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A Maggie Sottero Bride for an Italy-Meets-England Interfaith Jewish Wedding at The Italian Villa, Poole, UK

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Sarah-Jayne and Emile, The Italian Villa, UK

Dreaming of Italy but grounded by lockdown? Take some inspiration from Sarah-Jayne  and Emile, who brought their love of the country to the UK in their (pre-COVID) interfaith Jewish wedding. Between their decision to wed at Poole’s The Italian Villa – a dead ringer for a Tuscan escape – adelectable Italian menu, and homemade limoncello favors, they truly created a little Italian oasis in Dorset!

We also love the way these two crafted a ceremony that was truly THEM. Their Jewish ceremony – officiated by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Paul Glantz, The Wedding Rabbi (who they found via Smashing the Glass!) – featured plenty of egalitarian touches: instead of the bride circling the groom the traditional 7 times, Sarah-Jayne and Emile each circled each other 3.5 times and did a badeken where not only did the groom veil the bride but the bride gave the groom a kippah in return – the pair even wrote and delivered a speech together!

These two were also ultra-attentive to their guests’ comfort and enjoyment, going out of their way to include special touches like a board game area and personalized kids’ packs for each child in attendance, featuring toys, snacks, coloring, and treasure hunts! All the love and joy of the day – not just the couple’s, but everyone’s – comes through so strongly in the beautiful photos from Ben Minnaar Photography and video from Mulhern Media.

There’s so much more we could say about this wonderful wedding, but we’ll leave the rest to the bride, who looked lovely in Maggie Sottero…

Sarah-Jayne and Emile, The Italian Villa, UKSarah-Jayne and Emile, The Italian Villa, UKSarah-Jayne and Emile, The Italian Villa, UKSarah-Jayne and Emile, The Italian Villa, UK
How we met

Sarah-Jayne, the bride: We have been together ever since our winter ball in our first year of university. We were in the same halls and we had the most incredibly extravagant winter formal in a huge circus tent, complete with a fun fair, acrobats and real snow.

A rather drunk, but cute guy approached me (my now husband) and said he remembered me from a go-kart social months earlier and he had thought about me since as I had given off dream girl vibes, rather flattered I added him on social media and 10 years later (including 3 long distance) here we are. We got engaged in the Gili Islands on the beach at sunset, whilst visiting his brother and sister-in-law. We had a long engagement of 3 years to save up and we are so excited for everything to come in married life!

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An Avital Saporta Bride for a Summer-Themed Galilee Jewish Secular Wedding at Halomot Naftali Hotel, Sde Eliezer, Israel

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Happy Friday! We’re taking a trip to the sensational, swooping landscape of the gorgeous Galilee region of Israel to celebrate the secular Jewish wedding ceremony of Liron and Shlomi.

Renowned for its stunning views and ruggedly handsome visage (that really is the only way to describe it) the north of Israel is the perfect backdrop for a summer celebration, and Liron and Shlomi decided, wisely, to make a full weekend of it, and to make good use of the hotel’s pool. We definitely don’t blame them!

With a bright, summery color scheme of whites, yellows and purples, the gorgeous day was full of everything we adore about Israeli weddings. 

Bride Liron looked incredible in her lacey, light and Avital Saporta gown, showcasing once again why we’re such big fans of Israeli designers and their bold, sexy and flattering looks. 

The emotions and details of the day were captured by photographer, Lior Rotstein, and we’ll pass you over to bride, Liron for all of the behind-the-scenes info on how the wedding came together. 

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How we met

Liron, the bride: We are both industrial engineers. We met at university while studying for our first degrees. We have been together for seven years.

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A magical Israeli-Australian forest Jewish wedding at Tsel Hadumim, Ben Shemen forest, Israel

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People – prepare yourselves: there is an abundance of pretty in this real wedding, and even we’re struggling to handle it – and we do this all the time!

We’re always in awe of Israeli weddings – the natural beauty of the place never fails to make for a stunning backdrop, and Israeli venues just know how to do magic like nobody else. Abigail and Roei’s last-minute celebration looked anything but hasty, in fact, it was absolutely packed with Israeli charm.

The day was captured by our oft-featured and much-loved STG Recommended Vendor, Herschel Gutman, who did an incredible job of translating the heart and thought that went into each choice into stunning, timeless images.

