Israel Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Samantha Sleeper Bride for an Enchanted Garden Winter Jewish Wedding at Olmaya in Jerusalem, Israel

17/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Every so often we come across a Jewish wedding that’s truly unlike any we’ve seen before. And that describes fashion designer Jordana (while she works on launching her own line, Luzhi, she’s running travel-inspired Etsy shop Luzhi Foudre) and IT worker by day, foodie by night Uri’s big day to a tee. We know words like “magical” and “enchanted” get thrown around a lot in the wedding biz, but this one truly is all that and more.

The lucky bride just happens to be the daughter of a phenomenal wedding planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Penny & Co. Events, so it’s no surprise Jordana’s “out of the box” (in her own words) celebration was one for the books.

First off, we’re totally obsessed with the flowers – from the bride’s big, bold, bright bouquet to the show-stopping table centers, the lush, wild vibes are off-the-charts amazing. This wedding took place in the middle of winter, but you’d never know it thanks to mom’s ingenuity – which encompassed everything from hanging greenery to custom green velvet tablecloths.

And the couple’s enchanted garden chuppah is truly like no other we’ve seen (and we love that the couple were seated underneath it during dinner afterward – such a smart way to make the most of this special structure). You’ve simply got to see Sigala Photography’s inimitably stylish snaps and Reouven Photography’s moving trailer for yourself.

As a bona fide fashionista herself, it’s no surprise that Jordana went for something totally unique – and totally gorgeous – for her big day. Mega-talented NYC-based designer Samantha Sleeper created a bespoke two-piece design consisting of a simple slip dress and a detailed overlay, inspired by the bride’s favorite designers, Valentino and Rodarte. We’re obsessed with the cool capelet back – and the couture feathered headband the designer gifted Jordana to complement her wedding day look.

Take it away, Jordana!

How we met

Jordana, the bride: Uri and I were very close friends for a few years prior to dating. I always saw him as being exceptional in every way and would even often set him up! It took me some time to open up to the idea of us being together, but as soon as I did I knew he was the exact right guy for me. You never know 🙂

A Noa and Ayelet Bride for a Super Stylish Israeli Wedding at Gan Vradim, Rishon LetZion, Israel

10/04/2019 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

Beautiful wedding, beautiful photography, beautiful couple… this gorgeous Jewish wedding really is a blogger’s dream!

Granted, it would be hard to go wrong in a setting as stunning as Hadas and Idan’s choice, Gan Vradim in Rishon LetZion. It’s a totally breathtaking urban garden, packed with plenty of romance and just a little bit of edge.

That same description could be applied to the totally breathtaking photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si . Artistic, creative, full of emotion – what more could you ask for in your wedding photography? It’s easy to understand why Hadas reports that she and Idan immediately fell in love with his work. Yep, we’re just a little bit obsessed…

Another thing we’re obsessed with is the fact that Hadas and her future MIL came up with the design for her stunning wedding dress together! Noa and Ayelet Wedding Dresses brought the dream dress to life, and we are just so in love with the outcome.

Now over to the bride…

How we met

Hadas, the bride: We are both building engineers, we met in chemistry class the we were in school together! We’ve been together ever since.

A Monique Lhuillier Bride for a Daytime Jewish Wedding at Ronit Farm, Kfar Shmariyahu, Israel

25/02/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We can spot a Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Luz Weddings Photography Jewish wedding a mile away. Their trademark combination of architectual urban shots with emotion and romance is unmistakable — and we can’t get enough of it.

Neither could Mayan, a lawyer, and Dan, a construction engineer, who can’t stop raving about their photographers — in addition to being mega talented at capturing artsy shots, the couple report they were a dream to work with on the day and couldn’t have made even the photo-hating groom more comfortable.

There was certainly plenty to capture, what with the stunning Ronit Farm setting and an unbelievable floral chuppah. And we love how the couple opted to get married at the unconventional-for-Israel hour of noon, allowing them to make the most of that amazing Israeli sunshine.

They also opted for a Friday date, which meant they could throw in some fun pre-Shabbat touches, like their Shabbat flower bouquet favors that each guest picked up from a “flower shop” they had set up!

Over to Mayan, who lived out all her princess dreams in Monique Lhuillier…

How we met

Mayan, the bride: We met in the army, where we both served in intelligence. When I got to the office on the first day he came to sit next to me and started talking to me.

