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An Alon Livne Bride for a Shabbat Dinner-Inspired Jewish Wedding with a Macrame Chuppah at Jonah Club, Netanaya, Israel

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“When planning this wedding, we looked at it like the most epic Shabbat dinner we would ever throw.”

From the minute we read this line from STG Brides Club member Nikki, who works in marketing at a digital health startup (and also gives food tours and teaches yoga on the side), and Adam, who works in tech as an engineer, we were sold on their beautiful Jewish wedding.

Nikki and Adam, both Americans who met and live in Israel, wanted their wedding to be an occasion for their far-flung family and friends to come together and get to know each other – and get a taste of the couple’s life in Israel. And by the looks of the incredible photos and video from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Aya-Avi Photography, a husband and wife team handling photography and videography, they pulled it off with aplomb. Aya’s luminous photos really let the love between the pair for each other and for all their loved ones gathered together to celebrate them shine through.

We’re also in love with Nikki and Adam’s super cool macramé chuppah – and how awesome is it that they found their florist, Tom of Tomka Designs (we featured Tom and Matan’s own wedding on the blog a while back), right here on STG? The East Meets West boho style he worked with the couple to create for their chuppah area is truly beyond.

And we’re totally obsessed with Nikki’s bridal style, from her timelessly elegant gown from Israeli designer Alon Livne to her natural-with a-touch-of-glam hairstyle by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Yehonatan Yaeish – who not only styled the bride’s hair superbly but also brought great energy on the day.

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride… (and if you want to join Brides Club like Nikki did, click here (we’ve just released a few more free entry places – grab one before they all go!)

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How we met

Nikki, the bride: We happened to move to Israel one week apart and met 6 weeks later on Bumble. We decided to meet 10 minutes after our first conversation began and got married 2 years and 4 days later.

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An Ella Levy and Shani Zimmerman Bride for a Festival Jewish Wedding at the Elma Hotel in Zichron Ya’akov, Israel

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We love it when a couple really goes all out to create a unique, one-of-a-kind Jewish wedding that’s truly a reflection of who they are as a couple. And that’s exactly what Israeli couple Amit and Orr did – with some help from the masterful planning team at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bebke Productions.

Bebke helped the pair put together a fun, non-traditional festival-themed celebration of their love, complete with plenty of bright colors and neon, a variety of short performances – including a water show and a fire show! – a DIY cocktail stand, and even a hookah area. Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Maasia provided a delectable dairy menu, featuring a range of dishes from luxe classics like caviar to carnival-appropriate treats like French toast and sloppy Joes!

Amit and Orr opted to go non-traditional for their ceremony too. Instead of a rabbi, they opted to bring in a standup comedian to officiate (yes, really!), and in place of a traditional chuppah they went for a geometric floral backdrop.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Noam Salach captured the day in all its vibrancy so perfectly, and he made the camera-shy couple feel completely at ease. We’re pretty sure you’ll agree he captured some truly incredible moments, as did videographer Guy Lahav.

We’ll let the bride – who started out the day in an Ella Levy dress before changing into a pants and top ensemble by Shani Zimmerman – fill you in on the rest…


Planning Perfection

Amit, the bride: We knew from the first moment that we wanted to make a different wedding and give our guests a special experience – one that you don’t see every day. It was clear to us that there would be no event hall, no slow dance, and that this would not be a “wedding” like everyone else’s.

But among all these “no”s – what did we want to say yes to? We did not know. One thing we knew – in this area there are a pair of magicians, called them Inbar and Gev, or by their professional name Bebke Productions. Inbar and Gev know how to take a range of requirements, whatever they may be, and make them a reality.

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A Berta and Dana Harel Bride for a Romantic Italian-Inspired Jewish Wedding at Hagiva Event Garden, Givat Brenner, Israel

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Okay, HOW incredible are Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si’s photos of today’s Jewish wedding?The composition, the lighting, the emotion… they’re somehow totally natural and full of personality, yet also look like they could’ve come straight out of the pages of a glossy magazine.

