São Paulo – The white dress was chosen months ago, with great care. The flowers in the decoration and the menu too. Special occasions, wedding ceremonies gain a special touch as they are personalized, organized specially turned to the bride and groom. Among the couples of Arab origin, this charm involves, among other points, surprises with the presentation of dance groups and music from the Arab nations, for example.
It was like that at the wedding celebration of production manager Tatiana Faraone Najar Sarruf and her groom, Pierre, in May 2009, in Campinas, São Paulo. What she did not expect, however, was that the celebrations were to be so animated with the arrival of the newlyweds at the reception in the company of an Arab dance group.
"First the group went in, then came Pierre and I," recalled Tatiana. "They all loved it. The guests surrounded the dabke and accompanied us," he said. Dabke is a folk dance that, according to Tatiana, granted new life to the celebration. "We went with the flow and the music did the rest," she said.
Apart from the melodies that recalled the Syrian origin of the newlyweds, the party included snacks like kibbehs and curds, as well as sweets with pistachio nuts to grant that special Middle Eastern taste.
A Muslim of Lebanese origin, like her husband, Ahmad, legal assistant Lilian Abdallah also made a point of marrying in the style of the Arabs, in February last year, in São Paulo. Also with the right to dabke, belly dancing and thousands of surprises during the celebration.
"Ahmad asked the band to rehearse a Lebanese song that speaks about wedlock, about two people who are going to spend their life together, and he dedicated it to me," she recalls. The fun and love declaration were approved by the guests who, like Lilian, "liked it and found it all different".
Event advisor and ceremony organizer Fernanda Pradella, from Della Eventos, clearly knows how these ceremonies touch relatives and friends. In January 2010, she organized a wedding with Arab references in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo.
"At a certain moment of the party, we organized a dabke," explained Fernanda. "The dance floor was crowded, they all felt at home," she recalled. "The couples should not leave their identities aside, the origins must be respected," she explained. According to her, a personal touch at the ceremony is "important charm and homage to the family".
Regarding homage to the family, wedding organizer and director Sylvia Queiroz Wedding and Reception Organizers, Sylvia Queiroz, says she would greatly like to help coordinate an Arab wedding, very traditional. But she recalls several events of the kind that became more beautiful due to family references.
"Once, as the bride was of Japanese origin, we placed dolls representing some of her relatives on the sweet table, all of them under cherry trees made out of cold porcelain," explained Sylvia. "It was a way of honouring her parents," she says. According to Sylvia, bringing to light the story of the bride and groom is the best way to differentiate a wedding, adding more love to the most romantic of ceremonies.
*Translated by Mark Ament
