Toronto, Canada Pakistani Wedding by Fotos by Anum

Good Morning Maharanis! After the Pandemic, it's not easy for couples to downsize their wedding plans, but for today's couple, Anusha and Ishraq, this was the perfect excuse to celebrate the intimate wedding they always longed for. Their super lovely Pakistani affair proves that a small union can be magical without giving up on your original plans. Our clever Maharani Anusha planned all the beautiful events that included an awe-inspiring Mehendi function at home. I'm loving the colorful decor inspired by the bride's dupatta and, of course, the elaborate henna motifs in her hands that are just refreshing our eyes. They managed to book the Kennedy Convention Centre for their Sangeet summery-themed night. This lovely pair asked their guests to wear green and yellow hues for this event, while the bride and groom donned orange shades. Brilliant!. The Nikah ceremony took place again in Kennedy Convention Centre, with Maharani Anusha walking down the aisle all dolled up by Glowinggoddessmuah. She opted for neutral and light tones for her outfit and paired it out with a regal Zayver by Shazia's jewelry set. This small Nikah ceremony is a boho dream! The couple tied the knot in front of a macramé arch adorned with beautiful foliage and pampa grass. Doli Decor created the relaxed boho decor that's nothing short of spectacular. Celebrations featured excellent food from Bikrampur Nawabi Food- HALAL and a lovely two-tier cake by Wish a cake by Sheryl. Talented photographer Fotos by Anum captured their sweet and touching days, and we are happy to share all the images with you. Ready for a closer look? Click in our complete gallery!

How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
We met on Social Media. He slid into my dm, after he was cat-fished on tinder with my fake profile. I didn't know until we began talking and he mentioned it on one of our rounds of naked truth. He wasn't being a creep but his honesty on how he genuinely wanted to get to know the real me caught my attention. I didn't know he was 'the one' until we went through major ups and downs in our life that made us question our decision. However through it all he never made me feel alone. And eventually we learned to accept each others differences which was a start of a beautiful relationship between us.

Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
When Ish and i decided to get married, it was all very sudden and spontaneous. Being in our sweats on bed munching on our daily snack and watching our favourite show, we chose 2020 to be the year. We didn't want a very grand typical brown wedding, and Covid  was the perfect excuse. Ish knew the kind of ring i wanted and he began his search for that perfect ring for customizing. ( He's become an expert in the process by now, he didn't even show me the design until he put it on me) He told me the diamond boy won't be able to deliver a customized ring until the date of our nikaah. I wasn't expecting a proper proposal regardless, let alone have the thought of being surprised with a proposal, specially after that news. Fast forward to my bridal shower, my maid of honour planned the itinerary of the entire day and organized a photo shoot as a garden. I was hesitant and opposed to the event given it was pouring outside. I still went along with it however, since i didn't want to ruin her plans for my special day. Little did i know, my now husband has been planning for this proposal ever since our conversation about the ring. He made sure i never found out, amidst the wedding chaos. All our close friends were present at the venue and my bridesmaids walked me to a stunning gazebo decorated by him. I was almost in tears. He finally went down on his knees and asked me to marry him. It meant everything to me. Even though i knew it in my heart i was marrying this guy, the whole process made my heart fill with tons of emotions i still find hard to describe.

Tell us how you went about planning your wedding, and your overall experience with the Venues, Hair & Makeup, Outfits, Decor Theme, and all of the other important details.
I have been planning my wedding in my head for a long time now. A lot of it couldn't be exactly how i imagined it would be due to the covid situation, but i made sure it was close to everything i had visioned. I had pinterest boards for each event, color palettes, guest attire, decor, themes and favours. I wanted each event to be unique and coordinated with the bride and grooms attire. After giving a-lot of thoughts to my vision board, i went on a hunt for my vendors to match my choices. Luckily i had an eye on a few vendors from the beginning and they were readily available to accommodate to my needs. I loved the process of scheduling appointments with them to go over details and how clearly they could understand my vision and idea. Its really important to have a good relationship with your vendors in order for them to acknowledge your ideas.

