Ran Bergman Photography Archives - Smashing the Glass

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.

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A Liz Martinez and Yaniv Persy Bride for an Urban Chic Jewish Wedding at Avigdor 22, Tel Aviv, Israel

08/06/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

We are just blown away by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ran Bergman’s fabulous, artistic photos of Dana and Daniel’s super cool contemporary Israeli Jewish wedding at Avigdor 22 in Tel Aviv. Every shot is framed to perfection — just look at that shot of the two of them standing against the orange wall!

And it doesn’t hurt that Dana and Daniel are basically supermodels. Dana looked beyond gorgeous in not one but TWO fantastic gowns: for the ceremony, a long-sleeved, high-necked lacey Liz Martinez for a touch of old-fashioned glamour, and then, for the reception, an ultra-contemporary sleeveless, backless number from Yaniv Persy with a striking geometric print. Dana chose it because she knew it would be perfect to dance in, and if you look through the photos of the couple’s fab dancing, you’ll see she was absolutely right!

Oh, and their food? With a spread including everything from za’atar-coated Jerusalem bagels to colorful macarons to fresh mozzarella, this is one wedding that’s got our mouths watering! Now over to Dana…

A Tel Aviv Wedding

Dana, the bride: We got married at Avigdor 22. We chose this venue because we were looking for a place that would be convenient for most of the guests (in Tel Aviv) and especially because we wanted our Friday afternoon wedding to continue into the night, so we looked for a place that was not kosher. Besides, we liked the urban concept.

An Inbal Raviv Bride for a Magical Forest-Themed Jewish Wedding at Hadera Forest, Baya’ar, Israel

11/05/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Today’s Jewish wedding has a super inspirational love story behind it: Israeli couple Noa and Shaked were in a long-distance relationship for 6 years (!) while Noa was abroad studying medicine. The two of them are just radiating joy in the gorgeous photos of their day at Hadera Forest Hall, at Baya’ar, and knowing that bit of backstory you can understand why!

Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ran Bergman’s photos of the day are just so artsy and cool; some of them could easily have come out of a really chic magazine spread (especially given that Noa and Shaked are basically models!).

And he captures the couple’s enchanted forest theme so well — you’ve got to see his shots of the beautiful outdoor ceremony, under a simple white chuppah laden with greenery, amidst the trees of the forest. Pure magic.

Also magical? Noa’s boho-chic Inbal Raviv dress, with lace and tassles galore. Now over to the couple…

A Forest Wedding

We got married at the Hadera Forest Hall, at Baya’ar. The feeling of being in a forest there is just magical; we couldn’t resist the lush greenery. And the location was halfway between the bride’s family home and the groom’s, so it made sense for our guests.

A Lee Petra Grebenau Bride for a Super Luxe Jewish Wedding with a Performance by THE Gipsy Kings at David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem, Israel

26/02/2018 by Karen

Today’s super luxe Jewish wedding contained plenty of surprises, from the astounding floral arrangements throughout the reception to the insanely gorgeous chuppah, the violinists during cocktail hour to Moshe Peretz and the ACTUAL Gipsy Kings playing the reception!

The couple chose to have a religious ceremony, conducted by none other than the Chief Rabbi of Israel, in Jerusalem, originally home to bride Natalie. Careful nods to their faith were included throughout the celebration, honoring the history and atmosphere of the incredible surroundings.

Beautiful bride Natalie looked a million bucks in her TWO(!) divine, sexy and gorgeous Lee Petra Grebenau gowns, with a see-through leg and gorgeous illusion embellishments. We. Are. In. Love!

Wedding planner and florist, Kby Design, created an incredible aesthetic, as you can see from the beautiful spread of images below from none other than our fabulous Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor, the one and only Ran Bergman.

This is the kind of divine big day that can only really be described through the medium of pictures, so we’ll now pass you over to Ran and to Natalie for the full story.

How we met

Natalie, the bride: We met on Rosh Hashana three years ago at a mutual friend’s house.

A Pnina Tornai Bride for a Family-Oriented Jewish Wedding with a Stunning Chuppah at Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel

26/01/2018 by Karen

Brothers Alexander and Jason chose to have their weddings back to back in Israel, so it was only fitting that we should feature their weddings back to back on Smashing The Glass! Jason and Nicole’s big day went live on Wednesday – and Melissa and Alexander’s is featured right now – today!

The decision was made to have the two Jewish weddings in quick succession as the brothers shared many guests and wanted to ensure that they didn’t have to fly to Israel twice. We love that the two brothers shared in each other’s joy in that way – for Jason and Alexander, it really as all about family.

As well as sharing guests, the pair shared an incredible photographer and DJ, but we’ll get to that….

We love the whole aesthetic of this stunning Israeli big day. From the couple’s fashion-forward and elegant outfit choices (that Pnina Tornai dress, though – serious wedding dress envy) to the magnificent floral chuppah, put together by the genius KBY Designs.

We also think the children’s choir is such a moving, and seriously adorable idea – so original and cute!

Melissa and Alexander’s impeccable taste extended, of course, to their choice of photographer Ran Bergman, who we absolutely adore, for reasons which will become obvious as you scroll through his divine set of pictures. We love this wedding!