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A Mia Pava Bride for an Ultra-moving Wartime Jewish Wedding Full of Joy and Strength at The Agam at the Botanical Gardens in Jerusalem, Israel

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Daniela, a physiotherapist, and Zev, the COO of tour company Israel Maven Tours, thought long and hard about getting married in wartime – and when they decided to go for it, they wanted to make sure they threw a celebration that would bring joy and strength to all in attendance – and did they ever.

Nearly all of the couple’s guests have been directly affected by the war, and it was important to them that their Jewish wedding acknowledge all those whose ongoing sacrifices made the special day – and life in Israel generally – possible. And with prayers for the IDF, the state of Israel, and the hostages, a heartfelt shofar blast under the chuppah, and Israeli flags all around – in addition to some beautiful symbolic flowers, like olive branches for peace – they did exactly that.

One extra meaningful touch: Daniela and Zev gave their guests with loved ones serving in Gaza or on the border with Lebanon a gift box of cocktails along with a handwritten note with instructions to drink a l’chaim with their loved ones when they return safely home from the battlefield! In the bride’s words, “We didn’t realise how moving this would be for people and to this day we are still receiving pictures and videos of happy families reunited drinking the delicious cocktails.”

Daniela and Zev chose Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman as their photographer, and they were thrilled with both the beautiful images he captured and his warmth and kindness throughout the planning process and on the day itself.

Read on for more about this incredibly moving day in the bride’s own words…

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How We Met

Daniela, the bride: As Zev says, “We were destined for one another, we just had to wait for someone to make the introduction. Luckily for us a mutual friend made the suggestion.”Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Joyful, Multicultural Bedouin-Jewish Wedding at Bustan, Abu Ghosh, Israel

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Ari and Angelo, Bustan in Abu Ghosh, Israel

Today’s very special wedding showcases Israel at its absolute best – its beauty, its diversity, its abundance of beautiful traditions, and, above all, the spirit of its people. Bride Ari, a freelance writer is a Sephardic Jew who made aliyah from the US, while groom Angelo, who’s in the process of becoming a detective with the Israeli Police, is Bedouin – and their wedding was all about blending their two cultures into a heartfelt (and stylish!) celebration of their love for each other, their friends and families, and Israel.

The merging of these two cultures was beautiful, but it wasn’t easy. While it was important to them to have Jewish ceremony, they weren’t able to have a Rabbinute wedding, so they turned to the organization Havaya to find an officiant who helped them craft an utra-personal ceremony. As for aesthetics, in Ari’s words, the couple’s theme was “trying to find ways to include both of our cultures in a way that didn’t look like the Ottoman Empire threw up all over the place.”

To quote the couple,

Absolutely none of this would have been possible (including the general maintaining of our sanity) without our amazing wedding planner, Yana from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia Events. I think a lot of people say that about their wedding planner but they can’t possibly mean it as much as we do. It’s not easy being a mixed couple and all the drama that dredges up while wedding planning. Yana truly helped us navigate every step of the way and we are endlessly grateful to her and now she’s stuck with us forever.

This wedding was so full of ultra-personal touches it’s hard to know where to start – but one thing we adore is Ari and Angelo’s choice to stand under their chuppah wrapped in a shmakh (Bedouin keffiyeh), to represent the bringing together of their two cultures – and instead of the traditional red or black color scheme, they went for blue to represent Judaism and their love of Israel. Don’t miss it in the incredible photos by Yarin Taranos.

Now over to Ari…

Ari and Angelo, Bustan in Abu Ghosh, Israel Ari and Angelo, Bustan in Abu Ghosh, Israel Ari and Angelo, Bustan in Abu Ghosh, Israel Ari and Angelo, Bustan in Abu Ghosh, Israel
How We Met

Ari, the bride: We met in 2017 during just a random night out. Ari made plans to go out with a friend she bartended with and that friend brought his work friends, including Angelo. We both remember making a note of the date because it felt important. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Mia Pava Bride for an Ultra-emotional Jewish Wedding Celebrating Joy at Ein Hemed, Jerusalem, Israel

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Orah and Josh, two olim who met and fell in love in Israel, planned a Jewish wedding that’s an absolute love letter to the country where they’ve built their life together – and also happens to contain some beautiful lessons about finding joy in tough times.

Orah tragically lost her mother the year prior to the wedding. Naturally, that made the leadup to the big day extra emotional. But since Orah’s mom was “all about simcha and joy,” and known for being a happy and positive person, the couple made a conscious effort to emulate those qualities. They focused on joy and love in the face of grief, planning the kind of day they knew Orah’s mom would be smiling down on every second of the way.

The couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman, captured all the emotion of the day so beautifully – and Orah and Josh report he did a stellar job making them feel comfortable and open up to the camera. They also loved that he’s a native English speaker, which meant their families could easily communicate with him.

