Bridal Styles

When Senaida met Naim, she knew pretty quickly that she had met someone who was one of a kind. A man who would be a lifelong best friend and partner…the man she wanted to marry!

“Within the first few months of our relationship I knew he was the one for me. I had never met anyone that was as caring, sincere and understanding as Naim was. He would always listen to me rant about things that seemed so little but meant so much to me. He truly was my rock, knew how to bring me back up when I was down. One of the most important factors that convinced me that he was the one was the fact that he was always so patient with me and always put my needs first. The fact that he would do anything for me allowed me to love him unconditionally and never let him go.”

 Senaida and Naim, custom crystal bridal tiara, brooches, and jewelry – Bridal Styles Boutique, photos – AlbaPro

When Naim was ready to propose, he considered both their large Albanian families, and thrilled Senaida with a traditional Albanian proposal.

“In our tradition, the hopeful groom sends a mutual friend/relative of the family as a messenger to ask my father for his sweetheart’s hand in marriage. My father obviously approved and the messenger returned to my husband’s house and gave them the answer and then my husband partied it up with his family.”

Senaida, custom crystal tiara and bridal jewelry – Bridal Styles Boutique, photos – AlbaPro

With June 10, 2012 circled on the calendar, Senaida and Naim set about planning their wedding. Envisioning a wedding that combined many traditional Albanian elements and classic wedding details, they had their work cut out for them…thank goodness for family and friends!

“My sister Sanela was a great help. She stayed on top of me the whole time, annoying at times but it was worth it. My best friend Almira also helped. She stayed on the phone with me reminding me of things to do and had a unique way to keep me calm. My mother also helped with a lot of the traditional necessities of an Albanian wedding.”

Senaida, spectacular bridal headpiece and jewelry – Bridal Styles Boutique, photos – AlbaPro

Right away, Senaida took care of the best things on her list of wedding to-do’s – finding her look!

“As many little girls growing up do, I always envisioned myself as a princess bride, especially considering that Cinderella was one of my all time favorite childhood movies. When asked what kind of wedding dress I wanted, I replied BIG AND SPARKLY like a princess. It took me only a week to find my dress. The more bling the better! There are only a few designers who displayed the true sparkle I was looking for. I only tried on 6 or 7 dresses but in the end Pnina Tornai won everyone over. She doesn’t have as many satin ball gowns but this one gown had everything I envisioned, Big, Sparkly, Satin, Just Perfect, I knew that was the one, however I wanted more to the back so I customized that as well. Pnina designed this exquisite belt that could be added to the subtle dresses within her collection but I thought it would be great to add on to the back on my dress along with adding bustles all around. I changed the back of my gown to have permanent bustles but I still wanted more, so I thought there would be no better place but Bridal Styles to help me finish accessorizing my dress and look.”

Senaida, tiara and crystal bridal jewelry – Bridal Styles Boutique, photos – AlbaPro

So Senaida headed to Bridal Styles to choose the bridal headpiece, jewelry and gown jewelry!

“Accessories was one of the hardest part for me to figure out. As far as my hair, I wanted it to be grand. I knew I needed a large tiara to complete my look. The original piece I chose was at the time perfect, but before I committed I wanted to bring my mother to share the moment. Well, Mom had other plans. She came to the store, took one look at my piece and said not good enough. At first I was disappointed, but between my mothers good eye and Edward’s impeccable vision, we collaborated to create a piece that was too much to handle for all of us. My mother liked a beautiful sidepiece Bridal Styles had on display, so we used that as the origin of the beautiful custom tiara Bridal Styles created for me. It was beyond perfect. It surpassed my imagination and the anxiety of how it would look upon completion killed me! Edward also helped me figure out what pieces to add to the back of my dress that flowed with my overall look. I looked at so many pieces until we all agreed the pieces I picked out match the design of my dress. I don’t think anyone has visited Bridal Styles as much as we did throughout the wedding process. We always walked out with something, whether it was accessories for my sister or my niece, etc. I ended up also falling in love with other accessories that I chose to wear on my wedding day.”

Senaida,  crystal bridal accessories and jewelry – Bridal Styles Boutique, photos – AlbaPro

For Senaida, when it came to wedding planning, taking care of the fun wedding planning tasks first ended up creating some challenges….though it was worth it!

“Planning a wedding is probably the easiest and most stressful event to plan. It started off really easy. I ordered my dress and headpieces within about a two week period, I knew what I wanted and I got it. I knew what I wanted my theme to be so picking out my flowers was pretty simple. The hardest part was the traditional Albanian rules and necessities. I left those at the bottom of my to do list which was a wrong move. There are so many things involved (many that I am not even familiar with) so the stress added on as the wedding day got closer and not everything had been accomplished. Of course I also left a few important things for the week of the wedding which, in my sister’s opinion should have been done months before – like my hair and makeup trial (sorry sissy poo for driving you crazy!). I definitely came to the realization that planning my wedding was a whole other full-time job.”

