Hiba & Anis - University of Toronto & Cherry Beach

Hiba and Anise met all the way in Tunisia when Hiba was living there for a little while. When Anis made his way to Toronto after they’ve gotten engaged, Hiba approached me for an engagement photo shoot. I was so excited, especially that I’ve known Hiba for a long time and this felt special to document.

Together, they have such a calming energy that I feel like you can tell through their photos. Documenting them together felt so easy because of how comfortable they are in each others presence, a comfort anyone would hope to find in their life partner.

2020 you have been something else...

If I had to briefly describe this year, I really wouldn’t know how. Every year comes with its own challenges, and at the end of each year, I choose to look at the good that happened, and see the good that came out of the bad. To begin thinking about this year, as in truly think, to think about all the people who have been suffering mentally, physically and financially. To the people who have lost loved ones. To the friends who have had babies I have yet to meet. To think about the movements that were given a front seat, and to the many issues and tragedies being shoved under the carpet. To think of tolerating leadership that have failed us time and time again. To think of small businesses that failed because of these leaders decisions. And, to be marginalized based on your appearance and status. It all doesn’t feel new, but being home have lead us to zero in and really see things for what they really are, it gave us time to think.

Spending night on the balcony, calling loved ones during lockdown.

It is hard to ask of you to look at the upside of all of this. This year was hard. Universally hard. You can’t say that is a common occurrence, for something to be universally hard. There is definitely an imaginary scale of difficulty that is dictated based on privilege, I’m not blind to that. But the year 2020 was hard on everyone.

Yet, we are still here. We still loved, laughed, cried, celebrated and continued to live. I refuse to see this year as a blank year in my life. If anything, it has been a defining shift that was much needed.

Before this year, I had so many doubts about the industry I was participating in. There is so much about it that was toxic. This year it forced us to focus back on what is important.

To my clients, I could sit here and thank you for supporting a small business stay afloat. But I want to actually thank you for keeping me afloat. When the restrictions started to ease up, my email started to fill up with all sorts of smaller shoots and smaller weddings. I found myself diving deep back into my work and in so many ways, that was my life line that lifted me up during an otherwise, a mentally draining and difficult time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Here are some of the beautiful memories we managed to bring out of this year, we made the most out of what we could.

Starting this year in Pakistan, visiting my husband’s homeland. An incredible experience.

Shalimar Bagh

Wazir Khan Mosque

Badshahi Mosque Gate

Stopped in Istanbul for a couple of days - will be adding a couple more photos from here soon.

Visited home, Amman - Jordan and spent time with my family

Old Amman, Jordan

Lahore Fort

Restrictions lessened… cases went down to two digits (crazy to think that now.) So with great hesitancy we started the greatest road trip of all time. We knew we wanted to reach Alberta but it was a pressure off type road trip. This is when we got there 3 days later, it was an incredible feeling.

We let our hair down for the first time in months. We spent our time chasing sunrise and sunsets, climbing mountains and feeling the air in our lungs. Best decision we made this year.

Sunrise on Lake Moraine

Over lake Louise

On top of Mount Edith

We tried camping for the first time this year… Not sure why we never did it before, because I loved it.

Camping with the best social bubble I could ask for

I will be wrapping up this year celebrating my birthday and my 3rd wedding anniversary with my husband. We will unwind and try to disconnect and continue to focus on those we love, even if it has to be virtually.

Airbnbs came in clutch

Found ways to celebrate milestones on our own by being tourists in our city.

I hope this year continues to remind you and I to give time and space to not be okay. but I also hope that we continue to celebrate all the small moments the best we can. I hope we remember to continue to check on our loved ones, and to offer a lending hand when needed. I hope we continue to remember that our voices matter, especially when yours has a bigger impact than others. I hope we use our voices to spread love, justice and compassion. I hope we stand for what we believe in respectfully without fear or hesitation. And finally, I hope you to be well.

