FEBRUARY 2017

PHOTO BY IVAN GEORGE
home with something to represent
Christmas.”
The snow was not a surprise as
forecasters had been predicting several
inches of snow to flow down
throughout that day. “I woke up that
morning praying and laughing with
God that I knew this would happen
to us, but to just keep everyone safe,”
said Vanessa. “I accept whatever He
gives me.”
The only thing the snow did was
delay the night because of the slippery
roads. Only 15 people were a
no show.
“If you have a contingency plan,
you won’t have to stress in the days
leading up to the wedding,” said Keina.
“Think of your guests: Will they
have to walk along a snowy path to
get to the ceremony or reception. Be
flexible with timing of the day in case
there is a delay with guest arrival.”
Although the snow put a damper
on getting to the wedding, it didn’t
cloud celebrations. “Chris and I were
looking forward to traveling to St.
Lucia in the 90-degree weather while
all the Michiganders were freezing,”
said Vanessa with a chuckle. “It’s
just another fun reason to get married
in the winter, an excuse to be in
a warm climate for our anniversary
each year.”
Chris and Vanessa met about
three years before they married,
through mutual friends and family.
They didn’t initially hit it off but
eventually decided to date and then
fell in love. Chris proposed about a
year before they married. “I had no
clue,” said Vanessa. “He had picked
out my ring in early November of
2015 and took my parents out for
lunch about a month before he proposed
to ask for my parents blessing.
After our parents met in November,
Chris and I promised that we would
spend each Sunday attending mass
and then spend the rest of the day
with both of our families. I mainly
fell in love with him, because of his
love for Christ. It was very important
to me to find a man, who was faithful.”
Chris always knew Vanessa wanted
a Christmas wedding. “On the day
he proposed, we started off at mass,
and ironically both of our parents
had plans that day. So we started the
day with brunch at the same place
we had our first date,” said Vanessa.
“It was a very snowy day but
he insisted on going to Campus Martius.
We grabbed some coffee and
started walking towards the beautiful
Christmas tree. Chris knew how
much I wanted to be married around
Christmas time. He asked me to put
on a set of headphones connected to
his phone to watch a video he had
made for his nieces birthday. Turned
out to be a video with our wedding
song and memories of us together. He
then asked me to marry him at end.
I was full of emotions. I had no clue!
He even asked all of my brothers for
my hand.”
Springing into a Wedding
Shannon and Nick Hannawa didn’t
plan on a spring wedding, but it
turned out to be the best decision for
them. “Spring is one of Michigan’s
most beautiful seasons in my opinion,”
said Shannon. “May is a gorgeous
month where the flowers are
blooming and the weather isn’t hot,
but just warm in a relaxing way with
a slight calming breeze. Our guest
weren’t fanning themselves, instead
Shannon and Nick Hannawa
they were taking in the beautiful
Michigan day, dancing and enjoying
the zeffa.”
Nick pre-planned the date. “He
wanted to beat the busy summer
wedding season and he knew he
wanted Shenandoah,” said Dalia Attisha,
The Wedding Planner.
Nick’s mom helped plan the day.
“We had a wonderful zeffa at my inlaw’s
home,” said Shannon. “We had
more than hundred guests and because
the weather was great, we were
able to use the inside as well as the
outside of the home, which was like a
mini party before the reception.
Shannon credits the spring season
for her fabulous wedding day.
“The weather made things easier for
the photographers who don’t have
to deal with cold brides or sweaty
cranky grooms,” she said. “I was also
able to have more flexibility with my
dress; it offered me the opportunity
to pick a dress that was lighter and
allowed me to have an open back,
rather than having to plan for a colder
evening.”
Prior to meeting Shannon, Nick
attended law school with her brother.
They eventually met and dated
for three years. “Nick is always really
good about planning something fun
and unique for us to do,’ said Shannon.
“He had planned for us to attend
a wine tasting event which he
claimed was going to be hosted by
Hour Magazine, at a cute place in
Royal Oak called Michigan By The
Bottle.
Hour magazine is one of Nick’s
favorite publications and he enjoys
local events so nothing seemed unusual
to Shannon. “The scene at
the restaurant was what any person
would expect at an event, framed
issues of Hour displayed around the
restaurant and other random guest
posing with the magazine for a photographer,
Shannon noted. “Little did I
know at the time, the photographer
was Angela Jaboro, she actually approached
our table at one point and
asked if we would mind being in
some photos, of course Nick seemed
thrilled about the possibility of being
in the magazine and gladly posed for
the camera.”
Nick eventually asked the sommelier
for Champagne. “As she set
WEDDINGS continued on page 22
The need
to plan
You got engaged and
now there is so much to
do. Perhaps you are debating
whether or not to
hire a wedding planner.
We posed that question
to LawrenceYaldo and
Andy Keina from Top
that Table and they gave
us ten reasons why you
need one.
1. Minimizing the stress
and maximizing the fun.
2. Trouble shoots a
variety of things that
could go wrong: wardrobe
malfunction, cake
catastrophe, seating
issues, etc.
3. Helps negotiate pricing
and budget planning
4. Makes your vision
turn into a reality
5. Helps organize all the
details when planning a
destination wedding.
6. Manages times by
creating a schedule so
that no time is wasted.
7. Acts as a mediator
when dealing with family
expectations, shows
you the available options,
and can be relied
upon to give you expert
advice so you make an
informed decision.
8. Recommends solid,
reputable vendors to
serve every aspect of the
wedding.
9. Every bride and
groom wants something
“different” for their
wedding, so they can
design and create something
memorable.
10. Brings knowledge
and understanding.
Planners have been in
the industry for years
and are experts in
protocol, etiquette, and
everything it takes to
pull off an event of such
magnitude.
FEBRUARY 2017 CHALDEAN NEWS 21