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Natalie & Olivier | Elegant Jewish wedding at the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem, Israel

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Waldorf-Astoria-Jerusalem-wedding
Today I’m blogging a beautifully  elegant affair from the heart of Jerusalem  that shows you  that you don’t necessarily have to incorporate a rainbow of colour or an abundance of details to have the wedding of your dreams. A destination wedding  in Israel’s historical capital city, Natalie and Olivier’s  white-on-white minimal theme is thoroughly  timeless and  perfectly set against the glorious backdrop of Jerusalem.

Minimal it may be, but  will you just look at that custom-designed  Inbal Dror  wedding dress?  I give you full permission to be green with envy over it — it’s absolutely gorgeous.

Not only is Natalie  an incredibly beautiful bride, all glowing skin and glossy locks, but her and her French husband Olivier were one of the first couples ever to hold their wedding at the brand new  Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem, the city’s latest luxury venue.

Simple, elegant, fun, and relaxed — this wedding is perfectly executed in every way. Photography is by  Chiko  who’s making his debut appearance today on STG. Welcome to ‘Club Smashing’ , Chiko!

Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem wedding
Choosing to marry in Jerusalem

Natalie, the bride: I was born in Jerusalem and it is a very special place to me, it has a lot of sentimental value and is a really unique place. We loved the idea of the  Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem because it was brand new. We were the first or second wedding there and the decor is just fabulous so there wasn’t much that we  needed to do in terms of styling.

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Carmel & Aviv | ‘love carnival in a green house’ DIY Jewish wedding at the groom’s rose farm, Northern Israel

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DIY-wedding
Carmel and Aviv knew that they wanted to make their wedding as personal to the two of them as they  possibly could, so  what could  be better then doing everything (and I mean everything!) themselves? Oh yes —  once these two had decided on a DIY W-day, it was full steam ahead, and then some. Get ready to admire what is probably one of the most DIY’d weddings I  have ever featured on Smashing The Glass. It truly gives new  meaning to the phrase,  ‘labour of love’.

For 6 months, this gorgeous pair made the drive every weekend from Tel Aviv, to the groom’s  family farm in Northern Israel to renovate an old greenhouse from the bone. They straightened the ground, laid  a concrete dance floor, and planted literally thousands of flowers and trees. (To give you an idea, they planted about 400 sunflowers in one field alone!).

And it didn’t stop there. Once the space was ready,  Carmel and Aviv made  everything themselves from  the decorations to the flags to the  signage, not to mention hand-crafting their  invitations, table numbers and place names. There was also  a flower booth on the day, with live flower weaving to decorate the guests. Genius.

The most personal thing they incorporated  though, was a wonderful heirloom — their chuppah canopy.  It has been used  in the groom’s family for two generations for every wedding in the family, and Aviv’s grandmother weaves the names of every  new couple into it. How magical is that?

A immense amount of time and effort has clearly gone into this incredible  wedding, so enjoy all the wonderful  details and get ready for some serious pinterest-induced mania! Both the bride and  the groom have written the report today, and why wouldn’t they when there was so much joint involvement with the wedding planning ? One of my favourite quotes from the groom  is:

Our wedding was full of happiness and love. We guess that when people see  how much love you’re putting into it, they return it with extra.”

I love that.

Their day is exquisitely photographed  by the super  talented  Shai Franco  and don’t miss the highlights film at the end by the equally accomplished  Shahar Lev.

DIY wedding
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Naama & Ezri | Urban Jewish wedding in a bar, at Jem’s Beer Factory, Tel Aviv, Israel

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Beer-Factory-Wedding
When this first picture (above) of Naama and Ezri  landed in my inbox, I knew that this would be a brilliant  wedding to blog on Smashing The Glass.

First off, I have a soft spot for any kind of unusual Jewish wedding venue, and their choice is certainly  different: a beer factory (yes beer factory!) with the most gorgeous decor and an intimate, homely feel.

Second of all, will you just look at those two?! One of the best things about this job is how uplifting it is to look at images of people in love, and I think it’s fair to say that Naama and Ezri are truly, madly, deeply in love. Their deep affection  for each other literally radiates from every one of the fashion magazine-worthy images by  Simsisters.

