Real Weddings
Hannah and Habib’s Fearrington Wedding
How did you and your partner meet?
Habib and I met at a coffee shop in Lebanon in June 2012, shortly before we graduated from high school. We had both been admitted to Stanford, and neither of us had been to California before, so it was exciting and very new! He had posted in the Stanford class Facebook group asking if there were any other students from the Middle East. I replied, and he slid into my DMs to see if I wanted to grab coffee. He came from Syria to take the French baccalaureate in Lebanon, and we met then. He was sweet and kind and had such a calming presence… that was the beginning of a very special friendship. We connected over our shared heritage and quickly became close friends. We fell in love a few months later and started dating in the spring of 2013.
Tell us about the engagement?
We got engaged in our second year of medical school. The day after I took step 1 (an important medical board exam), we flew to Paris supposedly for a vacation. We had been doing long distance for medical school, so it felt special to have some time off together. Our first morning in Paris, Habib said he wanted to take me out for breakfast. It was a beautiful, sunny, crisp February morning. We took an Uber to the Bir-Hakeim bridge and spent some time admiring the Seine from the bridge. Then, much to my surprise, Habib started saying some very sweet things and I knew what was coming… He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was such a blissful moment and I’ll never forget it! We took photos, then spent the rest of the trip discovering the streets and museums of Paris and eating buttery croissants.
What made Fearrington the place for you to say “I do?”
We loved Fearrington from the moment we first visited. It feels like a relaxing, secluded little escape outside of Chapel Hill, and I knew it would be a timeless and elegant setting for our wedding celebration. We really liked that the flowers, catering, and many other services are all included- this made the planning process so much easier! But what really sold us was the pleasure of working with Gilda– she is a planner extraordinaire and treated us like family. All the staff at Fearrington made us feel extra special the entire wedding weekend.
Describe the highlight moment of your wedding day.
There are way too many to count! A very special moment was when we snuck away for sunset photos– just the two of us and our photographer. It was pure bliss. I also loved dancing with Habib and my dad, hearing my sister sing during her maid of honor speech, and seeing everyone have a blast on the dance floor. One of the groomsmen split his pants dancing and another split his shoe, so I’d call the night a success!
What was the biggest surprise of the day?
Shortly before giving her maid of honor speech, my sister decided that she would sing at the beginning of the speech. Her voice is so beautiful that it brought many guests to tears. I still watch the video all the time.
What was your biggest surprise about wedding planning?
I was surprised that so many parts of it were fun to plan… specifically, I enjoyed thinking through what traditions would be meaningful to us. For example, during our wedding ceremony, we combined two vials of olive oil from Lebanon and Syria to symbolize our union. For wedding favors, my mother made beautiful, delicate wine charms, which had special meaning because of our family winery, Château Belle-Vue. My younger sister designed a special wine label for our wedding day, and we enjoyed our signature white wine, Petit Geste, with all our guests. All of these special little details during the planning process made the day even more meaningful.
Anything you want to add about your wedding story?
Our wedding day was a joyful, magical celebration of love. While it was not what we originally planned (we had to pivot and plan a smaller celebration because of the pandemic), it was still the happiest day. My advice to brides would be to pick great vendors so that you can soak in the moment and not stress about the small things. We are so grateful to our amazing vendor team– they went above and beyond to make our dream celebration come to life. Having such wonderful professionals meant that we didn’t have to worry about a thing, and we could just enjoy the big day. We are so thankful!
Photographer: Krystal Kast
Videographer: Oak City Films
Hair & Makeup: Wedded Kiss
Bridal Salon: Coastal Knot
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Azazie
Groom’s Attire: The Black Tux
Ceremony and Reception Music: Vox DJ