Israel Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Magical, Colorful Jewish Wedding with a Missing Ketubah at Bayaar, Hadera, Israel

28/02/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

A Disney-inspired fairy tale forest-themed Jewish wedding? Um, yes please! Everything about Shelly and Harel’s big day just exudes joy, and we are for it.

We adore the way the couple’s planner and designer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Yana of Craspedia Events, brought the pair’s vision of a colorful, youthful celebration to life – a true necessity given that they’re both medical students! The whole day was a riot of whimsical, bright flowers, fairy lights, and offbeat vintage touches. Yana even took the couple out to the flower farm so they could choose their blooms themselves! Don’t miss the wonderful photos from Noa Magger and Amir Ganun.

Given the theme, it’s no surprise the bride looked like the perfect fairy tale princess – we can’t get enough of her enchanting hair and makeup by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Keren Rimon, chosen for her expertise working with long, thick, wavy hair. She really knows what she’s doing, because Shelly reports that her glam look didn’t budge all evening – even after dancing!

All seems pretty perfect, right? Well, it was… except for one thing: groom Harel forgot the couple’s ketubah at his parents’ house on the big day! Luckily, their wonderful venue Bayaar was prepared with a backup ketubah kept on hand for just such a situation – crisis averted!It just goes to show, there’s always going to be that one thing (or maybe a couple things) that won’t go to plan on the day. But they won’t make your wedding any less wonderful – and they may even leave you with a fun story or two that you’ll be recounting for years to come!

Now over to the bride…

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Forest Vibes

Shelly, the bride: We got married at Bayaar, Hadera. We chose the venue because we wanted to have a “forest” vibe wedding. We both loved the nature with its green and brown colours and the magical feeling it gives.

A Multicultural Israeli-Indian-British Jewish Wedding Weekend at Pichonka, Israel

24/02/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

There’s not much we love more than seeing a couple combined their diverse backgrounds into one unforgettable day. So naturally we’re all about the beautiful Israeli-British-Indian wedding of Hannah, who runs a dog-training and dog-assisted therapy business, and Amir, who works in security.

Using flowers, décor, music, a blue and gold color scheme – see the bride’s stunning Indian-style wedding dress, which she chose as a reflection of the new culture she’d be adopting with her marriage – and even a pre-wedding Jewish-Indian henna ceremony, these two crafted a truly one-of-a-kind day bringing together all the most beautiful elements of their cultures.

And they couldn’t have done it without their amazing wedding planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Victoria Rosen. In the bride’s own words:

Employing a wedding planner helped enormously to relieve the stress. Vicki proved us with suppliers and recommendations that I almost certainly would not have been able to find myself. I made sure that all details were in place before the big day itself so that I could just enjoy every moment without worrying about a thing!

Hannah and Amir’s venue, Pichonka, really highlighted the natural beauty of the couple’s current home country, Israel, with their outdoor chuppah held on a balcony that jutted out over the breathtaking Judean Hills. Check out Rehovot Studios’s beautiful photos and video.

We also love that Hannah and Amir went all out to ensure their wedding was accessible and enjoyable for all of their guests – both the many English-speakers who flew in from abroad, as well as the Israelis. They made sure they found a fully bilingual rabbi to conduct their ceremony so that all of the guests were able to follow along, and providing a wedding program explaining the various Jewish traditions for those unfamiliar.

There’s so much more to say, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride…

How we met

Hannah, the bride: We met online via a dating website.

A Limor Rosen Bride for a Festival Chic Jewish Wedding at The Q, Glil Yam, Israel

03/02/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

When a bride who’s a design talent in her own right joins forces with a fantastic wedding planner to create an ultra-personalized destination wedding at one of Israel’s most gorgeous venues… well, you know you’re in for something special.

Designer bride Amy and groom Richard, who works in technology finance (#AmyGetsRich), opted to theme their big day around their shared love of music and festivals, and while festival-inspired weddings are by no means uncommon, these two really took theirs to the next level. They combined the basics – candles, gentle lighting, greenery – with some unexpected touches – Amy designed festival wristbands for guests, as well as making over 200 personalised mini dream catchers to use as the table plan/seating cards! And in true boho chic style, the couple’s chuppah was styled like a tent with lace dream-catchers hanging at the back.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the lovely details incorporated into this Jewish wedding, and the couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si, captured each and every one of them – not to mention the love between Amy and Richard and the action-packed party following their beautiful ceremony – in his trademark artistic style. As always, we’re obsessed with his stunning work. And videographer Guy Siman Tov’s trailer makes us feel as if we were right there experiencing it all alongside the guests.

