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A Ran Zuriel Bride for an International Indoor/Outdoor Jewish Wedding at Gioia Mia, Kibbutz Nahshonim, Israel

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Michelle & Darren, Gioia Mia, Israel

There’s nothing like an international Jewish wedding – so naturally we’re obsessed with today’s! Bride Michelle, who works in HR, hails from Argentina, and Darren, who works at a private security and intelligence firm, is from the UK. They met after both had moved to Israel, and now live in Tel Aviv.

And in planning their day, they strove to mix all three cultures in everything they did, from the speeches (each was delivered in English, Spanish, and Hebrew!) to the food to the music. When it came to the latter, the duo found the perfect partner in Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor DJ Naor, who read the crowd perfectly and kept the dance floor full with his mix of Israeli tracks, traditional Jewish music, British classics, Latino, Funk and House, and bangers!

We’ve also got to mention what an absolutely stunning venue Michelle and Darren picked. They loved Gioia Mia, in central Israel, for its space, energy, and indoor/outdoor mix – not to mention the gorgeous outdoor chuppah area. Don’t miss the fabulous pics from photographer Boris of Flea Studio.

There’s so much more to say – like how the couple’s wedding date fell not even a week after Israel opened up to international travelers in November 2021 – but we’ll leave all that to the couple…

Michelle & Darren, Gioia Mia, IsraelMichelle & Darren, Gioia Mia, Israel
How we Met

We met on a dating app called OkCupid – Darren looked for a woman in the Kfar Saba area who speaks Hebrew, Spanish, and English and Michelle appeared like mannah from heaven!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Tal Kedem Bride for a Jewish Wedding at Science World Rooftop Garden, Vancouver, Canada

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Becca-Danny-Science-World-Rooftop-Garden-Vancouver-Canada

Like so many couples over the past two years, Becca and Danny ended up with a wedding that looked a lot different than the one they’d originally planned – though no less fabulous!

The pair, who live in Israel, had hoped to wed in their adopted home, but once it became apparent that the country’s borders wouldn’t open in time for beloved family and friends to attend from abroad, Becca and Danny made the tough decision to move the wedding to Vancouver, Canada, where the bride grew up, and re-plan everything from scratch. And the wedding, at Science World Rooftop Gardenswith a stunning view of Vancouver’s celebrated ocean, mountains, and greenery – was nothing short of fabulous. We’re obsessed with the photos from Lumina Weddings.

Becca and Danny still wanted to celebrate with their friends back home in Israel, though, so instead of fully cancelling their plans for their Tel Aviv wedding, they opted to keep the date and shift to a smaller, less formal party at their original venue. From the beginning, they’d been working with beloved Israeli wedding planner and Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia Events, who was there for the couple through the entire rollercoaster of selecting the initial vendors, cancelling them, and then pivoting to replan what started as a formal wedding into a chill rooftop party.

Read on for the full story in Becca’s own words…

Becca-Danny-Science-World-Rooftop-Garden-Vancouver-CanadaBecca-Danny-Science-World-Rooftop-Garden-Vancouver-CanadaBecca-Danny-Science-World-Rooftop-Garden-Vancouver-CanadaBecca-Danny-Science-World-Rooftop-Garden-Vancouver-Canada
How we Met

Becca, the bride: After meeting Danny’s good friend at the UN in Geneva and receiving an invitation, I attended my first “Jerusalem Cooking Club” event on May 1, 2019. I knocked on the door where the cooking club was taking place and Danny was the one to open it. Upon opening the door, I asked whether or not I was in the right place, to which Danny responded “No.” To be funny. Ha. Ha. (This was literally my nervous reaction).

Following cooking club, Danny sneakily found me on Facebook via the Club’s group and started to message me about whether or not I enjoyed the event. Obviously I did, and the two of us got to talking and eventually exchanged numbers and set up a “date.”

Our first date took place in Shuk Machene Yehuda Market where we got smoothies and then bought all the necessary ingredients for ceviche. We then went to my apartment, which was above the Shuk, and made ceviche and talked for hours. The rest is history!Continue ReadingContinue Reading