Bridal Salon: by Tiina Karkkainen
With Love from the Nations providing beautiful wedding dresses, evening gowns, suits, tuxedos, children’s gowns and accessories gifted by believers to bless people in Israel. When entering the CFI Bridal Salon in the heart of Jerusalem, one is delighted to see beautiful wedding gowns generously gifted to the Salon by both Jews and Christians from around the world. There are over 300 wedding gowns to choose from varying in size, colour and style, including many designer gowns.
“My Beloved is mine and I am his...”
(Songs of Songs 2:16)
The Bridal Salon has been expanding and serving Israelis since 1990. The heart of the Bridal Salon is to provide Brides, Grooms, their families and friends from all over Israel, meeting the unique requirements for each special and celebrated occasion. Due to family or religious situations, some Israeli brides have two weddings - one overseas and one in Israel! Even one celebration is very costly. So the Bridal Salon is a real blessing for which our clients are truly grateful. When the clothing has been cleaned and returned, the deposit is refunded. This project serves to express the love of believers to people in Israel by blessing them on their special day.
Reflections On My Wedding Day
A wedding is first and foremost a ceremony that celebrates the connection between two loving people, two souls who have found a home. But not just. It is also an opportunity to be grateful not only for the wonderful love we share with each other, but also for all the precious people in our lives. Our wedding was a celebration of love: a romantic love of two individuals and the love of our family and friends…
…In our Hupa, after the ceremony of the ‘Kidushin’, when we were officially husband and wife, I told Dima that he is my puzzle. We complete each other. Just as we complete each other, our wedding completes our relationship: we celebrate our love and the love of our family and friends. However, our wedding wouldn’t be complete without your wonderful bridal salon… ”I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me.”This beautiful verse is written in golden Hebrew characters above the mirror in CFI Bridal Salon, where I found my perfect match: the perfect wedding gown, accompanied with compelling veil and jewelry. It was love at first sight: this beautiful white classy gown was the first dress I have tried on. For a moment I felt like a movie star in Hollywood’s golden era. It is very rare that everything just falls into place, like a harmonious melody. I cannot thank you enough, all the wonderful people who contribute to the beautiful Bridal Salon. I had the wedding of my dream wearing the gown of my dreams. All the best, Talya
Bridal Salon Garment Donations Criteria
We request that garments intended to be donated fit within some necessary requirements. All garments, without exception, must be Modern - Professionally Cleaned - In Extremely Good Condition. The CFI Bridal Salon has a professional presentation. Therefore, for the garments to be an immediate and ongoing blessing here, they must be of good quality, without stains, tears, pulls and all the closures (zips, buttons etc.) in good working order.
For a more detailed list of current needs at the Bridal Salon, donation criteria or if you have any questions regarding the garments you wish to donate, please contact us to our bridal email address provided below. All financial contributions are also welcome to help us offset our salon expenses. We truly appreciate your desire to partner with us and to extend your love to the brides, grooms and families in Israel.
Thank you for your support of our Bridal Salon.
Contact Bridal Salon at bridal@cfijerusalem.org
Latest Project Reports - Bridal Salon - By Tiina Danilevski
Monthly Report January 2021 - By Tiina Danilevski
Shalom from Jerusalem!
Because of the lockdown we can’t have any clients in our Bridal Salon at the moment. I have been doing some organizing, and once again I was surprised at how many beautiful dresses and other items we have over here. One girl is expected right after the lockdown, and I believe that there will be more people coming as soon as the restrictions are over.
I had an interview with one young lady, who found her dress in
our Bridal Salon. She was happy to share her experiences with us.
Avital was born in Israel. She grew up in an Israeli town of the northern
part of Samaria. There she went to a special school for girls, where they
had a lot of lessons about Torah. They also visited many Biblical places,
which made the studies very interesting. Her high school was also
a religious one.
After finishing school Avital served 2.5 years in a commando unit in IDF.
Then she spent one year travelling in different countries and started to study.
Avital is a massage therapist with a wider education in health care.
Once she was working in a scout camp where her job was to take care
of the kitchen cleanliness. In that kitchen she met her future husband.
They started to date, and in two years they were married.
It was Avital’s mother, who heard about the CFI Bridal Salon through her work place. Although they had found one dress already, Avital decided to come and have a look. “It was a good experience.” she sais. ”It reminded me of my childhood, when I had an opportunity to try on many beautiful dresses in a special shop in the States.” One of our dresses was ‘the one.’ Avital loved it, and in that dress she was the queen of the wedding. She wants to send many greetings to the Christian friends of Israel. “Thank you! It is so good to know that there are friends in different countries, who are taking care of us. Your place in Jerusalem is very nice. The atmosphere is good and you serve with your heart.”
It is encouraging to hear these words from the mouth of a patriot in Israel.
May the Lord use us for His glory in this new year 2021.
Thank you for being in the team!
Tiina Danilevski
Monthly Report December 2020 - By Tiina Danilevski
Shalom our friends in the nations!
It is still very quiet here in our Bridal Salon in Jerusalem. People are waiting for a better season to have their weddings. At the moment you are not allowed to have any large gatherings here in Israel. So, our mission is to wait and to be ready to serve future brides and grooms, when the season will change.
One girl came to us last week. She needed a veil. Her wedding was to be in a week. We found two good options for her. She was grateful.
Today one grandmother came to ask, if she can take a dress for her granddaughter, who is going to be married in two months. I asked her to come back with the girl. The old lady was nor sure, if the young bride- to-be will come, because she and all the family are religious. Let’s see how it will go. It is very difficult for a grandmother to find a fitting dress for her granddaughter. If there is not another way, let her try.
We are still getting dresses as a donation from different individuals. Our little room is full at the moment. May the next year be a year of weddings! Please, pray that many future couples in Israel will find their way to our Bridal Salon in the near future. There is a huge financial crisis in many people’s lives at the moment. It is also a reason why Israelis are not in hurry to plan weddings this winter.
We can be a great help for those who can’t wait any longer. May the Lord use us to provide beautiful wedding gowns for many families!
Thank you for your prayers!
Tiina Danilevski
