Wedding Week : Part III

The Henna

December 24th, 2008

I mentioned yesterday that today's post would be about my favorite day.  Not all Arabs throw Henna parties but growing up I had been to so many my mom and I wanted to throw one.  Usually, people from certain cities will throw big lavish Henna parties and invite everyone in the family (and I mean EVERYONE...Remember that second cousin twice removed?  Yea, they're invited too!) while others opt for a more family centered party.  As first-generation Arab-Americans all of our family is scattered in various parts of the world.  The people in the Arab community are my true family, so naturally those were the ones I invited.   We did this party in our home and we had so much fun!  At any Henna you will always find the bride wearing a "thobe" (like what I wore on the Tulbeh).  Whether the bride chooses a more traditional or modern thobe is up to her.  Also, some guests will come wearing thobes, but not all.  We requested from all of our guests to wear one and it was so much fun!  It was great to see the different styles and everyone had fun dressing up for the occasion.  I've included some pictures to show you the different styles of thobes.  My mom has the sweetest friend who is known to have a million thobes, so we went over to her closet and chose something out.  I chose two dresses with different styles.  I love them both!

We started the party off with just the ladies.  We wanted them to let loose and have a good time before the guys came around after a couple of hours.  I'm glad we did, we had a blast :).  

The sleeves on this dress were so fun, they were like bat sleeves!The middle picture is my sister and two of my friends.  Each one of us is wearing a different style dress.  The last girl on the right is wearing a traditional thobe.  The traditional ones are hand embroidered and can cost a fortune!  The last picture is of me and my Teta (grandma).  I love this picture probably because I love her so much.  She's been through so much but is still so full of life!  She's feisty and funny and I am still so grateful she made it out to be there on my wedding day.

After a few hours the men graced us with their presence (*wink wink*).  These pictures make me laugh because they are so ridiculous!  It's so stereotypical but, I promise the majority of people do NOT dress like that overseas!!  My husband thought we were crazy to make him wear the traditional outfit but I'm glad I was able to persuade him haha!

So after we danced a bit more, I changed into this peach colored dress.  This style is more Moroccan but you'll still find tons of girls wearing them at their Henna parties.  

The bride and groom are decorated with henna, hence the name of the party.  Some people do lavish designs while others will put the initial of their spouse.  I didn't want to have henna stained hands on my wedding day so I opted for a simple design that I washed off almost immediately. 

{Note to self: Wash your hands after applying self-tanner!!}

And I love the last picture of me and my older sister.  She's a rockstar, she did my hair and make-up. :)

Heres the family (note the look on Teta's face..priceless! haha)  And then the other picture is of my best friend and little sister carrying the Henna on their heads with me trotting behind.

 I really am so blessed.