Our Interview with KING 5's New Day Northwest

Did you catch our appearance on King channel 5's New Day Northwest with Margaret Larson!?

We had such an amazing time sharing our upcoming wedding show in front of a live audience!

If you missed it, not to worry because you can WATCH IT HERE!

During the segment, we gave a sneak peek into what can be expected at our wedding show! Our beautiful models did such a FANtastic job of showcasing an array of cultural wedding dresses and wow'd the entire audience (and P.S. people are still talking about it!)

Her Big Day: A Cultural Wedding Affair will be the best (and first) cultural wedding show for cultural brides of all backgrounds! You won't want to miss this! Tickets to the show are $10 and can be purchased HERE. See you all there!

Below is a description of each dress worn by our lovely models and behind the scene pics.

Dress 1:  Modern style dress and kaba (cape) designed by local designer Tsigereda Tekle of Blue Touch. While this two piece skirt and crop top with sweetheart neckline is considered to be more trendy and fashion forward, it is embossed with the traditional designs typically seen on Eritrean and Ethiopian fabrics. This modern look for the Eritrean and Ethiopian bride was completed with a contemporary headpiece.

Dress 2: The Eryn Rose dress at Le Salon Bridal Couture Seattle was a fitted open back lace gown with pearls and crystals with a custom cathedral lace veil by Ariel Jennifer Taub, for a timeless elegant western bride.  We love Ariel’s veils because they are so customizable and offer wide range of colors in not just tulles but also Swarovski crystal designs.
Provided by: Le Salon Bridal Couture Seattle

Dress 3: A more traditional, one piece Eritrean and Ethiopian dress that was crafted using a hand woven cotton, a commonly used fabric in these two countries, and designed with the classic, intricate design down the middle of the dress, coming together to form a beautiful meskel (cross) at the bottom. This traditional look was completed with a deep red, velvet cape and crown embellished with sparkly, gold sequined material as well as traditional jewelry (called werki) in the form of a headpiece and necklace. It looked like royalty!
Jewelry provided by: Elsabet Habesha Jewelry

Dress 4: Two piece skirt (referred to as a wrapper) and blouse made from traditional Nigerian fabrics and completed with a stunning head wrap (called a gele) and a bold statement necklace. Nigerian brides typically custom make their wedding dresses from traditional fabrics that come in various colors, styles and designs. The wrapper is considered to be one of the most important and elegant bridal pieces. This one was a beautiful champagne colored fabric with lace designs throughout the fabric and looked perfect with the gold head wrap!

Dress 5: This two piece, hand stitched, traditional Indian dress, known as a Lehenga, is typically worn by the Hindu bride. Although our model gracefully and effortlessly wore this dress, it is actually very heavy as it is packed with tulle and a ton of material underneath the skirt. In addition to the skirt and matching blouse (choli), a scarf (called a dupatta) is draped over her shoulders. And of course, this look was completed with all of the beautiful adornments such as a headpiece, necklace and bangles!
Dress provided by: Ravishing Marketplace

Dress 6: The Brittany Dress at Le Salon Bridal Couture Seattle Le Salon look featured a blush full a line ballgown with heavy Swarovski and satin bodice and dreamy tulle skirt.  The Toni Federici double satin edge finger tip veil tied the look together for a very classy finish to frame the brides face on her big day.  The perfect shades of gowns were selected to really highlight each bride’s skin tone and look.  Fantastic job ladies!
Provided by: Le Salon Bridal Couture Seattle

How Stunning were our models!?

A big thank you to our vendors, especially our Hair and Makeup team!
Hair by Rigat Habte of Hands of Artistry
Makeup by Kayla Beltran, Kat Neal and Nikki Molinar

Ashenda | A Tigray Celebration Part 1

During the month of August, for a few days straight, Tigray women and girls all around the world celebrate Ashenda. This article was submitted by Ethiopian model Bethelhem Belay, via Tigrai Online, and gives us some background on what Ashenda is and why it is celebrated. This was so beautiful, we had to share!

P.S. This is Part 1 of the post and in Part 2, we will showcase images of women celebrating Ashenda from all around the world. If you partook in Ashenda this year and would like to share your pictures with us, please tag us on our social media pages or email them to us directly at info@herbigday.info

Enjoy this read, xo.

Ashenda is a unique, Tigraian festival which takes place in August to mark the end of a fasting period called Filseta (Tsome Filseta, Assumption of St. Virgin Mary) in the Ethiopian Orthodox church. It is both a traditional and religious festival. This event is mostly for girls and young women, and is eagerly awaited for each year. It is unique to the people in the state of Tigrai, located in northern Ethiopia. The name of the festival "Ashenda" comes from the name of a tall grass that the girls make into a skirt and wear it around their waist as adornment. The young women and girls dress in their best traditional dresses, called tilfi, a cotton dress decorated with amazing embroidery on the front of the dress from top to bottom. The girls also adorn themselves with an array of beautiful jewelry.

After the girls gather in the village or city center, they divide into small groups and go from house to house, singing and playing their drums. They stop at every house to sing and dance for the people in the houses. It is customary for people to give them money, food, drinks and other items for their efforts. They continue the whole day going from house to house and occasionally stopping in a village or city center, singing and dancing for a while before they continue on their tour.

A week or so after the celebrations start, the event comes to an end with all the girls from the village or town coming together in a central location for more singing and dancing until sundown. This time the young boys join in more like spectators than active players.