00:01Faith has always been a part of my family's life.
00:05We're Assyrians.
00:06They're a small Christian minority from Iraq.
00:09Because my mom married a Lebanese man,
00:12there was never really any question that when I married a Middle Eastern man,
00:16of course we're going to include that into our wedding.
00:23When we were growing up in Iraq,
00:25Christianity and being an Assyrian was part of our identity.
00:29We were Christian in a dominant Muslim world.
00:35So we were a minority in our society by religion.
00:39So today we do it here because it's our faith.
00:44I always found it really impressive that my parents managed to assimilate into a country,
00:49become citizens and so love that country,
00:51but still hang on to the pieces of them that they think are unique and special.
00:55I try to incorporate as much as I can.
00:57It's hard. It's part of the melting pot.
01:00They have to live in America and so they have to adopt to their country
01:05so they'd be a good asset to their community and their families.
01:09By us melting together, we will forget about that venom and our humanity
01:14and the melting pot hopefully will give them more harmony.
01:16But with the exception that you need to hold on and have something to contribute.
01:21And that's what makes it more beautiful.
01:25So when I was younger, we would always have Lebfests and the entire neighborhood would be invited over.
01:33Do you know how to squeeze a lemon so you don't get the seeds in?
01:35No.
01:36Okay. Use your hand like that and squeeze.
01:38My mom and grandmother would cook Lebanese food and we would listen to music.
01:43It was part of my culture growing up.
01:45Tradition provides foundation and grounding.
01:49You take the traditions that you shared when you were younger and then mold them into something that's uniquely yours.
01:58Incorporating our heritage and our background into our weddings was really, really important.
02:03Every week I'd get a new Wikipedia article from my mother about some Assyrian tradition that we should include
02:10like bridal dress or it was just everything.
02:14It got to the point where you're like, we're going to need to edit this down.
02:17I learned new traditions I didn't know we had thanks to her mom.
02:20So that was unique.
02:21Yeah.
02:25So in our church, when you get married, they have two ribbons, one's red, one's white, that represent the union.
02:32They tie them onto the arms of the couple.
02:34My parents took their ribbon and they cut it into four.
02:38One for them, one for me and one for each of my brothers.
02:41And so if you look at the boutonniere that I'm wearing, you'll see a red and white ribbon wrapped around
02:46it.
02:46And that's the same ribbon that was used my parents got married.
02:50And then when I was baptized and I probably when my brothers were baptized.
02:53You don't know they're there, but those are a part of our family and our tradition.
02:58And we wanted to make sure that those were on us while we took our step together.
03:05At our wedding, you're going to see lots of nods to the Mediterranean.
03:10We will have fresh herbs in all of our arrangements.
03:13You'll see lots of lemons, olive branches, wherever we can include them.
03:18We have crosses that have been handed down over time.
03:21One of them is from our parish where my parents were married.
03:24And so I always keep that near me.
03:32I've never seen it so glorious.
03:34Flowers and the arrangement and the setting.
03:36It was spectacular.
03:39You're locked arms with this person and you're on this path together.
03:43It's not always going to be so happy.
03:45It's the tough times as well, but it really is that partnership that makes you loyal to the end.
03:51I now present to you all, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel, you may kiss the bride.
04:06You'll see a traditional Assyrian entrance.
04:09Everybody's dancing.
04:14And they have these colored, noisy handkerchiefs.
04:19It's easy to translate that.
04:21The scarves are called yalchiyate.
04:24They're really very decorative and everybody wave them when they dance.
04:28It's just so colorful and we enjoy using them and dancing with them.
04:34So here I am.
04:37And I particularly love all our non-Assyrian friends.
04:40We're out there trying to learn our dances and it was awesome.
04:48We did things that were honorable to our family members.
04:53What was fun is figuring out how much it's for family and how much it's for the couple.
04:58And I think so long as you're truly mindful of that, there's no wrong answer.
05:03I think it felt most authentic to us the way that we wanted that to come together for our wedding.
05:08Absolutely.
05:15And that's why?
05:16Well, thanks Bro.
05:16Yes.
05:16You.
05:16Why a lot of people have these activities,
05:16You
