My name is Beza. I was born in Ethiopia but grew up in Seattle, Washington for most of my life.  I work as an engineer in the aviation industry. My husband and I first met in Seattle on an evening out with my friends. We ran into each other that night however did not speak again till a year later. I started working with one of his close friends and we all began to hang out. The rest was history! He proposed to me on my birthday at the top of the Seattle Space Needle.  We were having dinner and when the desert came out it had lots of smoke (from dry ice) and was placed right in front of me. First thought that came to mind was “what the heck did I order again?” Once the smoke cleared there was the ring! I honestly don’t remember my first thought.  I know I was overwhelmed with joy and crying uncontrollably.  I do remember calling my mother and telling her she was so happy because she loves him so much.

When I woke up on my wedding I was sooo excited! I literally slept for two hours but had so much energy. I was at peace and just so excited for the day. Having my girls with me made me feel so loved! They were AMAZING. They were the best group of girls a bride could have.  My entire family is in love with each and every one of them because they were just that amazing the whole time. Every time my family talk about anything that has to do with our wedding they always mention them.  They made me so proud! I picked out two dresses for my wedding day.  One for the Orthodox wedding ceremony and one for the wedding reception. It was actually my girls who helped me the most when picking them out. We were like a democratic party.  We literally voted on everything! Yes… even on my dress. We actually needed to resort to that because I was no help. Every time I put on a dress I yelled THIS IS IT. They knew me well and they helped me pick out the two gorgeous dresses.  I picked out blush, champagne and white as my wedding colors because they make a beautiful combination. Very soft, airy and romantic which was the theme I was going for.  It came out beautifully! When I began to walk down the aisle all I kept thinking was “Wow… this is really happening!”

For the reception I wanted to create an elegant and romantic atmosphere.  My reception was held at a beautiful landmark in downtown Seattle so it didn’t need to much in decor. I kept my uplighting in the purple/pink glow so that it wasn’t too girly.  It was a good decision because when we walked in my first thought was “Damn this is bomb!” Hahaha I wasn’t expecting it to look like this at all. I knew it would look nice because the venue itself was beautiful but this put it far beyond my expectations! Our first dance was to an amharic song “Ye Hiwote Hiwot.” We wanted an amharic song because it represented both of us. Our singer had an amazing voice and did a fantastic job singing it. There were so many memorable moments of the night but some of my favorites were when we first entered the venue. Seeing all of our family smiling and waiting for us at the door will be a moment I will always cherish. The exit as well when we did the kissing of the knees of our family members was so emotional and definitely one of my favorite moments of the night.  

I wouldn’t change a thing about the wedding day, it was perfect. There wasn’t any issues and I have been such a chill bride the whole time I didn’t really care for any of the details that happened during the day of.  I planned to enjoy myself. The only thing I wish a Habeshabride would have told me is to have your family help during the day of. I was originally thinking that I didn’t want my family to work, I wanted them to just enjoy themselves. However I found out quickly that doesn’t work well with Habesha families. They actually want to work and that’s how they enjoy themselves. So I gave them all tasks to do and they did them happily.

For the Melse I wanted it to be very traditional. I did everything from the traditional decorations to the dabo sim naming ceremony. For my kemis my bridesmaid actually designed the sketch for me and I loved it. I sent the design to a family member back home in Ethiopia to get it made. When it finally arrived it fit me like a glove and it looked amazing! For my girls kemis they picked the design because it was cute and complimented my kemis. The entire night was so much fun from start to end. My favorite moment from the Melse was the dabo sim ceremony where the bridal party would take pieces of the bread to each table and ask guests what my new name was. I also enjoyed that I got a chance to greet guests and take photos with them since it was a bit more intimate than the previous wedding day.  The only thing that I would have changed for the Melse would have been the location.  The venue had some issues with their AC so it got a bit warm which was uncomfortable for everyone. One piece of advice that I would give to current brides is to order your dress EARLY! We got ours very early which made the rest of the planning for the Melse stress free.

Vendor List