Hi! My name is Tamar Naveh (formerly Tamar David) and I got married to my best friend, Yossi, on June 2 at Tur Sinai Organic Farms in Jerusalem. Our chuppah was attended by 100 guests, and 700 additional virtual livestream viewers.
Having a “Corona Wedding” wasn’t easy- both my family and Yossi’s are entirely in America, as well as many of our closest friends. After many hard conversations and decisions, we decided to split up the simcha- to have a small Chuppah on our planned date, and the wedding reception in the future, when the borders open. Luckily, most of our vendors were professional and understanding about the changes, and our planner Shani Falik Roth (@eventfullyyours) handled all the communications and negotiations.
I must admit, not all of the vendors were so flexible… When some of the restrictions were lifted, they did not understand why we weren’t going forward with the large 300 person 6 hour event that we originally planned. Shani was a vital tool in negotiating us out of the original commitments. Tip for brides- make sure to have a party planner who speaks Hebrew and can be charif if necessary!
We communicated every update with our guests through Paperless Post and our website on TheKnot.com. Both platforms were flexible, user friendly, and elegant enough to make me feel like our updates weren’t your average Zoom invite emails.
By miracle, 2 weeks before our date, my parents and siblings were approved to enter Israel and do a fourteen day quarantine in an empty apartment! We pushed off our chuppah one day (again, Shani was instrumental in communicating with the vendors) so my family could finish the fourteen days and we got married on the fifteenth day!
The day of the chuppah, I got ready in my uncle’s apartment in the German Colony with my mom and sister. Shosh Gropper (@makeupby.shosh) was an amazing makeup artist and I completely trusted her with everything. Sara Hect (@sarashairsalon) did my hair (she also cuts it!) and was an extremely professional and calming presence. And Aviva Sireling (@avivasireling) did my mom and sisters makeup. All three were professional and amazing- the end product was stunning and lasted all night.
When my bridesmaids came to the apartment to finish getting ready with me, everything clicked into gear! My tip is to have a lot of food, especially cut veggies and fruit (we used Muffin Boutique on Ben Yehuda) for all of the bridal squad, glam team, family, photographers and videographers! Another tip, which sounds obvious, is for brides is leave a ton of time to get ready – even starting at 10am and the guests called for 6, we took photos before and the morning felt a bit rushed!
My photographer Eli Berko (@eliberko.photography) was a very calming and grounding presence throughout the day. He has an incredible eye and speaks English and Hebrew. He brought us to Yemin Moshe and to a forest by Ramot to take photos. Videographer Yossi Shaked (@yosishked_videographer) was also amazing and talented. He uses a drone to get fantastic aerial shots! Check him out. He also gave us a great deal on 2 days of filming (chuppah now, reception TBD) and one composite vimeo of both. It may take a while to see the footage but it is definitely worth the wait!
Another important tip- get bussing for guests. We had 2 coach busses leave from the Inbal hotel and appointed 2 close friends as bus counselors. This ensured that all the guests arrived on time and safely, and got home safely as well!
Before the chuppah, we had Kabalat Panim catered by the in-house caterer at Tur Sinai, Cezanne Catering. The food was AMAZING, and the guests really were impressed and satisfied by the 6 delicious individual serving stations, equipt with Hand Sanitizer of course.
The Kiseh Kallah, my Bouquet, the Entrance Table, and Chuppah were designed by Mookie from Pine and Clover (@pineandcloverflowers) and were absolutely stunning.
After the chuppah, guests enjoyed desert, and when we came out of the Yichud Room we had one amazing round of dancing- including simcha music, English music, and ending with slow music. There was no touching at all during dance round, and Yossi and I and all of our 100 guests stayed on the dance floor for the entire 40 minutes. The dancing ended on a happy note, and everyone there was so excited for Part II of the event, whenever it may be, to dance, eat, and celebrate with our close family and friends who are so vital to our simcha!
For our registry, we used La’Bayit Gifts of course! The selection is large and growing, and our American guests were so happy to buy from familiar brands and products. Everything was bought, and I made sure to “finalize” the order, literally on our wedding night, because I could not wait to get the shipment ASAP! On top of the free delivery and fantastic selection, the customer service at La’Bayit can’t be beat. They respond to the Chat extremely quickly and address any questions or concerns you may have, with warmth and care. There is simply no other option for couples getting married in Israel! Tip for La’Bayit- the selection is so large, take advantage of other people’s registries and browse them for ideas. Especially if you find a friend you trust on the site!
Yossi and I stayed at the Waldorf Astoria the night of our chuppah. It was beautiful and the hotel left us wine and snacks in the room. My bridesmaids checked in early for us, and they decorated the room and left our overnight bags there- everything was seamless and easy. The staff at the Waldorf was incredibly nice and thoughtful, and the breakfast (served a la carte because of Corona Virus) was delicious.
Over all, I want to be very honest with the community of brides dealing with the ramifications of Corona Virus- let’s not sugarcoat. I will not say the wedding turned out better than we could have ever imagined. I will not say that the wedding was at all “perfect”. It was challenging, complicated, and at times, it was a total disaster! Personally, it was very hard for me not to compare myself with other brides who got married before the crisis. After pouring 8 months into planning the wedding of my dreams, I had a very hard time letting go!
But today, just a few weeks later, I am so blessed to be married to my husband Yossi and living together in our apartment in Nachlaot. Another blessing is that a week has passed and all of our 100 guests are feeling healthy, including our grandparents who are at-risk. My family has returned to the United States with huge smiles and feelings of victory – we have achieved something that we thought was impossible a month ago. Now, I shift my focus to the exciting milestones in the future: Part II of our wedding, our honeymoon one day, hosting our first shabbat meal in our apartment (with our La’Bayit products!), and every day in the rest of our lives as the Naveh family.
So to any other Corona brides- I am here with you! We will all get through this one way or another, and we will meet on the other side, married and acutely aware of the most important things in life.
PS- My last tip is one I wish someone would have told me- if you having a livestream of your wedding, please be aware that the camera and the microphone is very focused on you the whole time! I let some whispers and facial expressions slip a few times, and they were on display for everyone watching! Good luck and MAZAL TOV!!!!
Tamar Naveh
