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a dream wedding in the old city of jerusalem by stephanie garber
ON the evening of July 28, 2008, Clevelanders Ilana Shafran and
vows against a spectacular backdrop, took months of meticulous
Josh Mandel stood under a chupah on a patio overlooking
arrangements. Putting on a wedding is challenging enough, but
Jerusalem, illuminated by the gold of the setting sun. About 250
planning one halfway around the globe can seem formidable. For
guests from the United States, Israel and Europe shared in the
Ilana, however, working on that goal was a welcome distraction.
simchah as the couple became husband and wife.
The couple became engaged in August, and the same month, Josh,
“Having a wedding in Israel was my dream, and it wasn’t very hard to convince Josh to go along with it,” says Shafran. “Everything was so perfect – it really turned out to be a dream wedding.” Of course, that wedding, planned right down to reciting of 36
| CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS | JS TYLE | WEDDINGS 2009
a U. S. Marine at the time (as well as an Ohio state representative), was deployed to Iraq. “I threw myself into work and planning for the wedding to stay busy,” Ilana explains. Doing something in anticipation of their future together helped her maintain a positive focus during