When Zainab first sent over her wedding photographs for us, she said "I don't think I fit the vibe of the other Miss Bush brides so well because (as you'll see from the photo) I spent pretty much all of my wedding in goofy laughter, mouth wide open, and dancing! I wish someone had taken me aside for just a couple of demure bride shots but I honestly just had such a fun day."
We can honestly say that whilst the styling, venue and flowers are all beautiful, and of course Zainab's pearl detail Jesus Peiro wedding dress looked incredible, these aren't the things that we loved the most about Zainab & Zayd's wedding. It was the joyful laughter, bursting-with-happiness smiles and epic dancing that put the biggest smiles on our own faces! It looked like the most wonderful, fun, love filled day and we're so delighted to be able to share the full feature with you today.
Read on to find out more about Zainab & Zayd's autumnal Iraqi British fusion wedding day, which took place at Glemham Hall in Suffolk last year, with gorgeous photography by Daniel Ackerley Photography.
The Miss Bush Pearl Anniversary dress by Jesus Peiro
I was very specific about the kind of wedding dress I wanted. All my pinterest and instagram saved boards had very simple, long sleeved dresses with a beautiful big skirt. I was really struggling to find one that fit my exact specifications but my husband's friend had recently got married and he put me in touch with the bride as I didn't know the couple but he thought her style was similar to mine. I am now great friends with Ella, who immediately pointed me in the direction of Miss Bush and the special edition Jesus Peiro I ended up falling in love with! I scoured their instagram and it caught my attention immediately with the perfect sleeves, cinched in waist and beautiful silk skirt. I was definitely open to trying others but after putting it on I felt like there wasn't really much point! I was lucky because the sample fit me almost perfectly, so standing in the Chapel I felt like I was ready to get married then and there! It was such a perfect fit from the cut down to the gorgeous silk and I immediately knew that was it.
I didn't bring anyone when I found the dress! We lived quite a way away but, knowing the dress was basically the biggest part of my day, my husband actually drove me the 110 mile journey and wandered around while I tried it on. I did show my mum and sisters the picture of it that I'd seen on the Miss Bush instagram but I didn't take any photos of it on in the Chapel as I wanted it to be (mostly) a surprise for everyone.
Dress Shopping
I only went to three boutiques, Miss Bush included, but the ones I'd been to before had such a different approach. I was met with a lot of resistance because I had such a short lead time (the time between our engagement and our wedding was a mere three months!) and so other wedding boutiques were very much saying to me, these are the only options for you given your short time. I was amazed, relieved and so happy when Emma very casually said that, as its my wedding, they could absolutely get me the perfect dress made in time! It lifted a huge amount of stress off my shoulders because fashion has always been hugely important to me and there was absolutely no way I was going to compromise on my wedding dress! Weddings are so hugely personal, and there is so much room for individual flair and creativity, but the industry didn't seem to reflect that. It can seem very unwelcoming and pretentious, especially if - for whatever reason - you're doing things a different way, or on a different timescale to everyone else. However, there was absolutely none of that at Miss Bush! From the moment I stepped in I felt that I could have whatever I wanted, to my specifications and time frame, with no compromise - and honestly that was the part I loved most because that is how every bride should be able to feel
Styling
I wanted something very simple, elegant and timeless. The dress had just the right amount of embellishment for me - the pearls are absolutely stunning and elevate the whole look. I love shoes but I was very acutely aware that we had a long day planned, and Arab brides are known for their DANCING! So I definitely wasn't going to risk ruining my day with blistered and painful heels. I opted for a plain, silk low heel shoe. I was also planning to change dresses for the evening and my second dress wasn't made to measure so I wanted shoes that would work with both. It was absolutely the best call - I was comfortable and danced all night long! My favourite part of the accessories was my jewellery set. Traditionally, in my culture, the mother in law gifts the bride gold jewellery at the engagement. My mother in law is an absolute darling, and had been saving jewellery for her future daughters in law ever since her sons were very young! Often jewellery from the Middle East is very heavy, embellished gold and my style is completely different - but I was lucky as my mother in law has very similar taste to me! It was simple, tasteful and elegant. My mum put it on for me after I was in my dress and it added a really nice personal touch to the outfit.
