Park Hyatt, Abu Dhabi: Ila + Mehdi

Married

Feb 8

Faith can do the funniest things sometimes. Like, bring about a vivacious girl from Indonesia, residing in the UAE, to meet a charming boy from Morocco, coming in from Qatar, in a little city called Abu Dhabi. Their relationship sprouted from a professional one when they met in Masdar City. One thing led to another, and now we arrive on the night of 24th of November, 2016 at Park Hyatt Hotel in Saadiyat Island ;)

Ila and Mehdi decided upon celebrating their cultures on this very day with a fab Indonesian entrance and an equally extraordinary Moroccan exit. And I was there to photograph this ingenious and unique combination!

The bride's Moroccan attired ready to hit the stage!

Mother of the groom preps the family attire

We'll get back to this later in the story ;)

Let me tell you how their day went; Ila took in every moment of her big day with ease starting from getting ready in her kebaya (the top) and sarong (the skirt). Dressing room bustling with her loved ones, she puts her finishing touches before looking like an Indonesian princess.
And with the most-chilled-out bride ever comes the most-chilled-out groom ever, Mehdi slides into the room with Ila out of sight (donned in elegant Indonesian regalia) and gets his final touches done too (occasional beard trim and adjusting the head dress, you know, usual guy stuff.)

Look at this crazzzyyyy headdress!! It took Ila 5 hours to get ready!

This bride looks stunning as her aunts get her ready for the big day

Mehdi, her groom, slides into the room with Ila out of sight (donned in elegant Indonesian regalia) and gets his final touches done too (occasional beard trim and adjusting the head dress, you know, usual guy stuff.)

Meanwhile outside...

And inside...

And the kids come back to take the bride out

Ila heads out with her excited family, to find Mehdi and his excited family. They meet, give their formal greetings to one another, and head down to the main hall to be greeted by anticipating and thrilled guests.

The bride's family come to see the groom

Greetings exchanged before they step out to see guests

Speeches; milk and date ceremony; exchange of rings, and cutting the cake. And so much dancing! The hall radiated a buzz of exhilaration, joy and warmth.

The in-laws are wearing the same attires!

The Indonesian procession comes to a close, while Ila and Mehdi head to the dressing room one last time to be adorned with exquisite Moroccan attire. A work of art each piece of dressing was.