What an adorable wedding on the blog today! We have a Christian Puerto-Rican/Pakistani wedding with lovely bride Fatima and Andrew.
Fatima did not receive the help and support when she got married. Even though it was a great source of sadness, she put together a beautiful wedding with help from friends and in-laws. Things don’t always happen the way you want them, but they can still happen wonderfully with adjustments.
Fatima, friends, and in-laws contributed to this entirely DIY wedding, which you just can’t tell by the photos! The centerpieces with the lanterns, the invitations, the cake, the tags, all made by them.
First though, the color theme of teal blue and purple.
We love the teal blue ombre look for the bridesmaids saris!
And Fatima’s sharara for the reception. The royal purple suits her like royalty. Plus her sleeveless wedding dress was gorgeous.
The reception was held at Double Tree by Hilton, and the reception took place at the chapel on site called Willow Valley Chapel. The chapel had a beautiful garden area where everyone took photos in the freezing weather!
But with all that love, I don’t think anyone felt that cold.
Thank you to photographs by Melissa Alam Photography. And now to Fatima who shares her story with us!
Tell us about the wedding!
I used the colors royal purple and turquoise as our color theme. My bridesmaids wore beautiful saris in all different shades of blue in order to create a ombre effect, and it worked beautifully. I infused both American and Pakistani culture. My flower girl wore a lengha and the ring bearer wore a sherwani.
For my wedding outfits, I wore a traditional white wedding dress for the ceremony. I had on a beautiful royal purple Pakistani outfit for my reception with turquoise antique jewelry. My bridesmaids matched my jewelry wearing different shades of blue. It was so beautiful! The Pakistani customs were minimal, but the clothing was to the max!
My Pakistani/Indian friends came in dressed in traditional attire, while Andrew’s friends and family came in wearing American clothing. It was a beautiful mix of guests.
We met in Philadelphia, PA in undergrad, so we decided to get married in the state we met. It was in March, so it was freezing cold! But we sacrificed our warmth to take pictures out in the beautiful area near the pond and bridge. And it was worth it.
What was the inspiration for your wedding?
My inspiration came from our faith and mostly love, as well as my cultural background. As a Christian couple, we wanted to infuse our love of God through our marriage. During the ceremony we had friends sing worship songs. Our ceremony lasted almost two hours! It was a beautiful ceremony, and nobody will ever forget it. My friends were also an inspiration; they came through when no one from my family could.
What was the hardest part about wedding planning?
The hardest part would definitely be not having my family there. It was the most important day of our lives, and it was overwhelming to not have my family accept it and be supportive, but love truly conquers all. It was one of the happiest moments of my life, and thanks to Andrew’s family and our friends, we were able to accomplish everything we set out to do.
It was also hard being a full-time law student in my first year and him being in the military. We both planned while he was in Massachusetts and I was in North Carolina. Having a long distance relationship while being in school AND wedding planning is a tough one!
Did you do any DIY (do it yourself) or special projects/things at the wedding?
Most of the wedding was DIY. The centerpieces we had friends who made them. The cake was made by my mother in law’s friend, as well as the flowers. We bought the table runners, chair covers, and table covers and set them up. Our wedding invitations was our FAVORITE. We bought crafts from Michaels and made our own invitations! People thought we had them specifically ordered!
What was your favorite part of the wedding?
My favorite part of the wedding was coming down the aisle in my white traditional dress and surprising my husband. He had no idea i was coming down the aisle in that! It was very emotional and breathtaking for him.
If I could, I’d go back and do it again! It was the happiest and best day of my life. I had such a blast!
What 3 words of advice do you have for future brides/grooms-to-be?
1. Don’t forget why you are getting married! Often times, we get so caught up and frustrated in wedding planning, we tend to forget the bigger picture — marrying the love of your life!
2. Always look at the pros and cons of things when it comes to your budget. We had to sacrifice some things to save our budget, but in the end, it was worth it! Everyone had fun!
3. Listen to other people’s advice. As a bride, I remember thinking “”this is my wedding!””, but people really do help in the long run. Their opinions give you insight on a lot of ideas.
Thank you for sharing your wedding Fatima! We wish you and Andrew the best!!
