Long Distance Lovers - The Beautiful Wedding of Toba & Soulaiman

I was recently lucky enough to play my part at the wedding of Toba and Soulaiman. An incredible couple who found love at long distance, they overcame the challenge of thousands of miles to be together and I wish them all the happiness they deserve in the future. 

Originally meeting in the summer of 2015, Toba was interning in America and took a trip to San Francisco to visit her cousin. Truly a modern romance, Soulaiman had messaged Toba on Instagram a few months earlier, and Toba decided that if they were both free then she’d like to meet him whilst she was there. 

The stars aligned and they were, in fact, both free! Soulaiman picked Toba up from the airport, and surprised her with an unforgettable experience that he’d carefully planned. They made the most out of the short amount of time they had to spend together, even taking a romantic trip in a hot air balloon. 

5 days later, on her plane journey back to England, Toba came to the realisation that he was everything she wanted. Four years of long distance romance later and they tied the knot at a beautiful ceremony, with Toba taking the plunge and moving across to the West Coast of America. 

The planning for the big day started in January, and 6 months of hard work came together bringing their perfect wedding into reality. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have attended and seen some amazing cultural traditions that I don’t often witness. It’s Afghan tradition for a bride to have three dress changes, and Toba looked fantastic in all of her choices. Beginning with an emerald green, a symbolic colour for the couple’s religion of Islam, she looked spectacular. Changing into a white dress, she looked amazing contrasted against the beautiful blue skies in the 28 degree heat. 

Her third and final choice saw her in a beautiful pink number. Toba said; “It was a lot of fun, I must say!” and it certainly looked like it, I know I’d feel like a celebrity with two outfit changes! 

Opting for a half up, half down style with a middle parting and soft curls, her head piece looked fantastic on top. In her own words; “I prefer my hair down, so even though the trend is to have an updo I’m happy I went with what suited me!” 

She was really happy with how her hair looked, and it was a pleasure for me to help make her look so special on her wedding day. “Your elegant and effortless soft style, and the trial, made me think you were so relaxing to talk to. I wanted to replicate that on the wedding day, you were 0 stress and so invisible amongst my 1000 bridesmaids - that’s exactly what I wanted. You were amazing!”