Gorgeous Abigail’s Australian-cool vibe brought an added factor of effortless chic, and her choice of dress, a unique, lacy number by Israeli designer, Adi Groman, was just perfect – a bohemian fairytale. 

We adore the significance of the path to the chuppah, which was lined with the Shiv’at HaMinim (the Seven Species from the Bible), making the journey to the ceremony even more poignant. 

On the wedding morning, Roei had a minor medical emergency – and not everything ran smoothly. But, once these two lovebirds locked eyes at the chuppah, none of that mattered. We can all learn from that. 

Over to Abigail for the full story on her and Roei’s stunning wedding day:

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How we met

Abigail, the bride: in March 2014 I arrived in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica – my last stop after a year of travelling, which included four months in Israel. Roei, who’s Israeli, was there on a surfing trip. We met on the beach and spent a week travelling together (I now know that he had already decided I’d one day be his wife!). I then returned to Australia with the intention of moving to Tel Aviv later in the year to study.

We messaged each other sporadically for six weeks, until Roei finally asked if he could Skype me. From that first conversation, we both pretty much knew. We spent four months Skyping every single day, often for five to six hours at a time (yes, we were both extremely sleep deprived, but we didn’t care!).

At the two-month mark, we decided to meet halfway in Thailand to make sure that we weren’t completely crazy prior to my arrival in Israel. The meeting at the airport was one of the best moments of my life, which I think is now only on par with Roei’s proposal on ‘Roy’s Peak’ in New Zealand and our wedding day.

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A picture-perfect Jewish wedding overlooking the sea, with an Enzoani gown at Los Monteros Golf and Spa Hotel, Marbella, Spain

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Our absolute favourite thing about destination weddings is that, without fail, they provide epic, awe-inspiring scenery, and today’s beautiful destination celebration in Marbella, Spain, is certainly no exception.

Lizzi and Mark met through a family connection and quickly fell in love. Set in Spain as the perfect backdrop for their big day, the couple enlisted incredible Smashing Supplier, optimum weddings by The Weddings Company to help them to liaise with their suppliers overseas and make their dream day happen. It goes without saying that Lizzi and Mark were overjoyed with the results.

The ceremony took place overlooking the sea with mountains in the distance — the postcard-ready picture was framed by the couple’s stunning Chuppah, with its beautiful floral arrangements. What more could anyone want?

There’s a lot to love about Lizzi and Mark’s big day, but we simply have to mention the phenomenal vibes of the Israeli dancing — as you can see from the pictures, the party was definitely buzzing, and nobody held back!

Fireworks filled the sky as the pair cut their cake, creating a Hollywood-perfect romantic moment to remember forever.

The wedding was shot by Your Wedding Moments.

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How we met

Lizzi, the bride: Funnily enough, we met at my brother’s wedding in Israel in 2014. I thought I knew all of his friends, but turns out… I didn’t. Not his one Northern friend from Leeds. We met, there was an instant chemistry, he then moved down to London, and the rest is history.
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A chic Israeli wedding with a Tali & Marianna gown at The Q, Galil Yam, Israel

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In true Israeli style, Liron and Rotem’s elegant outdoor wedding was all about family. For beautiful bride, Rotem, the only thing that truly mattered was having her loved ones around her as she married the man of her dreams.

With such a breathtaking venue, not much embellishment was needed. The wedding was tastefully understated, with a real focus on creating an amazing atmosphere, fabulous food and partying late into the night.

Glamourous Rotem looked every bit the red-carpet siren in her stunning Tali & Marianna gown, which was custom made for her by the Tel Aviv designer.

We love the story of the special video that Rotem’s father made for the happy couple — simply adorable and totally worth looking out for.

All of the joy, tears and laughter were captured by Smashing Supplier Dror Einav with whom Rotem and Liron had a special rapport.

We’ll pass you over to Rotem now for all the details on her and Liron’s big day. Take it away, Rotem!

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How we met

Rotem, the bride: We met when we both were in the Israeli navy. We were a group of friends from the base that hung out together a lot of nights and one night he called me to come visit him on his ship. I came as a friend and didn’t really think about him like that, but the rest is history: I just fell in love.
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