Fandi Kamran and Lisa Malinowski Kamran's wedding in Toronto, Ontario

The story of our wedding

Lisa and Fandi met while they were both in Munich on Opening Day of Oktoberfest, and that is where it began. They nurtured a long distance relationship between Canada and the States for a few years finding new places to travel and explore for weekends away together.

Lisa was celebrating Fandi’s birthday in Toronto for the weekend when the closure of the US Canadian Border in March 2020 was announced due to the COVID pandemic. Lisa stayed in Toronto, and they spent an impromptu six months together during the pandemic. Fandi asked Lisa to marry him standing within a mandala of flower petals in their home. They had an intimate ceremony in the breathtaking mountains in Asheville, North Carolina on Friday, October 23, 2020 surrounded by a small circle of family. They added a new addition to their family shortly before they got married too, Juno, a spunky Italian Greyhound puppy who now occupies a lot of their heart.

On their second anniversary, October 23, 2022, they were finally able to host their walima, one of many Pakistani wedding events, with their larger circle of friends and family in Toronto, Ontario. They also celebrated their mehndi on the Friday before our walima with a small group of family and friends as a ceremony to honour their love through the vibrancy of the decor and outfits and the beauty of the henna. The evening of the walima included lots of colours, dancing, drinks, authentic food, beautiful cookie party favours and some of our family's Pakistani traditions too, like professional dhol players and bhangra dancers. A few of their friends joined Lisa and Fandi for a surprise bhangra dance performance after their "first dance" (a waltz to Love Story by Indila). The celebration was such a beautiful way to honour our family and do some things a little differently that felt more true to themselves and as a couple. They are still in awe of the energy of the event, and they are so happy that they had the opportunity to celebrate their love in several ways.