FEATURED WEDDING: NARBE & EVIE

About a month ago, our Bride's Story Blogger Manifa went to Armenia for her Kavor and KavorKin’s wedding (best man & maid of honor). She posted amazing pictures and videos and we knew we had to feature their wedding on our blog. We were so excited to get in touch with Narbe and Evie and find out all about their wedding. Evie shares with us how she planned her beautiful Armenia wedding from Los Angeles and provides some tips to anyone planning a special event in Armenia. 

Featured Wedding: Narbe and Evie

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ARMENIAN WEDDING TRADITIONS: BLOCKING DOOR

We at Harsanik are obsessed with all things wedding, but our favorite part of weddings are the traditions that couples choose to incorporate on their big day. As Armenians, we have so many beautiful wedding traditions to choose from. One of our favorite Armenian wedding traditions is the blocking of the doorway that is done by family members on the bride's side as the bride and groom are exiting the bride's house.

Typically a male family member from the bride's side will block the door and insist on getting paid in order to allow the bride to leave her family's home. Often times this role of the "bouncer" is done by the bride's brother, cousin, or younger male relative. Sometimes there is only one bouncer and other times there are a few who partner together to get the job done. Often times the bouncer holds a sword to block the doorway.

As for who pays up, it's dependent on the family. Sometimes the groom will pay off the bouncer, other times it's the "kavor" (bestman), and other times it's another family member from the groom's side. And how much do these bouncers expect to get paid? Well, it's really up to the bouncer to decide! It's customary for the first offer to be a smaller amount, and for the bouncer to reject it (you'll often see this captured in videos with the bouncer shaking his head no). The next higher offer sometimes satisfies the bouncer. Otherwise, other members of the groom's family, including the groom's father step in and offer more cash to make the deal go through. Most families have a lot of fun with this tradition and personalize it to make it their own. 

Here's some of our favorite shots of this special Armenian wedding day tradition. You can learn more about other Armenian wedding traditions and read up on every couple's love story and wedding day on our blog.

1) Featured Wedding: Mister X & Svetlana

Featured Wedding: Mister X & Svetlana

Featured Wedding: Mister X & Svetlana

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PREVIEW: SONA & TAK'S WEDDING

This weekend we were overjoyed to watch our favorite Armenian TV Star Sona Movsesian tie the knot! Sona and Tak's wedding on Saturday August 25, 2018 was perfect in every way - a couple who is truly in love, surrounded by close family and friends, and a celebration filled with beautiful Armenian traditions, entertainment, and pure happiness!

We're honored that Sona & Tak agreed to feature their wedding on Harsanik. Until the couple gets a breather to recover from their wedding and share their detailed story with us, we wanted to bring you an unfiltered look at their wedding. And yes, Conan O'Brien was a guest, and he busted his Armenian dance moves which we got on tape! 

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Posted by: Harsanik | | Comments: (0) | Featured Weddings

BRIDE DEMANDS GUESTS TO FUND $60K WEDDING

When we heard this story, our first thought was "please tell me she's not Armenian!" Thankfully the answer is no. A Canadian bride "Susan" went bezerk and demanded that her guests each pay $1,500 CAN (~$1,200 USD) to help fund her dream wedding. She went on a rant on Facebook and mentioned she wanted to have a "Kardashian" style wedding costing $60,000 CAN (~$47,000). Since she and her ex were unable to afford it, they asked every guest to pitch in $1,500. Only eight guests RSVPed, one being her maid of honor who agreed to pay $5,000! But soon after, people backed out, including the generous maid of honor.  And so the couple canceled their wedding and split up. 

"I just wanted to be a kardashian for a day and then live my life like normal."

Featured Wedding: Kim Kardashian & Kanye West

See more photos of Kim & Kanye's wedding 
Photo credit: E! News

"I mean seriously people, what is $1,000? What is $1500? Clearly, not a lot. It would be quite manageable [and] within budget. I've heard of people asking for worse."

