For all who have been eagerly anticipating…here is the story of mine and SMs mehndi, told through the photographs of Mir Anwar – enjoy… 🙂
It all begins…with a barn:
To which SM rode into on a horse (naturally) to Jay z’ and Punjabi MC (naturally, lol) accompanied by his yellow posse (that’s not even half of them!):
“Kiss the horse!!!” = mandatory after dismount!
And so, SM and the baraat (boys side) enter the barn! See the balcony? I was peeking from up top watching the whole thing, waiting to make my entrance!
Once inside, I think everyone was just taking in the the magical work of Amna Rather, of Lemon Truffle Designs:
As you can see, Amna completely brought my “Bollywood Barn” vision to life! The warmth of the wood with the rich colours were exactly what I had in mind when I thought barn mehndi. It was beyond beautiful! After the boys side entered, everyone was waiting for me! Yay! :
And so my girls brought me downstairs to the classic Punjabi song ‘Mehndi ni Mehndi‘:
Under the colourful dupatta I got from Liberty Market in Lahore (Peekaboo!):
OK OK, here I am! My sister and cousins bringing me up to SM on the stage:
“Hi!! I know you!” 🙂 I’m so glad I decided to do my makeup myself, btw (link to the post about my mehndi makeup!) I felt like if I had my makeup professionally done, it would look like it, even if I told them to keep it very light, so I knew I wanted to just have the control and do it myself. (Traditionally girls wore no makeup on the mehndi so that you really stood out on your wedding day) Because I kept my makeup so minimal, I felt fresh and light and comfortable in my skin, and on the shaadi, I reallllly felt like a dulhan!
We then took in the awesomeness around us – the dolki sess, paan table, and our mommas doing the rasms (traditions):
Here are 6 out of 8 of my non-desi bridesmaids who I dressed up with saris from Gerrard Street and $1.50 Forever 21 tank tops which an auntie made crop tops (money saving tip: be creative, girls!!!, and how awesome do they look, btw?!) and all my boys from uni, whom I brought back purple kurtas and yellow dupattas for from Lahore! I got my own outfit in Liberty, I just saw it on a mannequin and instantly fell in love with the ‘gota’ work and the little mirror accents, the jamawar skirt and the colours. In fact that’s how I knew this was the one – I knew that SMs kurta was that turquoise colour and when I saw that the skirt was the same it was perfect! I then chose to make the dupatta hot pink and the shirt yellow because those were our 3 colours. It was definitely a success story in terms of shopping in Pakistan, oh and did I mention this whole outfit was $270?!?
My friends then proceeded to kill it on the dance floor (check out the aunties expression when my purple boys are at it!):
SM and I were clearly having a blast watching this:
These are his boys – I had also arranged for their yellow kurtas from Lahore!
After these and lots of other amazing performances by our super-awesome family and friends, we make our dance debut….to Dili Wali Girlfriend! 😀
After which, this happens:
And this:
And then this 😀
I wanted to do the joota chupai on the mehndi (I felt like the “mohal”, vibe, is better suited!) And so my sister in green took over:
At one point, I proceeded to show SM where his name was written in my hand (I didn’t know he was supposed to find it, lol!)
And then we paid our respects to HOV!:
And danced the night away! The end 🙂
So there you are! Some choice pics of what was by far my favorite part of our wedding!
-Safa
mybigfatpakistani 
STUNNING! wow every single detail is perfect. i can’t wait to see the rest. Congrats!
Thank you!! 🙂
Btw I added a bit more to the post about my outfit, the cost etc if youre interested!
Finally, a desi wedding blogger that actually shows her wedding pics and not just zoomed in pics of the wedding details (kills the idea of being a wedding blogger)!!! Love the barn idea, very unexpected! There aren’t many Pakistani weddings done outdoor in the GTA, so this is a very nice change! Wish you the best of luck with your married life and can’t wait for the rest of the pics!
Hi Sarah! Thanks so much! I was searching for something unique for the mehndi and so when I found the barn I instantly knew that was it! And I love sharing my experiences and pics especially if others find it helpful and fun to see!!:)
Btw I added more to this post (about my outfit, the price, etc if youre interested!) 🙂
Wow so colorful and vibrant..! Love everything about the decor. Great concept..Mashallah you look stunning..love your dress, mine would look so plain beside yours haha. Thank you for sharing!
Hey! Thank you! It was a lot of fun 🙂 im sure you looked stunning! When did you get married?!
Btw I added more to this post (about my outfit, the price, etc if youre interested!) 🙂
LOVE this safa! so well thought out. from decor to outfits to little details like paan. not to mention the white boys are their cute dance! #highlight of the night it seems like! congratualtions again beautiful! amazing photos and amazing event!
Hey Maryam!! Thank you!! I was really happy with the way everything turned out and yes the white boys were def the highlight!! Mehndis are so fun!
