#TheSultanAndHisBride

Mid-June, we treated ourselves to a relaxing stay at the Omni while we attended Feven and Sultan’s wedding. Feven and I met 9 years ago in nursing school and throughout the years, we have bonded through supporting each other in our life, careers, and relationships. She has been my gym buddy for the last year or so, which has been awesome. We got engaged within a week of one another last October, so it has been fun to walk together on the wedding planning journey. 

It was amazing to witness a wedding celebration with such a rich infusion of culture and traditions. Yung and I both felt an incredible sense of community throughout the 2 day event. Everyone came together to celebrate the bride and groom who truly looked like royalty.

It has been a treat to get to know Feven’s sisters and her friends that I have heard her talk so much about. One commonality I have noticed is how inviting and welcoming everyone is. Seriously a beautiful testament to how they were raised.

Isn't everyone just gorgeous?????!

Weddings are always a great place to see friends you haven't seen in YEARS! Hi Lauren!

Two very important things I do not want to forget from my experience:

1. When attending an Eritrian event, you must train your mind to be on a different clock. Kind of like being on Island Time when you go to Hawaii (not that I've ever been..but I've heard :) ) If the invitation states a 6pm start time, that may meant 8pm, but it might really mean 9:30pm.  I learned this the hard way in the beginning, but I think we did pretty well at doing our best to be "late" over the weekend. I like living life without a clock. We would probably all get fewer headaches and be more stress free if we adopted this regimen. Just bring a book with you where ever you go and you are set! 

2. The food was one of our favorite parts of the wedding, and I am happy to announce that I now love injera. Injera is a cross between a pancake and a crepe. It is really like a tan or brown colored, thin, squishy, sour pancake, with lots of craters that makes it look like the surface of the moon when it isn't feeling well. I first tasted it at Feven’s house many years ago, and ate it just to be polite. Clearly, I was not an immediate injera lover, but something happened over the weekend and I am now raving fan. All of the wedding food was traditional, and we enjoyed every bite. So many different flavors and curries and deliciousness. My favorite was a sour tasting injera salad that I would not mind purchasing by the pound.

We couldn't finish the first evening without a 2am photo of us and me in my first Rent The Runway dress!!!! It was a bit long, but otherwise, great renting experience! Use this link to rent a dress with a discount!

The second evening was more cultural, and Feven looked like a queen! Different decor and clothing, but I was excited to be eating the same food! 

Serious props and kudos to everyone that helped put the weekend together. They ended up hosting 800+ guests and pulled it off seamlessly.
Cheers to the newlyweds <3 <3 <3 Wishing ya'll a lifetime of hugs and happy times. 
xx Connie