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A Hayley Paige Bride for a Romantic Jewish Wedding at Villa Oliva, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

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What a wedding! If you’ve ever fantasized about jetting off to Tuscany to get married, the exquisite Jewish wedding of Stephanie and Dan, who did just that, is going to knock your socks off. In fact, it’ll probably do that even the thought of a Tuscan wedding has never even crossed your mind!

The couple’s wonderful planner, Michelle Jacobs of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante By Michelle J, took all the pressure out of planning while making sure the big day was as elegant, romantic, joyful, and memorable as it could possible be. And she connected the couple with their amazing roster of vendors!

Truly, these two used so many of the very best out there, from the amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Totem – who Stephanie and Dan flew over from London because they wanted to make sure their big day featured some EPIC Israeli dancing, and if you know Totem you know they get the party going like no one else – to mega-talented stationer Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bigday Designs (love the stationery suite they came up with!) to a gift list with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Prezola.

Photographer David Bastianoni and videographer Federico of Waterfall Visuals both captured the day so beautifully, and we love that they were committed as to capturing the love between the couple – including lots of sweet casual moments – as to featuring the beautiful setting and décor (looking at you, floral chuppah!).

If you’re wondering how you can make your wedding as awesome as Stephanie and Dan’s, don’t miss our Facebook Live with none other than Michelle Jacobs herself, all about creating an ultra-memorable experience for your guests. It’s happening this Thursday, March 5, at 7:30 PM GMT / 2:30 PM EST / 11:30 PST, right on the Smashing The Glass Facebook Page.

But for now, we’re going to turn you over to the lovely Stephanie, who looked simply ravishing in Hayley Paige…

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Venue

Stephanie, the bride: We got married in Villa Oliva, near Lucca in Tuscany. I’ve always dreamed of having a romantic wedding abroad and, luckily, Dan saw the appeal. We picked Tuscany because we both love Italy – from the food and wine to the art, landscape and scenery.

Dan and I are both nature lovers, so the idea of getting married in a Tuscan garden really appealed to us. The venue we chose had several gorgeous gardens surrounding the villa and we fell in love.

We also wanted each area of the party to be a surprise for the guests, so we got married at the front of the villa; had the drinks reception behind the villa; and dinner and dancing was held in a large garden slightly further away from the property. The front of the villa had a beautiful grotto, which was the perfect backdrop for the chuppah.

We were very grateful for the support of our family and friends flying out to celebrate our special day with us. The guests were able to get to know each other at the welcome party and by the pool, so everyone was friendly at the main event. It felt like a big holiday!

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The Crawleys: Fab Photographers for Your Destination Jewish Wedding

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Your destination wedding is a once-in-a lifetime experience. And you want to make sure you find just the right team to capture every exhilarating moment. Enter The Crawleys.

The Crawleys are a husband-and-wife team, consisting of Liam and Bee – and they’re the masterminds behind some truly fantastic real Jewish weddings here on STG.

From the wonky little cottage they call home in the Delamere Forest in the north of England, they’ve been shooting weddings all over the world since 2002 – that’s 600 and counting! 

They were voted 2019 UK Wedding Photographer of the Year by The Wedding Industry Awards.

They are true travelers at heart, and they’ve got tons of experience working in Spain, France, and Italy. They especially love working in Spain, where they’ve been shooting since 2012 – the sea, the sun, and the quaint villages have totally stolen their hearts.

But they’re also always down for branching out somewhere a bit more exotic – they’ve shot in Thailand, Kenya, and Malaysia, to name just a few.

Destination weddings are a huge part of their business, and they’re willing to go wherever you need them!

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How to Plan a Wedding in Israel if you’re not Israeli

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Montana & Justin’s destination wedding planned by Danny Marx Events

For many Jewish couples, getting married in Israel has an understandable and irresistible appeal. Not only do many Jewish people feel a strong affinity with Israel, as the world’s only Jewish state, but as far as destination weddings go, it’s pretty unbeatable.

For such a small country, it has incredibly diverse terrain, from gorgeous, lush green forests to pristine, sandy beaches, vast deserts to stunning mountains, with indescribable views. A wedding in Israel can be pretty much whatever you want it to be – all the while bringing with its trademark ‘Israeli cool’, chilled-out vibe. Just check out our real Israeli weddings section, if you need any more proof! 

