It’s so hard to believe that it’s already December and Michael and I are posting Nasim + Mehria’s wedding images!! It seems like just the other week that Mehria drove down to St. Augustine to meet us at Chandler Oaks Barn opening and bridal show. But in reality it was the beginning of the year! She had heard about us from one of our other brides, Aniqa, and was actually a bridesmaid in her wedding. After we photographed Aniqa + Jim’s wedding, Mehria called us to ask if we’d photograph her own Treasury on the Plaza wedding in St. Augustine! It’s always the biggest compliment when guests at a wedding inquire with us afterward and comment on how everyone felt so comfortable for photos. I honestly feel like my heart grows a few sizes (bonus points if you know what Christmas movie I’m referencing right now). One of our biggest goals while photographing a wedding is to make everyone feel at ease – especially the bride and groom! There can be a lot of stress and chaos on wedding days (which is why we highly recommended hiring a planner so you can let someone else worry about the mishaps…but more on that in another post). We do everything we can to negate that stress and help everyone enjoy the day. So when a guest at a wedding happens to feel that…I just want to give them a big hug! And then maybe wipe the tears in my eyes, because I’m a sap. Moving on 🙂
After meeting Nasim + Mehria together at their engagement session this summer, we really started to get even more excited for their wedding day! And it finally came. It was a beautiful, sunny day in St. Augustine. The perfect temperature and the perfect light. The Nights of Lights are also going on right now – there are hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights all over downtown. It’s a spectacular sight and I’m so glad we were able to get images that captured them!
Nasim + Mehria are two of the kindest people you’ll meet. They’re welcoming to everyone and it was so obvious on their wedding day how much their friends and family care about them. Their families came together to help in any way they could! We were able to chat with Nasim’s mother before the ceremony and the joy and happiness she had for her son and daughter-in-law was just the sweetest. Mehria’s younger sister Mahjuba was always ready to help us fluff the bride’s dress and veil. And because this wasn’t a typical American wedding (both their families are Afghan), she pointed out family members and traditions to us. We were so grateful!
Take a look at a few of our favorite images from this Treasury on the Plaza wedding. Thank you, Nasim + Mehria, for trusting us to photograph such a special day!
Nasim’s sweet mom pinning his boutonniere – look at that joy on her face!Nasim’s reaction to seeing Mehria for the first time was so precious!One of my favorite images of all time – the light, the fountain, the couple! Ah!How GORGEOUS is Mehria?!Another favorite!!And another!
And ANOTHER favorite! We rarely get to photograph in this spot with Casa Monica behind the couple. The sun sets in front of them, so normally the light would be too strong. But this was taken after the sun had set, so we were able to switch positions and get the Christmas lights behind them!Their ceremony was actually the day before their wedding – this is actually called a ring placement ceremony! They walked down the aisle together and then put their wedding bands on each other.This was the knife dance – a tradition where Mahjuba (sister of the bride) holds the cake cutting knife hostage while dancing. The goal is to get the groom to pay as much money as possible before he grabs it away from her! Then they’re able to cut the cake.After cake cutting came their first dance!
There were several traditional dances throughout the night that consisted of a lot of choreography – we were impressed! These ladies did a beautiful job.
Of course we had to sneak away for a portrait with all the lights outside!
See other St. Augustine weddings and engagements here
Vendors:
Venue: Treasury on the Plaza
Coordinator: Loba Design Co.
Bouquet + Boutonniere: Jade Violet Wedding Floral
Makeup: Makeup Boss
Hair: Signature Salon
Decor: Weddings by Wajma
Cake: Sweet Weddings Cakes
Stationery: Minted
Entertainment: Sameer Ahmadi
Dress Designer: Maggie Sottero