Amy and Richard knew it wouldn’t be easy implementing their creative ideas all the way from their home in England, and so they decided to work with beloved wedding planner and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Vicki Rosen (described by Amy as “the most organised lady you will ever meet”) to make sure everything went to plan, as well as to source the perfect vendors to make the day a success.

Now over to the bride, who looked stunning in her gown by Israeli designer Limor Rosen…

How We Met

Amy, the bride: Our lives have been intertwined for many years – unbeknownst to either of us we went to Leeds University and graduated on the same day. We even stayed in the same halls of residence in first year. It’s extremely likely we had been in each other’s flat at some point.

However, our paths didn’t quite cross. In our mid 20s we both lived opposite each other in West Hampstead without realising it. But most bizarrely, about four years ago Richard made an offer for a small flat in Kilburn. It turned out someone else had already been successful and had trumped him. Guess who that was? We were in each others lives all along, the world was just waiting for the right time.

An Alon Livne Bride for a Shabbat Dinner-Inspired Jewish Wedding with a Macrame Chuppah at Jonah Club, Netanaya, Israel

24/01/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

“When planning this wedding, we looked at it like the most epic Shabbat dinner we would ever throw.”

From the minute we read this line from STG Brides Club member Nikki, who works in marketing at a digital health startup (and also gives food tours and teaches yoga on the side), and Adam, who works in tech as an engineer, we were sold on their beautiful Jewish wedding.

Nikki and Adam, both Americans who met and live in Israel, wanted their wedding to be an occasion for their far-flung family and friends to come together and get to know each other – and get a taste of the couple’s life in Israel. And by the looks of the incredible photos and video from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Aya-Avi Photography, a husband and wife team handling photography and videography, they pulled it off with aplomb. Aya’s luminous photos really let the love between the pair for each other and for all their loved ones gathered together to celebrate them shine through.

We’re also in love with Nikki and Adam’s super cool macramé chuppah – and how awesome is it that they found their florist, Tom of Tomka Designs (we featured Tom and Matan’s own wedding on the blog a while back), right here on STG? The East Meets West boho style he worked with the couple to create for their chuppah area is truly beyond.

And we’re totally obsessed with Nikki’s bridal style, from her timelessly elegant gown from Israeli designer Alon Livne to her natural-with a-touch-of-glam hairstyle by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Yehonatan Yaeish – who not only styled the bride’s hair superbly but also brought great energy on the day.

There’s so much more we could say, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride… (and if you want to join Brides Club like Nikki did, click here (we’ve just released a few more free entry places – grab one before they all go!)

How we met

Nikki, the bride: We happened to move to Israel one week apart and met 6 weeks later on Bumble. We decided to meet 10 minutes after our first conversation began and got married 2 years and 4 days later.

An Ella Levy and Shani Zimmerman Bride for a Festival Jewish Wedding at the Elma Hotel in Zichron Ya’akov, Israel

20/12/2019 by Karen Cinnamon

We love it when a couple really goes all out to create a unique, one-of-a-kind Jewish wedding that’s truly a reflection of who they are as a couple. And that’s exactly what Israeli couple Amit and Orr did – with some help from the masterful planning team at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bebke Productions.

Bebke helped the pair put together a fun, non-traditional festival-themed celebration of their love, complete with plenty of bright colors and neon, a variety of short performances – including a water show and a fire show! – a DIY cocktail stand, and even a hookah area. Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Maasia provided a delectable dairy menu, featuring a range of dishes from luxe classics like caviar to carnival-appropriate treats like French toast and sloppy Joes!

Amit and Orr opted to go non-traditional for their ceremony too. Instead of a rabbi, they opted to bring in a standup comedian to officiate (yes, really!), and in place of a traditional chuppah they went for a geometric floral backdrop.

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Noam Salach captured the day in all its vibrancy so perfectly, and he made the camera-shy couple feel completely at ease. We’re pretty sure you’ll agree he captured some truly incredible moments, as did videographer Guy Lahav.

We’ll let the bride – who started out the day in an Ella Levy dress before changing into a pants and top ensemble by Shani Zimmerman – fill you in on the rest…

Planning Perfection

Amit, the bride: We knew from the first moment that we wanted to make a different wedding and give our guests a special experience – one that you don’t see every day. It was clear to us that there would be no event hall, no slow dance, and that this would not be a “wedding” like everyone else’s.

But among all these “no”s – what did we want to say yes to? We did not know. One thing we knew – in this area there are a pair of magicians, called them Inbar and Gev, or by their professional name Bebke Productions. Inbar and Gev know how to take a range of requirements, whatever they may be, and make them a reality.