Lior and Shahaf: from a jeep tour of the Caucasus to a wedding at the Hangar

The story of Lior and Shahaf's wedding, first-hand. Fair warning: you are going to be envious, because that is what happens when the groom agrees to everything the bride wants and the bride looks back and says she is truly happy. So how did it all begin (in the Caucasus, who would have thought)? We will let Lior tell it in her own words.

A jeep tour, the scenery and falling in love

Shahaf and I met almost six years ago, on an organised jeep tour of the Russian Caucasus with our families. It was a trip with incredible scenery, and almost everyone on it was a couple, apart from my family and his. I have four siblings, and Shahaf has three plus his sister's partner, so we all hit it off from the very first day.

On the second day of the trip we "packed off" the parents to a jeep of their own, and Shahaf, the rest of the "kids" and I had a jeep to ourselves, in a different combination each day.

It did not take long for the connection to form. I think I knew from the first moment we met that I would marry Shahaf. On the last day of the trip he asked me out, and the next day, when we were back in Israel, we went on our first date.

War and love

Shahaf had planned to propose on the very day of my birthday, but then the war broke out. He is a combat soldier in the reserves and was called up on 7 October itself, for a long stretch of service that lasted until early January.

All through that time he kept telling me: "When this is over, we have to have a weekend together to unwind a bit." When he was finally released, he booked us a weekend at the Ritz-Carlton in Herzliya. According to him, the booking site had upgraded us to a suite free of charge. "Just good luck," he said.

That morning we went for a walk in the park and then carried on along the promenade in Herzliya. When we got back to the hotel, a surprise was waiting in the room: a path of flowers, a huge heart-shaped sign that read "Marry Me" and a bottle of champagne.

My heart did not stop pounding the whole time. It was the most moving, most fitting proposal I could have asked for.

The planning stage

Shahaf proposed on Friday 19 January, and by Sunday I was already on the phone arranging to see venues. On Tuesday 23 January we did it all in one go: we went to see four venues, all around Rishon LeZion and Ness Ziona, simply because Shahaf lives in Ness Ziona and we wanted all our friends to be able to stay late in comfort.

She said it, and she knew

When we got to Gavriel (the second on the list), I said to Shahaf straight away: "This is where we are getting married." It was without doubt the most beautiful venue I had seen.

At the meeting we sat with Roi, who explained that a renovation was planned, including a chuppah on the water. We booked the wedding on the spot, for 9 September at the Hangar, while I still did not know for certain that the chuppah really would be on the water, as I had been shown in the sketches.

Planning all the way to the chuppah

Sometimes it is the unexpected moments that put things in proportion, even when it comes to planning a wedding. A month before the big day Lior's grandfather, on her mother's side, passed away. A hard and painful moment.

The shloshim, the thirtieth day of mourning, fell the day before the wedding, so within all the sadness there was also some relief: the original date could stay.

Beyond that, the planning was exciting and exact. Lior planned everything herself, with no outside organiser, and says she enjoyed every moment. "And what about dramas?" I press her, and Lior replies that there really were none, mainly because Shahaf agreed with her on everything. And the venue? It came through its renovation, and by the end of the process it looked simply wonderful.

Recommendations

• "Our after-party was impossible to miss. We brought a shawarma spit onto the dance floor, and it turned out to be the highlight of the evening. People still have not stopped talking about it."
• Simply enjoy it. The day flies by.
• Cold-spark fountains at the chuppah add a great deal.
• Make sure you have a team behind you. "The event manager was professional through and through, did everything I wanted, kept to the timings just as I had planned them, took care of everything and, all in all, made the event perfect."
• Planning a wedding can be a sensitive process. Of course there may be disagreements, but it is important to talk them through and come to an agreement.

The most special moment

Finally I ask what the most special moment was, and Lior says it was under the chuppah:

The emotion, the music, our families all around, and above all that special quiet that was suddenly there in my heart, and Shahaf's hands giving me strength. It was a moment that felt pure, moving and full of love.

No further words are needed.