

We used Flowers Living as our florist who truly went above and beyond. We had the idea of a general color scheme and she brought it to life. She used only flowers that were in season for our September wedding which allowed for optimal blooms.

Photographer and videographer

Our photographers – D2 Photography – were another unbelievable asset to our perfect day. We loved that their work felt like the whole story of a wedding day- both the big, obvious moments as well as the special little moments that could have gone unnoticed. We knew D2 was right for us when we did a trial shoot with them during a venue site visit. They put us both at ease and gave us some direction (so as to not feel awkward or uncomfortable) while also allowing us the freedom to show personality and just exist with each other. They are an amazing team and the photos speak for themselves.

We also had a wonderful videographer team, Waterfall Visuals. We couldn’t be happier with the finished products from both the photo and video teams.

Honeymoon

We went back to Italy for our honeymoon, but this time to the mountains. We spent an incredible two weeks in the Dolomites. We stayed in two of the most remarkable hotels we’ve ever been to. The Forestis and the Aman Rosa Alpina. Two weeks was the perfect amount of time to see, shop, and do everything we wanted while incorporating some spa and relaxation. We had dining experiences there that I still dream about!!

Advice to couples currently planning their wedding

The recipe for enjoying your day has two ingredients: marrying the right person and hiring vendors you trust. When you marry the right person, things going “wrong” don’t really matter. And, hiring vendors who feel like they “heard” you allows your mind to be at ease because you know they have your back.

OLIVIA & AMIR LITTLE WHITE BOOK

Photography – D2 Photography
Videography – Waterfall Visuals
Ketubah – Ketubah.com {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Bride’s second dress – Galia Lahav
Bride’s dress – Martina Liana found at Boca Raton Bridal
Venue – Four Seasons Firenze
Flowers – Flowers Living 
DJ – Elan Artists 
Stationery/Invitation – Lewe’s Lettering Co.
Honeymoon – The Forestis and the Aman Rosa Alpina

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