Wedding Outfits Part 1: #merebrotherkidhulhan

Hey everyone!

If you follow me on Instagram you know that for the last 10 days of May, i was travelling to Virginia, USA for my one and ONLY boy cousin on my mom’s side, wedding! Quick background: my mom is the youngest, she has two older sisters and one older brother, this cousin of mine; is my oldest aunts youngest kid. And the only boy first cousin i have on my moms side! So you can imagine how much fun all of us girl cousins had for this wedding!

It was SUPER DUPER fun, tiring, crazy and memorable and it sucks to be back to reality! Missing all my cousins and all the fun & hungama of the wedding Haha.

I want to share with you all the outfits i wore to his wedding functions, as there were 5 days back to back pretty much (desi wedding probs 😉 so this post will deal with my clothes for his Nikkah–Mahnja–and Mehndi.

Event 1: Nikkah

So typically a mahnja happens prior to the nikkah (Islmaic Religious Marriage ceremony) day, but this wedding, was a bit out of order. The nikkah was first event, then the mahnja was next day. It doesn’t really matter, as Nikkah is truly the most important part of the wedding.

This outfit was definitely one of my favorites! It is from the new Maria B collection that launched earlier this year, check out actress Maya Ali posing in this same suit for the collection right here!

If you know me at all + have been following my blog for awhile, you know i LOVE dark colors. So the dark green + black combo of this outfit made me instantly love it! This was purchased straight from Pakistan, so i can’t link to where i got it from. Sorry! But it is Maria B so you can order it online as well.

Here’s a few snaps of my look:

I decided to wear my nude heels rather than black, since this outfit was so predominantly black i didn’t want to overwhelm it. I also carried my gold sparkly clutch, which in some lighting looks silver -_- but trust me its more gold!

The cape comes detached from the green lining inside, and the cape is my favorite part of this outfit! The embroidery work on it is super pretty, and this outfit is PERFECT for me to reuse again here at home for other future events!

Event 2: Mahnja

So the Mahnja was the day right after the nikkah. Typically this is the only separated event of the wedding. Meaning my cousin had his, and my SIL had her own with her own fam + friends prior.

This event (typically) is the most boring, if you’re not related. But since this was my first cousins wedding, it was the most fun mahnja i’ve ever been to lol!

Typically we dress in all yellow for this event. Most of this is a cultural event, not super significant in religious. However, we do read a milad at the beginning, then begin the dhol + rasams.

We also got our mehndi (henna) done this night, since the next day was the actual Mehndi function. It turned out quite nice, but now i’m in that awkward phase of the mehndi fading out and my design is half orange, so my hand looks a bit diseased or something lol!

Fun fact about this night: it was held at the development my aunt lives in, the clubhouse there. So we (as in my mom and her sibs and fam) had to do the ENTIRE DECOR ourselves. So this was the only DIY day, and let me show you how fantastic the set up looked people! If you have a wedding coming up, here’s some inspo for you 😛

The backdrop is tissue bought from like the dollar store, that were just cut and hung up. The lights on the fireplace are again a purchase from a store. The yellow and orange balls/pom poms you see–we girls all made those! We bought tissue paper and balls from the craft store, and created them. The side tables have LED candles and vases of flowers on them. You can see the dhol right there on the ground as well. And the stage/middle part with the red cloth + cushions on it, was borrowed by my aunts friend. These are very traditional Hyderabadi cloths and cushions which my family loves.
I totally loved this creative and pretty set up by my fam! So cute!

Here’s a few snaps of my look & mehndi:

This outfit was pretty basic/simple. I’m not a fan of the color yellow at all so i’m not crazy about this outfit in anyway.
The shirt front had the golden work on it, and i paired it with white low heels, simple gold bangles, and this beautiful clutch from Pakistan that i actually bought through an instagram i follow! I actually had bought this months ago, one for my mom (her design is different) and one for myself. They are super traditional looking but nice and big with so much room inside to put everything in! LOVE it! Check out her instagram page here and hit her up if you want some of these for yourself!

Event 3: Mehndi
This event a.k.a known as ‘henna party’ is all cultural as well. This was combined event between both families and bride and groom, and essentially it is the ‘party/fun’ night before the wedding.

Typically lots of dances, performances and fun by the family and friends of the bride and groom.

My aunt (my cousins mom) decided that all the girls of the family should be wearing green this day and ‘angharka’ style dresses. This is a latest trend in Pakistan for clothes apparently, so we had these outfits custom made from a lady my mom knows in Pakistan. This is not any designer wear, it is just a custom made suit.
The style of the dress is a v-neck but then it comes to the side of the shirt and ties there and cuts down the side rather than the middle or complete side of the shirt. This is my next favorite outfit from the wedding.

I loved the detail work on the shirt, as well as the color. This is definitely one of the more fancier clothes, so i don’t think i’ll just be wearing this again anywhere randomly. Will have to be for someone else’s wedding most likely.

Here’s a few snaps:

The combination of pink work on the green, was our choice. Each girl cougot to choose whatever color they wanted the work to be with the green. I had a hard time deciding on mine, but i’m glad i chose this light pink, because i think it worked nicely with the dress. The border work and work on the entire shirt, is all done by hand. Making it very intricate and fancy.

You can also see my mehndi color the day after i got it on, it came out quite nice.

Half of us girls also wore head pieces this day, mine is a purchase from Forver 21! It worked pretty cute with my outfit. I wore it with my black heels and a black clutch, since i figured the dark green would work well with black.

I am also wearing desi/indian earrings but you can’t tell because i have my hair curled and hiding them haha. I am also wearing green and gold bangles on my left wrist.

Def one of my favorite outfits from the wedding!

This is all for part one! I want to break it into two posts because the wedding day + valima day outfits are the best & more detailed, plus i got my hair and makeup done that day from salons/beauty stores, so i want to show you those in detail as well.

Let me know your thoughts on these outfits! I hope this is giving my desi girls out there, some inspo for this summers weddings! Let me know which of these 3 outfits you liked the best, i love hearing people’s opinions!

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Stay tuned for post 2 about the remaining wedding outfits, coming SOON!

Until next time, XOXO