So, if we’ve sold you on the idea of having your wedding in the holy land, but you’re not sure where to start, never fear – we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to planning your Israeli destination wedding.

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Colette & Rob’s Destination Wedding in Israel planned by BE Group TLV

Who can have a legally binding ceremony in Israel?

First of all, let’s get the bad news out of the way. Getting married in Israel can be a little complex. All official, legally binding marriages are religious, and there is no civil marriage in Israel, per se.

Official Jewish marriages are performed by the Orthodox rabbinate, so both partners must be Halachically Jewish. This means that if one partner converted, but it wasn’t an Orthodox conversion, then they cannot be legally married under the Orthodox rabbinate.

The same goes for people who are Jewish by patrilineal decent – it has to be via the matrilineal line, or the person in question must undergo an Orthodox conversion.

Another rule of the Orthodox rabbinate is that a male Cohen is forbidden from marrying a divorced woman or a convert. Same-sex marriages are, unfortunately, also not possible under the rule of the Orthodox rabbinate but it doesn’t mean that you can’t have a same-sex wedding in Israel – as illustrated by yesterday’s real gay wedding in Israel.

You see the good news is, if you don’t want to, or can’t, go down the Orthodox marriage route, then it’s possible to have a liberal, or other, ceremony but with the caveat that this will NOT result in a marriage certificate, at least not from Israel. So, to be clear, you can still have a beautiful Israeli ceremony, and do the official bit at home, at another time.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Create the perfect destination wedding with Tel Aviv dream team – Made in Israel Events

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Made-In-Israel-Events An occupational highlight of my job (apart from taking over The Savoy) is that I get to meet exciting, new companies starting out on the wedding scene, before most. It’s such a fabulous dream factory of an industry and I love finding the new talent-brimming with fresh ideas. I’ve always been a what’s-the-next-big-thing girl.

Made in Israel Events are the (relatively) new wedding organisers on the Tel Aviv wedding circuit. They’re a breath of fresh air in the form of two friends Lior and Yael.

Made in Israel Events_0002 They’re event planners who specialise in producing destination weddings all over Israel. With special consideration to Anglo tastes. They’ll create an amazing big day for you – without you having to worry about language barriers or negotiating with Israeli vendors. And apart from that huge logistical sigh of relief — they also bring style inspiration for a thoroughly modern wedding.

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Here at STG we adore Israeli weddings. Aside from its cultural meaning, Israel is a place where the sun shines almost every day of the year; it’s beautiful, exotic, energetic and fun. Perfection.

Yael’s overseas family who came to her own wedding in Israel were head over heels in love with the venue, food and of course the atmosphere. And that’s when it dawned on her that there’s a great interest in destination weddings in Israel. People want to have the ultimate Jewish wedding with an Israeli touch.

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Destination Wedding Etiquette

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Image by Susan Stripling  from Natasha and Jez’s Jewish destination wedding in the  South of France

This is a  guest post by Lisa Shiner

Like most little girls, when I dreamt of my wedding, I imagined myself as a princess. Not one of those modern-day braided-hair and frozen-storm-inducing Scandinavian ones — more the royal variety.

Even after years and countless weddings planned, I still believe in a version of that same dream. Admittedly, I no longer long for the fairytale, but do honestly believe that, for her wedding, every bride should be a princess.

But not in the way that you’re thinking…

Be thoughtful of  your guests

In an ideal world, the term “fairytale” could refer less to emulating royal affectations and more to embracing wedding etiquette fit for a queen. Certainly, it is your wedding and at the same time a perfect opportunity not to demand the royal treatment but rather bestow it. Family and friends who are investing their time and money to attend your destination wedding deserve to be listened to, honoured, respected and personally acknowledged.

Destination weddings are magical. Whether yours is set on a faraway beach paradise, an atmospheric desert location, or a spiritual site half a world away — destination weddings are woven from a complex fabric of families, emotions, circumstances, travel and sometimes even exhaustion. In trying to juggle these elements, it’s essential to keep a clear head and, equally importantly, keep the process enjoyable for both you and your future guests. As basic as this may sound, the best way of achieving this is by simply being thoughtful. Thoughtful of your own desires and requirement of course, this is after all your special day, but thoughtful also of the time, effort and expense which will inevitably be experienced by those who care for you and wish to be part of your special occasion.

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Image by Joy Marie Photography  from Starr and Jacques’ Jewish destination wedding in Palm Beach

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