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An Eisen Stein Bride for a Boho-Chic Jewish Wedding at Kahi Resort, Israel

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Some weddings just radiate magic, and Shira and Yoav’s stunning bohemian-chic celebration at Israel’s breathtaking Kahi Resort was exactly that! The couple created a deeply personal, unforgettable day, filled with heartfelt touches and dreamy aesthetics that perfectly matched the Maldives-inspired venue.

Shira, who works for baby stroller company Doona, and Yoav, who runs a cyber security company, knew they wanted a wedding that felt meaningful, stylish, and full of love. Enter Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Vanessa Ohayon, their incredible wedding planner, who – in Shira’s words,

was the cherry on the cake, and the entire cake itself! She helped with everything you could think of, she provided emotional support and spiritual guidance, giving the entire planning process and the day itself meaning.

And let’s talk about the photography! The couple chose Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tzahi Shemesh, whose warm and natural approach made them feel at ease right away. From their first meeting, they knew he was the perfect person to capture their love story.

This wedding is a true boho-chic dream, filled with meaningful moments, stunning design, and a whole lot of love. Keep reading to see every breathtaking detail!

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How We Met

Shira, the bride: Shira’s boss, Tal, is best friends with Yoav. One day, Tal asked Shira how she’d feel about being set up with his best friend. Believing in always giving things a chance, she said yes. She sent Tal pictures of herself, and her Facebook. Within two hours, Yoav Facebook messaged her, and the rest as they say… is history.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Vera Wang Bride for an Israeli-American Jewish Wedding at Hagiva, Givat Brenner, Israel

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If you can’t get enough of Israeli weddings, we’ve got a treat for you! The fabulous Jewish wedding of Alexa and Nitay, at gorgeous Hagiva, has all the things we love about weddings in Israel: a gorgeous outdoor setting filled with greenery and Jerusalem stone, gorgeous chuppah, Israeli food and music, and, of course, epic party vibes.

Nitay is Israeli, while Alexa is American – and the pair perfectly combined the best of both wedding traditions to make sure everyone felt comfortable and included on the day. They turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Vanessa Ohayon to help bring their vision to life – and did she ever! In Alexa’s words,

Vanessa is a true professional at what she does. When we first met Vanessa, we connected instantly and she understood our vision from the start. Vanessa brings her amazing energy into every detail of any wedding. She had a solution for everything and when there were any hiccups (there are always hiccups), she knew how to bring us down to earth and find the best way to handle them. We couldn’t have done it without her!

We’re also obsessed with the couple’s exquisite photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Tzahi Shemesh. Have a scroll through and we’re pretty sure you’ll agree with Alexa’s assessment:

He made us laugh, feel comfortable, and most importantly, captured our “in the moment” memories. Him and his team were at every angle and made sure to not miss a thing! He is an artist and makes us relive our special day every time we look back at the photos. They’re magnificent!

There are so many more fabulous details to share about this very special wedding – we’ll turn you over to the bride, who looked timelessly elegant in Vera Wang, to fill you in…

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How We Met

Alexa, the bride: Nitay and I both lived in Chicago after college. We had many mutual friends who all met up one night to go out in January 2017. Nitay approached me the second he saw me and made sure he didn’t leave without getting my number! Later that week we went on our first date to a sushi restaurant. The rest is history 🙂Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A Vera Wang Bride for a Multicultural Jewish Wedding where the Jerusalem Lion Meets the Chinese Lion at Kedma Mamilla, Jerusalem, Israel

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We are absolutely in love with the joyous multicultural Jewish wedding of Smashing The Glass Brides Club member Monica to David! Monica, who has a background in design, is Chinese American, David, who has a manufacturing company, is Israeli; they live in London; and they opted to wed in Jerusalem – so they had some seriously great material to work with.

The couple’s amazing wedding planner, Vanessa Ohayon of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Vanessa Events, helped the couple pull everything together to create the wedding of their dreams – complete with swoonworthy views overlooking the Old City walls – do chuppah backdrops get any better than that?!

One of our very favorite things about this gorgeous wedding is the fact that, with Vanessa’s help, Monica arranged a surprise Chinese Lion Dance, which is performed during major celebrations. Once the guests were seated for the reception, Monica and David made their entrance – followed by a bright yellow Chinese Lion, who wove in and out among the tables before giving the couple a marriage blessing. Then, the music changed, and it was hora time – what an awesome contrast in traditions! In Monica’s words, “it was the Jerusalem Lion meets the Chinese Lion moment.”