Btw I added more to this post (about my outfit, the price, etc if youre interested!) 🙂
LOVE everything! It really looks like a proper mehndi and everything I think a mehndi should be – Colourful and fun! I love that on every single picture, every single person seem to be enjoying themselves. I can wait to see the shaadi and walima pictures!
You look absolutely stunning btw!
Hey Sobia!! Thanks so much!! It wass the most fun part of the wedding experience that’s for sure!
Btw I added more to this post (about my outfit, the price, etc if youre interested!) 🙂
I love the barn idea! The décor and the location are excellent!
One question though, what kind of food did you have? Did you get Pakistani/halal food catered? My family is way too set on having their desi khana
Hey Mariya!! Thanks! It was definitely an ode to my countryesque upbringing lol! And yes! We definitely had Pakistani halal food catered through SMs go to guy; Bilal. But he was saying how difficult it was because they didnt have full access to the barn kitchen so Bilal really went out of his way to do the work! I can get his contact info if you want!
Hey Safa! Seriously love reading your blog and I feel like I can completely relate! All your ideas and small details are helping with my wedding inshAllah in April. It’s so hard to find a local blogger who lives through the same cultural aspects! MA amazing site! I have a question for you also – all my bridesmaids are non-desi as well, and I noticed you picked up the mehndi and shaadi sarees from Gerrard. They look incredible! I can’t go “back home” to Lahore due to time constraints… Did you find it easier to find the sarees rather than getting “pakistani long dresses?” I’m having serious debates because it’s so difficult to find 8 dresses for each event that aren’t exorbitantly-priced! What was your experience? Thanks so much! – Seema
Hey Safa!
Seriously love reading your blog! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve reverted back to your blog for ideas and inspiration for my wedding inshAllah in April! It’s so hard to find a blogger you can relate to (yay Lahoris lol!), who’s local, and who willingly shares her thorough experience in planning her wedding! MA amazing! I have a question for you also – I similarly have all non-desi brides and noticed the beautiful sarees you purchased on Gerrard for the mehndi and the shaadi days. They looked stunning! Did you find it easier to find sarees or the pakistani long dresses? I’ve been having a bit of a hard time finding eight of the same “long pakistani dress” around town and don’t have sufficient time to go to Lahore! After reading your blog, I’m thinking sarees may be better. I’ve been running around from Albion to basement-run spots and feeling quite discouraged, especially given the prices for each suit (seriously can’t be spending $250 per suit!). Any feedback in your decision-making to buy sarees vs long dresses or shalwars? Thanks so much! -Seema 🙂
Hey Seema!! Thanks so much for your kind words, means a lot!:) I just started the blog for fun when I was looking for a similar resource when I was planning, so im glad its helpful! And congratulations on your upcoming wedding, exciting times ahead iA!!! Totally know what you mean re: spending $250/ suit for the non-desi bridesmaids, thats way too much, and unfortunately for anything decent here you cant get suits for less so I would definitely say go the sari route! I got the chunri mehndi saris for I think 6 for $50 from Nucreation and their tops for $1.50 from forever 21 that an auntie made a crop top. I had them wear tight leggings underneath and a fam friend tied their saris by tucking it into the legging waist band and a lot of pins. Soooo much cheaper!!! And they loooked so hot lol! Non desi girls are so excited about the concepts of wearing saris too lol. For the baraat saris I got them from another shop on G street neelams I think they were $25 each but then had to get blouses stitched and that cost $39, but still $64 is wayyy cheaper than any bridesmaid equivalent suit that you can buy here or in Pakistan for that matter. Plus the saris loooked so elegant and my girls lovvvved wearing them!!! So ya my advice – defo go for saris!! Good luck with the planning!! Lemme know how it turns out!! 🙂
(Ahh I thought my first attempt as posting disappeared, but it’s definitely there! My bad!)
You do a fantastic job and when I found your blog, I spent so much time reading every page! It’s so exciting! Keep it up for sure, along with the articles you write!
(Thanks for the sweet words also!)
That’s sooo true! They’re so eager, curious, and excited and I find it so cute! But, it’s different in that you can’t run to David’s Bridal and get one single dress for one day! Sigh… Pros and cons of MBFPW! I’ll def do some serious digging around Gerrard! They turned out so great and I cannot believe how creative you got with the tights and F21! So smart! I think tights is def easier than stumbling in a petticoat!
Thanks again girl – you’ve been so helpful! I’ll def let you know what happens 🙂
Seema
Thanks so much!! 🙂 It’s so true re: the non desi bridesmaids but I felt the exact same way-they were all so keen and endearing!! Creativity is key – and is great for budgeting!! 🙂 Enjoy it all! :)x
You nailed it! Thanks again 🙂 -Xo-