Pakistani weddings are truly exciting and Maryam and Huzaifa’s charming nuptials were definitely not the exception! Sukoon Captured shot all the thrilling moments, starting with the beauty rituals of the beautiful bride. Maryam slipped into a mesmerizing design with delicate embellishments that created ecstatic intricate motifs. The look was flawlessly draped and tied by the beauty professional Makeup by Ana B, who also created a soft and subtle makeup that accentuated her natural beauty. The dapper groom Huzaifa made an awesome arrival riding one of the gorgeous steeds from Diana's Wedding Horses and was ready to marry the love of his life! Following the Muslim tradition, this lovely pair married in an utterly dreamy Nikkah ceremony at Najmi Masjid where a large assembly gathered to witness the plethora of rituals that sealed the union. See the beautiful compilation of images of this charming affair in our complete gallery!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
We met at a young people get together through our mosque in Chicago. We just met because we had a lot of mutual friends and then randomly a few months later he sent me a Facebook message telling me he had a dentist appointment...
I knew he was the one when I was having a dramatic and non-rational meltdown about losing my water bottle. And the next day I had an Amazon package of the same exact water bottle on my doorstep from him.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
It was my dental school graduation weekend and also my brother's engagement party weekend. I was already pretty upset because my brother was stealing my weekend. But Huzaifa made it all work by making me sneak out to what I thought was a graduation celebration from with just the two of us. When we arrived at this adorable restaurant I had been wanting to go to for years, our table was decorated with donuts and a plate that said marry me? I turned around and there he was down on one knee asking me the easiest question I have ever answered!
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.
Soooo I am a huge planner. I literally thrive in planning. A lot of people told me I neeeeeded a planner. Especially because of the size of my wedding and my crazy huge family. But I really couldn’t give up control. Huzaifa and I also didn’t want to burden our parents too much with having to do a lot of planning. So even though we were living our crazy NYC lives. We managed to do a majority of our planning on our own. While Huzaifa had his wild finance world work schedule and I was trying to survive the first year of residency, practically every evening and weekend we were in full planning mode. Luckily I have a lot of friends and family that got married in the Maryland area so I was able to use their research and recommendations to formulate a list of potential vendors. Of course, doing this all remotely from New York was a challenge, but we made frequent trips to Maryland and were always connected to our vendors to make it work! Our vendors all came together amazingly... and probably sensed all of my anxiety in my frequent emails to them and were able to handle everything for us the weekend of. Huzaifa and I have a similar style and vision and our goal was really for our guests to have a good time and bring everyone we love together in one place, with that goal in mind everything else just fell into place.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
Huzaifa’s mom was integral in the planning and designing of my actual wedding lengha. I gave her very vague ideas of what I liked and she was able to work with designers in Pakistan and make a beautiful one of a kind outfit. On the other hand, my designer for my wedding reception dress and I were in constant contact. This event I had much more of a vision for my outfit. We spoke a million times and my amazing designer although new to the designing world pulled off my vision better than I could have ever imagined. I had ideas of wanting to wear an all gold gown, but I wanted a twist and my designer pulled off a beautiful unique dress. She hand drew my design and communicated with the designers and tailors in India who continually sent me videos and pictures of my outfit slowly coming to life.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
To be honest... I am an organization freak. So really I loved all the planning, of course working and reworking the table settings a bajillion times was the hardest thing ever. But honestly, I loved all of it. Having Huzaifa’s help was also a lifesaver, it taught me a lot about him and how well we work together and that truly made it much more fun
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
I think they loved our unique venue. The American Visionary Art Museum had some cool unique elements that normal Indian/Pakistani weddings often miss because they usually are so big they have to be in hotel ballrooms. However, we were able to find this venue that gave us the best of both worlds and gave our guests some fun art exhibits to check out along the way
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
During our actual wedding, inside our mosque during the ceremony, Huzaifa and my dad held hands as my dad gave me away. It was a beautiful moment for me when they spoke, the two most important men in my life love me so much, and I could see the mutual trust in both of their eyes and I will remember that forever
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.
My decorator really made it happen. I had pretty vague views of exactly what I wanted, when I tried to explain it, it made no sense. However, I also wanted it to be perfect. I love the vintage distressed look, but I also wanted to wear all gold. Which kind of didn’t go together, and I explained to my decorator that I wanted the juxtaposition of vintage next to glittery glam. Which to the normal person probably makes no sense, but somehow my decorator and my dessert table company made that vision come to life
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Relax! Breathe! Nothing is the end of the world and feel free to ask for help. You truly can't do it yourself, and you will be surprised by how much your husband to be wants to help they just need some guidance on what they can help with
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
I was so lucky that my Mehndi artist happened to be my amazingly talented cousin who actually has her own mehndi company. I barely had to do any research for this because it was an honor for my own cousin to do my beautiful mehndi!
One big celebration and a just married couple ready to party are coming up next!
Bridal Fashions: Anis Collections |
Ceremony Venue: Najmi Masjid |
Reception Venue: American Visionary Art Museum |
Floral & Decor: Dream Wedding Styles |
Hair & Makeup: Makeup by Ana B |
Draping/Styling: Makeup by Ana B |
Catering: Sapphire Restaurant |
DJ: DJ Raag |
Baraat: Diana's Wedding Horses |
Cake & Treats: Spoonful of Sugar |
Mehndi Artist: Charms Of Henna |
Rentals: Zeffert & Gold Catering |
Cinematography: Sukoon Captured |
Photography: Sukoon Captured
Anis Collections
is a member of the Platinum Guide. Love what you see? Explore their portfolios.
For more information on how Platinum Guide members are chosen,
click here.
No comments yet.
Please, sign in to leave a comment.