Celebration

My wedding was totally arranged, but it shows that arranged marriages can work and be successful. In February 2017, when I was studying at university, my aunt called me and told me that one of her friends informed her about a marriage proposal for me. She also told me that the young man is living in a Canada and he is well educated. It was very important for me to know that he belongs to a noble family. I told my aunt to discuss it with my parents and if they like him, I will have no objections. My parents did some investigation about the boy and his family, and luckily, everything about them was in his favour. My parents decided to invite his family over and when they arrived, I was both confused and excited. Before they left my house, they took some of my pictures with them to show their son.

Next day they called my parents to tell them they liked me a lot and they wanted me as their daughter-in-law. They also invite my parents to their home to meet their son, my future husband. They liked him very much and they also liked his family, but the discussions took a few days because they did not want to do anything in a hurry. After everyone agreed, the formal function was started. We tied the knot in only 21 days, which is very fast but because my husband needed to go back to Canada that’s why everything was done so quickly. On March 7th, my in-laws came to my home for an engagement and they brought a necklace and earrings along with a dress and handbags. Two days later, my parents went to their home for the engagement of my husband and they gave him a gold ring and a suit to wear when he becomes my husband. On 28 of April, we celebrated our mehndi function separately in our homes. I wore a traditional dress (lengha) with three colours: my skirt was purple, my shirt colour was orange, and the colour of my dupatta was green. All my family members came to my home which was fully decorated with flowers and lights. We ate nice food and danced a lot that night. The following day was also very special for me and my husband and I will never forgot that day.

On 29th of April 2017, my husband and his family came to my house. On that day I wore a lengha in red and blue colour and my husband wore a suit in black colour. Our nikkah (marriage ceremony) was done and both of us signed a marriage paper that is called (nikkah nama). After that, photo shoot was organized and everybody took photos with both of us. Then, the meal was offered & served to all our guests and after that I went to my husband’s house to live with him for the rest of my life. The next day on 30th of April, our wedding reception was hosted by my husband who invited our families as well as his friends. On this day, my husband wore a blue colour suit and I wore a maxi dress in pink colour. We entered the hall by holding hands and everyone started taking our photos. After dinner, the last step of our wedding ceremony, which I like the most, was when everyone was sitting with us and giving us gifts and money.

The funny part of my wedding was that we talked with each other and we saw each other on the day of our engagement for the very first time. Our marriage was arranged by our parents but the main point of any successful marriage is respect, patience and compromise so we will try our best to make it work. Our love for each has grown since then and we are now living happily in Canada and expecting out first child.