Niomi F.
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My name is Niomi and I am an attorney from Seattle, WA. My Hubby and I initially met in high school but didn’t know each other well though we had mutual friends. One weekend during the beginning of my sophomore year in college, my best friend and I were sitting outside on the stoop of my apartment building when a couple of our mutual friends from high school pulled up. Terren was with them and he let me know that he had just transferred to my college and his friends were there for the weekend visiting him. We exchanged phone numbers and have been best friends ever since. Terren told me we were going out to dinner and to be ready

by 6pm.At 6pm the door bell rang and I expected it to be him but it was a driver. I get into the car and the driver takes me to the pier where Terren was waiting. Terren tells me that we’re going to have dinner at the Seattle Aquarium. We entered the Aquarium and I was in complete shock. He rented the entire place out and have everything decorated in my favorite color (lavender), there were also candles everywhere and my favorite song playing. We had some drinks and appetizers then had a tour of all the exhibits. Then we went to the dinner table. Our waiter came out and as we are getting ready to order, he asks if we’d like him to take a picture first. Terren gives him the camera and as we pose for the picture, Terren got down on one knee and proposed! Of course, I said yes 🙂 He then tells me that we’re not really eating dinner there but that we had to go to his parents house first because that’s where he parked his car. We walked in to tell his parents the good news, and we were greeted by all of our family and friends, some of whom had traveled from the east coast. First thing I said after saying yes was did yes was did you ask my dad? He said he didn’t! I didn’t know how to tell him that we weren’t engaged then lol. But it turns out that not only had he asked him, but he and my dad planned the engagement together 🙂

When I woke up on the morning of my wedding day I remember thinking why do Habesha weddings have to start so early in the morning. I had to wake up at 4am after a fun night of partying at the rehearsal dinner the night before. But I didn’t feel tired, I was excited. Knowing that I was going to be walking down the aisle made me feel so lucky that I was going to be marrying such a wonderful man. What made me love my bridal gown was the way it made me feel. I loved that dress! I selected lavender for the main color for my wedding because since I was a little girl, I’ve always loved lavender. My room no matter what age was always different shades of lavender. I chose to add silver to make the lavender pop. My girls also looked fabulous in it! Having them next to me on that day made me feel complete. Each one of those girls have been with me through everything big or small and it felt great to have them next to me on this day.  

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When we walked into our reception it was literally perfection! My wedding planner really understood my vision and she made it come to life. I was also in awe of how beautiful all of our guests looked. Our first dance was to It was Mushiraye. It was always the most special/emotional moment of attending a Habesha Wedding for me. I love seeing a bride and groom dance to Mushiraye, it’s one of the times where you’re like, this is really happening lol. The most memorable moment of the night was when we surprised our guests by having a diver in the tank announce us as we entered the reception. The day was so perfect! There is not a thing that I would change. The only thing I wish a Habesha Bride would have told me is how to handle people that were upset for not being invited to the wedding.

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For the Melse I wanted a more intimate setting. I took a more simplified approach when planning for the day. I also  wanted my bridesmaids to match me. Most times the Brides libs and bridesmaids libs are different color schemes. I wanted them to have the same colors as me but reserved. My dress was simple in design with Turquoise with silver tilet and theirs was silver with Turquoise tilet. My Husband and I wore black Kabas with silver embroidery to match the color scheme. My favorite part of the Melse was the Dabo Sim ceremony where my Husband’s family selected a nickname for me! The one thing I would have done differently would have been bringing flip flops to change into. My feet were killing me from 3 nights of dancing in a row. One piece of Melse advice that I would give to other Habesha Brides currently planning would be to get your Melse dresses made where you plan to get married. I had them done in Ethiopia and the sizes were way off. We had to get each girls dress altered. Good luck!

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