My name is Bilen I am an Ethiopian born, Amsterdam raised, fun loving, (slightly out there) kind of girl. I am a homemaker and I dangerously love my cute, funny and brilliantly curious toddler son named Noah. My hubby and I are truly a dream team and I also love him oh so much (99.9% of the time).  I graduated from the University of Washington with a double major in English and Humanities. Oh, and I am 31 years old.  I met my ultra shy hubby at a Young Professionals party. Shortly after my introduction to him I decided I would give him a lap dance and the rest, as they say, is history. When he planned how he would pop the question he wanted all of our family present. His family was in town for the weekend and so we held a family BBQ/Party. Of course, I knew ahead of time since I was (clears throat) “cleaning” around and found my ring.   My immediate reaction once he was down on bended knee was “Wait….what? Am I really doing this? Am I ready to grow up?” I was a nervous wreck and so scared. Once I snapped out of the shock I realized this is who God had planned for me and I was so happy that I said YES!!!

When I woke up on the day of my wedding, I remember feeling exhausted. I barely got enough sleep. A few of us mischievous folks stayed up to play practical jokes on a few unsuspecting groomsmen. Good times! What made me say yes to my wedding dress was the fact that it was me, simple with just enough elegance and simplicity. It was dress #3 in my 2nd store. I went through the racks, took one look at it and yelled “THIS IS IT”. I then jumped around screaming and hugging the consultant. Having my bridesmaids next to me made me feel so at ease! I knew they would take care of anything I would not be able to. Walking down the aisle made me feel excited, I wasn’t nervous at all! I remember not really paying attention to anything but my hubby ahead, where my feet were landing, and my brother mumbling the few lines he had to recite.

When selecting wedding colors originally, I picked some of my favorite colors: green, blue and purple. However, the hubby chimed in and the colors got changed to something more “bright, fun and summery like” as suggested by him.  It turned out he was right! It was perfect for a summer outdoor wedding. For decor I wanted to really showcase our gorgeous view, so we went with lots of candles, up lighting, flowers and minimum draping. It was once again, simple elegance. When I walked into our reception all I was thinking was “Lord, please let me have fun so I can stop worrying about what might be wrong with things”. Hahaha! It was beautiful seeing everyone welcome us.  For our first dance we danced to Adorn by Miguel and it was special because my hubby picked it. The best part of the day has to be our reception. We had a sparkler exit and then more drinks and partying on our party bus on our way to our friend David’s bar Lucid for an after party mingler. It was perfect. As for close calls on the wedding day I’m sure there were, I just didn’t see it. My MOH took care of everything! Love her. The only thing I wish I could change was keeping our son in a tux.  He became so hot during the ceremony that we had to change him. 

The Melse was planned and designed by mother and her friends. I picked this habeshakemis design because I wanted a dress made identical to a western style dress I loved. I do not generally like habesha dresses so when I designed one it had to have western elements to fit my taste. For my bridal party habeshalibs selection I honestly gave them options to choose from and it came down to a vote.  They opted for a more traditional style that was a great contrast to my hubby and I in our western style designs. The melse was so much fun! Every song we danced to, the gurshas, and the tradition of Dabo Sim was great from start to finish. It was perfect from start to end, I wouldn’t change a thing! One piece of advice that I would give to Habeshabrides is to not be the typical bashful bride, out to please her parents.  Be free, be wild, be yourself. Good Luck!

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