Lindsay, a member of Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club, will be marrying Dan on 25th August 2019 at Kochav Hayam in Caesarea, Israel. Click here to read all Lindsay’s planning posts to date.
THREE FACTS: (1) Lindsay and Dan were set up by Lindsay’s cousin! (2) They are planning an English-style destination wedding with a few modern twists in Caesarea, Israel. (3) Even though they are both Jewish, Lindsay is more interested in the religious element of the day than Dan, so they are working to balance tradition with their personal style – our favorite!
Finding the perfect dress…
The moment had finally arrived. The one I had been waiting for. Basically the main reason why I said yes – dress shopping! I could finally see all my Pinterest boards and pictures ripped out of magazines come to life.
In total, I went to five different dress shops. I had been told by many people not to visit too many, otherwise the choice is too overwhelming – which is absolutely true! After trying on what felt like 17,000 dresses in a hundred different shops, I finally found the one at Angelica Bridal in Islington.
Yes, the choice is overwhelming but I also absolutely loved the experience and really do wish I could just keep trying wedding dresses on forever – who doesn’t love sashaying round like a princess?!
I knew I wanted to involve as many of those who are closest to me as I could, but also didn’t want to be crowded in each of the shops. To solve this dilemma I took different people with me each time, other than my mum who came with me for all of them. My sister and sister-in-law came with to one of the shops, my future mother-in-law came with to a couple of others and my best friend and bridesmaid came with to the final one.
For me it was perfect being able to share this excitement with so many of the people closest to me, but it was also good to get differing opinions on what worked.
Each time I tried a dress on, I managed to further narrow down to exactly what I was looking for. I definitely would recommend trying on as many different styles as you can – even if you think it won’t be right. After visiting a few shops, I thought I had decided on a style but couldn’t quite find the right one. Then one of the assistants helping me suggested I try something slightly different on – and that worked out to be the style that worked best for me.
…and the perfect shoes
Once the dress was bought, I could look for shoes! I wanted something that would be comfortable and wearable for the whole day, that would also be suitable to wear after the wedding too. I’ve gone for a pair from Ted Baker which are slightly padded so I can slay that dance floor!
Save the Dates
As we’re getting married abroad, we wanted to send out Save the Dates for our guests to give them enough notice to book hotels and flights. I’m incredibly lucky that one of my closest friends is super talented and has coincidentally started a new invitation business – Creative Design by J9. After throwing all my scrambled thoughts and ideas at her, she managed to create exactly what I was looking for, and people keep asking me who did them! This is why there was never a doubt in my mind that Creative Design by J9 would do our formal invitations. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with!
An intensive week of planning in Israel
After the Save the Dates and the dress were sorted, it all went quite quiet on the planning front. I just shrugged off loads and thought I’d worry about it in January, so when January came around, the planning really picked up again!
We’re going to Israel next week for a week of planning – with both sets of parents (my fiance is absolutely delighted about that one). I’m sure it will definitely run smoothly with 6 different opinions – actually it’s more likely to be five. Dan’s dad will be too occupied with the food tasting to think about anything else!
To prepare for this intensive week of planning, we have been working with Vicki of Victoria Rosen, our wedding planner, to create a watertight schedule – which keeps changing because Israelis can’t believe how structured we English want this trip to be.
We’ve also been going through the song list before we meet with the band, literally this evening. Finally Dan is doing something useful for this wedding. Turns out he really hates Abba and the Dirty Dancing soundtrack – after tonight, I’m having second thoughts!
Catch up on my next blog soon to hear all about our Israel trip – or what I like to call, ‘Jerry Springer on Tour’.
Click here to read all Lindsay’s planning posts to date.
Lindsay & Dan’s Wedding Vendors booked so far:
Photography – Idan Canfi
Chuppah music – Portnoy Brothers {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Wedding planner – Victoria Rosen
Venue – Kochav Hayam
Band – Legend from Caliente
Bride’s dress – found and fitted at Angelica Bridal
Stationery – Creative Design by J9
