My name is Almaz and I was born in Eritrea and moved to the states in my early teen years to the beautiful Bay Area. I work in a hospital based clinic as a family therapist. My hubby and I met through one of my graduate school friends at a day time party in Oakland, Ca. He popped the question when he took me on a surprise trip to Paris. He had been planning this trip for months. He convinced me that we were going to Montreal Canada but a few days before our trip I came home to a beautiful card cut out in the shape of buildings in Paris with a writing in french asking me to pack my bags for Paris. It was not until close to the end of our trip that he took be to the Eiffel tower during a sunset for the most magical and breathtaking proposal. My heart was filled with so much joy and gratitude to have had the people we love witness this moment as we begin our forever as ONE.  

When I woke up on my wedding day I was relieved to finally have arrived to this day. Everything seemed organized and falling into perfect places. Having my bridesmaids next to me made me feel balanced. I picked this wedding dress because it was light, romantic, a little backless and it fits our outdoor venue so perfectly. The under layer had floral prints to match our romantic garden venue. Our venue had lots of greenery and flowers in the background and lights at night. It was important for us to choose light colors and went with blush colors. Taupe was what my bridesmaids wore. Our floral arrangement was all in olive branch with garden roses. The olive branch was absolutely gorgeous against my dress, bridesmaids dresses, the men’s black tux and our grey table covers. When we walked into the venue for the ceremony I thought this looks even better filled with the people we love so dearly! I will say walking down the aisle made me feel emotional but my parents were grounding and comfortable.

Our first dance was to Stay Together by Al Green. When we first began dating in 2013, we went on our first concert at the San Francisco Symphony; our first dance together was to that very song. Also I engraved the title of the song inside my husband’s wedding ring.  The only issue we had was timing to leave to the ceremony. There was a delay with our makeup artist finishing us on time and so we rushed through a lot of our pictures.  It kind of worked out because we had some time during cocktail hour to do some more shoots.

For the Melsi the must haves for me were the stage decoration, grand entrance, tehambele dance, hamawiti ceremony/dance,coffee ceremony, esele dance and blessing ceremony/exit. I do wish we had used a different vendor or had a family member bring in our dresses and men’s clothing in advance. Some of our clothing arrived a couple of days before the wedding. The groomsmen (and other family members) could not fit so my husband ordered their clothing from a vendor in England (Europe) via Etsy.com. The material was amazing and stretchy. As for my choice in a zuria I love the tilfi. The designs are absolutely beautiful. Tilfi is traditionally worn by the bride. For my girls I had them vote for a dress they all agreed on. Luckily they are so easy going and just wanted a long sleeve and I love midi. If I could change one thing I wish we could have greeted all of our guests the way we did on our first day wedding. I also would advise other brides to have a day of coordinator and also have someone to translate all the ceremonies in English or any other dominant language most of your guests speak. Good Luck!

Vendor List

Florist Vendor Name	Paula’s
Bridal party Attire Vendor(s) Name(s)	Women- Lulus.com
Stationary Vendor Name	Wedding Paper Divas. I would use them again. Very reliable.
Photographer Vendor Name	1 and 2- Victor Zerga
Videographer Vendor Name	1 and 2. Studio Arcady
Reception Venue Name	1- Brown Stone Gardens. 2- Paradise Ballrooms
Makeup Artist Vendor Name?	1- Fifi 2- Fenan
Hair Stylist Vendor Name?	1- My cousin and I did my hair. 2- Senait- from San Francisco. I recommend her. So Honest.