Sahar + Bilal’s Orange Tree Golf Resort Wedding was a two day event, rich with color, tradition, and family.  Relatives gathered from as far away as India and Pakistan and as close as Phoenix, Arizona.  All the ladies brought their most intricate garments and finest jewelry, and Sahar’s sister even wore her own wedding dress from a few years before.  Sahar wore gold, green and purple with red trim over the bridal henna she had applied the day before.

On the first evening, the bride and groom entered the party separately, flanked on both sides with attendants holding decorative cloths over their heads.  Ladies went before them, placing platters of dessert on the floor in front of the stage where the bride and groom sat and greeted guests.  One by one, female family members presented henna to the couple, fed them deserts, and wished them well.

After group photos and dinner, the real fun began.  The bride’s cousins and sister performed special choreographed dances for the bride and groom.  In the middle of one of the dances, the bride left her seat and joined the dancing.  She and her cousins secretly planned and choreographed a special stick dance, which they performed for her new husband.  She spun, colors flying and sticks beating in time with the music.  The dances kept coming one after another until all the young ladies were exhausted and sore-footed.

After a night of deep sleep, the festivities continued into a second day.  Sahar dawned another wedding outfit– as intricate as the first–in pink and purple with gold detailing.  My favorite detail from the whole wedding was the peacock clutch she carried with her throughout the second day.

Night one was a close family affair, but night two was an even larger party with ALL the couple’s friends and coworkers.  They hosted a traditional Indian/Pakistani meal and took the opportunity to be photographed with their guests on the central stage.  Sahar and Bilal sat on a white settee as guest filtered through, wishing them happiness and posing for a photo.  The fathers of the bride and groom toasted the couple, the groom’s siblings offered more of a roast than a toast, and somebody’s coworker got his hands on the microphone to perform a spontaneous serenade.  Once the formalities finished, the couple was free to wear out their feet again for the last time with some unchoreographed, good old fashioned dance partying.

Venue: Orange Tree Golf Resort
DJ: DJ Isaac