Israel Archives - Smashing the Glass

A Mordehai Avraham Bride for a Last-Minute Jewish Wedding at Ohel Moed, Tel Aviv, Israel

28/06/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

In the COVID era, lots of weddings come together at the last minute. But Israeli couple Tal, a textile designer at Terminal X, and Eldar, a marketing manager at Ikea, didn’t set their date until just a week before their Jewish wedding! It was a must for the couple to plan their celebration around Tal’s sister’s visit from abroad – so when she finally made it to Israel, they made it happen, FAST.

Not that you’d be able to tell – the venue, Ohel Moed TLV Synagogue, was so spectacular it didn’t need much added in the way of décor, and the photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si Photography are pure magic, full of emotion and love.

This being a pandemic wedding, Tal and Eldar were only allowed 40 in-person guests. But they worked with videographer Itay Bar Weddings to broadcast the proceedings live on YouTube for their friends and family around the world, so they could experience it all in real time.

We’ll let Tal, who looked perfectly boho chic in Mordehai Avraham, fill you in on the rest…

How we Met

Tal, the bride: We met two years ago when working together at IKEA.Continue Reading

A Mia Pava Bride for a Vintage Garden Backyard Jewish Wedding in Bet Shemesh, Israel

14/06/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Having doubts about a backyard wedding? So did today’s bride, Jodi. But Jodi and Joseph’s incredible wedding just goes to show a well-planned wedding at home is NOTHING like your average lowkey barbecue.

Israeli couple Jodi, a student at Hebrew University and the director of a program called Here Next Year, a Nefesh b’Nefesh organization that supports teenagers who are making Aliyah during their gap year in Israel, and Yoseph, who’s currently serving in the IDF, had initially planned a big Thanksgiving 2020 wedding at a gorgeous venue in Israel. But when it became clear that their original plans wouldn’t work out, they moved their date up to October and changed their venue to Yoseph’s backyard.

With the help of planner and florist Penny & Co Events, the space was transformed into the vintage garden fantasy of Jodi’s dreams, with tons of orange and pink flowers amidst lush greenery, beautiful lights and candles, and vintage styled furniture. Every inch is positively dreamy – don’t miss the incredible photos by mega-talented Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman Photography (who also happens to be the very first vendor the couple booked when they got engaged)!

There’s so much more to say about this glorious day, but we’ll leave the rest to Jodi, who looked stunning in Mia Pava… Before we do that, though, just a reminder that our virtual Jewish Wedding Planning Party is coming up on Sunday, June 20! In addition to, well partying, our founder Karen Cinnamon will answer all your burning wedding planning questions, plus guide you through everything from what to ask your vendors as you plan during the pandemic to creative ideas on how to make your wedding unforgettable. This event is free, but slots are limited – so sign up to claim yours today!

How we Met

Jodi, the bride: We met through a mutual friend named Yonatan. Yoseph grew up with him and I had gone out with him once. About a year after I met him, Yonatan texted me – “I know your husband.” The rest is history 🙂Continue Reading

A Vera Wang Bride for a Multicultural Jewish Wedding where the Jerusalem Lion Meets the Chinese Lion at Kedma Mamilla, Jerusalem, Israel

07/05/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

We are absolutely in love with the joyous multicultural Jewish wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Monica to David! Monica, who has a background in design, is Chinese American, David, who has a manufacturing company, is Israeli; they live in London; and they opted to wed in Jerusalem – so they had some seriously great material to work with.

The couple’s amazing wedding planner, Vanessa Ohayon of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Vanessa Events, helped the couple pull everything together to create the wedding of their dreams – complete with swoonworthy views overlooking the Old City walls – do chuppah backdrops get any better than that?!

One of our very favorite things about this gorgeous wedding is the fact that, with Vanessa’s help, Monica arranged a surprise Chinese Lion Dance, which is performed during major celebrations. Once the guests were seated for the reception, Monica and David made their entrance – followed by a bright yellow Chinese Lion, who wove in and out among the tables before giving the couple a marriage blessing. Then, the music changed, and it was hora time – what an awesome contrast in traditions! In Monica’s words, “it was the Jerusalem Lion meets the Chinese Lion moment.”

