Israel Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Calla Blanche Bride for a Jewish Wedding at Al Hayam Caesarea, Israel

19/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Is there anything better than an outdoor Jewish wedding by the ocean in Israel? We’re betting on no… and so did Sophie, a primary school teacher, and Elliott, a financial advisor, who opted for an epic destination wedding at Caesarea’s always stunning Al Hayam. This is one seriously stunning day – you don’t want to miss the splendid photography and videography by Camellia Art (who used a drone to capture some seriously awesome landscape shots).

This is a venue that really speaks for itself, and these two let the natural beauty of the location speak for itself, timing their chuppah for sunset, and going for a beautiful green and white chuppah that made a statement yet didn’t distract from the natural splendor of the surroundings.

We love that the couple opted to follow the tradition of doing the badeken on the aisle, honoring Elliott’s Sephardi heritage, so that the groom AND all the guests all got their first look at the beautiful bride as she walked down the aisle.

Speaking of that beautiful bride – who totally smashed it bridal style-wise in Calla Blanche – we’re going to turn you over to her now for the rest of the story…

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A Wedding in Israel

Sophie, the bride: Back in October 2016, Elliott proposed to me by the Bahai Gardens in Haifa which is his favourite place in the world. He is half Israeli and with his family living there, he would go there throughout his childhood to visit them, and so Israel is a very special place to Elliott. Getting engaged there, we knew straight away that was where we wanted get married. We got married at Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel – the minute we heard about the venue we instantly feel in love with it.

A Lihi Hod Bride for a Tropical Boho Jewish Wedding at Ronit Farm, Kfar Shmaryahu, Israel

12/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We are loving the tropical vibes of today’s gorgeous Jewish wedding – Shahar and Or really pulled off the perfect carefree outdoor Israeli wedding at beautiful Ronit Farm. The bright colors, unconventional florals, lanterns, and colorful glassware all come together to create a serious party vibe.

The couple knew they wanted their wedding photos in natural daylight, so they opted to marry on a Friday at noon – love that these two knew what they wanted and went for it!

And that chuppah! With natural wooden poles wound with tropical vines, greenery, and exuberant flowers, we’re totally transported to an island paradise. Asaf Kliger’s colorful, warm photos capture it all so perfectly, and videographer Nir Tenenbaum’s fantastic trailer makes us feel like we were there for the big day.

There’s so much more to say about this fun wedding – like the top-secret performance by a famous Israeli rock star that the couple surprised their guests with! – but for that we’ll turn you over to Shahar, who looked radiant in her boho chic dress by Israel designer Lihi Hod…

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How we met

Shahar, the bride: Our story is the story of two highschool lovers. We met back in high-school 11 years ago, where Shahar had the guts to send Or the first text message.

Since then we have been through everything together. Army service, travelling South America for 7 months and many vacations in Europe. We’ve been through university together – both bachelors and masters. 2 rental apartments in Tel-Aviv and the list goes on and on.

Nowadays, Shahar is a MA student for clinical psychology at IDC Herzliya, whereas Or is finishing med school at TAU university.

We live at a small and cozy apartment in central Tel-Aviv, and are thinking about adopting a new doggy friend for our family soon!

A Pronovias Bride for a Secret Garden Jewish Wedding at Alexander, Emek Hefer, Israel

10/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

It’s the beautiful Jewish wedding of our wonderful blogging bride Rebecca! It’s always a special moment for us seeing our blogging brides get married after following along throughout their planning, and today is no exception. Rebecca, a fashion buyer, and David, a financial advisor, had the most stunning destination wedding in Israel, and we are totally in love with everything about their big day.

Rebecca adores flowers, so it was a given that they’d play a big part in her day. And we’re totally blown away by her exquisite ketubah and gorgeous table centers – focusing on greens and whites, everything meshes so well with the natural beauty of the venue.

It doesn’t hurt that the couple worked with some of our very favorite Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendors. From the amazing Ran Bergman on photography and videography – he and his team captured all the emotion and love, not to mention the gorgeous décor, so perfectly – to the pair’s gorgeous modern ketubah from Ketubata, with a green and white floral design that perfectly mirrored the décor for the day, Rebecca and David truly assembled a dream team.

We’re crazy about Rebecca’s long-sleeved fishtail lace gown by Pronovias, which she found at beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror in London – in the bride’s own words, Mirror Mirror“want you to feel 100% and go above and beyond to make sure you are happy.” Rebecca’s Swarovski hair clip fromSmashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Emmy London was the perfect complement to her classically glam bridal style.

