Southern Weddings

Today Aubree + Ali and their two very cool wedding ceremonies.  Aubree is Catholic and Ali is Muslim.  Together the two fell head over heels for each other on graduation day at Duke University.  Although they met freshman year, it wasn’t until graduation and living far from each other that they fell in love.  When it came time to get married, the two planned a Muslim marriage ceremony and a Catholic ceremony.  Our first post highlights the first ceremony held at {The Old Well Room} at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina. I will let Aubree + Ali tell you more about their weekend of celebrations. Photography by the fantastic {Abigail Seymour Photography}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story: We met in college at Duke University. We had mutual friends, but did not become good friends ourselves until senior year of college. I remember seeing him freshman year, and thinking that he was absolutely handsome. We both finished college a semester early (I left to pursue my career in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, and he got drafted to play professional soccer). When May graduation was approaching, I e-mailed him to find out if he would be flying back (for our graduation – knowing I wanted to see him), and he said he had a soccer game that weekend and might not be able to make it. He ultimately flew in, and (barely) made it in time for graduation, but we found each other again in our caps and gowns, and I’d like to say that was the moment at which we knew we were going to be a part of each others’ lives moving forward.
Describe the proposal: We had a long-distance love for many, many years. Ali was playing soccer (and had lived in 4 different cities), and I was living in Los Angeles. On one November night, I was sitting on my couch getting ready to go to bed when I heard the doorbell ring. I was a bit startled, especially because of the hour of night. Not knowing who it was, I peered out the window, and saw a surprise – he was on my doorstep! Of course, I flung open the door, as it had been quite a while since I had seen him. Apparently, he had gotten the ring the same day, and not being able to let the ring burn a hole in his pocket (ha!), he had flown all the way from New York City, ring in hand – and showed up on my doorstep at midnight to get down on one knee to propose. You know the rest… we were very, very happy.
What attracted me to my husband was: Initially, it was his magnetic energy, his unique style, his cute bald head and dimples! Once I got to know him, it was all about his gentle manner, his loyalty, his devotion to his family and his strength. He possesses the best combination of “something old and something new” – a traditional old-school values kind of guy, with the heart and humor of a kid.
Why do you love your husband? I love him for the partnership that we’re creating – loving, honest, hardworking and loyal, and for the family that we’ll one day create together. He’s someone who knows that everything in life worth having is something worth working hard for.
What attracted me to my wife was: I am attracted to Aubree for many reasons – her kind heart, beauty, humbleness and intelligence… Aubree and I have similar goals even though sometimes we have slightly different ways to go about achieving them. I love her for the person she is and aspires to be. I am fortunate to have her in my life.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: We didn’t really have a lot of opportunity to “date” in the traditional sense. Being a long-distance couple had its ups-and-downs, and while not being able to “date” was certainly a down, getting to see each other on special occasions made everything very exciting and all of the distance and time very worthwhile! One of the most memorable times we spent together was in Big Sur, California – hiking and camping. That was one of those weekends where we felt so close to one another because it was about us enjoying each other’s company with no distractions.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I was moving from Los Angeles to New York City one month after I got engaged. Knowing I would be moving to a new city, and would be losing all of my local girlfriends’ help and advice once I moved, I rushed to go dress shopping in one weekend. On Saturday, I went with two friends, many stores, tried on a ton of dresses, and truly wore myself out! On Sunday, I decided I needed a day to quietly look alone – without a bunch of others’ opinions. I went into a small bridal shop in Santa Monica, California, and found a dress that was a one-of-a-kind Melissa Sweet gown that had been custom made from her runway collection, but ultimately was not worn. It was like finding a treasure that someone else left for me! I put it on, and I felt amazing in it (like it had been made for me to begin with). Of course, that was the day I decided to not bring any friends, and I really needed some final approval (you know the oohs and aahs you rely on your friends to give you)! So the next day, my friend came to the boutique during her lunch hour to see the dress. I knew in my heart, it was right, and she concurred. I never again had a second doubt about it!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: We had two ceremonies – to honor both of our families’ traditions. Ali’s family is Muslim, and mine is Catholic, and we were able to have a ceremony on Friday and one on Saturday that allowed us to be able to share both sides with our loved ones. The Friday ceremony was very low-key, very familial, and put both Ali and I at ease for the ceremony on Saturday, which was the big dress, the tuxes, and the bigger reception. We really felt like we had a lot of time to spend with each other and friends and family, so doing two ceremonies was the best detail of our wedding.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? The fact that we had two ceremonies allowed us to be inclusive of both families’ traditions. We proudly displayed photographs of our grandparents, parents, and other relatives’ weddings at our reception – we felt our wedding was a real “come full circle” day for both families. Also, my brother is a violinist, and played me down the aisle. It was truly the most special thing he could have done for us. (And he did a great job!)
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? We chose to write our own vows. They were the centerpiece of our ceremony on Saturday, and we spent a long time thinking about the right words to express our love, devotion and gratitude for one another. When we were in front of everyone saying them, it was as if the moment became a beautiful memory instantaneously. Ali: When we said our vows. That particular moment was really something special. A sentence or even a paragraph to describe the moment seems so inadequate…One of those times where you had to be there.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line? Yes, we did. Ali’s focused on both of our individual lives and dreams becoming our family’s goals and dreams. Mine began with the notion that I was never the girl who dreamt of her wedding, but dreamt of finding a man like the one before me.

More to come from Aubree + Ali…