When I got married 30 years ago in the enchanting courtyard of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter, our “music” was two friends on guitars and another on an accordion, playing in different corners. This was due to the custom of not having live bands within the Old City walls since the destruction of the Temple.
The hatan’s tish (groom’s table), bedecken (veiling of the bride), dancing and reception were scattered among the historic synagogues and small halls within the complex. Of special note was the quarter of a chicken that the waitress dropped onto my father’s plate. When I tried to apologize for the simplicity of the affair, mortified, he said, beaming, “I love it! It’s so … haimish!”
We loved that setting, but today a bride and groom have so many more options. Israel offers some of the world’s most evocative, historical and romantic settings for weddings. Wedding planning companies will arrange a wedding anywhere – in the desert, in a forest or on the beach.
Thinking about a destination wedding in Israel? A representative sampling follows:
* The Caves of Beit Guvrin
South of Beit Shemesh, these caves, a favorite location for hikers and tourists, are also a popular area for concerts and weddings. There are niches in the wall for homing pigeons, and caves once used for water cisterns and granaries are open to the stars.
One moves from cave to cave for the chuppah, dinner, bar and dance area. The main cave seats 450, and if you want to move tables outside, up to 700. The catering is $52 a person, or you can rent the hall for $5,000 and bring in your own caterer.
* Kibbutzim
Large and rustic, with the smell of grass, many moshavim and kibbutzim are dedicating a part of their lands to wedding areas. The cost per plate at kibbutz weddings can be as low as $38. Among kibbutzim and moshavim that host weddings are Tzora, Opera b’Kfar (literally, “Opera in the Village”) and Neve Man.
* Kibbutz Kfar Etzion
David Ben Gurion called this kibbutz the watchman of Jerusalem. It was so significant that the internal army code used when it fell to the Jordanians in 1948 was, “The Queen has fallen.” The children evacuated at that time then returned to settle it in 1967; in recent years, it has opened its reception areas to people from outside the kibbutz, as well.
There is a huge, grassy area under spreading fir trees, and a number of places appropriate for a wedding ceremony. Couples who are members of the kibbutz are driven to their private reception room after the ceremony on a tractor. Seats up to 600. Call 972-2-993-5145.
* Ramat Rachel
One can watch a spectacular and ethereal sunset through the poles of the chuppah from a hill overlooking Bethlehem and the Etzion Hills at Ramat Rachel, a kibbutz whose members fought to maintain the southern border of Jerusalem in 1948. Surrounded by bunkers, the kibbutz had new life breathed into it after the Six Day War in 1967.
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Thanks for the article. There are really so many places to get married in Israel, it’s simply fantastic. The weather is also mostly good year-round, which makes it perfect.