Senaida and Naim, dramatic crystal bridal tiara, bouquet brooch, and jewelry – Bridal Styles Boutique, photos – AlbaPro

Despite the planning ups and downs, everything fell into place:

“The ceremony was done in private amongst our immediate family at the Albanian-Islamic Center of Queens, then, as most Albanian traditions, we have two receptions in one day. The morning reception is pretty much my reception with my entire family. That was held at Villa Barone Manor in the Bronx. The evening reception which was mainly my husband’s family with the exception of some of my family was held at Astoria World Manor in Queens.”

 crystal cake brooches – Bridal Styles Boutique, photos – AlbaPro

And the morning Senaida and Naim’s day arrived, they were more than ready!

“Oh boy was it nerve racking! I felt like I was in shock and numb. I couldn’t believe that this was it, my wedding was finally here! I was so used to getting ready for everyone else’s wedding that it took a little to realize it was my day. I knew I was in good hands with my hair stylist Senada Kanaqi and makeup Artist Drita Pali. They not only made me look beautiful but made the process smooth and transformed me into the princess I had always envisioned. My family was very emotional and made me just as emotional. I come from a very big family (90 first and second cousins from my dad’s side alone) so a lot of my time was spent taking pictures with everyone yet I felt so blessed to be surrounded by such a great family. My wedding bouquet came out gorgeous and I even added a Bridal Styles brooch I had extra of to make it all the more beautiful. When my entire look came together I was in awe. I had a hard time breathing and accepting that my vision was reality. When I saw my now husband I felt this sense of calm come over me. He always had a way of bringing me to my senses that it happened naturally that day. I felt so comfortable from that point on – knowing I was in his arms, that we were starting our new life together, that I had my best friend by my side from this day forward. I could not have asked for a more perfect day.”

Senaida and Naim, custom crystal bridal tiara and jewelry – Bridal Styles Boutique, photos – AlbaPro

Surrounded by friends and family, Senaida and Naim’s day was everything they dreamed and hoped for.

“I personally didn’t do anything special to make it ‘my day.’ Family and friends made it happen for me. They were around me asking me if I need anything, helped me get ready and kept reminding me to breathe and enjoy so that I will be able to remember. My sister had custom shirts made for my closest friends that said ‘Bride’s Entourage’ and they all wore them while I was getting ready. My nephew made a cute speech for me and requested a wonderful song to be sung for him as a dedication. My parents provided me with everything along with my sister and my brother who organized a lot for me all so I could just sit, relax and get myself all dolled up.”

Senaida and Naim, bridal headpiece and crystal jewelry – Bridal Styles Boutique, photos – AlbaPro

Of all the wonderful moments of their wedding day, for Senaida one stands out most of all:

“When I saw my husband for the first time, I got butterflies. My stomach hasn’t flip-flopped like that in such a long time. I had a rush of emotions running through me, how much I loved him and how happy I was to finally spend the rest of my life with him.

Senaida and Naim, elegant crystal bridal tiara, gown brooches, and jewelry – Bridal Styles Boutique, photos – AlbaPro

For Naim, seeing Senaida on their wedding day will be a memory he’ll always cherish…and smile about.

“My husband’s memorable moment was when he saw me getting out of the limo walking up to the house as his bride. He says he could not believe how beautiful I looked and that that beautiful image he was staring at was his wife. He then proceeded to throw candy at me since it was part of an Albanian tradition!”

Senaida and Naim, tiara and crystal bridal jewelry – Bridal Styles Boutique, photos – AlbaPro

Now that the last of their thank you notes have been written, Senaida and Naim have the following advice for other couples planning their weddings:

“My advice to other brides would be to enjoy every minute of everything you do for and remember that everything will come in to place like it supposed to. I would also recommend that you start planning as early as possible! There is never enough time to do things, and before you know it, the day is here. However, stressing yourself out isn’t healthy either, so try and keep calm as much as possible. Most importantly remember to have fun and cherish every moment, it truly is a once in a lifetime experience. My husband’s advice is “ELOPE.” Too many colors to chose from, too many different flowers, so many choices for a menu, just too many questions, but if you do decide to go through with a traditional wedding, enjoy every moment and remember it is your day!”

Thank you for sharing your day, Senaida and Naim…best wishes!

Senaida and Naim’s wedding vendors:

Villa Barone Manor manager Massimo and the Villa Barone staff worked hard to making my day extra special.

The AlbaPro team did an amazing job with photography and videography.

My wedding cake was designed and created by Yared De’leon

Kleinfeld Bridal Salon staff was amazing with helping me with picking out my gown

 Hair stylist Senada Kanaqi and makeup Artist Drita Pali, made me look and feel beautiful www.senadak.com