Diary of a wedding planner, Promise and Tarek….

This is the story of a young bride matched with a delightful groom and their beautiful day....

To give a little background, Promise and Tarek, a Muslim couple, met a few year's ago and had been engaged for quite some time. Her parents approved and they were able to see each other a handful of times with a chaperon. The day of their wedding would be the first time he would see his bride with out a shroud covering her. A conservative couple, they had followed the law of their religion and had never once touched hands until this day. All the while their wedding day was being filmed for a new Lifetime show, "I'm Getting Married!" . The purpose of the show is to allow viewers to see different types of weddings that they may not have encountered before.

Clearly Classy was chosen to plan this day and many fantastic professionals provided their services to this couple to become a part of their story. Shelly Hoffman Photography provided us with these great pictures.

The Wedding was held at the historical Green Pastures in the heart of Austin, Texas. Peacocks roam the grounds freely.

The bride arrived just before the groom to get settled in....

The space had to be split up into to three separate areas, one for the men, one for the women and one for food and prayer. This was the "Brother's Room".

The rentals were provided at no charge to the Bride and Groom by Premiere Party Central.

Her invitations were done by M-Pressive Designs and the fabulous flowers were done by the fabulous Merveille Events.

The Imam, which is the officiant of the ceremony arrived next....

Then our groom, which I had to remind my self to not shake his hand or lean in for a hug...that is actually hard for me, I give everyone hugs!!

After all of the guests arrived and settled in it was time for the ceremony. A Muslim ceremony is very different from the typical Christian ceremony most of us have attended. The Bride isn't present. It is the Groom, Imam, her father and two witnesses. Onlookers watch. And a behind the scenes pic of the camera crew getting it all on film.

During the ceremony the women waited patiently....

After the ceremony it was time for the Groom's first look...Shelly captured this well I think...their very first touch was a handshake...

Formal pictures to follow...I wish I could share the beautiful pictures of Promise, but they are only for her Groom to see...

The children played outside while the adults prayed before lunch...

Before lunch it was time for prayer, I really enjoyed seeing this...

There is no music or alcohol at a Muslim wedding...just a wonderful feast of food and spending time with family....The chef at Green Pastures was happy to accommodate the needs for special food requests...