00:01It has to be an amazing wedding. I'm a wedding planner. You know, everyone's
00:06gonna look at our work. It's much more difficult than deciding on other
00:11people's behalf, so it really has been very, very, very stressful.
00:18Ziad wanted a really, really small wedding and I like big weddings, so we
00:23compromised, and ended up with a number of 600 attendees.
00:37So my parents were friends with her parents. I was friends with her sister.
00:42They were classmates. Then 28 years later, we bumped into each other. We're a friend of
00:50ours. We're getting married there. When I saw her, I had the feeling of her being
00:56the one. I felt that this would progress to where we are today.
01:09Long time ago, Arab women, they were mostly housewives. Today, it's very different. In the 21st
01:14century, we're women who have careers, and I love that he's the type of man that appreciates that,
01:20and values that.
01:23We wanted a destination by the sea. We wanted something which is very grand. In Europe, it was
01:29more of restrictions on the after-party and having to move inside. And Arabs like to party like crazy,
01:36so that was like a no-no. And then when we came to Beirut, we saw this venue, and we
01:42didn't even ask.
01:43We just knew it was going to be the place.
01:49I'm Catholic. Ziad is Orthodox. We come from different sects. But then, because he's Orthodox,
01:57what happens is, basically, I'm going to convert and become an Orthodox. But that's going to take
02:03place on the day of the wedding. We have a cultural identity. But we are getting exposed
02:09to different cultures, which is making our own identity. And as long as me and her can respect
02:17each other. And then you can grow. Being together, we develop each other, or we pull each other up or
02:26down
02:26or sideways in life. I'm so blessed to have them.
02:45This is the most difficult wedding I've ever been involved in. The vibe is going to be royal and elegant.
02:57And in our culture and in our tradition, they say that the wedding is for the parents and not for
03:02the people getting married. I think it's for both, maybe, because we've respected their decisions and
03:11their inputs. We asked for a traditional Zafta. It's Arabic music.
03:25It's welcoming the bride to her new life, as if she's not alone. She has family behind her.
03:39In Arab cultures, they consider the woman to be the flower of the house. And when a woman leaves the
03:45house, they don't just walk out and go to church. They're kind of celebrated.
03:55And it's like our cultural way of telling the bride that now you're ready.
04:07The party after is going to be the highlight. But I think the church ceremony is what makes it
04:12special, with the vows and, you know, the wedding dress, her entrance. I think this is the magical part of
04:19the wedding.
04:33There are certain cultural values that we believe in, that we've respected these things and we've kept them.
04:40It's not just a tradition that's being done with no purpose.
04:54Her dad once told me,
04:57you've taken the most precious thing I have. And, you know, he's put it right.
05:11After the church ceremony, there's no more traditions left us to celebrate our marriage.
05:24A lot of the wedding has elements which reflect our own identities and with compromise,
05:29I think we've managed to put it together. As a couple, I feel that this mix of avant-garde
05:35and classical together would bring out something very special.
06:04If you're a bride-to-be, you're going to be super stressed. There's a lot of things to think about.
06:11Honestly, just sit. Have your alone time. Think of all the beautiful things. It will all pass by very smoothly.
06:19Believe that life will take you through the right steps. And there's a solution to every problem.
