So much could be said about Nebat and Abdul’s wedding in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The multi-days Harari event was a mix of celebrations, praying, dancing, laughing, and eating. Harari refers to the city of Harar, an eastern city of Ethiopia. A few miles away from the Somaliland border, people are mostly muslim. The festivities started exactly a week before the wedding date with the bride and her close (unmarried) family and friends dressing up in the cultural dress and going to relatives house to ‘invite’ them to her wedding. The following saturday is the reading of the Quran, and reciting some verses. It is done to signify that the bride has actually accomplished the reading of the whole 30 Chapters of the Quran at least once in her life. The next early morning is the men gathering for the religious praising of the prophet (mostly religious chanting and dancing). As a conclusion is the final ritual in which the bride’s hair is combed and held in a certain way by the grooms family side. The cloth worn is also a different very cultural harari dress. In the old days, one could tell a women who was married from the one who didn’t by the way her hair was done. It was a real pleasure and quite a unique experience to shoot a wedding in Ethiopia. Here are a few kind words from Nebat, the beautiful bride:
“Christophe, i’m speechless!!! The pictures are absolutely amazing!!! I didn’t get any work done today, i was just looking at the pictures over and over again… they are so awesome, thank you, thank you so muchhh for making my dreams come true.. this is exactly the sort of photography i’ve always wanted, and you just made it happen.. i loveeee everything about it.. its just amazing, i really feel blessed and lucky to have had you as a photographer… thank you so much!!!”