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An Inbal Dror Bride for a Bright, Summery Jewish Wedding at Beit Hanan, Israel

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One of the many reasons we love a good Israeli wedding is that the laid-back, cool vibe is simply impossible to replicate. Nir and Zlil’s Jewish wedding juxtaposed bright, summery colors and the natural beauty of their venue with a chic, urban aesthetic, created by fabulous photographers and insanely talented Recommended Vendors, Luz.

Beautiful bride, Zlil, looked every bit the ethereal, fairy princess in her stunning wedding ensemble. We are ridiculously in love with Inbal Dror‘s designs – sexy, confident, glamorous – and Zlil wore her glittery, dreamy gown like she was born for it. We’re not ashamed to admit we all have a massive girl crush on Zlil here at STG HQ. The couple look simply incredible together, like a pair of movie stars. 

We really enjoyed the special wooden wedding wall, made just for the occasion, with candy and bubble guns available for instant fun! Yes please! The resulting effect was a dreamscape of bubbles floating about the ceremony – absolutely magical.

It’s one of those weddings we wish we’d attended – even just to sample the incredible spread on offer by caterer Taste and Color!

Videographer Tovy Berkovich created an absolutely amazing, cinematic wedding trailer, showcasing the best bits of Zlil and Nir’s big day in such an effortless and elegant way.

Over to Zlil for the full wedding report – take it away, Zlil!

  

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Jewish Wedding Beit Hanan Israel

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Jewish Wedding Beit Hanan Israel
How we met

Zlil, the bride: We studied at the same high school, but we barely knew each other until we got to the army. Nir served in the air force in Haifa as a course commander, and continued to study engineering. During our service, our relationship developed.

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The Rise of Israeli Wedding Dress Designers

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This is a guest post by Anne Kleinberg

There was a time, not isao long ago, when the words Israeli Haute Couture could be considered an oxymoron. There was nothing elegant or sophisticated about evening dresses. And bridal gowns? A profusion of puffiness and petticoats!

But times changed. Dramatically. In a country known as the start-up nation, the bridal industry has captured the world’s attention and is reported to be valued at billions of shekels. The wedding gown creations of Israel’s designers are nothing less than stunning and they are being paraded out onto the world’s catwalks and red carpets – big time. The names of these houses are uttered in hushed, revered tones on both sides of the Atlantic, and beyond.

While the centre of the bridal dress district was once Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, it now expands out into trendy Jaffa, the southern coastal city of Ashdod and beyond. And although Israeli brides tend to rent their gowns (for considerably less money than buying), many designers sell in bridal salons throughout the world as well as via the Internet. The shops vary from small, personalized boutiques run by classically trained dressmakers to empires run by businesswomen and their daughters.

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Berta Baliti was born in Egypt, emigrated to Israel with her family as a small child and parlayed her degree from the famed Shenkar College in Tel Aviv into a world-renown bridal dress empire. She describes her designs as “avant-garde” and they certainly exude sexiness and daring, femininity and elegance with their plunging necklines, flowing trains and delicate veils. She has boutiques in many countries and her gowns have graced magazine covers, and bodies, throughout the world.

> See real brides on Smashing The Glass wearing Berta

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Galia Lahav is of Russian descent, born into a family of dressmakers. From a modest beginning creating ivory lace appliques to establishing a design house saturated in extravagance and luxury, a Galia Lahav gown is not for the faint of heart. Her collections epitomize a golden age with evocative names like Ivory Tower, La Dolce Vita, Empress, Lourdes & Les Reves Bohemians. Pearls cascading down a graceful back, mermaid tails, fringes, feathers & ruffles embellish her dresses as jewels in the crowns of royalty.

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

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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!

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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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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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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

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Rabbi Sharon Shalom (far right) with Tom’s father (second from right) under the chuppah, beside Tammy & Tom

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