Two days, full house, great food, and hours upon hours of nonstop debkah – Palestinian folk dance – made for an amazing wedding. This was my first time covering a Palestinian wedding and I was amazed at the simplicity of it all – almost no rituals, one small speech, lots of dancing, a break for food, and then more dancing. I have never been surrounded by a more energetic group of people nor have I ever been treated with such amazing hospitality. The day we stepped into Muneer’s house, we all became family – instantly and with barely any words spoken. There were no formalities, only complete openness with just one rule: come ready to party.
The first day was the Henna, something very close in essence to the Pakistani and Indian day of Mehndi. It’s a smaller party consisting of just close family and prepares everyone for the second day. Family members take turns putting henna paste on the couple’s hands and then there is the offering of the dowry. The second day is the main wedding and it’s pretty much an all out party with a live band, people flying in the air, awesome food, and a small break for the ring exchange. It all ends with the bride’s Candle Dance.
There were a total of four bridal outfits that Muna wore – two western dresses (the ones featured in this post), one Pakistani Lehnga, and one traditional Palestinian outfit. Three were worn on the Henna day and the official white bridal dress was worn on the wedding day. The wedding took place at the Hilton in Marietta and we took some time out to do a portrait session in its beautiful gardens.
by S2S
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