back again

So after plenty of photos and seeing the majority of people arrive we wandered into the registry office.. my Dad sort of waited around bless him, I felt really bad not knowing if he thought he was going to walk me down the 'aisle' or if he was just waiting around to be there :) I told everyone to go on in and my cousin (and witness) waited with me. She wandered if I wanted her to walk up first, after telling her about what I felt about Dad and the 'aisle' she decided not to upset the balance even more and went inside, taking my pretty bag with her :) I answered a few questions for the lady making the certificate while totally forgetting my dads middle names, yeh hes got 2... but alhamdulillah it was time to walk in. She gave me instructions which I obviously didnt listen to and I stood there nervous as anything waiting to see hubby. As soon as the music came on (my cue to walk in.. that I remembered) I turned the corner, and there he was.. all smiles and red cheeks, I didnt see anyone else and apparently I rushed down the aisle to be there next to him. Not having any contact for one day was hard!!!

Our rings in hubbies hand

Signing the book, with the bouquet

We went through all the ceremony holding hands, giggling and smiling, we exchanged rings, signed the register book and posed for tons of photos. We had confetti thrown at us as we left the building and then we posed for even more photos outside the registry office in a little garden with a lovely bench. It was an amazing time that Im so glad to have shared with my family and friends alhamdulillah. I thank God that I was able to share it all, especially with my grandad and that my mum had decided to deal with her issues and be there for me, alhamdulillah.

Our rings on our fingers :)

After all that we got the car to a hotel for the reception, read food :D There was no DJ, no big speeches.. just family and friends gathering to help us start the rest of our lives together (well in their eyes the start anyways) We ate lots, hubby and bil got their fair share of meat (hubby especially, and he is still eating it now) I dont have many non people photos of the reception area except these.. so enjoy :)

The room from the top

and the bottom

The cupcakes

We had an amazing time, went to bed leaving people there about 9pm.. soo tiring, and my feet were killing me lol :) although pointy shoes looked great ;) masha'Allah

So my friends, that is how my wedding went.. Im sure those I speak to more off my blog will have been told more by now but I really cant think of much else that I can portray over my blog. Just be sure it was a great day and a great few days after alhamdulillah.

Currently we are going through some tests, so please remember us in your duaas. JazakAllah khair

Peace and salams, Ammena

Photos

insha'Allah I will post a few general ones here and some on my private blog... but please be patient girls, I work silly hours and only want to sleep or cuddle up to hubby when I get home. Insha'Allah I will try to upload some today or tomorrow, or if not the weekend insha'Allah.

.. wedding morning to follow

So I sat and had my hair done, they pulled, backcombed, tonged, straightened, poked.. then I started to panic when I realised it was 1230. They still hadnt done the main bit, added the accessories and I still had to drive to the hotel, drop off the balloons and have my makeup done!!! gggaaaarrrrr!!!

We got out around 1pm and made our way to the hotel I was having my reception at, I texted my makeup artist (best friend from high school) and asked her to meet us at the hotel to then drive me and mum back to where I was getting changed so that my car would be there all the time then. I dropped the balloons off and as mum went the toilet I ran back to the car to pull out the presents I had bought for her, my dad and my brother in law :) I had previously discussed it with the hotel staff and they agreed to put them in appropriate places on the 2 main family tables. I came out of the room to find my mum pacing (she was getting stressed!) she asked where the artist was, how was I supposed to know?? I phoned her, but because she was driving she obviously didnt pick up the phone... we stood there for 2 minutes, I didnt know what she wanted to do until she screamed (maybe thats a tad over the top but she did shout it at me) 'I have too much to do, I still have to shower!!!' then it was the 'lets take your car and we can sort that out tomorrow' bless her.. my mum was being a typical mother of the bride :D as I had just talked about picking up the bouquet on the way to the registry office ;) hehee. I text my friend 'mum stressing, meet you at X hotel' then we make our way there, to a stressing stepdad (what is it with these people??) Mum jumps in the shower while I sort out my clothes, hunt for a missing watch that I had made especially for the wedding (I find it in its box under a pile of clothes) and the things I need to take with me for the evening and the next day. Shes finished, artist shows up and I get changed in the bathroom quickly. I come out to a few oohs and 'doesnt she look lovely'