There’s so much more to say about this awesome wedding, but before we hand you off to the bride we’ll just leave you with this last little tidbit: the couple served their midnight snack in personalized Tupperware adorned with their wedding logo! If you’re looking for an unexpected favor idea that’s both fun and useful, we think this is a pretty excellent choice.

How we met

Rebecca, the bride: One night in March 2017 I was swiping on Jswipe and I came across David. We had lots of mutual friends, one being my best friend I had just booked my holiday with, so when we matched I instantly called her and said ‘who’s’ this?!’ to which she replied ‘OMG I love him he’s a really good friend you should definitely go on a date with him – I don’t think he’s THE ONE but I think you will fancy him and he is super tall’.

Being 5ft8 height is a REAL thing for me. I was like ‘how tall’ and she said ‘put it this way, you will be able to wear your highest heels’. The struggle is real for tall Jewish girls to find a tall Jewish man, I was so sick of wearing flats and worrying about how tall someone was — so knowing he was tall I already knew my outfit for the first date!

My friend messaged David saying you have matched with my friend and if he wanted my number — all he said was ‘oh she’s hot and he will have a look’. I wait 1 week and receive NO MESSAGE FROM HIM! I am obviously furious so decide to take matters in my own hand and message him first! #independentwoman (He still to this day said the app was “deleted” which is why he didn’t message me as he didn’t see it!)

We start messaging and we get on like a house on fire and start to arrange a first date. I am originally from Leeds and it was round Peseach in 2017 so was back home for the holiday, so we waited to meet up for a drink after.

A Dana Harel Bride for a Design-Conscious Jewish Wedding at Bait Al HaYam, Yafo, Israel

05/07/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

When the bride’s a designer, you can be pretty sure you’re going to end up with one seriously stylish wedding. And that’s exactly what you get in the gorgeous Jewish wedding of May, an interior designer and home stager, and Tomer, a businessman.

Given the pair’s focus on design, it’s no surprise they went for Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Luz for photography and videography. Luz’s distinct trademark style – their symmetry, their straight lines, their composition, how they present the couples as a natural part of the architectural landscape – was right up May and Tomer’s alley (and the couple were so thrilled with the results that they’re hanging a massive print of one of the architectural landscape shots in their living room!).

We also love their floral design – not only is it beautiful, but each centerpiece doubled as a gift to their guests. Such a great favor idea – and a smart way to make sure those flowers you splurged on get to be enjoyed for more than a few hours.

Now over to May, who worked with designer Dana Harel to create a custom wedding gown that was a perfect reflection of her style…

A Wedding by the Sea

May, the bride: We always knew we wanted an intimate wedding by the sea. Bait Al HaYam was the first venue we saw, and we just knew that it was where wanted to get married. Bait Al HaYam is located in old Yafo, and that alone sealed the deal; it was a nice addition that they made it feel like home.

A Berta Bride for a Sunset Jewish Wedding with a Very Special Chuppah at Kochav Hayam in Caesarea, Israel

28/06/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

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We love a gorgeous chuppah. We love a meaningful family heirloom. When you put those two things together? A totally unforgettable Jewish wedding.

There’s so much to love about the joyous union of Lee, a fitness studio manager who is also working on her bachelor’s in business management and sports, and Roy, who recently retired from the IDF, where he had been serving as a frontline soldier.

But our favorite part is the story behind their chuppah. Obviously it’s gorgeous – the bamboo poles, sweet floral accents, and billowy white fabric are the perfect complement to the seaside setting – but what we really love is the canopy. It was made by Roy’s cousin years ago, and since then it’s been passed around his family from couple to couple as cousins marry. When a new couple marries under the chuppah, they get their name embroidered on it. What a beautiful family heirloom!

We’re also obsessed with the gorgeous sundrenched photos from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Noam Salach. He captured all the emotion of the day – not to mention all the fantastic details – so perfectly, and the couple adored having him around on their big day, too.

Now over to Lee, who looked stunning in Berta…

How we met

Lee, the bride: While I was posting my “flat belly challenge” on Facebook, Roy messaged me. To be honest I usually don’t reply to these kind of messages, but something in Roy interested me.

The first thing he said to me was “I think a 10K run would be a great ice breaker for us” and that’s what we did, 2 weeks later we met at 6am on the beach for a “sunrise run”, we clicked instantly.

After 1 year together, Roy ask me to marry him while we were on holiday at hotel Bereshit in the South. We celebrated 2 years together the same day as our wedding day.