How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I knew what themes i wanted for each event, and i wanted to coordinate our dresses. For my haldi/sangeet i wanted something very vibrant to go with my summery theme of yellow and green, and my orange lehenga made the perfect contrast. It was a style i saw on a Sabyasachi bride, and i wanted something similar. For my mehendi, i had already chosen a colorful dupatta, so it was only a matter of contrasting the salwar. I went with a banarsi green gharara with bead and pearl work on them.  For my nikaah/wedding day i had planned it from the beginning that i wanted to wear pastel colors and since my theme was pastel boho, the pastel pink was without a question a definite choice.In terms of details, i wanted zardozi work on all over my fit, and pearl and bead work on my organza dupatta. I went with a banarsi pink shawl to give me that regal look. Ish chose his outfit matching mine. Ish and I went on trials after trials before we were satisfied with our fit and look. Regardless of the tiredness in us, we really enjoyed shopping for our wedding outfits together. 

What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
The home shenanigans. Nothing is more enjoyable than seeing your family and friends enjoying every process of the wedding events. From decorating the house to planning little things at the wedding ( example, who will be the dance choreographer, who will hold the brides veil, who will steal the grooms shoe, what favours to get) i thoroughly enjoyed the smiles and giggles around my house that entire time. My mom preparing food for everyone while we decorated favours or finished wedding rehearsals, everyone sitting in circles and talking about who will be wearing the best outfit, staying up till 3 am to do some last minute changes. Those were definitely the highlight.   

What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
My guests appreciated the decor and he little details i planned during each event like customizing facial masks with our wedding hashtag. Each table had a unique centre piece that went with the theme, our dance performances, and our outfits and look throughout the events. However, mostly what everyone loved was the intimacy of all the events.

Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
My parents were so busy planning and doing everything for the wedding, that they didnt even have the time to take in that their only daughter is actually getting married. When my brothers walked me to the stage, my mom sat beside me, for a moment she was quiet and was looking at my face. She took my hand and said "You're the most beautiful bride i've ever seen" and tears ran down her face. My father was standing behind us, and i could tell seeing his face how hard he tried not to cry while the camera was fixated on us. That was the moment when they realized, they were giving me away, and i realized how much they can feel the pain.

For events other than your ceremony, please tell us as much as you would like about the decor, style, dances, and all the special details.
Our events were short and intimate. We had only few guests and mostly close family and friends. We were the kind of bride and groom that didn't sit on the stage for more than 15 minutes. We walked around, attended our guest while dancing and laughing, enjoying everything that was happening around. We made sure we were present with everyone to have a full experience of the events. We had a small bar set up in the greenroom where my friends kept coming back and forth from and pouring their energy all on the dance floor. My dad and his friends had their own setup just outside the venue. My mom and the aunties were busy taking pictures with the rickshaw and stage decor. My parents couldn't help themselves from joining the dance floor and bringing light to their own romance. All those little things were more than what i could've imagined.

Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Planning a wedding can be stressful, and delegating tasks to your friends and family is doubtful specially when they don't have the same vision as you or does not have the same idea as you. So, if you're not the one who would hire an event planner and do everything by yourself, i'd say give yourself enough time to plan your wedding. Not everything will turn out perfect, there will be missing pieces from your vision, but that's okay, just remember to enjoy every bit of the process as much as you can, because these are the times you'll miss the most and regret not enjoying it to the fullest

Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
I finalized my jewelries a day before my events started. It was probably the most stressful thing to do. I was very particular with the details of my outfit and i wasn't able to envision myself in the jewelleries offered to me previously. 4 hours of consultation, and hundreds of design later, i put all the pieces together to create my look.

For my nikaah cake, i wanted it to go a little with the theme and a little with my outfit. I asked my vendor if she could incorporate pearls on the cake, and she made it exactly how i wanted.

Get inspired by the another incredibly beautiful wedding tomorrow, see you!