Soon we kissed but because Dan is from Eilat and I am from Jerusalem (a 4 hour drive) he wasn’t sure he wanted to be my boyfriend! So I made him jealous a little bit and soon we fell in love.

We’ve been together for 7.5 years already and I can’t remember my life without him anymore. He is my best friend and we have so much in common, like our love of travelling around the world.

A Francesca Miranda Bride for a Romantic Jewish Wedding with a Touch of Edge at Ronit Farm, Kfar Shmariyahu, Israel

18/02/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

Wow. This Jewish wedding. It really doesn’t get much better.

Some couples want a delicate, romantic wedding. Others want their big day to be a massive party. May, the marketing manager of a co-working space for doctors, and Yaniv, who’s in real estate investment, managed to make their beautiful Jewish wedding both of those things — with some help from much-loved Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Naama Raicher.

Naama, her colleague Yael Kfir Frumkes, and the rest of the team brought the duo’s dream wedding to life, providing their trademark finesse to every stage of the process from the very beginning to the day of – so much so that May reports that choosing Naama Raicher was “the best decision we made” during planning.

Naama and Yael helped the couple formulate their plan of action: first, an intimate late afternoon ceremony, set outdoors at the idyllic Ronit Farm, full of soft colors and romantic touches — like a totally stunning floral chuppah adorned with delicate white flowers.

Then, for the reception, things got a little edgier: May and Yaniv brought a hit of club style to their outdoor dinner and dance party, with moody colors galore — they even brought in professional dancers (who went through four costume changes throughout the night!) to perform on stages set on the sides of the dance floor to set the mood.

May’s Francesca Miranda gown easily made the transition from ceremony chic to party mode: made from 200 meters (!) of tulle and covered with thousands of hand-embroidered butterflies, this dress is most definitely soft and whimsical… but it was also the perfect lightweight bridal attire in which to dance all night.

We’ll turn you over to May in a second, but before we do we want to alert you to the fact that she and Yaniv provided one of the best favors we’ve yet encountered: loaves of fresh challah! Um, yes please!

How we met

May, the bride: I was jogging on the beach one day and Yaniv noticed me running. He then found a mutual friend of ours and asked her to make the connection, and the rest is history.

Continue Reading

A Laduree-inspired Jewish Wedding of Two Amazing Event Designers at Pekan Garden, Kibbutz Ramat Hakovesh, Israel

30/01/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

So on Monday we saw a gorgeous destination Jewish wedding where the event planner bride decided to take a hands-off approach, turning the bulk of the work over to her amazing planner to ensure the wedding stayed stress-free. Today, we’ve got the wedding of not one but TWO mega-talented event designers/planners where the couple decided to go all in on their big day.

When we say all in, we really do mean all IN! Bride Tom and groom Matan, who together run Tomka Designs in Israel, were on the job 24/7 in the weeks leading up to the wedding, and even the day before they put in a 12-hour session at the venue.

But all that hard work paid off in a BIG way. The couple’s ultra-romantic Laduree-inspired wedding was nothing short of magical, with epic flowers, candles, soft pastels, and, of course, some seriously impressive macaron towers.

We’re totally obsessed with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ran Bergman’s photos — and to look at them, would you ever guess the wedding fell on a day with absolutely appalling weather? It rained nonstop on Tom and Matan’s wedding day, meaning their original plans for an outdoor photo session were out. But like the true pro he is, Ran stayed calm and scouted out an alternate location for the portrait session that just might have turned out even better than Plan A would’ve: a local patisserie! Okay, so it’s not Laduree, but it’s still pretty adorably on theme.

It just goes to show that a really talented photographer (which Ran most certainly is!) will be able to take amazing photos on even the most dismal of days — so don’t be so quick to snub that winter date your dream venue has open.

Now over to Tom, who looked simply smashing in her gown by Israeli designer Gali Karten…

How We Met

Tom, the bride: Matan and I have been best friends since the age of 15. We were in the same class in high school, lived together in an apartment through our bachelor’s degrees, travelled all around the world together etc…

What seemed to be obvious to everyone around us took us 15 years to realize.

2.5 years ago, alongside a beautiful friendship, we became business partners — we are the proud owners of Tomka Designs, a company for wedding designs in Israel. This partnership turned to be the best decision we ever made as it led to a beautiful love story.

After a year of working together, something we can’t really explain happened and a close friendship turned into a strong relationship. At the age of 30, we both knew “this is it” and that we were heading for a wedding.