Hello and happy new year lovely readers, we have a special treat in store for you today AND the rest of this week. Post-drumroll, the BFIW would like to proudly present our first ever BLOGGER WEEK SPECTACULAR. What does this entail? Well, like many of you, we at BFIW have been fangirling for years over a number of South Asian beauty and fashion icons. These desi bloggers showcase style and inspiration on a daily basis and we’d like to honor them with exclusive features on their beautiful and extravagant weddings. Yep, you read that right, we’re giving you the insider scoop on the weddings of bloggers like Anam Ather of The Style Menu and Roli of Crazy Indian Wedding!
Without further ado, let’s kick off this week’s weddings with that of the sweet and stylish, food and fashion guru, Anam Ather. She’s better known as Annie Swift of TheStyleMenu.com.
Annie wearing “The Annie” by Chicago designer, Subeena Z. The sequins AND sparkles, oh my, we’re in love.
Who is Annie Swift?
1. If you could describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
Blessed and thankful.
2. What was the inspiration for your blog?
The readers are actually what really inspired me to create TheStyleMenu.com! I would always get so many inquiries on my Instagram about what makeup I was wearing, where my clothes were from, or even about the recipe for a dish I posted. Because the audience was already there, I figured I’d create a forum that catered specifically to answering those questions.
The Wedding Deets
Anam and her bae, Salmaan, were married on May 26th of 2012 in the sunny capital of Sacramento, California. Their Muslim wedding was the epitome of classic elegance with a modern twist. We chatted with Anam to share a bit about her blog and her lovely wedding festivities. After talking to her, we’re pretty sure our fangirling hit an ultimate high.
3. As a fashion blogger with amazing, daily, high quality pictures, how did you choose your wedding photographer and/or videographer?
My husband was very particular with how he wanted our memories captured, so I delegated the task of hiring the photographer & videographer to him– lots and lots of googling and research went into the process.
See their full wedding video here and a summary video below here:
Sal + Anam’s Wedding Summary from artofalansilva on Vimeo.
4. What did shopping for your wedding entail? Did you have any absolute musts in your quest for outfits or décor?
Whilst shopping for wedding outfits and planning for décor, I absolutely knew that I wanted everything to look timeless and classic so keeping away from anything that was too trendy was definitely a must.
*Disclaimer: It’s okay, we totally drooled over her mendhi outfit and wedding lehenga too.
5. What was your inspiration for your outfits? How did you find “the one” for your wedding day?
I always knew I wanted traditional elements reflected in my wedding attire, which meant definitely wearing red for the big day. In terms of finding “the one” and saying yes to the dress, I wasn’t able find anything that I was looking for so I actually ended up designing my own wedding outfit. A deep crimson high low top with a gold lengha bottom and dupatta, all laden with hand embroidered threadwork, rhinestones, and Swarovski crystals. It was pure elegance and perfection!
6. How did you pick your make-up and hair artists for your special days?
Because I wanted that extra “WOW” factor for my wedding day, I decided to go for simple, understated looks for my mayoun, nikkah, and mehndi and did my own hair and makeup for those events. For my wedding day, I went the safe route and chose a makeup artist who basically dominates the Desi bridal scene in Sacramento.
7. What was your inspiration for the colors or themes in your events?
For the mehndi, I really wanted the décor to be a reflection of our happiness—so lots of fun, bright, and bold colors were used. As for the wedding, it was an elegant affair– imagine lush, sky-high all white floral arrangements, tables covered with beautiful gold and rhinestone details, and everything pulled together with lots candles to set the romantic ambiance.
8. What was your favorite/most memorable part of the wedding? And what was your least favorite part?
Without a doubt, my favorite part of the wedding extravaganza was definitely our Nikkah, which ironically enough, also happened to be the simplest of the events. It was an intimate affair at our beautiful local masjid with our closest family and friends. The sentiments felt during the Nikkah ceremony just can not be put into words. It was the moment we had longed for, for what felt like an eternity and it was finally happening. It was the beginning of our happily ever after.
9. If you could go back and re-do a part of your wedding, what would it be and why? (or did you love everything as is)
In retrospect, there are a million things I wish I could go back and do differently. Is it bad to say that if given the chance I’d go back and re-do it all?
*Nope. What bride doesn’t want the chance to relive the experience again and possible change her shoes for a comfier pair?
10. How did you plan all these beautiful events without going crazy?
Surprisingly, I was actually very easy going throughout the whole process– the anti-bridezilla if you will. It’s surprising, because in reality, I’m a complete control freak and need to be in charge of everything but for this I really wanted to enjoy everything related to the wedding. To-do lists were crucial in ensuring I stayed on track with what needed to be done and delegating tasks really helped with keeping me from feeling overwhelmed or stressed.
11. What is your advice for other brides-to-be?
Believe me when I say that everything that could have possibly gone wrong- went wrong. But, I refused to let anything take away from my happiness on my special days. It’s easier said than done, but don’t freak out over things that are beyond your control. How awful would it be to reflect back on your wedding day and remember feeling stressed or upset that not everything went your way? Take it all in stride and cherish every single moment because its true what everyone says—it’s all over before you know it.
12. Given your husband’s DJing skills, what was it like selecting music/DJ for your wedding? How did you meld your musical preferences?
Selecting music for the wedding definitely proved to be a test for the both of us because we were both very opinionated on what we wanted. I fancy old school romantic Bollywood songs and ideally that’s what I wanted to hear all night, while Salmaan wanted lots of Musiq Soulchild, Craig David and other R&B love songs played. Neither of us was ready to budge so we compromised and created a list of “must-play” songs for the DJ.
*This sounds like a solid playlist for all of your guests!
Follow Anam on Social Media!
Instagram: @annieswift & @bornswift (her mister)
Twitter: @MissAnammm
Website: TheStyleMenu.com & ConveyYourMessage.com
Vendor Info:
Florists & Decor: Shakor Decor
Photography: Khayyam Khan
Videography: Art of Alan Silva
Stay tuned for our next blogger wedding tomorrow!
