A relaxing mother daughter trip to Hawaii turned into a super romantic proposal! We recently caught up with Nicole and Hakob to find out more about their proposal story and all the details of how Hakob planned this special surprise. From coordinating with his future mother-in-law, to fake calendar invites to throw off Nicole, Nicole and Hakob share their love story and all the details before, during, and immediately after their Hawaiian proposal in Oahu.
To start off, tell us how you two met.
About a month ago, our Bride's Story Blogger Manifa went to Armenia for her Kavor and KavorKin’s wedding (best man & maid of honor). She posted amazing pictures and videos and we knew we had to feature their wedding on our blog. We were so excited to get in touch with Narbe and Evie and find out all about their wedding. Evie shares with us how she planned her beautiful Armenia wedding from Los Angeles and provides some tips to anyone planning a special event in Armenia.
Hello readers! I’m going to dive right in with this blog.
One of the struggles Emin and I have had is breaking certain Armenian wedding traditions. For example, our choice to not get married in a church or with a Ter Hayr. Another issue we came across was doing the Bride’s house celebration vs. doing a more Americanized first look. The one thing I don’t like about Armenian weddings is the fact that the bride and groom don’t really get a moment to take it all in with each other. There are people who are constantly there. Whether it is the photo and video team or family members; the bride and groom don’t get a minute alone the entire day. I really wanted to do a first look, away from family so that Emin and I could have a special moment with each other without prying eyes. My mom on the other hand wants to give away her daughter from her own house. So, our struggle began. Do we go the traditional route and make my mom happy? Do we do things our own way? I was on the fence about this one. My mom was already upset that she didn’t get to see her daughter walk down the aisle of a church or have a priest marry her. It would break her heart if we took away this happiness from her as well. After talking to Emin, we decided to participate in the Bride’s house Armenian tradition.
We recently stumbled upon Manuel and Narine's very unique and beautiful proposal at the Aquarium of the Pacific and we knew we just had to share their story. The pictures themselves speak a thousand words, but the story of the proposal day was one for the books.
We at Harsanik are obsessed with all things wedding, but our favorite part of weddings are the traditions that couples choose to incorporate on their big day. As Armenians, we have so many beautiful wedding traditions to choose from. One of our favorite Armenian wedding traditions is the blocking of the doorway that is done by family members on the bride's side as the bride and groom are exiting the bride's house.
Typically a male family member from the bride's side will block the door and insist on getting paid in order to allow the bride to leave her family's home. Often times this role of the "bouncer" is done by the bride's brother, cousin, or younger male relative. Sometimes there is only one bouncer and other times there are a few who partner together to get the job done. Often times the bouncer holds a sword to block the doorway.
As for who pays up, it's dependent on the family. Sometimes the groom will pay off the bouncer, other times it's the "kavor" (bestman), and other times it's another family member from the groom's side. And how much do these bouncers expect to get paid? Well, it's really up to the bouncer to decide! It's customary for the first offer to be a smaller amount, and for the bouncer to reject it (you'll often see this captured in videos with the bouncer shaking his head no). The next higher offer sometimes satisfies the bouncer. Otherwise, other members of the groom's family, including the groom's father step in and offer more cash to make the deal go through. Most families have a lot of fun with this tradition and personalize it to make it their own.
Here's some of our favorite shots of this special Armenian wedding day tradition. You can learn more about other Armenian wedding traditions and read up on every couple's love story and wedding day on our blog.
This weekend we were overjoyed to watch our favorite Armenian TV Star Sona Movsesian tie the knot! Sona and Tak's wedding on Saturday August 25, 2018 was perfect in every way - a couple who is truly in love, surrounded by close family and friends, and a celebration filled with beautiful Armenian traditions, entertainment, and pure happiness!
We're honored that Sona & Tak agreed to feature their wedding on Harsanik. Until the couple gets a breather to recover from their wedding and share their detailed story with us, we wanted to bring you an unfiltered look at their wedding. And yes, Conan O'Brien was a guest, and he busted his Armenian dance moves which we got on tape!