Confessions of a Real Bride: Layal Alami
Layal and Rajaei are both Jordanians who met in Qatar through a group of common friends playing basketball. "We hated each other at first because we were too competitive. Later we fell in love and got married in Jordan", said Layal.
Layal shared her wedding planning experience to help out other brides-to-be plan their wedding.
Here is what Layal had to say about her wedding planning experience:
- When was the wedding held and where?
First, we had our engagement party in Jordan, it was held on July, 28, 2015 at the Country Club. We loved the outdoor venue and we had around 200 guests.
For the wedding, we wanted an indoor venue, as in May, the weather could be tricky. So we chose the Intercontinental Hotel's Grand Ballroom. The wedding was held on May 20th 2016.
Don't stress over the small details, no one else will notice them but you
- What is the biggest advice you can give any bride-to-be?
My biggest advice to brides and grooms is to relax! It all works out in the end.
We were planning a wedding all the way from another country, and we didn't visit Jordan for an entire year before that.
Basically, it was all planned through Whatsapp with the event planners in Amman. It is very important to choose an event planner whom you are comfortable with, this will make you way less stressed on the day of your wedding.
Don't stress over the small details, no one else will notice them but you. The most important element in the wedding is that the party resembles the character of you as a couple, and not just a party filled with the latest wedding trends.
- What was the theme or color scheme you picked for your wedding?
The lighting was warm yellow and orange. Flowers were all white with some greens. We went for a very elegant and classic set up which fit the vibe of the ballroom.
We installed a fake flower wall behind us with some chandeliers.
- Do you recommend specific suppliers you worked with?
Our event planner who planned our engagement and our wedding is Events Maker Jordan.
They sourced all details including flowers, set up, chairs and tables, lighting, DJ, zaffeh, photography and videography.
We depended on them from A to Z, and this made the process of planning way easier - to have one point of contact to all event details.
Our close friends - Wassleh Jo prepared a morning photoshoot for us, on the same day of the wedding, as a gift. They did a wonderful job catching beautiful moments before all the stress started.
For wedding cards, we made ours at Al Alami for Wedding Cards. They were made in Jordan and shipped to Qatar to distribute to our wedding guests.
I did my hair and makeup at Souhail and Bob Salon.
- What was the most difficult and stressful part of wedding planning?
Our wedding was very different. Since both of us live abroad, we had more than 150 guests flying in from many countries to attend the wedding. Many from different nationalities.
We had to adapt the wedding and music to something that others can also relate to. Our event planner worked very well on this, and thankfully it worked great.
It was also a challenge for us to imagine the set up and ballroom, since we only saw everything over Whatsapp. We had only 7 days in Jordan to see it in reality before the wedding day - which made our schedule packed.
- Did you face any surprises?
The sleeves of my dress tore in the middle of the party! I had to pretend that everything was alright, until I managed to fix it in the room during dinner time.
Also one of the screens in the hall did not work but, luckily, they managed to fix it in no time.
- Did Arabia Weddings help you in your wedding planning?
I used the Wedding Planning Checklist of Arabia Weddings to plan my wedding. I also checked many of the Real Weddings posts to see halls and set ups. This was very useful for us since we both haven't seen many wedding venues in Jordan. We were able to get inspired from the photos and stories.
