Kayla & Riad

Married last summer but together for over a decade, Kayla and Riad Thomeh can’t stop smiling as they recount the details of their big day. “Our wedding was really personalized, very you and me,” Kayla says as Riad beams at her.

Their one-of-a-kind day had personality infused into every detail: They said “I do” on the ocean-facing patio of Shining Waters Marine and entered the reception on a boat that had Lebanese, Canadian and Nova Scotian flags. Fireworks crowned the evening, because “fireworks are just romantic. I always wanted that,” Kayla says. A Lebanese drummer got the reception party started and, as the boat approached, theme music from Pirates of the Caribbean played.

“Lebanese culture is big and when it comes to weddings, it’s really big. And I’m just Canadian and we do weddings kinda small. So we had to figure out how to do something that was both of our styles without being too much of one,” Kayla starts. “In Lebanese [weddings] there’s a celebratory sound the women would do, like a yell,” Riad says, “It’s a known thing in Lebanese culture, you make this sound, and the MC actually got her grandma to do it.” “She did it perfectly! She never done it before in her life,” Kayla adds.

Guests partied so hard the couple are still being told how fun their big day was. “It had been forecasting rain for days leading up to our wedding, and that morning it was raining in Halifax. I left with my groomsmen, driving towards St. Margarets Bay, and literally as we approached, the clouds parted into blue sky,” Road remembers as Kayla’s hand inches towards his. It was a sign, it seems, of the smooth sailing and sunny days ahead.