Nina + Mohib

After a few consultations, an engagement shoot, a henna party as well as some dessert and printing together, I felt like I was friends with Nina and Mohib by the time of their wedding. Their celebration was a very sophisticated yet understated affair at the SFU Diamond Alumni Centre. Guests walked down the steps between cherry trees into the venue graced with lilies, live sitar music, and the most heavenly ladoos on every table. This was the first Ismaili wedding cermony I had attended or photographed. The bride and groom walked in together and sat opposite the officiants and their wives. As usual I was too busy concentrating on lenses and ISOs to be able to report to you all that was said, but what I did catch that was quite different from the majority of ceremonies was that the officiants placed the rings on the bride and groom’s fingers simultaneously, then all four took time to personally congratulate and advise the couple before the official ceremony was over. Nina and Mohib then left the building momentarily and re-entered under a red canopy held by the groom’s parents.
What really made an impression on me at this wedding was not only how kind everyone was to me, but the tremendous respect and acknowledgement of family, especially as Nina and Mohib so eloquently expressed through their speeches. There is a little triptych below of the reaction of Mohib’s mother to his speech, and I must say, thank goodness for auto focus because I was feeling it. Whew.
After some deadly delicious desserts (I mentioned in the posting on their engagment that these two are food people) and some dancing, we found a covered spot to do some dry family portraits and then some portraits of the couple. Then they sent me home with a bag of the amazing ladoos and a gift! How thoughtful is that? It doesn’t get much better.