When it came to their ketubah, bride and groom had competing visions: Orah wanted flowers, while Josh wanted to highlight his favorite color, blue. In the end, the pair decided to mix both ideas by going for both blue rings – which not only met Josh’s criteria but also symbolized Israel – and flowers. They knew Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor BritColors was just the person to make their dreams a reality – and the couple loved working together with the Tel Aviv-based artist to create a unique piece of artwork.

There’s so much more to say about this gorgeous Israeli wedding – but we’ll leave it to Orah, who looked radiant in her gown by Israeli designer Mia Pava, to take it from here…

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How We Met

Orah, the bride: Josh, who had just made Aliyah, was brought to a kiddush through a mutual friend of the host. Which luckily enough turned out to be a best friend of Orah׳s. He saw her from the other side of the room with a smile that lit up the room but was too nervous to walk up and speak to her.

Two days later, after Orah had taken a COVID test at the health fund and was waiting for the bus, Josh just happened to be there too and still couldn’t work up the courage to speak to her, and she was whisked away worried that awkward guy would find her again. Seemingly you’d think losing out but as it turned out she did have Corona!

Fast forward a few months after recovering from COVID, Orah was at a Shabbat lunch with her Ulpan friends. Josh had just finished a call shift at the hospital and was bored so he crashed the meal. In his total lack of sleep he worked up the courage to speak to Orah, and after falling asleep next to her on that couch he couldn’t imagine falling asleep next to anyone else.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Galia Lahav Bride for a Romantic Jewish Wedding Full of Natural Beauty at Bayaar, Israel

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Today’s stunner of a Jewish wedding showcases so much of what makes Israel such a very special place. Erika and Zachi chose to make things official at beautiful Bayaar, one of those only-in-Israel outdoor venues just brimming with lush natural beauty.

The couple’s incredible wedding planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia Events, expertly guided them through the process every step of the way – and she did an absolutely stellar job working with them select the perfect décor to complement the exquisite surroundings

Erika looked so radiant in her romantic mermaid gown by beloved Israeli designer Galia Lahav, and the couple chose to exchange heartfelt personal vows as part of their chuppah. You can see all the love and emotion coming through bright and clear in every single photo from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tzahi Shemesh.

In summing up her biggest wedding planning advice, Erika advises other couples to “seize the chance to savor the most extraordinary day of your life as it swiftly unfolds.” Now more than ever, these are wise words we should all take heed of – not just on our wedding day, but every day.

Now over to Erika…

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How We Met

Erika, the bride: I am an economist, while he is a lawyer, and we both share an entrepreneurial spirit, primarily focusing on online ventures such as trading platforms, cryptocurrencies, and online gaming. Although we had crossed paths a few times due to our shared industry, it was on Tinder that I came across his profile. I liked what I saw, and we began chatting. After three weeks of daily conversations, we decided to meet for our first date.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Fighting Back with Love: A Wartime Jewish Wedding at Nefesh B’Nefesh, Jerusalem, Israel

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We’ve heard so many inspiring stories of Israeli couples getting married since October 7. Today’s newlyweds, Aviva and Jeremy, are among them.

Aviva, a wedding hair stylist and makeup artist originally from London, and Jeremy, an ASO Analyst for a marketing agency who hails from Sydney, had originally planned a big Jewish wedding to take place on October 17. When the war broke out, they had to make some major changes to their plans – including a new venue, a much smaller guest list, and a revised date of October 25 to allow Jeremy’s parents time to get to Israel amidst constant flight cancellations.

Luckily, Aviva and Jeremy had been working with wedding planner Vicki Rosen from the beginning, and she was able to help the couple plan what amounted to a whole new wedding from scratch at Nefesh B’Nefesh’s campus overlooking the Jerusalem skyline – which the organization generously offered up to couples who needed somewhere to get married during the war – in just 6 days!

One constant throughout it all was the couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman. Aviva knew she wanted to book Herschel even before she got engaged, and when the wedding was postponed she and Jeremy chose their new date around his availability! And a quick scroll through Herschel’s ultra-emotional images will show you why.

During the chuppah, Aviva and Jeremy’s rabbi shared some moving words speaking to the couple’s situation:

In times of war, there are two ways of fighting back: one is to physically fight and battle and our beloved soldiers are doing so, while the other way is to love and to build families.

Such a powerful reminder that, in the end, that’s really what Jewish weddings are all about.

Now over to Aviva…

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How We Met

Aviva, the bride: We met at a Shabbat meal at a friend’s house and soon after Jeremy asked me out for coffee. We connected over our mutual love of fiction books and chocolate. I knew I was falling for Jeremy when he drank an entire cup of melted chocolate on one of our early dates! Continue ReadingContinue Reading