What planet does she live on? We've heard crazy stories about Armenians getting loans just to pay for their wedding, but this one tops it. Asking for your family and friends to pay over a thousand dollars each to attend your wedding is ludicrous. We're not 100% sure if this story is in fact true. But regardless, we had to share this person's insane Facebook rant with you. 

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Posted by: Harsanik | | Comments: (0) | Articles & Guides

SONA MOVSESIAN IS GETTING MARRIED

Sona Movsesian, our favorite Armenian celebrity, is getting married this Saturday! And in case you're wondering, she's planning on having a Big Fat Armenian Wedding! (Update: She HAD a Big Fat Armenian Wedding which we featured on our blog!)

For those who don't know, Sona is Conan O'Brien's assistant and has worked with Conan for about a decade. In November 2015, Sona, Conan, and the Team Coco crew traveled to Armenia to record Conan in Armenia. Conan became the first American late-night host to broadcast a show from Armenia. 

We've been a huge fan of Sona ever since we first watched the Conan in Armenia episode. Sona is hilarious, authentic, and just an amazing representation of the Armenian race! We were also lucky to meet Sona in person in March 2016 at a USC ASA Career Panel. Sona was just as funny in person as what you see on TV! 

Conan and Sona in Armenia

For those who never saw the Conan in Armenia episode, or if you're just looking for a good laugh, here are a few of our favorite clips from the show:

"Dried apricots? They have those at Whole Foods!" 

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FEATURED PROPOSAL: VANAND & ANI

The Rise Festival is a very unique event where participates are able to release lanterns into the air at night time. Being that this is a very romantic and photo worthy moment, Vanand decided he wanted to propose to Ani at this festival,  however, a little security issue got in the way of him being able to take the ring into the event venue. How was Vanand able to avoid Ani finding out about her proposal? Well he completely changed his plans last minute and did something extremely romantic and on the spot after getting home from the event. We spoke with Ani to got all the details & we're thrilled to share with you Vanand & Ani's magical proposal!

Featured Proposal: Vanand and Ani

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A BRIDE'S STORY: OUR WEDDING

*REPOST*

This is Marineh and I am one of the co-founders of Harsanik. On August 7, 2010, I was so blessed to get married to the most amazing man. We had a beautiful Armenian wedding at Taglyan and it turned out to be a magical day!

Throughout the past year, I shared my wedding planning adventures in my blog called A Bride's Story, including picking the venue, the dress, the food and cake tastings, and other fun wedding stories. Now, a few months after the wedding, I am excited to share with you all the photo and video highlights from our wedding day over a series of blogs!

Harsanik Co-Founder Wedding Photos

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Posted by: Marineh K | | Comments: (0) | Marineh's Story

FEATURED PROPOSAL: EDUARD & RENITA

High school sweethearts Eduard and Renita dated for 7 years before Ed popped the question! Ed really kept Renita on her toes when he took her on an anniversary get-a-way. Even though Renita was sure he was going to propose, he still found a way to catch her off guard and surprise her. Renita tells us the whole story from how they met, how he surprised her, and how they decided on a wedding date. Ed and Renita will be getting married next weekend on 8/18/18 in Los Angeles. We're thrilled to share their romantic proposal story and can't wait to share their wedding day with you soon! 

Featured Proposal: Ed and Renita

Renita's Story:

Ed and I met during my Senior year in High School. I can clearly remember the night I ran into him at a friend's birthday. September 18, 2009 - that's when we really felt a connection and hit it off. After a few months of dating, he made it official and asked me to be his girlfriend on January 24, 2010. The timing was perfect, we attended Senior ditch days together, Senior Prom, and celebrated graduation together.

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FEATURED WEDDING: MANUK & EDITA

It takes a very special bride to be able to wear a 60 pound dress, but it takes an even more special bride to rock it in 120 degree weather! Edita gave us all the details from her heavenly wedding at Taglyan Cultural Complex, including her emotional Father-Daughter dance, having to change her photo location last minute due to the LA heat, and her impeccable dress. We are so excited to be sharing Edita & Manuk's love story and wedding day story with all of you! 

Featured Wedding: Manuk & Edita

Can you briefly tells us about how you met Manuk and how he proposed?

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