James and Samantha hosted a spectacular day that blended his Assyrian wedding traditions with American traditions. While the color scheme of the wedding was blush tones and golds, the day was filled with color! Both families celebrated throughout the day, and every joyous moment was captured by Photography by Lauryn.
Assyrian Traditions
Staying true to Assyrian wedding tradition, the families celebrated the couple throughout the entire day by dancing and cheering! The day started out at Samantha’s home, where James’ family greeted her and escorted her to her groom at the church, waving their colorful scarves. It is such a joyous start to the day!
How We Met
James and I met in class at DePaul University in 2012. The professor told us to to pair up for a final group project and I went up and asked him to be my partner. There were only 3 girls in our class, so he had great odds! We worked together closely for a few weeks and we realized how we loved spending time together and soon after James asked me on a date. We’ve been together ever since. Also… somehow James ended up getting a higher grade on that group project than me, we still don’t know why!
The Proposal
James and I met while he was living in the suburbs and I was in the city, so we always had places we loved to visit when he stayed downtown. On the day of the proposal, we started at our favorite breakfast spot and after we finished eating he had a note with memories at the restaurant. We then proceeded to go to 4-5 different places in the city and all came along with a special note. The last stop was along the lake where he got down on one knee and provided the final note asking me to marry him. It was beautiful, but freezing that day in March, so after it happened we sprinted back to the car for warmth! We started calling all of our friends and family, but little did I know, they were all at the house waiting for us to come home and celebrate!
Get in Touch
Favorite Memory
Our favorite memory of the day was our entrance into the reception hall. We’ve both been to a bunch of Assyrian weddings and the entrance is always our favorite part, so we couldn’t wait to experience it for ourselves. Everyone gathers around the door cheering (screaming), the singer is playing the entrance song, and it is a HUGE celebration. We will never forget that moment!
Wedding Planning Advice
Just relax and be happy. We were so worried about every detail beforehand, but on the day of, we just smiled and laughed all day. We really tried to take a moment and appreciate everyone who came out to celebrate the day and it made us smile even more. It’s so easy to get stressed, but it’s even easier to take a deep breath and laugh it off. Everyone else will have a great time when they see how much fun you are having!
View the Gallery 
