Wikipedia: Pakistani wedding

It's official: Pakistani weddings offer way better photo ops than American ones. I think this is because it's just so damn unique for Nick and I, but for now I'm going to try to show you rather than tell you what I mean.

Nick & my pops out in front of the house, pre-festivities.

Yesterday was my cousin Samia's nikkah. (For all of you Pittses in the audience, Samia is to me as Andy, Rob and Mike are to Nick: her dad and my dad are cousins.) Muslim weddings are rarely one-day affairs; instead, they're made up of a series of events that can be spread over a week or even a month. The night before the nikkah, Samia's family had hosted another function (the name of which escapes me at the moment) that was essentially an open house for the bride's side of the family to come over, mix and mingle (and, of course, eat food!).

The event was hosted at Samia's parents' home, which is built around an open courtyard. This is great, except for when it rains on your daughter's wedding day.

Their home also has a gorgeous walled-in yard. The compound was designed to mimic Samia's great-grandmother's family house.

The nikkah is where the marriage contract is signed between the bride and groom, and is the most serious of the wedding events. It's hosted by the bride's family, and the entire groom's side arrives together. All of us -- Nick and I included! -- were part of the receiving line that welcomed the groom, his family and friends. The couple then goes to separate rooms, and the religious clergy asks each of them "Do you take this person?" three times (and they have to say "yes" three times) before they are revealed to one another. Men witness the groom's responses, and women witness those of the bride.





Can I get a witness? (Groom's edition.)

The bride is presented by her entire family, after which more blessings and rituals take place and then -- ta da!! -- they're married! Below, you can see Samia, the bride, in red. Her mother is in navy on her left and her sister Maryam is in white, on the right. Akram, Samia's dad, is next to Maryam and the two youngest siblings, their brothers, flank the outside.

At this point the bride and groom proceed to take 645 bajillion group photos with different sets of relatives (Mom's cousins, Dad's siblings and their kids, all the elders of the family, etc.). Samia is always hilarious, and by the end of the night she had me and Alishba in hysterics because she was so fed up with all of the picture-taking (sound familiar, brides?). Check out the guests' outfits!

Our camera isn't the greatest, but hopefully you can get a feel for Samia's incredibly gorgeous bridal attire -- which, as much as I loved my own wedding dress, totally put it to shame.

Fun fact: the bride can re-wear her outfit to any formal affair anytime she wants. So much for preserving it in a box for her daughter to play with! And, a word on dressing up. The basic Pakistani outfit is known as a shalwar kameez -- a long tunic top and flowy pants. It's the same for men and women (different fabrics and cuts, of course) and can be as dressy or as casual as you like. Women also wear a dupatta, which is a long scarf that can be tossed over your shoulders, around your head, or worn as a shawl. I can personally vouch for the total and utter comfort of a shalwar -- literally, it's like wearing your jammies out to a fancy dinner. I have two words for you people: elastic waist. Americans need to get on this wagon, pronto.