We also love that Monica put her design background to work in implementing the pair’s chosen theme of geodes and geometrics in blue and gold, learning modern calligraphy and hand-crafting the exquisite blue agate place cards. There was a spectacular geode-themed cake to match, and the floral centerpieces, designed by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Craspedia, continued the geometric theme and blue color scheme too. It wasn’t easy to find locally grown flowers in the right colors during the Israeli summer, but Yana of Craspedia took Monica on a scouting trip to a flower market where together they were able to find the perfect blooms.

There’s so much more to say about this beautiful day, but we’ll let Monica – who looked so elegant in Vera Wang – take it from here…

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How we Met

Monica, the bride: We met online in London, but it took 5 months for us to meet up due to conflicting travel schedules. Instead, we had an old fashion email and skype correspondence until our first date at the Holland Park Opera. The rest is history!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

An Adam Zohar Bride for a Laid-Back Israeli Jewish Wedding on the Beach at Al Hayam, Caesarea, Israel

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We’re so excited to be sharing the beautiful Israeli beach wedding of our beloved Smashing The Glass STG Brides Club member Genna to Yoni!

These two were faced with the touch task of planning an epic Jewish wedding thousands of miles from their home in NYC in under five months – and did they ever pull it off! To scroll through their gorgeous photos from Idan Hasson, you’d never guess it all came together on such a tight timeline.

And we’re so delighted to hear that Genna attributes her success in large part to the beautiful community that is Brides Club – which she was introduced to by her wonderful wedding planner, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Vanessa Ohayon, the other key ingredient in bringing this amazing day together seamlessly.

In her own words, on joining Smashing The Glass Brides Club

“I instantly felt a sense of calm that I had a supportive community of women I could bounce questions and ideas off of. I was able to make the quick decisions I needed to by reaching out of the many other brides who were married in Israel.”

Thanks Genna – hearing this makes us sooooo happy!!!

We’re totally in love with the laid-back, totally Israeli beach aesthetic the couple went for – Israeli groom Yoni wanted to make sure the big day kept that Israeli party vibe. There’s a fab chuppah, the most incredible seaside setting, the dreamiest florals… and we’re obsessed with Genna’s bridal style, too. She wore a stunning lace mermaid gown by Adam Zohar (an Israeli designer, natch), and we don’t think she could possibly have looked any more gorgeous.

Over to you, Genna!

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How we met

Genna, the bride: Yoni and I met at a party on December 12, 2012 (12/12/12!) when we were both living in Tel Aviv. We started off as friends, and then dated, at points we were “on and off,” but our relationship grew and morphed into a truly solid, loving friendship and partnership. I moved back to New York in 2016 and he arrived shortly after. He proposed in Central Park in February of this year, after a 6-year relationship full of lots adventure, hard times and plenty of good. 

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A Berta Bride for an Ultra-Chic Vegan Jewish Wedding at Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem, Israel

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This Jewish wedding is just SO wonderfully chic. It also happens to be 100% vegan. Sara and Ronen, animal lovers and ethical vegans, planned the whole affair with zero animal products in sight. Everything from the menu to the attire was plant-based through and through.

That’s no easy feat — especially when it comes to finding a fab gown with no silk. But Sara pulled it off and then some. We absolutely adore her sexy, ultra-feminine dress from Berta Bridal (the eponymous designer of which just so happens to be Israeli!). Ronen looks pretty snazzy in his wool-free suit, himself.

Despite the marked absence of meat from the festive meal, venue Mamilla Hotel’s plant-based food service got rave reviews from nearly all the guests — many told the couple afterward it was the best wedding food they’d ever had!

We love that Sara and Ronen weren’t afraid to stay true to themselves and their values on their big day — and love even more that it paid off!

The other awesome thing about this wedding? The view. The rooftop of the stunning Mamilla Hotel, where the couple held their breathtaking ceremony, just happens to overlook Jerusalem’s fabled Old City, and the skyline is just BEYOND.

It doesn’t get much better than this — and the setting was extra meaningful to the couple, since Ronen grew up in Jerusalem. You’ve GOT to check out Ori Carmi‘s dazzling photos and Idan Hershko’s outstanding video of the day.

Now over to Sara…

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A Jerusalem Wedding 

Sara, the bride: My husband, Ronen, and I got engaged in Tel Aviv, Israel, in May of 2017, but his original plan was to propose at the rooftop restaurant of the Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem. That plan was foiled by the US president’s visit, and we all had to leave Jerusalem. But once we were engaged, we decided to be married there.

Ronen grew up in Jerusalem and felt it was like coming full circle to be born and then married with the Old City as the backdrop. I had only been to the venue once, in the winter when the roof was enclosed. I did all the planning off of a few photos and a FaceTime walk-through with my boss, who was visiting the winter before our date.

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