A British Iraqi fusion wedding
My husband and I had a huge spiel every time we went to see a venue. 'We are a British Iraqi couple planning a fusion wedding...' I won't bore you with it all as we got very sick of it very quickly! We wanted a small, personal wedding in the English countryside, but we also wanted to be able to have important aspects from our culture there - mostly the food, and the traditional dance troupe (a zaffa band.) We struggled to find venues that would let us bring external catering, and similarly struggled to find Middle Eastern caterers that would come all the way out as most are based in London. However, Karim of Bedouin and Casbah (two sister restaurants in Cambridge) agreed to do it and made us an incredible tailored sample menu.
As for the design itself, we wanted it to be very personal. The flowers were one of my favourites - I found Charlotte on instagram after our venue had tagged her in a photo of the dressed piano. I wanted the same thing on both the piano and stairs, with a very specific autumnal colour scheme which she delivered to perfection! She also sourced the manzanita trees, and we chose to decorate them with hanging tea lights and childhood photos so our guests could have fun sharing in our memories.
We also designed a little table quiz about us for them to get guests who didn't know each other chatting. Instead of favours, we opted to make a donation to a charity which looks after Iraqi orphans on behalf of each of our guests. Most of our extended family is still back in Iraq and, with all the lavish spending that goes on weddings, we wanted our day to have a little bit of a positive impact elsewhere. We designed and printed the little favour cards ourselves and got an assembly line going with my four siblings to tie them all to the place names and dinner mints! Our guest book table featured a little bit of info about the charity, who run a Hope Bus for children - hence our Zayd and Zainab VW bus.
We actually had a nightmare two days before the wedding where we lost all our wedding stationery (table names, favour cards, seating plan, table quiz etc) templates but Zayd's best friend Alain redesigned absolutely everything for us quite literally overnight and we somehow got it together in time! The biggest compliments we got on the day was first of all how quickly we pulled everything together but secondly, and much more meaningfully, how personal the day was to us. We absolutely loved it and I really want to do it all again!
The best bits
Our day was so fun but it all went by in such a blur. My married friends had told me that would be the case but I don't think I was really prepared for how quickly it all goes! Unfortunately, we missed out on a lot of our incredibly delicious wedding breakfast as we had speeches between courses (four of them!) and were greeting guests in between courses being served. We had hired a shawarma van for the evening but, as we were being pulled for photos, dances, pictures and all sorts we hadn't yet had a chance to eat any of it! I won't ever forget escaping the dancefloor to see our friends who had noticed we must be starving, queued up and brought us a shawarma and a falafel wrap each. We found a quiet corner and managed to get some food in!
Aside from funny little memories like that, my favourite part of the day was probably the ceremony. When we were still teens in school, my best friend Kinza and I had joked that she would be the one to marry me off. We didn't really think much of it until I actually came round to getting married. I had no idea but in the UK, normal people can't just get ordained to perform weddings like they do in America, so it seemed almost impossible. It was a huge part of my day and I wanted to make it happen, so we opted to have a symbolic (not legal) ceremony instead. Kinza was abroad but flew in at about 2am the night before and somehow made it in time! She performed a symbolic ceremony for us, with a small religious reminder from Zayd's close friend, Taha. It meant we had to have a different ceremony at the registry office (which was no frills but still an excuse to get dressed up and go for a meal with family!) but more importantly it meant we could have our own vows, and the people closest to us be involved in our wedding.
Zainab's Advice
I was not someone who had planned my wedding in my head years before and knew exactly how I wanted things, but when it came down to it there were definitely certain things that were more important to me than others. Although it is only one day, if you want to break the mould and do things your way I absolutely think you should. It may take a little bit of hunting to find the right venue, suppliers or whoever you need to make it happen and you might have to jiggle things round a bit but I think weddings are a chance to be creative and show your personality as a couple.
Also, for any girls marrying guys - a lot of my straight women friends had said how much of a backseat their husband-to-be had taken in terms of the planning and decor. If that's the way you want to do things, go for it but I really reject the idea that the wedding is 'all about the bride' and that the groom's wishes are irrelevant - for us it was much more a celebration of us as a couple and inviting our guests in to join that, so it made the planning process much more enjoyable when we decided on things together (except the dress, of course!)
Suppliers
Photographer: Daniel Ackerley Photography
Video: White in Motion Films
Venue: Glemham Hall
Bedouin Catering: Al Casbah, Cambridge
Make up: Rose Redrup Professional Hair and Make-up
Flowers: Charlotte Staff Flowers
Wedding Stationery: @heyahlan (he's a friend not an official business but literally saved our day and it would be wrong not to credit him!)