Elia Vatine wedding dress Archives - Smashing the Glass

We love seeing what kinds of choices our favorite wedding vendors make for their own Jewish weddings, so naturally we couldn’t wait to hear all about ketubah artist Rachelle’s big day. Rachelle is the mega-talented artist behind Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush, and we knew from the getgo that her wedding to Elan, who’s a sales director for a tech company, was going to be something special.

And was it ever! We’re in love with everything from the gorgeous, vibrant colors and florals to the historic venue (which once belonged to Henry VIII!) to the wonderful rustic wood chuppah supplied by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Happy Chuppah People to the egalitarian ceremony, featuring touches like seven personalized English blessings written by one of the bride’s sisters and read by the bridesmaids.

Then there’s the ketubah. Rachelle is known for her nature-inspired designs, featuring trees, mountains, oceans, and more, and we adore the willow leaf design she chose for her own ketubah. And this busy bride didn’t stop there – she also designed all of the stationery for the day herself! We’re in love with the way photographer Frances Sales and videographer Pristine Videography captured all the exquisite details of this fantastic day.

Scrolling through the images, you’d never know Rachelle and Elan’s wedding took place on March 15, 2020, just as coronavirus was getting serious in the countries where most of this Israeli-British-American couple’s guests reside. In the end, half the couple’s guests were unable to attend – including Elan’s sister, who watched the ceremony via a live stream set up by a friend.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to Rachelle, who looked stunning in her secondhand Elia Vatine dress…

How we met

Rachelle, the bride: We met on Tinder 4 years ago – our first date was at Tel Aviv University’s student day! We were a couple from day one.

OK could today’s destination Jewish wedding be any cooler? That portrait of the couple just chillin’ in shades against the backdrop of the Hadera skyline — LOVE. And the super colorful floral chuppah with the suspended tallit canopy? Perfection.

We’re obsessed with the gorgeous wedding photos from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor LUZ Weddings. From the emotion and spirituality of the chuppah to the wild party (complete with Brazilian drum line) to the artsy portraits taking advantage of awesome architectural backdrops, every image is so memorable. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Lisa, a strategic consultant for The Behavioural Architects, and Igor, Igor is a press officer at the UK’s Home Office, are a totally stunning couple.

We also love how this pair put so much emphasis on the spiritual element of their day — you can really see it in Nir Tenenbaum’s moving videography.

We’ll let Lisa fill you in on the rest — by the way, we are ALL about her simple, elegant dress from Elia Vatine. Like everything about this day, it’s the perfect mix of laid back and glam…

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How We Met

Igor’s version:

“She’s gorgeous but blind dates are really not my thing,” I said to Mika, a mutual friend who’d been trying to set me up with Lisa for months. “If one day we are ever in the same place you can introduce us but until then I’ll wait”…

A few months later when I had recently come back from spending New Year’s in Portugal, I attended a Shabbat dinner at the JLE, a social center for young Jews. Out of pure coincidence, Lisa also decided to attend and during the cocktail reception we were introduced for the very first time. “Nice to meet you,” I said, though what I really meant was “finally.”

In another strike of “coincidence,” we ended up sitting next to each other, in one of the 15 available round-tables. We talked until first course was served, but then some friends started coming to the table to catch up on my latest trip. I got distracted and stopped speaking to Lisa. This ended up taking all dinner and when I realized I should speak to her again it was too late and dinner was over.

I felt embarrassed and added her on Facebook a couple of days later. I messaged her apologizing for not being a good “table mate” and asked if I could make it up and take her out for a drink. She accepted and we went to Alice House, a classic local bar/pub in West Hampstead.

The date lasted for five hours and it felt like the most natural of things. We talked about dogs, vegetarianism, gin & tonics, Judaism, kids, and behavioral economics (something I still struggle to understand).

“I think I met the woman of my life,” I messaged Daniel Granditer and Simon Murray, two friends who knew about the upcoming date.

I was never so sure about something in life as wanting to see Lisa every hour of every day after that. I knew that no matter what, I should not let such a beautiful, kind, and generous soul pass. From that day onwards I would do all in my power to make her my life companion.

Ten months after our first date, while on holidays in the magical mountain town of Lenzerheide, in Switzerland, I proposed to Lisa. I knew that was her “happy place.” Yes, at the very top of the Swiss Alps.

Lisa’s version:

I pretended to have never heard of him before when my friend Mika told me about this handsome, smart, funny, and nice friend of hers. “You guys have to meet,” she said. A few weeks later I was discussing with a group of friends which Friday night dinner to go to — there were so many options, a dinner organized by the JLE being one of them. We decided to attend a Friday night dinner in town, but our plans fell through last minute and we were lucky to catch the last few spots at the JLE dinner.

When we got there, Mika absolutely wanted me to sit next to her, but when we sat down I turned around and it was not her sitting there, but Igor. We talked for a little bit, and the conversation actually became interesting, but he seemed to be the star of the evening and people did not stop coming over to him to say hi and chat. At some point he apologized and said he had to go to speak to a few friends… He didn’t come back to the table for the rest of the evening.

“Handsome, but a bit snobbish” was my conclusion, and I ended up having a fun night with my friends. Two days later I left to Israel, and when I turned on my phone after the flight I saw that I had a friend request on Facebook, and a couple of hours later I received a message from Igor.

He apologised for disappearing and said, “I’m not a fan of texting, do you want to meet up?” We ended up texting for the rest of the week — although he supposedly wasn’t a fan. We went for a drink as soon as I got back to London and our first date lasted until the bar closed.

The following weeks and months we saw each other more and more, and with every day we spent together, my feelings for him grew fonder. Soon there was such a strong bond between us that it was hard to spend even one day apart.

Early January, a few days after New Year’s, in the most beautiful spot on the planet, Igor made me happier than ever with just one question.