i only had a short hour with the ameen family the first time i met them, for portraits at mccrillis gardens in bethesda last month. but by the time i met with mahvish about a week before her wedding, i already felt completely welcomed by all of them... i mean, they even made me strawberry pancakes! all eight of the ameens - parents, three boys and three girls, mashallah - were a joy to see on the day of mahvish's wedding. so much love and laughter and happiness! becoming a part of it reminded me strongly of exactly why i love this job so much: the people i meet.mahvish and omar had already exchanged their vows some time ago, so this event was mainly the reception and rukhsathi. it was held at the beautiful foxchase manor in manassas, virginia, and as many muslim weddings are, gender-segregated, so as to allow the women the freedom to dress up and let their hair down away from men they would normally keep covered before (it's how i did my own wedding!). because of that, i'm of course not sharing any images of mahvish without her headscarf, nor did i take any pictures of the female guests before they covered up when the male family members came into the room for pictures. but i hope you will enjoy what i have shared here! a couple of rituals that might need explanation: the bride's family demands money before the groom can enter the hall to see his bride, and the groom drinks from a cup by the hand of his new mother-in-law. the rukhsathi, or the bride's leavetaking from her family, is generally a very emotional business - bismah and sehrish, the bride's younger sisters, almost had ME crying at the end! i owe those two a special thanks for taking such good care of me at the wedding - and for keeping me smiling all the time! jazakallahu khairan, and mahvish and omar, may God bless your marriage and your new journey together...