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

TV Show Opportunity: Arranged

TV SHOW CASTING OPPORTUNITY!

We are currently searching for young, engaged couples to feature on FYI's hit

docu-series, "Arranged". “Arranged” shines a light on the culture of arranged marriages in modern America and captures the exciting transitions and transformations that engaged couples undergo as they begin their lives as newlyweds. Not only is this series about marriage between spouses, it’s also about marrying into each other’s families. We are looking to find couples (as well as their parents) who want to share their lives as they embrace traditional cultural marriage practices in modern America.

Click HERE for past episodes!

For more info, please email us, including two photos of you and your fiancé, at INFO@HERBIGDAY.INFO with the Subject title "Arranged TV Casting".

Shout out a bride and/or groom in the comment's section below who you think would be perfect for this show!

Engagement Feature: Luwam + Yonas

Bride-to-be: Luwam George

Groom-to-be: Yonas Fessehaye
Location: Atlanta, GA.

Luwam & Yonas just tied the knot over the Labor day weekend so we thought we'd share their sweet engagement photos and "how we met" story during the same week! There is so much L-O-V-E in each photo, we loved it!

Tell us how you met one another: Yonas and I actually met through mutual friends a few years ago. Everyone always mentioned how we should be more than friends, but it really never crossed our minds until after a few years of friendship. Our friendship eventually blossomed into something more after Yonas made a couple of attempts to have a first date. I would always invite people along not really knowing if it was a date or not lol. The really awkward first date led to me marrying my best friend. J

How did he pop the question: I had my family come in town for my cousin’s wedding, so I was running all over the place preparing for their visit. After grocery shopping, I pulled up ready to park and I noticed that Yonas had stolen my favorite parking spot. So I left my car in the middle of the street (yes, I know, very dangerous) and I stormed into the townhouse ready to give him a piece of my mind. However, I walked into a pathway of rose petals leading to a big heart made out of rose petals with a box in the middle of it. I was in complete shock and totally caught off guard, just the way that he had planned. As soon as I told him yes, I would marry him, I told him that he needed to move his car out of my parking spot. Afterwards, we celebrated with chick-fil-a and wine. J It really meant a lot to my family and I that he proposed right before they came into town so I could tell my parents and brother in person that I was engaged rather than over the phone.

When's the big day: September 5^th, 2015

What are you looking forward to the most about your wedding: We are both looking forward to having family and friends from all over the world come and join us in celebrating our union.

What would you say has been the hardest thing about planning an Eritrean-American wedding: Hmm… the most difficult thing would be the guest list. Throughout the process of wedding planning, we had to keep a large guest list in mind. In some ways, it kind of limited the options available for our wedding.

Any tips or pointers for the couple planning a wedding right now:

The wedding is only one day (well, two in our case)! Do not stress out over it and remember: the most important thing is the days AFTER the wedding- the actual marriage. Also, choose your bridal party carefully- they will make the wedding planning much smoother and more fun!

Engagement photos by: Ayu Hailu (we highly recommend him!)

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Luwam + Yonas! Many blessings to you both in your new union, xx.

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.

Culture Fusion in Jamaica

Hi Bellas! We came across Muneera's wedding on social media and fell in L-O-V-E with all of the bright colors, the culture fusion and the beautiful backdrop of Jamaica's beautiful beaches, palm trees and skyline! This bride did such a fabulous job with everything- not only did she choose the perfect destination but everything from her wedding gowns, her bridesmaids' turquoise dresses, her stunning headpiece and the bindi (forehead decor worn in India) and henna that each of her bridesmaids were adorned with. This is by far one of our fave weddings (on social media of course, because we weren't there; but looking at these pictures will definitely make you wish you were there)! 

Enjoy, xo.

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Thank you, Muneera for allowing us to share your gorgeous pictures! They are so inspiring!! 

Professional Photographs by Dwayne Watkins Photography (TeamDWP).

Originally published on Bella Bride Africa.