Confessions of a Real Bride: Shereen Haddad
Shereen Haddad and Alaa Sayej got married on November 16, 2012 at the Catholic ‘Karam Imseeh’ church in Amman, Jordan followed by a reception held at the Orthodox Club in Abdoun, Amman.
- Did you hire a wedding planner or planned your wedding yourself? How was your experience?
We didn’t hire a wedding planner; we planned everything ourselves. We looked for ideas and booked the vendors and the church ourselves.We also decorated my family’s house and made beautiful stands and trays to present the chocolates on with stickers of me and Alaa’s picture on them.
-
What is the biggest advice you can give any bride-to-be when planning for her wedding?
- The most important thing is organization. You have to be organized and always keep a paper, pen, and calendar with you. You will need them to add your tasks and make sure you don’t forget any detail. I used to write down everything that comes on my mind so I won’t forget it later on. I also created a timetable for all the things I had to do; it’s a great feeling to start crossing things off your list and putting them aside.
- Always look for creative and unique ideas, especially for decorations, music and giveaways.
- Have everything ready before the wedding in good time. I had the giveaways, house decorations, and thank you notes all ready before anything else.
- Plan your bridal shower ahead of time; it takes a lot of time to plan it, so the sooner you start the better the results.
- Ask your friends and families for help, if you feel overwhelmed or confused don’t hesitate to ask someone to work on some tasks.
"The most important thing is organization"
- Did you pick a certain theme or color scheme? What was it? Did you use it all through the wedding?
The color scheme was mainly silver and white, decorated with pearls. I included pearls in most of the wedding, my flower girls wore pearl and flower bracelets and even Alaa and his groomsmen had pearl pins pinned to their suits.
Our thank you notes were shaped like a suit and a wedding dress decorated with pearls.
The giveaways were big seashells filled with pearls, with a note which had the pearl’s description and their relation to the horoscopes.
We distributed fireworks sticks, matchsticks and flyers with our pictures on them.
The entrance was very nice as well, the groom entered with his friends all wearing hats and carrying canes.
- Do you recommend specific suppliers you worked with? Feel free to include as many as you wish.
I recommend Imad Jamal from Arcadia Studio, he gave us so many ideas for our pictures.
He also made us a slide show of our childhood along with pictures taken a week before the wedding.
- What was the most difficult and stressful part of wedding planning?
Not having enough time to plan everything, between the engagement, planning the wedding and looking for a house, we felt a bit pressured.
- Did you face any surprises? If so how did you deal with them?
Our wedding car broke down once we were on our way to the church, but thank God it was fixed in no time, other than that it all went smoothly and as planned.
"The website helped us a lot by giving us ideas and tips"
"I loved the planning tools as they helped me plan every detail for a perfect wedding"
- Do you consider yourself as a relaxed bride or more of a bridezilla?
I consider myself a bridezilla, because I wanted everything to be perfect, but it also made me more anxious and nervous. The groom was a bit more relaxed which helped me a lot and reassured me.
- How can you best describe your wedding and the planning process?
The planning process was the most beautiful period of our lives.
- Did Arabia Weddings help you in your wedding planning? If so, please explain how?
The website helped us a lot by giving us ideas and tips. I loved the planning tools as they helped me plan every detail for a perfect wedding.
