When we normally feature fusion weddings, they are usual a mix of Indian and American or Pakistani and Canadian, and somewhere in between. Today, we have a fusion wedding that redefines fusion; it is a beautiful melting of so many cultures, that they all interweave together into a single fabric.
Asma and Mohammad had just that: a stunning, interwoven fusion wedding.
AB.SOL.UTE.LY STUNNING!
Together, they brought four vibrant, beautiful cultures into one. Indian, Saudi, Palestinian, and Filipino traditions and customs came together for their wedding.
Asma put together so many details and even hand made all the wedding favors. She molded sweet little heart soaps, and brought incense and coin purses from Malaysia to assemble together. For decoration, Asma created origami cranes and a flower wall for photo. This bride is a DIY genius!
We heard from lovely Asma, who shared her stories about wedding planning and the wedding.
Tell us about the wedding planning.
Wedding planning was a lot of fun but also came with some challenges. We wanted to be creative and have a wedding that reflected our personalities and diverse cultures. From food, clothing, wedding favors, family traditions and customs…we had lots to think about and plan for. Luckily we had a good year after our engagement to plan out the details and make this wedding with all of its events happen.
Finding a venue was the most difficult part of wedding planning. We wanted a banquet hall which offered a variety of unique dishes in its menu, adapting to our Indian-Saudi-Palestinian-Philippino tastes. We also wanted to have a hall that included decor such as tablecloths of your choice, chair covers and centre pieces in its package. Lastly we were looking for a place with amazing customer service. As most of the wedding action happens in the venue, we wanted to make sure the management was easy to deal with and understood our requirements as we would be communicating mostly from out of town (since we’re both from Ottawa and were having the wedding events in Toronto).
We were so lucky to come across The Bombay Palace where Manprit took such good care of all our needs and made sure the food, decor, and service surpassed all expectations. He even gave us suggestions like where to buy really good Italian wedding cakes, or the best place to shop for wedding shoes and jewelry. Once we found the venue for our wedding, the rest of the planning fell into place.
What was your favorite part of the wedding?
My favorite part was walking in together and feeling the joy and happiness radiating from our friends and families. It was seeing two families united and witnessing the bonding happening. We had a wedding with diverse cultures; the guests were all enjoying the different cultural traditions, trying new foods, meeting new people and planning activities.
From seeing little kids running around sipping lots of Pepsi, hearing our friends’ speeches, witnessing the stealing of the grooms shoes and girls bargaining the price, to our parents proudly looking at us with tears in their eyes. Planning a wedding can take out a lot of energy from the bride and groom.
But this changed the moment we walked in and saw all the details fall into place and realize it was all worth it to be surrounded by lots of love and laughter.
What would be your advice for future brides to be?
My advice for future brides is to plan as soon as you have that ring on your finger and your engaged. Most venues are booked a year in advance and its the same for photographers, decor crew and make up artists. Pick your wedding date and then book the venue! Call your make up artist, start meeting photographers, start thinking up color schemes for your dress and decor so you can book the decor.
Get your invitations printed as soon as you have picked your venue and remind all your friends and family to save the date. Trust me, a lot of people don’t officially RSVP so you need time to deliver those invitations and call your guests to find out.
Lastly,it is important to have a good photographer. Investing in photography is REALLY worth it especially if your photographer (like Amna) gives you a really good package including an engagement shoot and lots of portraits. They follow you from the moment you start the big day and it’s because of them you’ll be able to get nice creative portraits shots, first-look shots, and details of the wedding that you would’ve missed if it weren’t for the photographer.
Once the first wedding event starts, the rest is a blur. You’ll be back from your honeymoon wondering what happened. It’s the pictures from your photographer that flood you with sweet memories all over again. Get a good photographer (Amna Hakim is reallllly good) and it will be worth it!
Thanks to Amna Hakim Photography for these absolutely gorgeous photos!
{Wedding Suppliers}
Wedding Photography: Amna Hakim Photography
Portrait Location: ISNA Canada
Venue: ISNA Canada
Bride’s Dress: Naz Fashion Bug
Bride’s Henna: Amina Qureshi & Fathima Tahseen
Bride’s Shoes: David’s Bridal
Bride’s Jewelry: Eastern Collections by Saira Sheikh
Groom’s Dress: Barong Tagalog, Philippines
Engagement Ring: Jubilee Fine Jewellers (Bride) & Gernvara (Groom)
Wedding Bands: Moti Jewellers (Custom Designed)
Wedding Invitations: Shilpa Agencies, Delhi