Soft Shades of Blue Wowed at This Fearrington House Wedding in Pittsboro, North Carolina

Following an intimate family-only wedding ceremony, Noor and Omar celebrated their wedding reception at The Fearrington House Inn in Pittsboro, North Carolina. "Omar and I had already had our wedding ceremony at my parent's house on Christmas Day," explains Noor. "We really wanted this reception to focus on our friends and family instead."

For their wedding reception at The Fearrington House, Noor and Omar's "goal was to share our new home in North Carolina. Our favorite part of North Carolina is the sunshine, blue sky, and surrounding greenery. We love the outdoors and hiking! Each table was named after a national park we've explored. We tried to recreate the blue sky by using Carolina blue as an accent color and string and twinkle lights in memory of the stars in Asheville or Joshua Tree!" Noor goes on to emphasize that for decor "we focused mostly on green elements since we were literally in the middle of a garden surrounded by many trees. We did have some statement pieces such as a large flower arch with blue and white flowers that also had draping and marked the entrance into our garden party. One of my favorite photos is one of Omar standing under the arch and somehow his suit matches perfectly with the colors! Also, I loved how the flower arch behind our sweetheart table looked like it was growing from the ground and climbing onto the stone fireplace behind us. Again, we wanted it to look like a forest or garden so we tried to mimic a more natural element."

It was also important to Noor and Omar that their wedding honor their Muslim faith and their Palestinian culture. "We are both Palestinian and it was very important to keep up tradition," shares Noor. "We of course had a dabka group (drumline) for our zaffa (entrance) and entertainment. One of my favorite memories is all 60-something vaccinated guests (Arab and non-Arab) holding hands in our venue to create a snake of line while getting instruction from Faris El-Layl (dabka group) about how to do dabka! We were so coordinated and I loved it! We also made sure to have enough space so that guests could pray comfortably. Our wedding planner was amazing and ensured there was not only space but also beautiful prayer rugs for guests to use."

While garden vibes dictated the visual direction of their wedding, Noor and Omar leaned into celebrating their favorite foods when it came to crafting the wedding reception menu. "Omar and I LOVE FOOD," explains Noor. "So that was probably our biggest splurge and most important ask. The Fearrington House is one of the best restaurants in North Carolina. Simply put, how many weddings do you go to and remember the food because it was good? Almost none. But our guests filled their plates with seconds and thirds and we were so happy when we realized they were enjoying themselves with sesame seared tuna, fried oysters, rock shrimp, grilled cheese with tomato chutney, creamy polenta, cheesy focaccia, and so much more. We had our favorite ginger beer (Maine Root) and an Arab version of mint lemonade (laymoon bi na'na) to satisfy our American and Arab taste buds. Our wedding favors were cute little bottles of hot sauce from our favorite breakfast place in Columbus, Ohio (The Skillet). We thanked everyone for 'spicing up our night' with these favors but we wanted more than anything to share a piece of our journey together with our party favor since Omar was leaving Ohio. Our wedding cake had three flavors and though funfetti sponge with lemon curd and cream cheese frosting was the tier we loved the most, we of course had to pay homage to Omar's Ohio roots with a 'buckeye' tier of cake (chocolate sponge with peanut butter mousse and hazelnut ganache). Beyond all of this, our favorite food moment came at the end of the night. All of our friends know how we individually are OBSESSED with Jeni's ice cream. That obsession is exponential when we are together. Interestingly Jeni's ice cream also started in Columbus, Ohio (where Omar was relocating from). We made sure to end the night with individual Jeni's 'street treats' for all of our guests in a variety of flavors so we could all have a sweet goodbye and goodnight."

Looking back on their wedding day in North Carolina, Noor and Omar note that they had not one, but three favorite moments from the celebration. "The most special part of our day was our first slow dance. Not because of what it meant for other people to watch us but because every time we practiced, all the noise of life drowned out and we ended practice mesmerized at how good of a team we are when learning something new or working on something together. We are without a doubt better together. Our second special moment was when we got home and exchanged gifts. I made a video for Omar filled with hellos and goodbyes from family, friends, and co-workers. He made me a beautiful photo book of all of our crazy adventures hiking, white water rafting, swimming, cooking, and running from the past year—it was the best way to end the night. The third special moment was when a friend the next day called me frantically realizing she had come on the wrong day (the day after) to my wedding alone with her two-year-old! We of course made her come over and have dinner with our families in our new house. In that moment we knew we were so lucky that so many people loved us enough to take the time out of their week, month, year to celebrate with us so far away. We watched Omar's video again with all the people we love and it just made it that much sweeter."