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A Dylan Parienty Bride for a Go-with-the-Flow Jewish Wedding at HaGiva, Givat Brenner, Israel

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Miriam and Moshe, HaGiva, Givat Brenner, Israel

We love the approach Israeli couple Miriam, a dog trainer, and Moshe, who works in cybersecurity, took when it came to planning their Jewish wedding: their vibe was going with the flow. In the bride’s words, “we didn’t want to overthink it and just wanted to get married!”

HaGiva, with its stunning scenery, delicious food, and incredible staff, was the perfect one-and-done venue to streamline their planning, and Miriam’s simple gown from Dylan Parienty perfectly complemented the mood of the day.

That doesn’t mean this wedding was without personal touches, though – for instance, we love that the couple chose herbs as their centerpieces, and had guests take them home at the end of the night.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman photographed the day in his signature warm, emotion-forward style, and we’re positively in love with his wonderful images.

Read on for more in Miriam’s own words…

Miriam and Moshe, HaGiva, Givat Brenner, Israel Miriam and Moshe, HaGiva, Givat Brenner, Israel Miriam and Moshe, HaGiva, Givat Brenner, Israel Miriam and Moshe, HaGiva, Givat Brenner, Israel

A HaGiva Wedding

Miriam, the bride: We got married at HaGiva because it’s absolutely beautiful, has amazing food, and incredible staff.

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A Magical Forest Pacific Northwest-Meets-Israel Jewish Wedding at HaGiva, Givat Brenner, Israel

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Shachaf and Josh, HaGiva in Givat Brenner, Israel

Get ready for a truly magical wedding! Pacific Northwest couple Shachaf, who works in ticketing, development, and behind the scenes at the historic Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, WA, and Josh, who works as an educational content editor for a Jewish non-profit, had the most incredible magical forest-inspired Jewish wedding at HaGiva in Israel.

Shachaf was a member of our Brides Club, and we’re so thrilled to hear her kind words about the group:

I don’t think I have ever felt more supported and heard than meeting with Karen during 1-on-1’s and I loved getting to know and learning from other brides who were going through the same process as me. Seeing them go through the process ahead of me gave me so much encouragement! I cannot thank Karen enough for all of her support and inspiration!

Karen also referred Shachaf and Josh to their wedding planner, Yana, owner of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia Events. In Shacahf’s words,

Yana is one of the kindest, most hard working, intelligent, and determined people I have ever met. She works around the clock, always makes you feel as though you are the only bride on her plate. I’m very lucky to have been recommended not just a perfect wedding planner, but now a life long friend.

Yana helped Shachaf and Josh plan the PNW wedding in Israel of their dreams, with tons of whimsy and character – don’t miss all the fun details like the moss-and-mushroom centerpieces!

The couple chose Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tzahi Shemesh to photograph their day, and they couldn’t be more thrilled with their choice. In Shachaf’s words,

It was clear that Tzahi was going to bring an amazing energy to the wedding, and he did exactly that! He brought a contagious smile and endless energy that lasted until our goodbyes at the end of the night!

Read on for all the fabulous details of this magical day in the bride’s own words…

Shachaf and Josh, HaGiva in Givat Brenner, Israel Shachaf and Josh, HaGiva in Givat Brenner, Israel Shachaf and Josh, HaGiva in Givat Brenner, Israel Shachaf and Josh, HaGiva in Givat Brenner, Israel

How We Met

Shachaf, the bride: We met at the end of 2020 when we were both in transition periods in our life. We both found ourselves temporarily under the roof of our Chabad on Campus rabbi, and we quickly became close. The rest is history!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Vera Wang Bride for an Israeli-American Jewish Wedding at Hagiva, Givat Brenner, Israel

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If you can’t get enough of Israeli weddings, we’ve got a treat for you! The fabulous Jewish wedding of Alexa and Nitay, at gorgeous Hagiva, has all the things we love about weddings in Israel: a gorgeous outdoor setting filled with greenery and Jerusalem stone, gorgeous chuppah, Israeli food and music, and, of course, epic party vibes.

Nitay is Israeli, while Alexa is American – and the pair perfectly combined the best of both wedding traditions to make sure everyone felt comfortable and included on the day. They turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Vanessa Ohayon to help bring their vision to life – and did she ever! In Alexa’s words,

Vanessa is a true professional at what she does. When we first met Vanessa, we connected instantly and she understood our vision from the start. Vanessa brings her amazing energy into every detail of any wedding. She had a solution for everything and when there were any hiccups (there are always hiccups), she knew how to bring us down to earth and find the best way to handle them. We couldn’t have done it without her!

We’re also obsessed with the couple’s exquisite photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tzahi Shemesh. Have a scroll through and we’re pretty sure you’ll agree with Alexa’s assessment:

He made us laugh, feel comfortable, and most importantly, captured our “in the moment” memories. Him and his team were at every angle and made sure to not miss a thing! He is an artist and makes us relive our special day every time we look back at the photos. They’re magnificent!

There are so many more fabulous details to share about this very special wedding – we’ll turn you over to the bride, who looked timelessly elegant in Vera Wang, to fill you in…

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How We Met

Alexa, the bride: Nitay and I both lived in Chicago after college. We had many mutual friends who all met up one night to go out in January 2017. Nitay approached me the second he saw me and made sure he didn’t leave without getting my number! Later that week we went on our first date to a sushi restaurant. The rest is history 🙂Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A David’s Bride for a Dreamy Outdoor Jewish Wedding Just Before Lockdown at HaGiva, Giv’at Brenner, Israel

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Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Naomi and Daniel are one seriously lucky couple. Their ridiculously gorgeous Jewish wedding in Israel took place as the COVID-19 crisis was becoming increasingly more serious, just days before the country banned gatherings of more than ten people. And while the bride, a physics teacher, and the groom, an aerospace engineer, didn’t have their big day go untouched by coronavirus – there was plenty of stress about increasing restrictions and whether family and friends from the UK would be able to make it, and in the end many guests weren’t able to make the trip – their close relatives made it out to Israel in time, and most of the wedding went to plan.

And it was an awesome plan! We’re in love with the garden vibes of their gorgeous venue, Giv’at Brenner, and we’re obsessed with the efforts these two made to personalize their day, like making a list together of seven things to pray for and then reading and praying for one item each time Naomi circled Daniel under the chuppah, and finding ways to honor female guests in their Orthodox ceremony.

And how cute is it that the couple got matching personalized Converses to wear for the reception?! The photos from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman Photography are so full of love and emotion, with each moment captured so beautifully.

Now over to the bride, who looked radiant in her simple David’s Bridal dress (the first she tried on!), which she had altered to add in sleeves and a higher neckline…


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How we met

Naomi, the bride: We both grew up in London, with similar social circles, same year group but never knew each other, it wasn’t until we both made aliyah that we met!

We first met at a party in Jerusalem a few days after I had made aliyah, we chatted for about 5 minutes and Daniel wanted to ask me out but felt it wouldn’t be fair on me as I needed time to settle into the country. Over the next couple of months he hadn’t forgotten about me but some friends had told him they knew a girl who they thought would be good for him.

He agreed to meet her at a Purimseudah but thought to himself that if it didn’t go well he would try to find the number of the girl from the party. But when he walked into the Purim seudah he was surprised and delighted to find the girl from the party, me, sitting there. The rest is history! He proposed to me in September and I proposed to him in October. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

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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