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An Adili Studio Bride for an Enchanting Outdoor Jewish Wedding at Habustan, Gan Iruim Bcfar, Israel

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We’re in love with the magical garden wedding of Ellie and David, both Australian olim in Israel. Filled with greenery, sparkling fairy lights, and sweet rustic touches, this outdoor wedding was nothing short of enchanting.

Ellie and David opted to DIY their stationery – which they loved working on together in the leadup to their Jewish wedding – and we’re obsessed with Ellie’s super cool dress by Adi Hirsch of Adili Studio in Modiin, Israel. The couple’s photographer, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman, captured the day so beautifully – and we’re not at all surprised to hear that he was a joy to work with from start to finish.

With both the bride and groom being from Australia, lots of friends and family members couldn’t make it to Israel to celebrate in person – and we love the duo’s clever workaround, in the form of a Whatsapp group! Ellie and David sent the link around to those who were unable to attend the wedding, and then on the day they had QR codes that guests could scan to join the group – along with instructions to record, film and photograph parts of the wedding to share to the group!

There’s so much more to say about this very special day – read on for the full story in Ellie’s own words…

 

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How We Met

Ellie, the bride: David and I are currently both students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. We went to the same school in Sydney, Australia, and in high school we were part of the same friend group, we became good friends and enjoyed hanging out together on school camps and at social events. In year 12 we started dating and soon after finishing school we went on the same gap year program to Israel with Bnei Akiva.

After outlasting all the relationships on our program, we both independently decided to make aliya and join the army. David served in Tzanchanim and I served in Search and Rescue. Despite the ongoing long distance when our off weekends weren’t in sync and when David returned to Australia to work, we managed to make it work. It only took us 5 years to understand that were made for each other and on a trip together to Australia in 2023, David proposed and the rest is history. Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Mia Pava Bride for an Ultra-Personal Family-Focused Jewish Wedding at Tur Sinai, Jerusalem, Israel

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We love it when a couple has their Jewish wedding, their way… and that’s exactly what today’s couple did! Laura, a photographer, and Ray, a public health consultant, made it their top priority to craft a wedding that was “so incredibly us,” and they put their own stamp on everything from the color scheme to the vibe, the music to the souvenirs.

Laura and Ray even designed the invitation themselves, along with matching programs and seating cards! And when it came to the ketubah, they opted for a gorgeous design by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush.

Laura is a mother of six mostly grown kids, and it was important to her that they all had major roles in the wedding ceremony. Two of the kids were the emcees, Laura’s oldest daughter was her attendant, two kids sang Laura down the aisle, and her youngest daughter was her maid of honor – so special!

Given that Laura herself is a professional photographer, she naturally wanted only the best when it came to photographing her wedding – and so she opted for none other than Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman! His images of the day are so full of emotion and love, we can’t stop scrolling through them.

Read on for more fabulous details of the day in the couple’s own words…

 

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How We Met

Once upon a time there was Ray, a public health professional living in the US with no plans to move anywhere. And there was Laura, a divorcee, mom of 6, living in a settlement in Israel. Their mutual friend, Shoshanna, came up with the crazy idea that these two people should date each other. She told them. They were unimpressed… And did nothing about it at the time.

When Covid took Laura’s dad summer of 2020, just a few months after it took Ray’s dad, Ray reached out to Laura via Facebook messenger with a really kind message and even followed up a few weeks later to see how she was. Laura was impressed. With the ice broken they began speaking occasionally via Facebook messenger. Laura was charmed by Ray’s unique sense of humor and skill at SongPop. Ray was astounded by Laura’s seemingly endless cocktail concoctions and her ability to stay up later than God…

Their conversations grew more frequent and deeper and by October they were messaging daily, and starting to add phone calls and FaceTime as well. And yet, they had never met in real life. Because of covid, they could not even entertain the idea of travel for months. Finally, in April 2021, Laura flew to the US and they met for the first time at the airport when Ray came to pick her up. That first date lasted 11 hours and started two weeks of what they dubbed ‘concentrated craziness’.

Since then Ray and Laura have been back and forth to Israel and the US numerous times, documenting it all with a steady stream of photos. They even managed to meet in ‘neutral territory’ with a trip to Switzerland. Finally, on July 8, 2022, on a bluff overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and over a glass of cabernet, Ray proposed to Laura and the rest is history 🙂 (Meanwhile, there’s no doubt that their dads have met up in heaven and are kvelling together over this beautiful turn of events…)Continue ReadingContinue Reading