sabrina and matt: shaadi
August 16, 2010 | Filed Under wedding posts | 16 Comments
sabrina and matt got married last weekend! how can i explain how much anticipation i’ve had for this wedding since i first spoke with sabrina earlier this year??
i’ll start with this: sabrina hails from london, and contacted me about shooting her mehndi (pre-wedding henna/dance party) and rukhsathi (reception/couple’s leavetaking) here in maryland, where much of her extended family lives. matt hails from small-town northern ireland; but he’s been in the mainland UK for a while now, which is where he converted to islam. the two of them met while studying at the university of aberdeen in scotland; their nikah (vows ceremony) was held earlier this summer back in london.
now… if you know me at all, right now you’re thinking, “haha, ayesha must have LOVED that!!” why, yes… yes, i did. for those who don’t know as much, i have had this inexplicable passion for all things celtic ever since high school. i even have celtic knots on my engagement ring. but it started with ireland, and expanded to scotland when i attended graduate school at the university of edinburgh in 1997 (oh my… that was a long time ago!). and my very first day trip as a traveling student there was actually to the university of aberdeen, which is the third oldest university in scotland.
so, when sabrina told me about all this… i was so excited and honored to be chosen as her wedding photographer! it’s the closest i’ve come to my career dream, which is to shoot a wedding in the UK… ireland… scotland… wherever :)
aside from all my personal silliness with this, i truly enjoyed meeting sabrina and matt, and getting to know them a little this past weekend. sabrina’s younger brother and sister were incredibly helpful to me, and kept me laughing; both her parents and matt’s parents were very kind and just so joyful. the reception was held at martin’s crosswinds in greenbelt; we ended up doing the wedding-day portraits back at the couple’s hotel in washington, d.c., after the reception, and then met a couple of days later for an additional portrait session outdoors – i’ll keep you all posted on that one.
meanwhile, please take a look at a few images from the wedding day! sabrina and matt, i thank you both so much for allowing me into your lives for a couple of days, and being so patient with me and my camera! i pray that God blesses your marriage – alhamdulillah, to be starting your journey in the best month of the year! – and that the love i saw between you grows and strengthens every year.
sabrina and matt: mehndi
August 14, 2010 | Filed Under wedding posts | 5 Comments
it was a whirlwind weekend for sabrina and matt, getting married an ocean away from their home country! the two already exchanged vows during a nikah ceremony earlier this summer, but their wedding here in maryland brought together family and friends from at least three different countries – england, northern ireland and the united states – to celebrate their mehndi and rukhsathi, the two key events in a pakistani wedding. here, i’m sharing a few images from their mehndi, held at the beautiful, rustic lodge at little seneca creek in boyds. the couple’s family and friends honored them by performing traditional rituals such as feeding them sweets and dabbing henna paste on leaves held on their palms, before joining the party with joyful dancing.
much, much more to come! i have so much to share and say about this wedding!
sabrina’s shoes: maryland wedding photography
August 9, 2010 | Filed Under teaser | 1 Comment
just one image! there’s SO much i have to share, from a mehndi and two weddings this weekend (and absolutely the most AWESOME clients ever – saaida and abdullah, sabrina and matt, you guys were all just fantastic and i feel so blessed to have met and worked with you this weekend!). but i had to show you all sabrina’s amazing shoes! and yes, she wore these with a classic, gorgeous red lehnga. much, much more to come :)
saba and ahad’s shaadi: new jersey wedding photography
July 28, 2010 | Filed Under wedding posts | 30 Comments
ever since saba first got in touch with me about her wedding, i had been absurdly excited about shooting it – a desi wedding outdoors! in a garden! with butterflies! there were so many personal, thoughtful details in saba and ahad’s planning that promised to make this one of the most beautiful weddings i’d ever seen, and it certainly fulfilled that promise. golden afternoon light, gardens abloom and sunglitter on the water, an absolutely stunning bride and groom surrounded by loving family and friends…
i met saba at her family’s beautiful home in ringwood, where she proved to be one of the most relaxed brides i’d ever encountered :) not to mention jaw-droppingly gorgeous! my amazingly talented second shooter, vida carson, met ahad and his family at a hotel near the wedding venue to capture their pre-ceremony moments. and we came together at garden falls, a lush garden venue with a decorated platform over a pond for the wedding ceremony, and an enormous tent to host the reception. we took some portraits of the couple and their families before all the guests started to arrive; ahad and saba entered separately onto the petal-strewn platform for the wedding ceremony, at the end of which a box of butterflies were released into the evening air.
saba and ahad chose butterflies to symbolize the transformation of their lives through their wedding celebration – the start of a new stage, the first steps of a new journey, the union of two persons and two families into one. saba and ahad, i thank you both again for giving me the honor and pleasure of capturing your memories of this celebration, and for allowing me into your lives for this brief moment; i pray that God blesses your marriage and your lives together with health, happiness and love that grows stronger each year.