The makeup goes on quickly but effectively alhamdulillah (I start to feel like a clown) stepdad wants to take pictures before we leave (bearing in mind he hasnt got to grips with his DSLR yet!) Also have to point out that by this moment I havent spoken to hubby except a few words before the signal cut out around 9am.. I dont like not being able to talk to him :( Dad thinks it will keep me quiet though ;) I strap on my shoes and we are off to the car that my stepdad is driving us in, I nearly fell down the stairs too at that point over my dress. I actually didnt stretch it out like I had planned to with the shrunken chiffon, but it looks absolutely fine and I didnt even think about it for the whole day alhamdulillah. We got to the reception, the girls were all oohs and ahhs and someone said 'your car is ready outside' I was like 'huh?!' Obviously something she shouldnt have said according to stepdads twitches, I got outside and was pointed to a grey old style Rolls Royce, it looked amazing masha'Allah. My stepdad goes 'you think we are going to let you drive to the registry office in a hired car?' I was thinking... well I was thinking more of a taxi (they wouldnt let me book it during the day, said stepdad would sort it out for me) I have to admit, I had an idea that they were doing something like this... I have intuition with these sorts of secrets, but I never imagined how much more prefect it would make my day masha'Allah.

The Rolls Royce

Me and mum sat in the back of the car and stepdad sat in the front, and we drove to the registry office in style :) Although I was worried we would be late cause he seemed to be driving really slowly and taking some strange route. I worried about hubby stressing about where I was, after all the jokes I was going to be late to this one too and people telling him they were going to kidnap me and drive me up the M6 ;)

We got to the registry office, and the first person I saw was the family friend who we had met on Sunday who was into photography.. here, to photograph my wedding :) it was a shock and such a nice surprise alhamdulillah. She sent the photos yesterday morning, so insha'Allah they should be here today or tomorrow which Im really looking forward to :D

Anyways... more to follow

The wedding morning...

.... started at 0630! My mum had told me she would phone me from her hotel room down the corridor at 0645, so I thought I would wake up a little earlier and try to get some things done. In the end I got nothing done except a shower and a tidy up, I phoned her room at 0715 to tell them I was going down for breakfast. I was told to wait ;) they were ready and 'just giving me a lie in' pff, whatever!!

We went down for breakfast which I have to say was the nastiest hotel breakfast I have ever had!! Premier Inn, NO!!! The fruit salad tasted like fizz and vinegar, the scrambled eggs tasted like water... I should have asked for a place of mushrooms and tea really. We stayed there for abit, I was asked again if we were only going to Pakistan for a holiday ;) then we went back to our rooms. I packed my stuff and moved it down to my mums room for when I was getting ready in the afternoon. Then we set out of the hotel passing by the receptionist for my mum to beam 'my daughter's getting married today' I couldnt help smiling either

In the carpark I gave my stepdad the balloons I was sending him to the card shop to get blown up with helium, 4 in total and me and my mum set out to the hotel where the reception would be taking place. We got there not long after, now my mum hadnt seen the hotel before now so she was excited for that and I was looking forward to seeing what the room looked like. I expected it to be clear apart from the tables so I could start setting up.. what a shock I was in for! When we got there, the room looked the same as it had done when me and hubby had dropped off the cupcakes the evening before. I was not impressed! She told me the room would be ready about 12ish and said everything would be ok, all I had to do was tell her where I wanted what and it would all be ready for when we got back from the ceremony. I wasnt expecting that! So although I was nervous about things not being ready, and I had sort of expected to do everything myself (and was looking forward to it, may I add) I was happy that someone else was doing all the little things for the room. I stood there with her and she wrote little post it notes and stuck them to each individual bag saying where they needed to be and in what type of pot if needed. I was really happy with how she listened to me and was really nice, I wish I had dealt with her from the start ;)

We sat out in the lobby and I started on the task of attaching the printed labels to the favour bags, we chatted, we laughed at the fact that the balloons my mum had bought all the way over from Canada obviously didnt stay in the air with her master breath. Then my stepdad phoned in a tizz.. the card shop wouldnt blow up my balloons because I hadnt bought them there. Whatever! I told him to insist and pay for it, mum freaked out... I attached labels ;) He didnt phone back, then we saw him park the car with inflated black bags in the back of the car. 'Obviously he got them done and I bet you he used the 'Ive just come all the way from Canada for this wedding' line in the shop' I asked how he got them done, 'well I just told them, Ive come from Canada for this wedding' I raise my eyebrow at my mum ;) I finish the labels, hand over the balloons to the room coordinator and me and my mum set out to go get my hair done :)

We are running late and cant find the shop, I phone the lady.. we find her and then make a short stop for hair accessories in a nearby shop that has a whole floor dedicated to wedding things. I could easily have spent hours there, instead.. I leave my mum there ;) The lady starts combing my hair, talking with her daughter about the style Im after and what needs to be done with it.. mum comes back, shes off again to buy some balloons (the same as the ones she bought over, with an additional plain purple one)

More details to follow insha'Allah

I forgot to mention a scene...