Happy holidays and a happy new year everyone.

Love,

Aya

Basema & Mohamed - Arlington Estate

Where to begin describing Basema & Mohamed’s wedding day? When COVID hit and the restrictions were placed, my job took a complete halt. When restrictions started to ease up, Basema emailed me and I set up a meeting with her rather quickly. Basema and Mohamed were so easy going but knew exactly what they wanted. Their day was as if everything else in the world had paused, and they were together celebrating with their nearest and dearest. There were so many incredible moments during the day. They also had surprises for each other, Basema walked out during dinner to come back singing a beautiful song to Mohamed. Later Mohamed had the same sort of idea, but managed to surprise everyone else with beautiful fireworks to finish off the night!

It was so special being the one documenting this day, especially as it was one my first weddings back.

Of course, this all wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible vendors:

Venue: The Arlington Estate

Event Coordinator: Sab event designs

Floral Design: Ashton Creative

Furniture: Simply Beautiful Decor

Makeup: Jen Evoy Makeup Studio

Mariam & Usama - Fall Wedding

Mariam and Usama have such a beautiful energy to them, they were surrounded by so many people who love them and it was so wonderful being able to be a part of that. In one of our meetings before the wedding, we chatted about the getting ready process, and we discussed getting an Airbnb. Next thing I know Mariam found this gorgeous property that had their family and friends all getting ready under one roof and then I was so happy to take them around for photos around the property! Absolutely love documenting these guys with their loved ones!

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Niya & Jeff

Niya and Jeff’s kindness was so apparent from the first time I met them, having to document them was an honour! Just before meeting them for the pre-shoot of their Mehndi, it started pouring so much rain and right when we got out of the car, the sky took a break for them and continued as we were wrapping up and heading to the hall. I love those instances, I love how memorable it becomes for them because it seems that things lined up just right for them to commit to each other for the rest of their lives.

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Yusra & Mohamed - Winter Wedding

It is rare that I can look back on a wedding day and say it had such a feeling of calmness. I don’t know if it was the crisp of winter air, or just a December weekend. But sitting with Yusra and Mohamed from the get go, you can just tell how calm and beautiful their love is. Yusra and Mohamed met through a mutual friend even though they really weren’t looking, they felt like God had brought them together. Their first meeting was at a Second Cup, so we had to stop by one on the way to the venue and grab some shots to commemorate that!

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Jaudat & Ibrahim - Unionville

I used to have a strict rule to never work with friends or family, I respected that rule and I still do. But, I happen to have some of the most supportive friends in the world. I also realized who I am as a photographer; I love making friends with my clients, I love knowing them before capturing them. I know it’s a line everyone uses, but how can you capture someone’s essence without knowing who they are? Quickly, my favorite thing to do now is documenting my friends. It feels like the biggest honour because they respect my work and my business and we have the BEST time.

This day is amazing, because its an awesome memory of mine now. We walked around, laughed lots, then I put my camera down and had a great meal with these two and great conversation. I love them because they don’t take themselves too seriously, they poke fun at each other and laugh with each other and love each other deeply. I hope you enjoy these few snippets from that day.

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The Cotton Factory - Nikkole & Phil

When I had my meeting with Phil & Nikkole, they started off with saying how they already got married in city hall and they’re basically throwing a party for their friends and family. Nikkole is an artist, and she managed to create a beautiful event that was so full of love. Everyone showed up ready to celebrate them and have a good time. As for Phil & Nikkole, they happen to be one of the easiest couple to document together (even though they told me they’re awkward) because they’re unapologetically themselves alone and with each other. Their energy was easy to capture and I felt honoured being the one to take these photos!