It doesn’t hurt that Nofar, a project manager, and Zahi, a developer, are a super stylish couple – though believe it or not, they actually hate having their pictures taken, and they put the effortless, natural shots they ended up with down to Jossef’s calming demeanor and warm sense of humor.

Neither does the bride’s stellar fashion sense: she wore not one but two incredible Israeli designers, starting the day in Berta, and later changing into a shorter, lighter, party-ready number by Dana Harel.

And we also love that Nofar made a spontaneous on-the-spot decision to give a wedding speech! We’ll let her fill you in on the rest of this fab day…

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How we met

Nofar, the bride: We first met after Zahi sent me a message and my cousin decided to answer him (although I wasn’t a great believer that I would ever meet my half). After a few minutes of texting from my cousin, I realized ‘this guy is special’.

The first date finally came. I had decided to call it off (typically me…), somehow Zahi convinced me to come and my cousin insisted, as she said ‘worst case you will drink a good beer/wine’… I told Zahi I would come alone without him picking me up from my house, but as I arrived at the place I thought was the location I got stuck and spent 20 minutes looking for a way out of the street where I parked my car…so..I had to tell Zahi eventually to come and look for me.

He came on his motorcycle, took his helmet off, we burst out laughing, and everything is history… ☺

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A Musical Boho Jewish Wedding at Sofia Garden, Beer Sheva, Israel

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We love it when a couple puts their personalities and passions at the center of their wedding planning. Like today’s wonderful pair, Anna, a physical therapist, and Hagai, a lawyer, did – they’re both obsessed with music, and did it ever come through in their big day!

Between a band, a DJ, a performance by a mega-talented friend, and even a surprise song by the groom himself (dedicated to the bride – aww!), this Jewish wedding was truly alive with the sound of music – and heartfelt emotion. How beautiful is it that Anna and Hagai opted to read aloud letters they’d written to each other under the chuppah?

We also adore this wedding’s boho vibes, from the outdoor garden setting to the bride’s laid-back gown to the chill décor – much of which was created and arranged by the couple and their friends! We’re especially crazy about the the dreamcatchers the couple placed behind their simple chuppah. Photographer Lior Rotstein and videographer Yael Weinberg captured everything so beautifully.

We’ll let the bride fill you in on the rest…

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How we met

Anna, the bride: We met 5 years ago, when I was still a student. During my studies I worked as a bartender in a pub and Hagai would come in a few evenings each week to catch up. It did not immediately develop into a love story. Then we went out together with some other friends to a music show, and we discovered that we had lots in common. And that’s how the love story started.

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An Essense of Australia Bride for a Sunset Jewish Wedding at Cochav Hayam in Caesarea, Israel

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Okay, we just can’t even with that sunset chuppah. Truly the stuff Jewish wedding dreams are made of. But would you believe it if we told you that wasn’t even the most remarkable thing about the incredible wedding of STG Brides Club member  (and blogging bride) Lindsay, an insight manager at a media agency, to groom Dan, an account manager working in corporate events?

So first of all, we’re OBSESSED with Lindsay and Dan’s table plan: they got a polaroid of every guest, then wrote a personal note on the back. These were all laid out for guests to collect as they came in and find their table numbers. Genius!

We’re also super inspired that these two worked with non-profit Israel Blooms, an organization that will collect flowers leftover at the end of the wedding and repurpose them into small arrangements that they distribute in hospitals and old age homes. What a meaningful (and easy) way to spread the joy of your big day!

The couple’s photos from Idan Canfi and video from Ruslan Shane are simply sensational, and we love that Lindsay and Dan opted to have a separate couple’s photoshoot a couple of days after the wedding – this allowed them to get some dreamy portraits without them having to take time out of the wedding for photos. Such a smart idea!

Oh, and did we mention that Lindsay and Dan are working with the incredible Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Abby Taubman of Colletts Travel to plan their honeymoon to Australia and Thailand next year?

Now over to the bride, who looked lovely in her Essense of Australia dress…

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How we met

Lindsay, the bride: We met through my cousin’s wife. She was an old school friend of Dan’s and decided that we would be a great match – and she was right!

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