~Photographer: Rick Lee (He no longer does wedding photography)
~Magnolia Glen in Locust, NC
~Around 150 guests. There were 5 bridesmaids (including a maid of honor and a matron of honor) and 5 groomsmen (including a best man), two flower girls, two flower girl escorts (who never made it down the aisle), and a cup bearer (who carried the glasses we broke at the conclusion of the ceremony.
~Colors of wedding: Cranberry, Eggplant, Black.
~The flowers were all faux calla lilies. I put together all the bouquets and my husband made all the boutonnieres.
Story
My husband and I met in college. I saw his photo on a sign for a meeting I was interested in attending but didn't think he was an actual real, in-the-flesh person until I saw him at the meeting later that week. I avoided him like the plague in order to avoid another bad relationship. He avoided me because he was terrified of girls. After months of distant friendship, I wrecked my car late one night after work and called him for help (he lived nearby). Of course, he quickly came to my rescue and that jump started our relationship. A few days later we went on our first date. On our second date, we both made it clear that we were looking for a long-term life partner and weren't looking for a typical college fling, and laid down some boundaries that were important to us both. Practical for a second date, yes, but it laid a wonderful foundation for our relationship.
We both took our first trip to the Middle East in 2005, the summer before our last year of college, and within months we both knew we would return longer-term. Austin proposed the same weekend that we both graduated from college by asking me to watch a movie with him. Little did I know that he made a "movie" of pictures of both of us (and was sure to add the "FBI Warning" and "DreamWorks Pictures" for authenticity) and concluded it by asking me to marry him.
Three months later we moved back to the Middle East for a year. We spent our entire engagement living on opposite sides of a busy city in the desert and loved every minute of it. We knew we wanted to make our life in that region. We returned to the U.S. and married three months later. Up until this point, we had been dating for 3 and a half years.
Our wedding has hints of Middle Eastern culture all throughout as well as significant subtleties that you must look closely to find but I'll let you in on a few. I found a henna artist to paint this incredible design on my feet. After I walked down the aisle (to Etta James' "At Last") we washed each others' feet (to The Fray's "Look After You") as a symbol of serving one another for life. We were married by our college ministry leaders who played a significan role in our lives. We shared our first kiss (ever) at the altar (to Sixpence None The Richer's "Kiss Me") and we recessed down the aisle to Dashboard Confessional's "Stolen." We brought back all the bridesmaids' shoes (as well as my own), all of the tapestries on the reception tables, the communion cup and plate, tea cup wedding favors, our wedding bands, and a few other things from the Middle East. Our tables were named after places we had visited all over the Middle East and included a short bit about that place and two pictures per table. We had a photo scavenger hunt with disposable cameras on every table (and got some GREAT pictures from it). Also on every table was a Yahtzee game, and kazoos that read "hummus a tune for a kiss"). Guests were served Middle Eastern food and we had gobs of different types of hot teas to drink in traditional Middle Eastern teacups (which doubled as favors). Each table had a "host" couple which brought a cake for their table and cut it with their own wedding serving set. Hubby and I are both cooks so we chose a Bride and Groom's Cookbook as our guestbook. And we left our reception to a lyric-less rendition of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it On"--classic.
Things we made ourselves: the flowers, the programs, the invitations (well, we tailored a DIY invitation kit from a craft store), thank you cards, votive candles (wrapped in tissue and stamped with an Austin & Kayti logo stamp made by my husband which was used in a variety of places), personalized Yahtzee games, photo scavenger hunt cards, photo booth, seating cards and holder (made from colorful wrapping paper), tea bags in our teacup wedding favors, and our Chuppah (we aren't Jewish but treasure the meaning of the Chuppah).
Kayti
theyoungestatheart.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment