Lifelong Photography Studio
Bailey Braun + Yousef Bashir
Brittland Estates | Lifelong Photography Studio
WEDDING DATE: October 16, 2021
NUMBER OF GUESTS: 185
AFTERPARTY ESSENTIALS: A belly dancer, shisha lounge, and Krispy kreme donuts
CONFERENCE CRUSH
Bailey and Yousef met at a Seeds of Hope peace building conference in Athens, Greece, when both of them grabbed front row seats during the opening talk. “It takes a special person to want to sit front row center at a conference, so I paid attention to him right away,” Bailey says. After a lunch date at a cute cafe, they were completely enamored—so much so that Yousef walked into two different street poles on the way back to their lodging. After a whirlwind three days, the pair parted, but only after Bailey secured Yousef’s attendance at her family’s Christmas celebration the following week. Serendipitously, Yousef was living in D.C. and she already had plans to stop there for the holiday.
Lifelong Photography Studio
Lifelong Photography Studio
One key decision for Bailey was throwing a welcome party, instead of a rehearsal dinner. “I wanted to be able to enjoy speaking with everyone by spreading out the time we had with all our guests,” she says.
THE MOST LOVABLE LITTLE TOWN
Chestertown, Maryland, has always been a special place for Bailey and Yousef—her family has a house there and her great-grandparents were married there—so when Yousef found Brittland Estates during an online search, the couple booked a tour right away. In-person, the venue was so perfect that they didn’t look anywhere else. The Bashirs checked in on a Wednesday and had the estate entirely to themselves for five days. They even hired a private chef, Missy Keyser, to cater breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so that their two families could leisurely enjoy getting to know one another.
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A GOWN SHE DIDN’T LIKE
Bailey would have skipped right past her Wtoo by Watters gown, if her sister-in-law hadn’t stashed it in her try-on rack at BHLDN. “It was not love at first sight,” Bailey says. But once she donned the dress, everything changed. “I felt so beautiful in it, even though it was nothing like what I had envisioned,” she explains. It just needed one thing: off-the-shoulder sleeves, which Bailey added during the alterations process at Green and Blue Studio.
Lifelong Photography Studio
Lifelong Photography Studio
Bailey’s uncle, Mike Arnold, who is an artist based in Dubai, surprised her with a custom bar sign. “I love how it tied in Arabic with the beautiful lettering,” she says. “I have it hung in our house now.”
DRUMLINE
Bailey wanted her and Yousef’s Arab and American worlds to collide for her guests, so she dreamed up an exotic reception aesthetic filled with bright colors, beautiful carpets, lounge seating, rich textures, and hanging lamps. “In Palestinian culture, it is tradition to have a band of drummers introduce the couple into the reception,” Bailey says. “We kept the whole thing a surprise and I’ve never seen such big smiles from our friends and family!” They also catered a family-style Middle Eastern meal and celebrated in the days leading up to their wedding with multiple welcome events, including a women’s-only Red Tent, with dancing, henna, and much advice-dispensing; a Maryland-style seafood feast with raw oysters, gourmet s’mores, and a Frank Sinatra tribute crooner; and a cruise down the Chester River.
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NO-UBER WOES
In a very small town with no Uber, pulling together transportation logistics for 185 out-of-town guests was challenging. The Bashirs had to coordinate rides from every Airbnb and bed and breakfast to make sure everyone could party safely. “Organizing all of the locations and pick up times was difficult,” Bailey says, but, ultimately, their efforts were not in vain. Bayside Limo provided the cars so that everyone who wanted to could stay for the afterparty, which lasted until 3 a.m.!
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THE PRO TIP
Bailey spent 18 months planning her wedding with the help of her mother and her mother’s cousin, who owns an event planning business in South Florida. “We had such a ball planning together,” Bailey says. “We got to hang out with people I had grown up spending time with when I was young and my mother would drag me to work.” And, of course, her professional sidekicks gave great advice: “They said again and again to make sure our personalities were shown and that is exactly what we accomplished.”
THE DETAILS
Alcohol: Mills Fine Wine and Spirits Bride’s gown: Wtoo by Watters (designer) + BHLDN (shop) + Green and Blue Studio (alterations) Bride’s hair: Shelby Anderson Beauty Bride’s makeup: Makeup by Kevan Bride’s shoes: Prada Catering: Ken’s Creative Kitchen Day-of-coordinator: Wedding Savvy Weddings (Leslie Jefferson) Entertainment: Shore Strings (ceremony) + Afrah Events Zaffah Dabka Group (DJ + belly dancer) Florist: Wildly Native Flower Farm Groom’s suit: The Tailored Man Hookah: District Hookah Photography: Lifelong Photography Studio Planning: Blue Skies Weddings and Events (Heather Tyler) Rentals: Something Vintage + Pretty Little Wedding Co + DC Rental + Eastern Shore Tents & Events Transportation: Bayside Limo Venue: Brittland Estates Videographer: Webster Media
