Leila & Wadih

29 Sep

Wedding  / Photographed by Chelsea Gray & Elizabeth Delage / Beirut, Lebanon / Saturday, July 30th 2011

When a friend of mine who works in the music video industry raved about our portfolio to famed Lebanese film+video director Leila Kanaan, we were crossing our fingers patiently that she would grant us approval to fly across the world to Beirut to shoot her upcoming wedding to Wadih, a film producer, in our signature style.

Elizabeth and I researched Leila's work online and we were truly impressed by her iconic music videos that were tailor-made visual delicacies for Lebanon's top Pop stars such as Haifa and Nancy Ajram. It was within the month that we heard back, and all was a go to Lebanon!

Not only was the Victorian-themed wedding a lavish affair, with dazzling decor set within the grounds of the gorgeous Sursock Palace- the reception boasted all of Lebanon's top pop stars and celebrities, featured a famed Parisian opera singer during the cake cutting and generally was the most exciting event Elizabeth and I have ever seen. After over a week of traveling around Beirut, Byblos, Bouj Hammoud, and Tyr with our hosts, my friend Riad+Hratch, Elizabeth and I were absolutely amazed by the generosity+hospitality of the Lebanese people.

Everywhere we went, we were welcomed with open arms... Even in the streets, where drivers would shout out the window: "WELCOME TO LEBANON!"...By the end of our journey, our bride was featured on RAGMAG's cover, so I'm including it in our story, and will subsequently post our photos which were featured in Martha Stewart Weddings magazine (Middle East), as soon as I receive my copies that are being shipped today from Dubai. Cannot wait to share Leila+Wadih's feature from the Real Weddings section, which was a perfect ending to our dreamy Lebanese experience.

 

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