Event Background: The Pakistani Student Association (PSA) hosted a mock Pakistani wedding on April 19th, 2019 in the Campus Center’s Board of Trustees Room, from 6:30 to 10:00 PM. The PSA created the event to introduce an important piece of Pakistani culture to those interested in learning about their heritage. Many attendees joined in the celebration and dressed in colorful outfits to support of the activity. View the photo story by Elizabeth Rivera.
The organizers of the mock wedding, the Pakistani Student Association (PSA), introduced the groom, Osman, and his groomsmen, who entered the Campus Center’s Board of Trustees room dancing energetically. They proceeded towards the comfy sitting area reserved for the couple.
Soon after Osman’s entrance, Fatima, the bride, entered the room sheltered by a colorful fabric canopy suspended over her by her bridesmaids. They held up the canopy in one hand while with the other hand carried a multi-colored plate decorated by vibrant streamers. Osman was happy to see her, and soon after they sat down together, the two erupted in chatter and laughter.
Fatima is being fed sweets by her friends and members of the PSA, following the tradition of family members feeding the couple sweets to wish them good luck and a sweet life ahead of them. Osman is holding a leaf that has been coated with henna ink, or mehndi, which is also thought of as another offering of good luck for the new couple.
During a break from photo-taking, Fatima flaunted her henna along with her sparkling jewelry and dress. In their culture, there is a popular belief that the darker the henna’s color, the closer the couple will be after the wedding and the stronger the love will be between them. Additionally, a popular Pakistani wedding game has the groom search for their name in their bride’s henna.
Osman and Fatima get to skip the meal line and get served delicious dishes courtesy of Mehfill, a restaurant in Atlantic City. From top to bottom, there is samosa chaat (composed of chickpeas, fried pastries and more), chicken biryani (hot chicken with spiced rice), butter chicken (chicken covered in a creamy, mild curry sauce) and naan (a pita-like flatbread).
After food was served, the Bollywood Fusion dance club performed center stage, with the bride and groom looking on and enjoying their routines. Once the show was over, everyone, including Osman and Fatima, eager to release the routine’s energy, united to sing Pakistani folk songs with the traditional dholki drum keeping the tempo and then swayed the night away to modern hits.
Culture Lizard 