Bridal Bliss: Amine and Michaela Mixed Cultures to Create Wedding Magic In Nashville

Bride: Michaela Brathwaite, 34, Supply Chain Management Professional
Groom: Mohamed Amine Samoudi, 30, Restaurateur
The Big Day: 8/13/16
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Style/Theme: Colorful Moroccan/Bahamian Fusion 

“The answer is simple ‘love,'” said Amine when asked why he chose his bride as his wife. “Michaela has all the qualities that I was looking for in the woman that I wanted to marry. I also went through some difficult times at work and with family and without her I would not have made it through.”

During her wedding day, Michaela wore two handmade crowns from the Ukraine. What a sweet touch! 

Michaela wore two dresses on her big day and one of them was designed by someone extra special.

“My second dress was designed in Morocco by my wonderfully talented mother-in-law!,” shared the bride. “The dress consisted of two layers. The top is “Takchita” which was a white silk garment embellished with gold and the second one was a white “Kaftan.” She also customized a pearly Moroccan Kaftan Gold belt. It was just an absolute honor to wear a dress that was customized by my mother-in-law for me. I loved, loved, loved the care and detail with which it was made!”

Michaela wore not one but two crowns during her wedding day and they were both divine! 

“The feeling of being a bride is one that I can never forget,” shared Michaela. “I was nervous, happy, worried, joyful and grateful all in one.  It was a feeling that cannot be matched and was better than I could have ever dreamed of. I felt like royalty.”

Michaela’s bridal shoe was a beautiful choice! 

“The man that I married is loving, family oriented, professional, respectful, driven and loyal,” said the bride. “He has been my absolute rock through some very tough times and continues to be a great support system.”

Michaela’s dad had the honor of walking her down the aisle on her wedding day and the moment was so sweet!

The bride wanted her bridesmaids dresses to stand out in the crowd so she opted for a dress in a vibrant color with a little bit of flare in the style. “I knew that I wanted something different, something that mirrored the strength and grace of my wedding party– ‘Wonder Women’ and ’Superheroes!” – so I stuck with the idea of a cape,” she said. “The attire of the women from around the globe had to reflect the brilliance of who they are in real life, only a cape would do.”

“I love his positivity and pure heart,” said Michaela of Amine.

“Michaela is a very special lady,” said Amine. “Since, the first time we met I fall in love with everything about her. Our first date was a week after we met in my Restaurant and that’s when I was a hundred percent sure she is my soul mate.”

“Honestly, it is really hard to describe my feelings at that time,” shared Amine. “I was extremely happy and blessed to finally have my soul mate. I was so proud and I felt over the moon. And, YES I CRIED!”

“I felt like Cinderella [with] her prince charming as my life story is far from a fairy tale,” shared the bride. “I felt so blessed and honored that God sent this man to love me.”

They did it!

“The reception décor was colorful! And was a combination of Bahamian and Moroccan motifs,” shared the bride.

“She is the kindest and most generous woman I have ever met,” said Amine of Michaela. “She is also a very outgoing person who loves, help, respect everybody around her.”

“He understands me better than anyone I know. He appreciates that I am an accomplished strong woman and is not intimidated by that,” said Michaela of Amine. “He appreciates my culture, my religion, my roots and I love that!”

“I can honestly say that I ever expected to find true love as I had not really experienced love in life as I mentioned, I had a bit of a difficult upbringing,” shared Michaela. “During my relationship with Amine each day I was taught what love was.”

When asked if he believed he’d ever find true love, Amine simply replied,”honestly, I did not really think I would find true love. But guess what, Michaela changed my mind.”

Michaela, Amine and their 140 plus guests should all agree that their wedding day was the best day ever indeed!

“I felt like a king celebrating his marriage to his queen,” said the groom of how he felt on his wedding day!

To incorporate Amine’s culture into the reception decor, the bride used Moroccan Lanterns as a focal point on the tables. It was certainly a great choice!

“Michaela is supportive, family oriented and a very caring person,”said Amine of his bride. “She also has a massive positive energy that she does not hesitate to use to influence others.”

To incorporate her Bahamian roots, Michaela had Junkanoo Headpieces at various tables during the reception for an added pop!

“I love her heart,” said Amine of Michaela. Sometimes, it’s just that simple!

Now this is what we call a sweet treat!

“I said yes because he was everything that I could dream of,” said the bride. “He is my soulmate. We were raised different in that he is Moroccan and raised with Muslim ideals, whereas I am Bahamian with Bajan roots raised in a Christian nation. It feels as if he was sent to enrich my life and I thank God. Even though we have had struggles external to us as individuals, we pushed through and have proved that race, religion & national origin was no match for true love.”

Guests were given customized chocolate bars with the bride and groom’s name on them as a favor following the wedding. That’s always a wonderful touch!

“Amine is incredibly family oriented and the love of his family has spilled over to me and they are wonderful,” said Michaela. “This was the case from day one and I knew from our first actual conversation that he was ‘the one.'”

Indian jeweled boxes were placed on the table for decoration and were also given to guests as favors. How fab!

How great do Amine and his groomsmen look! 

For dessert, the bride and groom offered their guests an array of options including French macarons, cupcakes, meringues, a Moroccan Styled cake and imported Bahamian sweets.

When Amine proposed to Michaela she said, “My heart skipped a beat! It was the happiest moment of my life.” The look on her face during her wedding day says it all, she’s definitely in love!