Yael Wore Chana Marelus & A Handmade Beaded Veil for her Relaxed Italian Masseria Wedding

Yael and Seth got married in September at the stunning Masseria Potenti in Manduria, Puglia, a family-run estate sitting in the heel of Italy’s boot – a venue choice that turned out to be a perfect match for a couple who simply wanted everyone around them to feel at ease and have a wonderful time.

The wonderful Stefano Santucci, one of our recommended photographers whose documentary approach and love of film we adore, captured the whole day beautifully.

Yael’s incredible tasselled dress is by designer Chana Marelus, and was chosen after a visit to Chana’s studio in New York, where she fell in love with the movement and creativity of the designs and had the kind of relaxed, playful try-on experience she had been hoping for.

Her breathtakingly beautiful and unique beaded veil was made entirely by hand by her very talented sister.

Seth wore a green linen suit from Pigal with a cravat and his grandfather’s cufflinks, and the ceremony was shaped around Jewish traditions the couple had thought carefully about and made personal, with family holding the pillars of the chuppah, a close friend officiating who knew them both well enough to have the whole room laughing and crying within minutes, and Yael’s ten-year-old brother taking his role as ring bearer very seriously indeed, with two small nephews just ahead of him making their way down the aisle with bubble guns.

Enjoy this beautiful day – you’ll find many more Italian destination weddings here.

Both my parents walked me down the aisle to the sound of ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love With You’, that was played on piano.

We had a chuppah, with our family members holding the pillars. We also incorporated various elements such as 7 blessings and breaking the glass.

We had our good friend (one of the best!)  officiate and he made the whole ceremony so special and incredible. We worked together to create a sort of outline and then he added his own flare and personalised it. He had everyone laughing and crying and it couldn’t have been more perfect. I’m really happy we went with someone we love and know who also understands and honoured our traditions. 

My little brother (ten yrs old) was the ring bearer and head of security and my two nephews (five and two) had bubble guns that they shot down the aisle in front of the head of security. It was one of my favourite moments!

For the exchanging of our rings, we chose words from the Song of Songs, the ancient Hebrew verse Ani l’dodi v’dodi li, meaning ‘I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.’ We were drawn to these words because they speak not of ownership but of partnership, a mutual and equal devotion that felt like exactly the right foundation for our marriage.

For Seth’s band, we used a piece of gold that had been gifted to him by his maternal grandfather and split in half for him and his twin brother.  We went to a workshop and made it into a ring together – it was so much fun and such a great memory and makes the ring feel that much more special. For my band, we had it made and we used two small diamonds from Seth’s paternal grandmother. I love that both rings have are infused with personal meaning. 

We had ‘This Marriage’, by Rumi delivered as a reading during our ceremony.

I’ll begin with the obvious – your radiant beauty caught my eye the very first time I saw you and will forever make me smile.
I fell in love, to this to this day am currently in love, and will always admire your strength, your intellect, your inner beauty.
You inspire me as giving is the joy you seek.
You’re the most selfless person I know.
The time, attention, the thoughtfulness, kindness and love you give to others, not just to me or your family or to your friends, to the world that surrounds us, the nature we live in, to strangers, always putting others before yourself, I’m in awe of you every day.
You give me balance.
You embrace my shortcomings and communicate with grace – challenging me to be the best version of myself.
You are my travel buddy, my confidant, my #1 fan and supporter.
I promise to be that man you dream for me to be.
I vow to be your rock. Your grounding energy, your comforting warmth. I vow all of me to you.
I don’t want today to end, and cannot wait for tomorrow, together with you.

Seth, Your love has come in many forms throughout our seven years together and I’m sure its shape will continue to evolve over the next 70. But the feeling of warmth and safety that I felt the very first time we made eye contact, has never ebbed, not even for one moment. It is the thread which continues to make our rich tapestry come alive.
I promise to endeavor to put a smile on your face every single day, but especially when you’re feeling down – the way that you’ll always do something goofy when my mood dips.
I promise to continuously be awed by the way hugging you feels like coming home, an anchor so deep – a feeling of complete peace
I promise to be patient enough to let you cut the tags off of new clothes, instead of ripping them off
And to keep the AC above arctic temperatures
I promise to never express myself in anger, the way that you are always even keeled and calm and ready to listen..
I promise to keep basking in the magic and simple joy of a morning stroll together through our neighbourhood
To keep walking barefoot in life with you, sinking our toes into new places and new adventures
I promise to save you the first bite if you’ll save me the last
Your love has shown up in so many big and small ways, like when you bought a special container to bring back a treat you know I’ll love or rescuing my shoe from the bottom of the ocean. I promise to always pick up an extra Reeses even if you say you don’t want it.
The gentle, confident way you navigate life is endlessly inspiring to me.
The way you care for me when I’m sick, quietly yet steadfast is as sweet a love as I’ve ever known
We’ve had years where you have cared for me in sickness, I hope we can enjoy many years of loving each other in health.
It won’t always be perfect, and I guarantee that more often than not we won’t really know what we’re doing, but perfection has never been the goal anyways. So let us fail spectacularly and often, with the knowledge that failure doesn’t make it less beautiful, and won’t make our love any less.
It all started with a smile… I promise to fill our days with smiles from this moment until our last.

We didn’t need any additional reception decor – the space itself did all the work really. 

We created a wedding newspaper which was really personalised and had a lot of fun elements (happy to send a copy along). It had the itinerary for the weekend, some details about us, a spotlight on our dog, photos of love stories that came before us (grandparents and parents) and activities like sheets for guests to colour, word searches and guests bingo to get to know one another.

Each guest had a newspaper, coloured pencils and a hangover kit (bandaid, liquid IV, Emergen-C, ear plugs, make up remover, Advil, and Tide Wipe) and some sweet and salty snacks. We also had some personalised match boxes. The place settings for our wedding dinner were tambourines with guests name on them so they doubled as a party favour.

We had a classic millefeuille cake and a tiramisu tower – it felt fitting for the location. 

We had a saxophone play along with the DJ and it was incredible. To kick off the wedding weekend we had an incredible local Pizzica band.

You have to find all the ways to have fun and enjoy – otherwise, whats the point! 

Also without out a doubt the best weddings are the ones that are most authentic to the couple – no matter what that means. 

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