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August 11, 2006 - 2:00 PM by Allison

White Lace and Rocket Fire: Israeli Couples Won’t Let the War Ruin Their Wedding Day

By DINA KRAFT

TEL AVIV, Aug. 9 — The dancing went on for hours, with brides swathed in satin and tulle hoisted high on chairs and on shoulders along with their young grooms, smiling at last.

Fifteen couples from northern Israel whose weddings had been canceled because of the war took leave of rocket fire and bomb shelters to marry in a group ceremony just after sunset on Tuesday on the campus of Tel Aviv University.

The couples streamed down a grassy hill toward their individual wedding canopies hung with lanterns and flowing white gauze, each with room for their own guests.

“It’s like a dream,” said David Saadiv, 31, a groom from Haifa, walking hand in hand with his bride, a fellow immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Olesia Yurov, 23.

Just before the ceremonies, Yael Bar-Zohar, an Israeli television star who was mistress of ceremonies, announced a moment of reflection on the war’s dead and wounded — a reminder of the dark backdrop for the night’s festivities.

The mass wedding was the idea of a wedding planner in Tel Aviv, Amit Bar-Tzion, 33. His company and the Tel Aviv University Student Union organized the heavily subsidized event, providing flowers, photographers, hair stylists, makeup artists, a steak and salmon dinner, a band, a dance floor and even fireworks.

“This is the Israeli personality — we do,’’ Mr. Bar-Tzion said. “And we try to be happy even when it is difficult. It’s in our DNA.”

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