Brittany’s family lives in the United States. Moha’s lives in Jordan. Their parents had never met in person, so when the couple began planning a destination wedding, they searched for somewhere that could bring everyone together. Morocco became their meeting point.

Their Moroccan desert wedding weekend began with a Katb el Kitab in the Agafay Desert, where guests ate tagine, danced under the stars, and watched a fire show with the Atlas Mountains in the distance. The following day, the celebration moved to Levantine, a Moroccan villa where both families stayed together and, between the scheduled events, had time to simply hang out.

What We Love About This Moroccan Desert Wedding:

• A Katb el Kitab in the Agafay Desert followed by dinner and a fire show
• Both families staying together at Levantine after meeting in person for the first time
• Moroccan tile-inspired place cards handmade by Brittany
• Custom silk scarves made by Moha’s mom and waved around the dance floor
• A traditional Amaria that lifted Brittany and Moha above the reception crowd

Finding a Meeting Point Between the United States and Jordan

Morocco wasn’t a destination Brittany and Moha had initially considered. It emerged while they were looking at the map. “We knew from the beginning that we wanted a destination wedding,” Brittany says. “My family is based in the United States, while Moha’s family lives in Amman, Jordan, so we wanted to find somewhere that could bring both sides together in the middle.”

A halfway point was the starting criterion. Morocco soon made sense for other reasons too. Brittany and Moha love traveling, and the country offered the color, architecture, food, and sense of adventure they were looking for.

Travel had been part of their relationship from the beginning. The two actually met because Brittany joked to a mutual friend who worked at Delta that she should date someone with flight benefits. Her friend happened to know a single coworker: Moha. “She sent Moha a picture of me, and somehow, the rest really was history,” Brittany says. “We always joke that after our first date, we simply never stopped hanging out.”

Starting the Weekend With a Katb el Kitab in the Agafay Desert

The Saturday welcome event doubled as Brittany and Moha’s Katb el Kitab, taking the place of a conventional rehearsal dinner. Guests headed into the Agafay Desert, with its rocky landscape and views toward the Atlas Mountains. After the ceremony, everyone sat down to a Moroccan buffet with dishes including tagine, then moved into dancing. A fire show closed the night.

For guests who had traveled from different parts of the world, the Moroccan desert wedding weekend began outside the city and immediately introduced them to the place Brittany and Moha had chosen. The next day brought everyone back to Levantine for the wedding ceremony and reception.

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Featured Vendor:
Anna Valentine Photography

Bringing Their Civil Ceremony Photographers All the Way to Morocco

Two years before Morocco, Brittany and Moha had a small civil ceremony on May 25, 2023. Brittany found photographers Anna and Rob Valentine through Instagram while searching for someone who understood what she wanted for the intimate day. At the end of that ceremony, she gave them a warning.

“I told Anna and Rob that I wanted to have our wedding internationally in two years, and that they were going to have to come with us to photograph it,” she remembers. “They laughed and said, ‘We’d love to. Just let us know!’” 

Having Junebug vendor Anna Valentine Photography in Morocco was one of Brittany’s non-negotiables when assembling the wedding team. Anna and Rob had photographed the couple’s legal marriage before an international wedding was even on the calendar, and now they were there for the next one.

    

Choosing a Grace Loves Lace Dress Brittany Had Been Eyeing Since She Was 12

Brittany had been saving Grace Loves Lace dresses to Pinterest since she was around 12 years old, so she knew exactly where to start when it was finally time to shop.

She chose the Sol gown, a design that happened to be retiring just that year. “The second I tried her on, I knew,” she says. “I had the biggest smile on my face, and there was just this feeling that I couldn’t shake. As cheesy as it sounds, I really do believe the dress chooses you.”

Working With Levantine’s Existing Color, Tilework, and Architecture

A strict wedding color palette never became part of the plan. Brittany and Moha instead worked with what was already around them: warm earth tones, Moroccan tilework, greenery, textured surfaces, and the architecture of each space. Levantine existing colors and intricate architectural details already matched what they had pictured, so they focused on additions that worked with the villa instead of changing it.

The venue also gave the weekend something they hadn’t been able to get from a traditional event space–their families could stay together. Because Brittany’s family was coming from the United States and Moha’s from Jordan, the wedding marked the first time their parents met in person. Staying at the villa gave everyone time together before, during, and after the scheduled events.

“Some of our favorite memories were actually those quieter moments in between the celebrations,” Brittany says. “Everyone sitting together, laughing, getting to know one another, and simply being together.”

A Best Friend Officiant and Writing Their Vows by Hand

Their best friend, Dr. Humie “Humam” officiated the ceremony at Levantine. He had known Brittany and Moha since early in their relationship, which gave him plenty of material for a speech filled with their history and humor.

Brittany and Moha also wrote their own vows by hand and read them to each other during the ceremony. “There weren’t many dry eyes in the audience,” Brittany remembers.

For the heat, guests were given custom fans printed with the couple’s names. This particular personalized wedding detail had a very practical job, too. As Brittany puts it, “Moroccan heat is no joke.”

Hiring a Planner in a Country They Had Never Visited

Initially, Brittany and Moha thought they could handle the planning themselves. There was one fairly major complication: they were organizing an international wedding in a country neither of them had visited.

They eventually hired Widad of Morocco Go Events, who helped them navigate local venues, vendors, and logistics from abroad. Their first trip to Morocco finally happened in December 2024, and the plans changed almost immediately. Their original venue unexpectedly fell through while they were there.

Widad arranged three new venue tours. One was Levantine. “The moment we saw it, we fell in love,” Brittany says. “It had everything we had been looking for and felt so authentically Moroccan that we could immediately picture our wedding there.”

Making Tile Place Cards, Cocktail Napkins, and Silk Scarves for the Dance Floor

Some of the smallest details from the weekend are now sitting in guests’ homes. Brittany made Moroccan tile-inspired name settings for each person, which doubled as individual keepsakes. Since the wedding, she has spotted them displayed at friends’ houses.

Their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Maggie, couldn’t make the trip to Morocco, but she still appeared during cocktail hour. Custom napkins featured her face.

Moha’s mom contributed something specifically for the reception: custom silk scarves. Once dancing started, guests waved them above their heads, filling the dance floor with color and movement.

Joining a Traditional Moroccan Amaria at the Reception

One of the biggest reception moments required Brittany and Moha to leave the ground entirely. They incorporated the Amaria, a Moroccan wedding tradition in which the couple sits on a decorated platform or chair and is lifted above the crowd as guests dance, sing, and cheer around them.

From their seats above the reception, Brittany and Moha could look down and see their families and friends together below. “It was incredibly surreal and honestly so much fun,” Brittany says. After spending months figuring out how to bring guests from the United States, Jordan, and elsewhere to one place, the view from the Amaria gave them exactly that.

What They Learned From Planning an International Wedding

After organizing a Moroccan desert wedding from abroad, Brittany and Moha’s first recommendation is straightforward: bring in a local planner early. They also suggest paying close attention to the less glamorous logistical details. Rehearse anything involving microphones, audio, or music, and physically confirm decor placement and setup whenever possible. 

Conversations and plans on paper don’t always translate exactly once everything is inside the actual venue. And when something still goes differently than planned, Brittany has another reminder. “The funny thing is, no one else knows what was supposed to happen,” she says. “And they certainly won’t remember those little things afterward.”

“Soak up every second. Look around. Take it all in,” Brittany says. “The day goes by unbelievably fast.” Their Moroccan desert wedding gave them more than a single day together. It gave everyone a few days in the same place.