Confessions of a Real Bride: Talah Al-Alami
Talah Al-Alami and Zaid Khalifeh are high school sweethearts; having met in Amman in 2003 in their senior year, they got engaged in July 2011 and tied the knot on 15 September 2012 at a beautiful ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Amman, Jordan.
Talah shares her experience leading up to her wedding day and offers lots of great advice to brides-to-be in this interview with Arabia Weddings.
- Did you hire a wedding planner or planned your wedding yourself? How was your experience?
We hired a wedding planner who did almost everything. He’s the same planner who planned our engagement party and he’s a great friend of ours as well (Emad Al-Rabadi from R.B), so I fully trusted him in everything.
I told him what I wanted and he also gave me many lovely ideas. It was a great pleasure for us to have worked with him. I rate my experience as a very good one. I didn’t face many obstacles since my husband was very supportive and understanding and so was my mother.
She was there for me every step throughout the whole preparation phase. Also, my mother-in-law has great knowledge and experience in the field of event planning, so she was very helpful, and she made things much easier for us.
"Have a checklist for the things that need to be done,
whether for the wedding, the house or the honeymoon"
- What is the biggest advice you can give any bride-to-be when planning for her wedding?
I would advise her to be aware of what she exactly wants, regarding everything that has to do with the wedding, such as the wedding venue, the settings, the theme, the flowers, her dress, and even her makeup and hair style.
Otherwise she’ll feel hesitant about anything she chooses. She needs to have a checklist for the things that need to be done, whether for the wedding, the house or the honeymoon. I would also tell her to be calm and relaxed during the last weeks before the wedding. Besides, she should never try anything new concerning her beauty care two weeks prior to the wedding, such as facial sessions or masks, skin peeling or laser hair removal. I would finally advise her to enjoy every second of her wedding day, since we can only live these amazing moments once in a lifetime.
To view more pictures of Talah and Zaid's Wedding click here!
- Did you pick a certain theme or color scheme? What was it? Did you use it all through the wedding?
Yes, we chose the white and silver color scheme regarding the flowers, the lighting, the lounges, the cushions, the silver plates, the chocolate, the tables and the chairs. We also had lots of chandeliers and candles to decorate the venue.
"She should never try anything new concerning her beauty care two weeks prior to the wedding,
such as facial sessions or masks, skin peeling or laser hair removal"
- Do you recommend specific suppliers you worked with?
R.B (Emad and Muhannad Al-Rabadi): for the lighting system and DJ, zaffeh, and supplies such as tables, chairs, lounges and plexi dance floor.
Masaya Flowers (Othman): for the flower decorations and guestbook.
DJ Raja (Raja Kamar): for the lighting system and DJ.
Babel Studios (Sultan): for Photography and video productions.
Pronovias – Swefieh: for wedding dresses.
Al-Alami Wedding Cards (Taher Al-Alami): for wedding invitations.
- What was the most difficult and stressful part of wedding planning?
Double checking everything with the wedding suppliers during the last few days before the wedding was the hardest part, I was really worried that I might have forgotten something. Also working on my wedding dress was a bit stressful for me; I’m a very picky person which made it even harder. But thankfully my mom and my sister were always there for me, helping me throughout these stressful situations.
- Did you face any surprises? If so how did you deal with them?
A day before the wedding I called to confirm with the makeup artist who was supposed to put the eyelashes for me (as I did my own make up). She apologized and told me that she won’t be able to put the lashes on for me on the wedding day! I panicked and started crying since I didn’t know what to do in the last hours before the wedding, but thanks to my sister- in-law, she called her makeup artist (David Halabi) who agreed to help.
As for the wedding day, thank God, everything went smoothly, except that we couldn’t catch daylight as we arrived a bit late to the wedding venue. We wanted to take photos in the light, but the photos turned out to be just beautiful at night. Thus, I advise every bride to take whatever happens with her easily, so that her wedding day wouldn’t be ruined over a small detail that no one will even notice. Every bride should remember her wedding day as the best day of her life, therefore she should never look back and say “what if”.
- Do you consider yourself as a relaxed bride or more of a bridezilla?
I was a bit hard to deal with during the last month before the wedding! I was too stressed and used to get worried about every detail. I was easily irritated and cried a lot. So in some ways, yes, I was a bit of a bridezilla. But everything took a completely different turn on the big day. I was totally relaxed and happy; I can actually recall every splendid moment of that day.
"She apologized and told me that she won’t be able to put the lashes on for me on the wedding day!
I panicked and started crying"
- How can you best describe your wedding and the planning process?
My wedding was just as I wished it would be or even better. Everything regarding the settings and the decoration was beyond my expectations; the wedding planner did an amazing job.
Plus, my husband got me the square tables with the mirror tops as a surprise; I was extremely happy to see them when we entered the ballroom.
And most of all, my husband and I were gratefully blessed to have all of our beloved family and friends there for us on our big day, as we always wanted a warm wedding to share with the closest people to our hearts.I sincerely wish that every bride would get the chance to fulfill her dream wedding someday.
