Love conquers all, and when two people decide to get married and spend their lives together, they dream of their big day to be nothing less than a whimsical wonderland. Abdallah Zgheib and Michelle Boustany chose Chateau Rweiss, one of Lebanon’s finest wedding venues to exchange their vows, and their wedding will be remembered and cherished for years as being the first wedding to be hosted in the country amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The wedding definitely did not take place in an ideal world scenario, but with Chateau Rweiss maintaining high standards of health & safety measures and following all government guidelines, this beautiful affair took place on the 20th of June 2020 and how! If there could be one word we could think of to describe this wedding, it would be ‘spectacular’! This one is a wedding so gorgeous, you’d need to see it to believe it.
The Love Story
Abdallah and Michelle’s love story feels straight out of a beautiful romantic movie. They met in University with Abdallah developing an instant crush, and later they went separate ways to shape their lives, and as luck would have it they met again 9 years later, confessing love for each other! After a dreamy proposal on a boat in the middle of the Jbeil and Jounieh Gulf, they immediately started planning for their big day.
Theme & Decor
The brief for the wedding was simple! The couple wanted their wedding décor to look mystical and enchanting, and that’s when this lovely Lebanese wedding was given a ‘Bohemian Chic’ theme. The ceremony and reception took place in the Oak Tree Garden with pampas and lanterns hanging down from the trees, giving a rustic yet chic and elegant look to it. To complement the Bohemian look, the dinner table was a wooden one that was aesthetically set over a bed of dried oak leaves on the grass and was adorned with lights all over to set the magical mood. The chairs of the bride & groom were decorated with macramé curtains and a huge dream catcher hanging on the tree next to it. The floral design too makes us wonder how minimalistic can be so exceptionally stunning! The floral décor was a mix of pampas, peonies, and cactus with a whole lot of candles beautifully lit on cashmere runners.
Intimate Setting With The Highest Safety & Sanitation Protocol
Being the first wedding to be orchestrated after a period of lockdown in Lebanon, it wasn’t just visually appealing but also was a commendable one in terms of the strict guidelines and regulations that were followed. From a wedding initially planned for 150 guests, witnessed only 25 of the near and dear ones of the couple who were there to bless them and celebrate their moment of togetherness. The bride and groom also created a beautiful video message inviting all their closed ones who couldn’t attend the wedding to live streaming of the same!
However, planning the wedding sure seemed challenging for the team at Chateau Rweiss. Maria Boustany, Director of Public Relations at the venue stated: “The Lebanese traditions are very warm, welcoming, friends like to carry the groom and bride, they do the dabke dance together holding hands, they kiss each other on the cheeks, they like mingling at the bar, so we really had to make sure that all the rules put down by the Ministry of Tourism regarding weddings were strictly followed keeping sanitation standards and social distancing norms a priority”. Chateau Rweiss did a commendable job of ensuring all precautionary measures are implemented. Some key steps taken by them included temperature checks of all guests upon their arrival, sterilizing their vehicles, obliging them to wear masks at all times, no gathering of groups, or smoking on-site, among others. They also arranged for a live station buffet tailor-made for a wedding amidst the pandemic!
As the evening progressed, the guests were seen enjoying themselves dancing, having their drinks, and feeling jolly capturing wonderful memories of a wedding that would indeed be documented as a ‘special one’. The reception saw a fairytale ending with the bride and groom happily swaying with each other amidst dazzling firework.
The immaculate execution of this wedding with the norms of the ‘new normal’ has created a benchmark for every couple and wedding connoisseur and is truly a sign that love can’t wait!
Beautifully summing up these sentiments, Maria says “It was the perfect time to stand out and assure everyone that love wins it all, love is not compromised and against all odds, love will prevail” and we couldn’t agree more!
Vendor List:
Venue: Chateau Rweiss
Caterer: Cuizina
Photographer/Videographer: Dazl by Chady Khalaf
Florist: Rose Dew
Furniture: Skamlati by MT
Entertainment: E Factory
Bar Catering: The Tipplers
Lighting: Bacchus Production
DJ & Sound: CKA-LB
Dress: Pronovias
