I Am A Wedding Planner & This Is What My Wedding Looks Like | World Wide Wed | Refinery29

It has to be an amazing wedding. I'm a wedding planner, you know, everyone's going to look at our work. It’s much more difficult then deciding on other people's behalf, so it really has been very, very, very stressful. Ziad wanted a really, really small wedding, and I like big weddings. So we compromised and ended up with a number of 600 attendees. So my parents were friends with her parents, I was friends with her sister. They were classmates. Then 28 years later we bumped into each other. Where a friend of ours was getting married there. And when I saw her I had the feeling of her being the one. I felt that this would progress to where we are today. A long time ago Arab women, they were mostly housewives. Today it's very different in the 21st century, where women who have careers. And I love that he is the type of man that appreciates that and values that. We wanted the destination by the sea. We wanted something which is very grand. In Europe it was more of restrictions on the after party and having to move inside. And Arabs like to party like crazy so that was like a no-no. And then when we came to Beirut we saw this venue and we didn't even ask, we just knew it was going to be the place. I'm catholic, Ziad is orthodox. We come from different sects, but then because he’s orthodox what happens is basically I'm going to convert, and become an orthodox. But that's going to take place on the day of the wedding. We have a cultural identity, but we are getting exposed to different cultures, which is making our own identity. And as long as me and her can respect each other, and then you can grow wings, whether we develop each other, or we pull each other up or down or sideways in life. I'm so blessed to have him. Woooo! This is the most difficult wedding I've ever been involved in. The vibe is going to be royal and elegant. In our culture and in our tradition they say that the wedding is for the parents and not the people getting married. I think it's for both really cause– We’ve respected their decisions and their inputs. We asked for a traditional zaffa. It’s Arabic music, welcoming the bride to her new life as if she's not alone she has family behind her. In Arab cultures they consider the woman to be the flower of the house, and when a woman leaves the house they don't just walk out and go to church, they are kind of celebrated. And it's like our cultural way of telling the bride that now you're ready. The party after is going to be the highlight but I think the church ceremony is what makes it special, with the vows, and you know the wedding dress, her entrance. I think this is the magical part of the wedding. There are certain cultural values that we believe in that we have respected these things and we've kept them. It's not just a tradition that's being done with no purpose. Her dad once told me, "You've taken the most precious thing I have." And you know, he has put it right. After the church ceremony, there's no more traditions left for us to celebrate our marriage. A lot of the wedding has elements which reflect our own identities and compromise I think we managed to put it together. As a couple I feel that this mix of avant-garde meets classical together will bring out something very special. If you're a bride-to-be you're going to be super stressed. There's a lot of things to think about. Honestly just sit, have your alone time, think of all the beautiful things. It will all pass by very soon. Believe that life will take you through the right steps. And there's a solution to every problem. Thanks for watching World Wide Wed. Subscribe to Refinery29 to never miss an episode.

Channel: Refinery29

Views: 2,858,570

Keywords: refinery29, refinery 29, r29, r29 video, video, refinery29 video, female, empowerment, world wide wed, modern wedding, getting married, wedding traditions, best wedding video, best wedding dance, wedding celebration, persian music, lebanese wedding, wedding videography, beirut, wedding planner, wedding flowers, luxury wedding, middle eastern, arab wedding, wedding planning, wedding of the year, expensive wedding, most expensive wedding, wedding venue

Id: Sef5ek6yCPg

Length: 6min 39sec (399 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 15 2018