Hi guys, how’s it going? A few days back I blogged about Shalini and Amit’s engagement shoot - well that was part 1, today I’m here to share part 2 with you all.  I didn’t get a chance to give you guys an introduction to Shalini and Amit the other time so today I’ll fill all of you in.

I met Shalini and Amit a few months back when Shalini contacted me regarding her wedding (photography of course). The first time we spoke on the phone we totally clicked, I think it has to be one of the longest ‘phone meetings’ I’ve had with a prospect client. A few days later I got to meet Shalini and Amit in person. Omg we talked and talked and joked about everything and anything. Amit has a great sense of humour and I was totally enjoying the company. Of course there was some business discussed also but it totally felt like I was meeting some really old friends.  Shalini loves to have everything organized..totally like me..so we started planning early for their wedding next year.  I feel totally involved in their wedding planning and I’ve totally been enjoying every moment of it.

Okay so the whole Wedding Photography starts with an Engagement Shoot..right? We decided we would separate the shoot into 2 parts..We would do the traditional bit at the gorgeous Mackenzie King Estate and then head over to Byward Market for the Western shoot. I tried to go for different looks for the shoots also so that we get a lot of variety. The Western being very modern and edgy and the Eastern shoot being very formal and traditional.  You guys already got to see the Eastern shoot….if any of you missed it, you can have a look by clicking HERE.

Today I’m here with the modern and contemporary shoot in Byward Market. So if I haven’t said this before….I’ll say it now….Shalini and Amit are gorgeous! Shalini has the most beautiful eyes you have ever seen! Just lovely! and Amit has the most genuine smile. Both Shalini and Amit are just so perfect together and it totally shows in their pictures. Everytime I would ask Amit to stand a certain way, Shalini would be ready to compliment him by totally mimicking the style/the moment and of course Vice Versa…I don’t think there was ever a moment where I would have to ask Shalini or Amit to change their expression or anything. So it was a TOTAL treat photographing them!  I’ll stop blabbing now and let you guys have a look at Shalini and Amit - I am really looking forward to their wedding next year because I know it’s going to be a blast!

Just before I go, I want to let Shalini and Amit know that I’m  honoured to be their friend (and their wedding photographer) and I know as time goes by we’ll only become better friends.

Hi guys! Today I am going to be sharing Shalini and Amit’s engagement shoot with you.  They are one of my 2010 couples! For the Engagement Shoot we decided to go with 2 different looks and 2 different locations so I figured it’s best if I split the post into 2 parts.

So first, I’ll be sharing the ‘Eastern’ shoot with you.  For this we decided to go to gorgeous Mackenzie King Estates in Gatineau Park.Shalini and Amit wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous fall colours and what better place than the stunning Gatineau Park to use as the backdrop.

I’m going to keep this one short and let you guys just enjoy the pictures - Shalini and Amit look AMAZING!!! and I can’t wait to see them get married! cheers!

Look at those stunning eyes! I swear Shalini has the MOST gorgeous eyes ever!

Thank you so much to everyone for coming out and supporting me at SUHAAG. This was the first time Suhaag took place in Ottawa and I would like to take a moment to thank Sanjay and Gautam for making this happen - and ofcourse how can I forget to give a special shout out to our favourite Hunsdeep from Mirch Masala Radio. He worked day and night to get all the vendors in Ottawa and make all the arrangements. Awesome job guys!!

This blog post is about 2 things:

FIRST  - Pictures!! We had a PHOTOBOOTH set up and it was definitely a lot of fun! I have all the pictures uploaded for you to see. If anyone would like any of the pictures, just let me know and I can email them over to you. To look at the pictures, head over to:

http://amnahakim.zenfolio.com/suhaag2009

SECOND - This was my first WEDDING SHOW and boy was it amazing! I got to meet some amazing people…and a special thanks to all my friends who came out to this event just to support me. I love you all!

Special mention to all who helped with my booth - Rabia, Bilal, Ayesha, Noor, Annie, Mahwaish & Hassan! Thanks for everything! You guys were AWESOME! always on top of things and super supportive! For the super long weeks before the show..just getting everything ready and together - On the day, I didn’t have to stress about anything - I was totally able to focus on meeting new people and if anything had to be dealt with, I knew one of you would taken care of it. so THANKS from the bottom of my heart!! lowe u all!

and now it’s time for some pictures! some highlights from the day.

First pictures of my  booth

My parents at my booth

Noor and Ayesha helping out!!

Now some Vendor Shots. This is Meena Mehta and Paras Mehta of Design2Decor Inc. They had the most elaborate display at Suhaag - and definitely with the most WOW factor! I could’ve spent all day at their booth!! (seriously) - I also had the opportunity to chat a bit with Meena and Paras and I can say for a fact that they are super sweet and totally down to earth! I look forward to working with you guys in the future for sure!

Some detail shots of their booth.

Another booth and vendor that really stood out was Arora Wedding & Event Planning. Their booth was decorated by Design2Decor and was simply divine.

Seema Haider and Sabina Haider had a gorgeous stall also. Both Seema and Sabina are well known in the Ottawa community for their beautiful work - Seema for her makeup and Sabina for her decor and mehendi.  Look at what a fab job Seema did on one of the models!

I had the pleasure of meeting Emerald Pastry and Food Shop owners Feroza and Faisal. Really nice people with some really delicious desserts!! Definitely keep them in mind when looking for a cake or desserts folks!

Next we have our favourite boys! Anuj and Deepak  who are also known as DJ Imperial Desi and DJ 2 Deep - Their company Kismet Entertainment is definitely top notch and is amazing for their DJ, Sound and Lighting services!

Another Ottawa Favourite is the East India Company - Anish and Sejal are total sweethearts! I had the honour of being their neighbour at SUHAAG - so folks make sure you get in touch with them when you need catering for your events - you know the food will be AMAZING! Oh and everyone HAS to try their Coconut Mouse. YUMMMM  :) East India Company

Shobana of Amplified Soul did an amazing job on all the models for the Fashion Shows! I love the whole look of their booth, their website and all their advertisements!

Another favourite from Toronto are the Banga Brothers of Banga Photography - Both Gurminder and Deljeet are amazing at what they do! They’ve definitely made a mark in the Wedding Photography Landscape in Toronto….I’m sure they’re going to do amazing here in Ottawa too! For more info visit their website Banga Photography

Last but not least our all time favourite - Hunsdeep of Mirch Masala Radio!! Thanks for doing such an amazing job at Suhaag! It was awesome.

The SUHAAG duo from Toronto - Sanjay (Center) and Gautam(Right)

Here are a few pictures that were taken at my Amna Hakim Photography Photobooth.

For more pictures from SUHAAG or if you just want to get your picture that was taken at SUHAAG…head over to:

http://amnahakim.zenfolio.com/suhaag2009

So guess what the nice UPS man brought me today? It starts with an ‘I’ and ends with a ‘MAC’!! hahaha yess!!! I’ve been waiting for this for so many days now! Actually I had put off buying a new computer for a while…I wanted to make sure I got my gear first and now that I’m almost at the point of completing my photography kit..I thought it’s time to get me a new Imac..plus the other day I walked into the Apple store and tried one of these machines and just couldn’t talk myself out from getting the 27″ beauty!!

It even welcomed me in so many languages when I started it for the first time

Here I’m just comparing my old remote for my macbook with the new remote for the imac. (both remotes work with both the macbook and imac).