It was a Pakistani wedding in New York for Hiba and Omar… which should’ve been love at first sight…except for one little thing!
Omar Mahmud and Hiba Din first met at his cousin’s wedding about a year ago. When he first saw her, Omar furtively tried to make eye contact so that they could meet, but unfortunately for Omar, Hiba, like Marylin Monroe’s character Pola in “How to Marry a Millionaire,” has bad eyesight. It wasn’t until she actually put on her glasses, did she finally see Omar for the first time both in person and then in her heart. They quickly were engaged after their meeting and spent a year planning a fairytale month of wedding festivities filled with multiple events held all around Long Island and New York City with the wedding set for September 8, 2018. Both Hiba and Omar wanted each event to be different and with the planning and creative vision of Glamorous Event Planners & Productions, the couple celebrated each day taking them from a traditional Mehndi and colorful Shaadi to a floral-filled modern Valima at Cipriani where the stage was set with custom-made floral trees designed specifically to their theme.
She says: He saw me at his cousins wedding, and as we all know our weddings are four days long. Therefore, Omar anticipated me to be there each day. I wear glasses so I had literally not seen him till the last day at the valima when the bride’s sister took my hand and brought me over to this cousin of hers that thought, “I was cute.” His entire family was there and so we had a short conversation…just small talk. Most of the time I was talking to his sister as we all know that at Desi weddings, we are programmed to not even look at guys, let alone openly talk to them without some aunty assuming something. The next day was my flight back to the Caribbean islands where I am currently studying medicine. Coincidently, I had only attended this wedding because I was back home in New York on my break and my mother had forced me to attend. I’m glad she did, because the very next morning after the wedding while I was at the airport, Omar started up a conversation through social media. I didn’t think much of it in the beginning as I wasn’t expecting to meet someone serious for another few years, but when it happens and kismet works its magic, it happens all so fast. We instantly clicked, as we were both on the same page in life. He was very charming, a real gentleman, very much like me–a perfect mix of American and Desi. On my second visit back home after the wedding, I had to stay longer in the US due to Hurricane Irma. It was at that time that Omar and I dated more and finally had our baat-paki. Our families were thrilled, and we started the wedding talk right away.
My parents threw us a wonderful engagement in December, 2017 and about eight months later, we had our wedding. Our wedding festivities lasted a month, with many dholkis being held in Long Island both at our home and at multiple venues such Dhoom restaurant, Cotillion, and at Lotus. My bridal shower was held at Mint. We started the month with a Dua at my house and one at his and took it from there. The month was intense and packed with events thrown by close friends and family. Finally the Mayoon was held at Obsession banquet hall, and the following week we had our mehndi at Leonard’s Palazzo. The shaadi and baraat was held at The Rockleigh in New jersey and the Valima took place at Cipriani Wall Street. I wanted each day to be unique.
Each day i wanted unique, and i must say after a year of planning with my husband and family i got my dreamwedding
Photographer: Canvas Photography
Videographer: Reel 143
Wedding Planner, Florist and Decorator: Glamorous Event Planners & Productions
Caterer: Shaheen
DJ / Entertainment: DJ Sunny Entertainment
Cake: Francesco Bakery
Bride’s Attire: Mehndi: Nomi Ansari, Shaadi: Samsara Couture, Valima: Suffuse by Sana Yasir
Bride’s Jewelry: East West Jewelers
Groom’s Attire: Impressions Tailor
Hair and Makeup Artists: Hair, Tamana; Makeup, Tameema Lashari
Henna Artist: Henna by Sajani
Wedding Transportation: Paris Limo