Naama and Ezri  two are  free-spirited souls who incorporated all sorts of personal touches into their big  day, and it must be said that this is also  the first W-Day  I’ve ever blogged that includes a ‘spoken word’ session!

Let me  hand you over to Naama, to tell you all about her and Ezri’s story…  Have a great weekend everyone!

Beer Factory wedding
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Tammy & Tom | An Inbal Dror dress for a wedding by the sea, with a very special story, at Kochav HaYam, Caesarea, Israel

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Inbal-Dror-Dress
I don’t know where to start with this wedding, it has absolutely knocked me for six. When I first clapped eyes on the stunning photographs and video highlights of Tammy and Tom’s wedding, I was captivated by this ridiculously good looking couple, the chuppah set against a picture-perfect Israeli seascape, the high octane, carefree celebrations, the loved-up gazes between bride and groom and of course THAT Inbal Dror wedding dress – and just when I thought it couldn’t get any more breathtaking, I heard the incredible tale about the rabbi who officiated the wedding.

Many years ago as a young boy of eight, Sharon Shalom, the rabbi, was among a group of refugees making the arduous journey from Ethiopia to Sudan, where planes were on standby to help them flee to Israel. They travelled the entire distance to Sudan on foot, lead and protected by the IDF and Mossad agents.

At one point it all became too much for the youngster. Terrified, he was hugged and encouraged to keep going by one of the agents, who just happened to be Tom’s father. This shared experience helped forge a lifetime’s friendship, so much so, that when the young boy had grown and become a rabbi, he was told by Tom’s father that “one day you’ll be the rabbi for my son”. This wedding made that wish come true.

Understandably the tears flowed under the chuppah that day as the family and rabbi Sharon Shalom stood together for such a special and poignant moment in all of their lives. Truly beautiful.

So whilst it’s a very cool, stylish, fun, fun, fun wedding – complete with a flash mob dance – and did I mention the disarmingly attractive bride and groom? It’s a wedding with a huge heart. And given the incredible and humbling back-story of courage and kindness, the brides advice resonates very loudly “The whole point of the day is to be happy – stressing defeats the purpose. Your hubby and the meaning of the day is much more important than the napkins or your dress!”

Hear hear! (Even though her dress is actually perfection!)

The stunning photography is by Herschel Gutman one of our much-loved Smashing Suppliers, who can always be relied upon for beautiful images. The wedding film at the end of the post is by the superb Tal Herman

Inbal Dror Dress Israeli Wedding_0193Israeli-wedding
Rabbi Sharon Shalom (far right) with Tom’s father (second from right) under the chuppah, beside Tammy & Tom

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Yael & Or | An astronomical party for an Israeli wedding at Tel Yah, Tel Yitzhak, Israel

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Israeli-wedding
Sometimes you just know when two people are made for each other and this is most definitely the case with Yael and Or.  Together since high school, this fabulous couple decided to celebrate the start of their married life –   the first step in building their own Jewish home –  not far from the small town in Israel where they both grew up and where their families still live. Theirs is a totally sweet, and totally stylish tale.

You can’t get much better than a wedding by night in Israel.  It’s hot, fun, life-affirming and just good for the soul and oh my how beautifully this is captured by Chrisman  Studios.

Yael and Or had been crazy about these photographers for a long time and made damn sure that they had them snap up some of the most impactful wedding photographs I’ve ever seen.

I mean really, some of these images are just ridiculously beautiful — and characterful.   The shots of the swimming pool in particular look like they belong in a Taschen coffee table book.   They’re almost theatrical in their vivacity and vibrancy — which perfectly sums up an Israeli wedding. And that final shot… the  bride sure knows how to party like a rock star. Amen to that!

My other stand out love of Yael and Or’s wedding is their unique ceremony.   After cocktail hour, all 300 guests stood, yes stood, in front of  the chuppah — which just so happened to be on stage —   singing along to the Jewish prayers and songs, creating a completely engaged and loved-up atmosphere.  Perfect.

And before I hand over to the bride, it would be churlish of me not to mention  that apart from Or, there is in fact another  “the one” in Yael’s life — and that is her wedding dress.   Theirs was also a match made in heaven and one that was also approved by the whole family… even the groom!

Israeli wedding
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