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Get ready to be blown away by today’s Jewish wedding – absolutely everything about Leanne and Mottie’s big day is pure #weddinggoals, from their incredible venue RIGHT on the beach in Israel (don’t miss their chuppah!) to the ultra-romantic photos by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ori Carmi Photography to Leanne’s exquisite gown found at Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Mirror Mirror in London – bridal style doesn’t get any more classically elegant than this!
Leanne and Motttie were initially supposed to marry in summer 2020 – and while they didn’t end up making things official until 2022 thanks to the pandemic, we’re pretty sure you’ll agree that the finished product was more than worth the wait. So was Leanne’s beautiful Mirror Mirror gown in London – she fell in love with the dress at first sight just after getting engaged back in 2020, and two years later she adored it just as much!
And we haven’t even gotten into the sheer perfection that is Ori Carmi Photography! His photos are the perfect blend of authentic emotion and good old wedding day glitz – and of course he did a fab job capturing the breathtaking setting too. Leanne and Mottie can’t stop raving about their photos – and neither would we!
We’ll let the couple take it from here…
How we Met
Mottie, the groom: We met on Instagram! Leanne was a bridesmaid at a wedding of a mutual friend and when I saw a picture of them, I asked my friend who Leanne was as I thought she was gorgeous. I sent her a message and that was that. We made Aliya together in 2020 and both work in HiTech now, Leanne in finance and myself in sales.
A Seaside Venue
We were initially supposed to marry in another venue in the summer of 2020 in Israel. We had signed with them before the pandemic started but of course with families abroad, we had to postpone. When we started to look for venues for summer 2021, we knew we were looking for a smaller, more intimate venue and that’s when we stumbled upon Caesar Yam. Avichai the owner impressed us immediately with how warm and friendly he was and it felt like we were talking with a friend rather than a vendor.
But the clincher was how flexible they were. They told us that venue could hold anywhere from 50-200 guests and that we would not need to let them know until much closer to the date. With lockdowns happening left right and centre, this really put our minds at ease, as we knew we would struggle to get a final number until much closer to the date. We booked for summer 2021 initially and then postponed to May 2022.
Theme & Wedding Planner
Leanne, the bride: After planning the first instance of the wedding, we had already settled on a bunch of vendors that we knew we would want to use regardless of when the wedding actually went ahead. But we were concerned about the running of the day and the lead up to the wedding as Leanne and I both got new jobs a few months before the wedding.
With even less time to plan the final touches, we got the help of Penny and Ryan from Penny & Co Events. Penny handles the design aspect and Ryan handles the logistics and together, they really helped us a lot.
Hair + Make-up
My hairdresser was Rotem Ifergan – she was so lovely and my hair held well all night! My make up artist was Mel Bueno – the most incredible make up artist, my make up stayed on perfectly all night and my family loved her!
A Mirror Mirror Dress
My dress was from Mirror Mirror in London – I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and that was a month after our engagement in 2020! I finally got to wear it two years later and love it just as much! I changed into a gorgeous jumpsuit for the after party made by the loveliest designer Shay Rosenshtok Studio – it was super comfortable and light and Shay is the best!
Ceremony and Chuppah
The Chuppah design was beautiful, we decided to keep things on the minimal side. We really hated the idea of so many flowers going to waste after the wedding so we knew we didn’t want too much going on at the Chuppah.
Additionally, it was important to us that there was nothing on the Chuppah poles as we wanted to see all our guests clearly! With Mottie (and his dad) being well over 6ft, we knew we needed the Chuppah to be tall! But otherwise, we just wanted it as classical as possible. The Rabbi was appointed to us by the Rabbanut and he was fantastic.
Ketubah
Nothing special – we weren’t very keen on the idea of hanging the ketubah on our wall or anything so we chose against designing a ketubah. The rabbi brought one from the rabbanut and it was more than enough.
Entertainment
Caliente was referred to me by one of my friends who got married in Israel a few years ago and I must say, from the first phone call with Udi, I knew I was in good hands. Caliente was one of the first vendors we initially booked and they were superb throughout.
Udi handled both postponements like a true gentleman and was so helpful in deciding which music package to go for (even if it meant less money for him!). We were initially going to have a live band, but after realising that it would be too much for a small wedding, we chose to go with something else.
We had a jazz quartet for the Kabbalat Panim, some of whom stayed to play the Chuppah with a live singer (Yuval Lev Tov). After that, Yuval stayed to play the first round of music which was Hasidic music with the DJ (Roy Tochner) and then the DJ stayed to the end. Each and every one of them was absolutely incredible and we kept on hearing how good the music was all night!
Photographer and videographer
Both photographer Ori from Ori Carmi Photography and videographer Adam Shimshi were excellent! Ori knew exactly how to get the best out of all of us and coordinated everything. He really understood exactly what we wanted and his photos have come out amazing. Both were so professional, amazing to deal with and I would absolutely recommend them to everyone!
Cake
We had the most beautiful cake made my Sugarela Cakes to match our colour scheme!
Advice to other couples planning their wedding
It’s easy to get caught up in the small things but it’s important to remember the bigger picture. Don’t sweat the small stuff! Ultimately, try your best to remember that you’re committing your lives to one another and that’s what’s most important. Take it all in and be present on the day!
LAUREN & MOTTIE’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Ori Carmi Photography offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club
Videography – Adam Shimshi
Bridal Boutique – Mirror Mirror offers £200.00 for accessory purchases over £400 to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club
Bride’s Second Dress – Shay Rosenshtok Studio
Wedding planner – Penny & Co Events
Venue – Caesar Yam
Hair + Makeup – Rotem Ifergan, Mel Bueno
Flowers – Rachel Finn
Entertainment – Caliente
Cake – Sugarela Cakes
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
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