Roshine Akram & Zubair Zahid
14th October 2018
Venue | DoubleTree by Hilton Dunblane Hydro, Perthshire
Photography | Creative Captures by Asim
“We got engaged on 7th March 2018. It was arranged by my family and we invited Zuby’s immediate family to our home. In our culture, the engagement is more of a confirmation of marriage, so Zuby’s mum gifted me a ring in front of everyone, and we gave him one. Saffron Events set up our house with pink cherry blossoms, flowers and lanterns and provided the catering.
Hassan, Usman and the team at Saffron Events were instrumental to the wedding plans too. They supplied all the flowers, decor and food for the big day at DoubleTree by Hilton by Dunblane Hydro. For a wedding with a guest list of 400, it was the only venue in the area that had the capacity and fitted with our wishes for a ‘grand castle’ atmosphere.
I wanted to incorporate a western feel to the wedding. With that in mind, I shied away from traditional golds and reds and opted for mink, pink, lots of feathers and flowers. Simple but effective.
We had a traditional nikkah. While I was in a side room, Imam Rabbani came to ask me if I accepted the marriage and asked me to repeat the nikkah in the presence of my maid of honour, bridesmaid, two aunties, mum, dad, brother and all of the immediate males of Zuby’s family. He then went into the main room and asked Zuby on the stage if he accepted the marriage in front of all the guests.
Planning was stressful at times, but I enjoyed the immediate lead-up to the wedding so much. I chilled with the girls every night til 3am, chatting, sorting and filling 400 favour boxes. We had a lot of laughs together.
I travelled to Pakistan for my dress with my mum and two aunties. I had half a dozen appointments at various design houses lined up and I had a dress style in mind at the outset, but when I tried it on, it wasn’t what I expected. Then, I nearly fell for a traditional red dress. We even agreed a price and a second appointment, but 24 hours later, I decided it just wasn’t the look I wanted, as I’d hoped for a more western element to my gown in homage to my Scottish roots.
The colour of my dress was actually quite a big debate. I wanted white; some family wanted red. As soon as I laid eyes on the Sana Safina, I knew it was the one – and I opted for it in ‘middle-ground’ pink.”
Top tip: “Set targets and tick things off as you go along. Keep all your receipts in a folder just in case. Accept that it’s going to be stressful sometimes, so take up meditation. Lastly, enjoy the small moments with your family in the run-up.”
Bride’s bridesmaids’ and flower girls’ dresses Sana Safinaz
Groomswear Republic
Flowers, decor and catering Saffron Events
Cake Rosewood Cakes
Entertainment Krown Entertainments
Hair and makeup Zazo Beauty, Carla Kent and Farah MUA
Pre-wedding beauty treatments Esthinity
