Farha & Raza’s Modern Fairytale Muslim Wedding {Chicago}

Are you ready for a modern take on a fairytale?!

Farha and Raza had just that, an elegantly modern and crystal rich wedding in pinks, silvers, and blacks, complete with mini carriages that would make Cinderalla blush.

I couldn’t help but make her twirling the sharara a gif.

And Farha’s stunning makeup and mehndi, oh my! I would have never thought it possible to pull smokey, glittery black eyeshadow, but makeup artist Sana Yusuf Ghani is just spot on.

With the pastel pinks and golds, Farha’s wedding sharara has a burst of red complemented with the smokey eyeshadow look. And we just love it.

Plus, those soft, sweet paisley pattern on her hands, makes me squee with happiness. Henna Craze is absolutely crazy good with bridal mehndi.

Enough of my jibber jabber, you want to hear the scoop from Farha.

Tell us about the wedding!
We both met while we were in school. He claims it was “love at first sight” so to say, but I think as we got to know each other our conversations turned from topics of the immediate future to that of long term goals and aspirations. We were surprised at how much we both had in common, as we are both very different but bring our own flavors to the table so as to cultivate a healthy and fun relationship.

We had a pretty traditional engagement with the families. We had a small engagement party with only the immediately family present.

With regards to the wedding style, I had the vision of a fairytale theme yet not overdone. I wanted something elegant yet encompassing a lot of crystals and amber/pink uplighting, since I always loved the ambiance and mood it set for the room. I pretty much started with those two things in mind and started researching centerpieces, decor, stages, chairs, chargers and took those ideas with me when meeting with the decorator who was able to seamlessly & effortlessly translate my vision into a reality. I couldn’t have been happier with the decor.

During the wedding planning, it was easy to get caught up in all the stress and chaos of micromanaging all of the events, working with all of the vendors, setting up trials and tastings, traveling abroad, getting all of the family up to speed and making sure most of the family was happy. What I enjoyed the most though was able to plan it with Raza to make the event the best it was. Throughout the planning, we would just reminder each other that no matter how the events turn out or what happens we were going to be getting married & that is all that really mattered to both of us.

What was the inspiration for your wedding?
We had a song picked out that we centered our wedding planning to starting with the wedding website to my entrance song to our first dance song. When we met, we watched the Bollywood movie “Rab ne bana di jodi” together and instantly fell in love with the songs.

Consequently, we had the instrumental version of “tujh me rab dikhta hai” as the song on our wedding website, I walked in to the female version of the same song as part of my entrance on the wedding, and we danced to “tujh me rab dikhta hai” as our first dance on the reception. It was even referenced in many of the speeches given my various family members..it truly tied together the wedding events.

I did have a hair and makeup look in mind. For the wedding day, I wanted a traditional look, and for the reception day I wanted a more modern look. I worked with an amazing makeup artist : Sana Yusuf Ghani based in Chicago and she was able to create the look I wanted just based on talking to her- all while making it look great with my outfit!

I chose my outfits by doing A LOT of research online with various designers and by working with the staff at Studio Elite in Chicago. I actually ended up getting my outfits from Pakistan as did Raza. We were both very happy with the final outfits.

What was the hardest part about wedding planning?
As with many large desi weddings, friends and family certainly helped pull all the events together …all adding their special touches. Family members added to the rasams, singing, entrances, putting together the wedding favors, traditional sweets, etc. Many family members came from abroad and brought a lot of the stuff that we needed for the wedding and that was a huge help.

The major contribution that family members had was with the dances on the mehndi day- especially the medley..so cute and fun to watch over and over again!

Did you do any DIY (do it yourself) or special projects at the wedding?
Not really- but I did collaborate and work with my wedding coordinator to get the best deals and incorporate a lot of the ideas in my head!

What was your favorite part of the wedding?
Actually getting married and finally getting to celebrate with our friends and family. It was nice to see all of our efforts translate into a finished product and sit back and just enjoy everything!

I would say that the most magical moment was just making it official and getting the wedding license signed and the ceremony performed. It really made all of the hard work, effort, and stress seem like nothing in the grand scheme of things!

What advice do you have for future brides/grooms-to-be?
Live, love, and laugh!

{Wedding Suppliers}
Venue: Holiday Inn Northshore, Skokie, Illinois
Contact: Bushra Qayuum, bqayyum@lakhanihospitality.com, 847-763-3051