May 2011 - Lebanon [The Big Day]

So - the whole reason I decided to go to Lebanon was because my cousin Jennifer was getting married. "Why Lebanon?" everyone asks. Well - Elias is from Lebanon (duh!). Jen and Elias met in Montreal (and currently live in Morocco) but decided they wanted to get married back in Lebanon.

I don't get to see my cousins very often so it was so fun to be able to go to the wedding and share her special day with her! She is such a wonderful person and it was fun to see her so happy!

Mel, Uncle Greg, Jen, Aunt Colette

It was fun to see all the traditions they have in Lebanon for when they get married. Traditionally, you always visit the Bride or Groom the morning before they get married at their home. So - Megan and I walked first down to Elias' to see and congratulate him and then we got a ride to Elias' sister's home where Jen was being greeted by everyone.

The photographer was taking so many pictures (and so did I). Jennifer just looked so beautiful! And she had a gorgeous dress.


After all the bijillions of pictures... Jen and her Dad came out of the building and people threw rose petals down from the balcony as they headed to their car. A few of the cars were decorated as well and a procession of cars followed behind the bride, honking horns, all the way to the church!
They were married in a small, quaint church with a gorgeous view of the sea and the town (I think the town was called Jounieh where they got married).

Elias and his Mother before the Ceremony

Jennifer and the very proud Father of the Bride

The happy couple!

Ringing the Church Bell after the Wedding!

Exciting the Church! Yay!

The reception was held at a nearby restaurant. I loved the setup. Everything was just so beautiful. The way they introduce the couple was also a very fun tradition. It's called Zaffeh (i think?). A group of dances escort the groom and dance with him. All Elias' friends joined in and they danced in a circle around him. At one point he was even on someone's shoulders. Then the dancers dance with the groom to go get the bride. And they both came back dancing. Everyone greets them, claps, dances! And of course the bride also gets hoisted up on some shoulders!

The dinner was amazing. I LOVE Mediterranean food! I was full just from the appetizers because they were so good. And then they had fish and tons of grilled meats. It was so, so, so good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it right now. Actually - I didn't even get to try most of the meal because you weren't sitting down for too long before everyone was getting up to dance!

Listening to the toasts - first by Melissa (my cousin) and then Ziad (Elias' brother).

The first dance

Father/Daughter dance. Very sweet.

The Wedding Cake!

On the dance floor!

Elias threw a bunch of water (or something) as a joke before actually throwing the real garter!

Megan caught the bouquet and Elias' friend (who caught the garter) was pretty happy about that. (And so was Megan). ;)

The wedding was amazing. It went late. We danced for a long time and I loved it. They definitely know how to throw a wedding in Lebanon! The night didn't even end there... after the reception was over, we all (including even the bride and groom) decided to go to a Shisha Cafe (aka Hookah Cafe). Shisha is pretty trendy in Lebanon. They have it all over - kinda like finding a Starbucks on every corner...there seems to be shisha cafe's everywhere.

We definitely got some looks as we strolled up all dressed up with the bride and groom.

But that didn't stop Jen! :)

The guys playing some backgammon. A popular game in Lebanon.

The entire day was just amazing. It definitely made my trip to Lebanon worth every minute of this day! So happy I was able to be there and take part in the celebration!!