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At Home Session - Zara & Hassam

This shoot was and is still quite special to me because of these two. On my less busy months, I wanted to be able to shoot something a little more intimate and basically hang out with my camera in hand. We had so many wonderful conversations that day, lots of heart to heart and at times I forgot to lift my camera to grab a frame. Either way, I ended up with these few photos that are dear to my heart

Lamya & Kassem - Intimate Backyard Wedding

When I got to Lamya & Kassem’s wedding, I could not believe that they planned everything in a matter of few weeks at their family home! I was approached last minute and thankfully I was available to document these two and their love for one another. Lamya looked effortlessly beautiful and Kassem was absolutely smitten by her and it was so lovely to watch and be able to document their love.

Hart House: Zahra & Sebastian

Zahra and Sebastian live in the UK, but Zahra growing up in Toronto and having a lot of family and friends here decided to celebrate their wedding in Toronto! The second I chatted with these two, we clicked right away. Zahra and Sebastian's love is so special, they met each other in university going through their masters degree, and Sebastian knew he was going to be marrying Zahra from the first meeting. They love each other intentionally and deeply and love everyone around them just the same. I hope you enjoy a bit of their story!

Venue: Hart House, University of Toronto

Dress: Minna Hepburn

Makeup: Glam Galz Inc.

May & Ahmad

I met May when I was in my first year of university, I remember thinking how similar our upbringing is and whenever we spoke about family, and what we value, I always found myself in everything she spoke about. When I got engaged, May shortly got engaged after me. So again, I found myself going to her to tell her about everything from wedding planning, to more importantly, the plethora of feelings that you go through when you're in that process because she was going through the same whirlwind as well. Friendship can be funny sometimes, being in it, you experience life and you keep going without pausing and really evaluating what it all means to you. Then May spoke to me about possibly having a shoot with Ahmad, after the shoot, I was looking through the photos and I felt ridiculously overwhelmed. The shoot provided me with opportunity to have a moment to pause, remember everything this gorgeous lady has gone through and see her in love with someone who makes her happy. I was able to evaluate all the bits and pieces that came together to this moment and I felt so grateful that I got to be part of that journey, just as I am grateful that she was part of mine. 

So, goes without saying, these photos are dear to my heart and I hope you enjoy x

Iman & Omar

Iman coming from a Moroccan background and Omar coming from a Palestinian background resulted in a wedding full of festivities. Iman had a few entrances with different types of Kaftans while guests danced traditionally to Palestinian music. Beyond all the glam and stunning dresses, you could always catch Iman and Omar giving each other loving glances. Their love was wonderful to witness, I mean the first look alone was just beautiful and raw. 

I hope you enjoy going through these! x

Tania & Faseeh

I met Tania quite some time ago now, I had the honour to be photograph her and Faseeh on several occasions throughout the past year, I photographed their engagement shoot, then their small ceremony, henna night and finally the big day. I am so blessed to have met these two and to have experienced someone put so much trust in me, I'm beyond grateful. It's always bittersweet getting to know a couple well and have to document such big moments in their lives, it still baffles me that I get to do this as a job. 

I hope you enjoy this! x 

Whistle Bear Golf Club: Zeina & Mohamed

When I first spoke to Zeina over Skype, I was in Jordan, she was in Toronto and Mohamed was in San Francisco so the call kept cutting up. But I noticed two things right away, how genuinely sweet Zeina was, and how infectious Mohamed's laugh was! Fast forward a few months later, we met up for coffee where we got to chat more and I left the meeting feeling so much more excited to be spending the weekend documenting them (and Hana and Moez). There are weddings I photograph that I can't really explain why or how, but they just feel good. It might be that it was because I've spent a good amount of time getting to know the family, or maybe because I knew a good amount of people that I've worked with before, or maybe it was all the love that was oozing out of everyone there. Either way, I left the wedding smiling feeling so fortunate to be doing this as a job. I feel even more fortunate to have met Zeina and Mohamed and was able to document their beautiful love and I can whole heartedly say that I wish them all the happiness in the world.

Parts of this wedding was kept private but I wanted to share the rest nonetheless! Hope you enjoy!