.. When we were in Chester on Sunday, me and my mum popped into Primark cause she hadnt had time to really shop at this point and just wanted to see what was in there. The two men stayed outside while we sprinted around the shop, she picked up a whole outfit (dress and leggings) with extra leggings and a cardigan, and also picked me up a pair of feetef pjyamas (like a big babygro) at the check out :D When we moved off from outside the shop down the road my stepdad turns to my mum and says 'A has something to ask you' me and my mum look at hubby who gets the 'deer caught in headlights look' and is silent for awhile. Me and mum look at each other, shes intrigued and Im questionning what on earth he has said to him and kicking myself for not pushing to hubby how he does this all the time (remember when I asked him what he would say if I told him I wanted to move back to UK? I take the dog for a walk and come home to a crying mother!!!)
So A starts with 'remember we told you that we are having a wedding in Pakistan?' OH NO!!!! mum starts flustering and shaking her head.. 'I wasnt told anything about this' she keeps repeating. I later tell him he has to stop saying wedding, its a party.. albeit a big party and very important to his family... but it isnt a wedding. Anyways, she just keeps saying this over and over, alhamdulillah (just this once) for my stepdad who says, 'yes they have, right from the beginning!' then I remember my mums reaction to me not agreeing to not go to Pakistan in the next few years 'fine, you have him, enjoy! SLAM of the phone' hmm... Hubby starts off again, 'well it would be nice if you could make it over and celebrate with us and my family over there. I just wanted to say that you are invited to it aswell' I wait for a reaction, and wait some more... my mums is first, obviously cause my stepdad has probably already reacted. 'Thank you for inviting us, we will have to see though... we arent made of money (she says laughing) and we dont get many holidays.. so just let us know' There.. out in the open!!

Later they ask me, youre only going over for a holiday right? not to stay? I frown at them and lift an eyebrow.. enough said... 'do I (stepdad) have to wear traditional clothes?' Yes I tell him!! I dont care if he doesnt have to, I would like them to and I listen to him go on about how he isnt... whatever!!

All in all, good reaction alhamdulillah

Lets start at the beginning

Sunday daytime we went into Chester to meet up with some people who I hadnt been able to invite to the wedding unfortunately. It also gave me a chance to show hubby another city (which I like to do) and give him chance to get to know my mum more.We got there about 12ish after dropping his brother off at the train station to go into Liverpool.

Alhamdulillah we found a spot after going through the one way system a few times and made our way to meet up with my mum and stepdad.. at this point I have to say (for those who know my family) my stepdad had been pretty much the usual character he is. For those who dont know him I wont paint an even worse picture for you. We met for tea and took a little walk down Chester main road before meeting up at the place we were chilling at for the next few hours. These people we were meeting have never met hubby so it was nice to all be together with new people masha'Allah.. they all welcomed him warmly alhamdulillah, involving him in conversations, asking him tons of questions about him, his family and us :) There were wedding favours, wedding cards and tears exchanged but when we left it had been a pleasant afternoon and the weather was still lovely.

We left about 415 to meet my friend at a motorway service station to pick up the cupcakes she had lovely prepared over the last 6 hours, may Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) reward her for her sabr and intention. I know it made the icing on the cake for our wedding (not to be corny hehee) We stuck around for a little while, got to meet her parents and see her kids (hubby hadnt met them before, but it was nice for me to see how much they are growing masha'Allah) Then we left for the reception location to drop off the cakes for the next day. We dropped them off and time was running away with us, but we managed to get back to my mums hotel to pick them up to take them out for a meal. The place we went to holds many memories for me, it was where I was taught to use chopsticks, its where I told my mum I had lost the last piece of jewellery bought for me by my parents before they divorced, its where the owner constantly fussed over us and its were we spent many meals just catching up and being mother and daughter (and finally stepdad too) It was a nice meal, hubby had fish and I had mushrooms in blackbean sauce... it was a good night out, they got to see us together, quietly away from the world.. how we are when we spend time together and I believe it was was important for them to see that so alhamdulillah.

We dropped mum and stepdad off at my cousins before going to pick up the brother in law, I dropped them both off at my grandads, picked up my wedding dress and left emotionally... this was the be the last time I would see him before the ceremony, I was starting to get a little nervous ;)

Next blog: the wedding morning