We also love that Monica put her design background to work in implementing the pair’s chosen theme of geodes and geometrics in blue and gold, learning modern calligraphy and hand-crafting the exquisite blue agate place cards. There was a spectacular geode-themed cake to match, and the floral centerpieces, designed by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia, continued the geometric theme and blue color scheme too. It wasn’t easy to find locally grown flowers in the right colors during the Israeli summer, but Yana of Craspedia took Monica on a scouting trip to a flower market where together they were able to find the perfect blooms.

There’s so much more to say about this beautiful day, but we’ll let Monica – who looked so elegant in Vera Wang – take it from here…

How we Met

Monica, the bride: We met online in London, but it took 5 months for us to meet up due to conflicting travel schedules. Instead, we had an old fashion email and skype correspondence until our first date at the Holland Park Opera. The rest is history!Continue Reading

A Liron Partouche Bride for a Jewish Pandemic Wedding Inspired by China at Yama, Herzliya, Israel

19/04/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Israeli couple Michal and Sam, both of whom work for hi-tech start-up companies, first met in Chinese class at university. They got engaged at the end of a year spent living and studying the language together in Shanghai. So it was only natural that when it came to planning their Jewish wedding, they turned to their shared love of the language as inspiration for their Jewish wedding – along with the best of their home country, of course!

The pair made table numbers out of Chinese characters they wrote themselves and used the character 囍 (which symbolizes wedding in Chinese, meaning double happiness) on each napkin and on the wedding invitations. They even had the Chinese character for love embroidered on their chuppah canopy!

Michal and Sam dreamed of getting married by the sea at sunset – what better way to showcase Israel’s natural splendor? – and though COVID forced them to postpone twice (and change venues), in the end they were still able to have the wedding of their dreams at a gorgeous seaside venue in Herzliya (albeit with fewer guests than originally planned, and further-flung loved ones tuning in via livestream).

As always, we’re absolutely in love with the luminous photography by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Jossef Si – an incredible talent Michal had had her eye on since before getting engaged.

Now over to the bride for all the details…

How we Met

Michal, the bride: We met in my first Chinese class of my first year at university. It was so coincidental because it’s not Sam’s major (he was taking the class as an enrichment class) and I switched my major to Chinese at the last minute. We became friends and after a year of friendship we began to date.Continue Reading

An Avital Saporta Bride for a Front Yard Jewish Pandemic Wedding in Tel Mond, Israel

12/04/2021 by Karen Cinnamon

Since the pandemic began, we’ve seen lots of backyard weddings. But we’re pretty sure Noam and Michael’s is our first front yard wedding. Why is that relevant, you ask?

Well, Michael just happens to live across the street from a playground, and on the big day, in addition to the couple’s invited guests, they ended up with a couple dozen little observers taking in the action – how cute is that?!

The couple, both students at Bar Ilan University, had originally planned a big wedding, but COVID forced them to rethink their plans (and date, thanks to Israel’s second lockdown). Michael’s garden may have been chosen because due to the circumstances, in the bride’s words, “it was the only place were able to legally get married!” – but luckily it happens to be totally gorgeous, and was really just about an ideal place to carry out the original theme, which was a magical forest combined with rustic elements.

In addition to their 50 in-person guests, Noam and Michael livestreamed their day to friends and family across the globe – at one point, 750 people were tuning in! And throughout the day, the pair took time to chat with their virtual guests through the livestream.

It goes without saying that we’re obsessed with the stunning photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman. Due to a last minute change of date, the couple ended up having to find a photographer in just a few days, and were they ever lucky that Herschel was available! As always, his photos are so full of love and emotion while also managing to capture all the details of the day absolutely exquisitely.

How We Met

Noam, the bride and Michael, the groom: Our story begins in 2015 when we both started new chapters in our lives. Michael had just immigrated to Israel and went to study Hebrew in the North of Israel where Noam had just started her national service in guess where? The exact same place! We became best friends, but duty called and Michael started the army while Noam went away to Australia for her second year of national service.

The friendship didn’t end and when both those experiences were over, our friendship turned into something a little more special and love blossomed. Since then, we’ve been together for the last 3 years.Continue Reading