Munira and Ahmed embraced their culture and traditions during the celebration of their wedding events and fortunately, Blink Films and Images chronicled all the major events for posterity! They initiated their 3-day wedding festivities with a lovely outdoor mehndi where intricate henna designs were applied to Maharani Munira amidst lots of traditional street food and live music! The next day, the entire bridal party enjoyed a super fun Holi bash where all guests warmed up their engines to keep going with the celebrations! Once the bride and groom removed the Holi powder from their clothes they were ready for the Pithi and Sangeet night. Relatives and friends gathered for this occasion under the same roof of the wonderful Dallas/Fort Worth Marriott Hotel specially arranged for all the pre-wedding fun. The big day finally arrived and the talented hair and makeup artist, Sarah Aasif, assisted Munira during the first few hours of the morning to get ready for her special moment. Munira and Ahmed were pronounced husband and wife in an intimate and solemn Nikkah ceremony to commemorate the union, following that evening, Wedding Decor By Faiza amazed the crowd with an elegant décor for the wedding ballroom and teamed with a great DJ from Outspoken Visions Entertainment who spun the records and made all the guests wave their glow sticks in the air all night long! Watch the ravishing film of this unique wedding by Blink Films and Images now!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
I was approached to assist with a college expedition for incoming high school students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I was in my last semester and debating on attending the event since I had an exam the next morning. My sister eventually convinced me to go with her and Ahmed was there helping with the event as well. We struck up a conversation and thereafter kept meeting on occasions! Our fathers coincidentally were neighbors in Bangladesh which we discovered after initial family introductions which was fun fact to know. After graduating he lived in the city while I was still finishing my semester on campus so I knew he was the one when he would drive 3 hours at a time to get to campus from his home to see me!
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
The proposal was on Halloween in 2015, while everyone was doing last minute costume shopping, Ahmed prepared a special proposal on campus for me. All our friends and family were invited, underneath a gazebo in the park he had a special message asking me to marry him on pumpkins. Decorated all around the pumpkins were pictures of us, candles, flowers and a stuffed animal lobster to show that he was my lobster (reference to Friends, which is my favorite show). I initially thought he was taking me to a Halloween event that was there on campus so it totally caught me by surprise as I was already dressed in my Halloween costume! It was a magical moment as he placed the ring on my finger, the memories were captured by the local media in town and featured on the Daily Illini Newspaper with our story and pictures.
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.
The selection process for the venue was straightforward, I knew off the bat I wanted a venue with a golf course where I could have the color party event and an outdoor mehndi. Marriott Fort Worth fulfilled that requirement beautifully and allowed me to do all my events both outdoors and indoors with an accommodating staff. As for hair and makeup Sarah Aasif is one of the best makeup artists in Dallas with the most natural looks, discussing exactly what I wanted with pictures and numerous Pinterest pins made it an easy process so doing your homework and being prepared was necessary. The outfits were the trickiest since I wanted something between an Elan and Faraz Manan bridal outfit but not as heavy, Chandni Boutique in Chicago helped make the ensemble for my groom and I keeping in mind my requests. The Pithi outfit for the groom was from Manyavar Mohey USA in Houston TX. The decor theme planning was my favorite part, in most parts I was a DIY bride from creating the color party t-shirts to making the rickshaw favors (by skygoodies) that sat on the tables on the night of the Pithi. However, the decor that required particular attention was done by the decor staff and coordination of Faiza from Wedding Decor by Faiza. I had a vision for the mehndi night with a Mela theme, 2 open air tents, food carts, a traditional Jhoola and outdoor seating for the ghazal singer and guests. We continued that theme into Pithi and Sangeet night with lanterns and rickshaws and dandiyas. The reception was more stylish with a softer elegant pink and gold theme. The cupcake bar setup by the bride’s sister Naila Charania had a tent setup on one side while the other tent was made for the sweetheart table for the bride and groom with monogram lighting all around. The dance floor was illuminated with light-up foam sticks passed out to the guests. The night ended with a sparkler exit for the bride and groom around the fire pit on the golf course with customized sparkler holders.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I knew I wanted something similar to an Elan or Faraz Manan outfit with cut work in a light pastel color, the talented Huriya Saleemi of Chandni Boutique had custom designed my sister in laws wedding outfit and so I went to her again. She created the perfect piece that was both subtle yet trendy with a beautiful trail. She matched my outfit with my groom’s ensemble to contrast.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
The most enjoyable part was coming up with random ideas to implement and then working them into a budget. I'm a numbers kind of girl and so figuring out how to cut costs yet getting everything that was a requirement was absolutely exciting for me!
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Everyone absolutely loved all the outdoor events such as the mehndi and the color party. We had a snow cone machine to make gola gandas with, which really appealed to the crowd.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
That special moment would be dancing with my groom on a choreographed song with my bridesmaids on the Sangeet night which keeps replaying in my mind.
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.
The Mehndi ceremony was done outdoors with all the guests seated on the golf course with decor as a Mela theme with food carts, open air tents for mehndi ladies to sit in and adorn guest’s hands, food was live bun kabob and street snacks with gola ganda followed by a live ghazal singer in open air seating. Next morning, we had the color party with customized shirts given to about 50-60 bridal party and family members, a game of scavenger hunt decided the winners that initiated the color fight followed by trashing of the groom. At night the Mela theme continued with decor of umbrellas and colorful lanterns with bright colors and small rickshaw favors. The Pithi ceremony was full of haldi and decorative plates, followed by Sangeet with over 30 choreographed dances. In the morning we had the Ismaili Nikkah ceremony which was held at the Tricities Jamat Khana followed by the Khoba Khobi at the Marriott which had tons of entertainment. Lastly the reception at night was started off by the bridal party doing a choreographed entrance followed by the bride and groom, the theme was a classy light pink and gold crystal to compliment the brides outfit. The cupcake bar was created by the bride’s sister, each cupcake was topped with a customized acrylic heart with the bride and groom’s names and the date as a keepsake. Each table was also given customized sparklers which read "its lit" with the wedding hashtag.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Don't go for generic things that are being offered by vendors, make your wedding unique. When I started the journey of making my wedding unique I didn't think about what anyone else would think but rather how much I would enjoy it. From making scratch off save the dates to nontraditional wedding cards with cartoons and events that required extra planning and execution, it all set my wedding apart, things which I can look back at and cherish for years to come. Be unique and enjoy the process!
One more day 'till the weekend! Meanwhile, enjoy your Thursday!
No comments yet.
Please, sign in to leave a comment.