Saif Aur Nida - Mehndi - Part I

A couple of entries back we posted a couple of pictures from Nida and Saif's Mehndi and Wedding that we covered in Mississauga. We also said that it was the most fun and authentic wedding we had seen in a long time. Today we give you a little taste of what in our opinion all Mehndi events are supposed to be like.

We started off the evening by taking some shots of Nida as she arrived at the venue.






There was this classic poster of Madhubala in the dressing room, and Mehreen asked Nida if she could replicate the pose. She could barely keep her laughter, but she pulled it off pretty neatly.



There was something about her dress that was very authentic and reminded us of village life. So we decided to go for a snobby Chaudri style pose. We asked her put her one leg up, rest her arm on the leg, and look sideways. Mehreen specified, "Snobs don't smile!" lol! Nida didn't need much more in way of direction. Does this girl know how to carry herself or what!



This is pretty much where the posed shots ended, and we got down to business capturing the essence of the rest of the evening with whole bunch of candids.

Saif arrived with his side of the guests and brought a wicked Dhol wala.





As Saif's friends broke out into Bhangra, Saif unwilling to control himself, jumped down from the stage and started makin' it happen with his buddies.





Nida was then walked in by her brother.





As Nida's brother took her up the stage and handed her off to Saif, there was this quick all-in-fun exchange of "Keep your hands off my sister" moments that Mehreen captured perfectly.





First look shared.



As the bride and groom were just settling down on the stage, the crowd once again started to dance in front of the stage, including the bride's father, the groom's friends, and pretty much everyone else. Who could have then stopped Saif and Nida.






The traditional offering of sweets, in this case Gulab Jaman, to bride and groom then started.




A friend of groom's dedicated an excellent rendition of "Hai tujhe bhi ijaazat, Karle tu bhi mohabbat".




And of course the girls sang all the Mehndi songs on the traditional Dholki. For those not accustomed to the desi culture, yes that is a spoon, and it serves as an added rhythm keeper to the dholki. Who needs hi-hats or cymbals!




And this is only half of the Mehndi so far. We will add the rest of the pictures later in the week.
More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com