Yodit G.
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My name is Yodit and I am Ethiopian American born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area. 
I’m the Owner and Lead Event Planner of Favored by Yodit Events, a luxe boutique event management & design company serving the Atlantic East Coast and International Destinations since 2012. I started Favored by Yodit Events to help the multicultural community and primarily Habesha Brides & Grooms in providing award winning event design, planning and coordination services. My husband, Andy and I met at a Christmas Eve party ten years ago when a mutual friend introduced us. We struck up a conversation, and fate played its first card when we found out that we both had the same birthday. After dating for seven years, he popped the question by slipping the engagement ring on my finger while I slept. When I woke up the next morning, I noticed something sparkly on my hand and literally screamed out loud since I was so shocked! All I kept on hearing was Beyonce’s lyrics “I woke up like this!!!”

After a decade of planning special events, it was only right I planned my own wedding. Since I have a great team I was able to really take in the role as a bride and let them lead on all the wedding day activities. On my wedding day I woke up super early and kept thinking to myself this will be the best day ever no matter what happens! After almost eight years of being together I couldn’t have imagined another person I would want to spend the rest of my life with than him. And I couldn’t wait to party with our friends and family that have been there all along.

 I said yes to my wedding dress because of how it made me feel when I first tried it on. I think I went to only two shops since I didn’t shop around too much because that tends to confuse brides alot. The best advice I could give is to go with your gut when picking out your dress and to really think it through on how it will go with your venue, overall wedding style and your body type. I knew I loved my dress when I started to cry. I know it sounds clique but  after my mom and friends gasped and said this is the one it really hit home! Having my girls by my side that day meant the world to me as I adore each and every one of them. When selecting colors for the wedding I knew I wanted something in the blue family.  Blue has always been my favorite color and when I found the bridesmaid dresses in the perfect shade of deep turquoise I knew I had to incorporate it with the yellow and blue wedding color scheme. I also knew that I wanted our wedding to be  different and haven’t seen that color combo done for a habesha wedding. Walking down the aisle made me feel beautiful…I literally felt like a Queen walking to her King at the alter. Also the claps and cheering from over 300 people made me blush like crazy.

When designing the decor for the reception I wanted it to be glam yet fun and most importantly weave in modern Ethiopian traditions. When we walked into our reception my first thought was OMG!! As a planner and perfectionist I planned a first look of the space since I wanted to make sure everything I designed came out perfectly and I was super excited to see how beautiful everything from the gorgeous centerpieces, custom linens, to the unique floor plan and much more came out! For our first dance we had a mash-up which started slow with my favorite song that describes us, John Legend’s “You & I (Nobody In The World)” and then had our DJ mix in a classic favorite by Bob Marley “I Wanna Love You” that really got everyone singing along and ready to join us on the dancefloor!  The rest of the night went off without a hitch but we did have a near disaster. The wedding cake almost fell since so many people jumped in when we we walked in and the family greeted us with eskista dancing.  Luckily the catering company servers and my cousin saw it in time and moved the table farther away from the dance floor.  I didn’t even realize anything until they told me the next day. Other than that it was simply perfection.  I wouldn’t have changed a thing!

For the Melse I literally let my family plan the whole thing which was the best thing I could have done. All that I asked was for there to be amazing habesha food and great music! For my habeshakemis I designed it myself. I loved picking out the saba fabric and tillet pattern which was gorgeous.  For my girls I wanted them to feel comfortable and actually like the dresses.  I selected green saba fabric and had it designed with modern silhouette of a cocktail dress. My favorite song that was played during the Melse was Mushiraye.  That Ethiopian classic always makes me want to cry! One piece of advice that I would give is to not plan the Melse! Traditionally it is a party for the bride and groom and I noticed once I let go of the responsibility I had a lot more fun! Another piece of advice I would give to current brides would be to invest in your peace of mind for the day.  Since I’m a professional planner I literally planned for everything and was so blessed to have my staff help coordinate all the special details of the wedding. Since I know a lot of habeshabrides get stressed leading to the day I would tell them to let the small stuff go and hire a planner or at least a coordinator so you don’t have to think and just enjoy your wedding celebrations.  Good Luck 🙂

Vendor Thoughts I would gladly recommend all the vendors I worked with for our wedding!
Wedding Gown Vendor Name My wedding gown was made by Pronovias and I loved that it had touches of classic details with lace but then a fun skirt and it was super easy to move around in.
Ceremony Location Name St Katherine’s Greek Orthodox Church
Florist Vendor Name BCG Events & DaVinci Florists
Bridal party Attire Vendor(s) Name(s) Ethiopian designer, Amsale 
Stationary Vendor Name Invitations by Wedding Paper Divas, Custom Day of Stationary by Lepenn Designs and Laura Hooper Calligraphy created special items for our big day.
Photographer Vendor Name Danielle Real Photography. We loved working with Danielle.
Videographer Vendor Name Our videographer was great! His name is Paul Hairston and based in New York
Reception Venue Name Our venue was The Morais Vineyards & Winery in Virginia and I honestly fell in love with it when we booked it the same week we got engaged. 
Traditional attire Vendor Name I designed the Melse dress but the talented JoAnn Atelier made the alterations. She is a legend in the D.C. community for great quality customer service and overall technique
Makeup Artist Vendor Name Makeup by Fifi and Dee Marie Makeup 
Hair Stylist Vendor Name Yene Damtew and Hair by Serena 
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