Sara A.
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My name is Sara and I am Ethiopian and Eritrean mix, born in Grand Rapids Michigan but have lived in atlanta georgia since i was about 4 years old. I work in Human Resources for the airline industry. I love traveling around the world as much as possible.  My hubby and I have actually known each other almost for all of our lives. Our families were one of the few habesha families living in Atlanta back in the 80-90’s. It wasn’t until my younger sister’s graduation party where we saw each other as more than just friends. We continued to date off and on for about 10 years before he popped the question. He surprised me when I was getting my hair done at my friends salon. Since it is my friends salon it is not unusual to have my sister and other friends there hanging out. Once my hair was finished, the salon chair gets turned around and there he was with everyone’s camera out on me! I started crying immediately! The music was so loud i could not hear a word he said but when he got down on one knee i knew what was coming next! lol. Total shock! My first thought after I said yes was FINALLY!

When I woke up on my wedding day I remember feeling extremely nervous. Thankfully my girls were by my side and they were the absolute best. I picked out this wedding dress because I loved the sparkle of it and the simplicity at the same time. Showed my curves but at the same time was conservative for church. When walking down the aisle it honestly felt like an outer body experience. I knew what was happening but it was just surreal. When selecting the colors for the wedding i didn’t want anything too feminine for my husbands sake – so that is where the royal blue came in and silver to bring out the sexy sparkle. For the reception I wanted it to be all about simplicity with sparkle. The decor was mainly all white with silver/white centerpieces and the only blue on the wall uplighting. When we finally made our grand entrance all I was thinking was let’s get this partay started! Our first dance was to Brown Eyes by beyonce. That song reminds me of our relationship and how much it shows how we have grown…ex:”Remember the first day, the first day we met, remember the first day we had an argument….” and especially because my husband has the most beautiful light brown eyes.

The most memorable moment of the night was everyone dancing the night away celebrating our marriage. There was a major mishap that happened during the reception. The backdrop draping fell on the main stage where the bridal party seating was! Thankfully no one was on stage. I would not change a thing from that day. All the good and bad made it exactly who my husband and I are – far from perfect but lots of fun! The only thing I wish a Habesha bride would have told me is to enjoy the night and don’t sweat the small stuff.

For the Melsi I wanted to celebrate and  touch upon both my Ethiopian and Eritrean roots.  I had two dresses made to represent both sides.  For me the must have moment for the event was the traditional boon ceremony. My favorite song that was played was Mushiraya. The highlight for me really was getting my hair braided and getting to wear tons of werki! One piece of advice that I would give to current brides is to make sure the right person does your decorations and supplies all the traditional pieces. We had the most amazing person and she provided almost EVERYTHING that was needed to make it extremely traditional. All we needed to plan for was the wedding day.  Good Luck!

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