Better Late Than Never

51

In the week that followed the double wedding, everyone did their best to rest. The newly married couples, Aneesa and Mahmoud, finalised their honeymoon plans while Ayra and Ayman used the period to merge the visions they had for their wedding and also for the final outlook of the house.

For the wedding, they both wanted something small and more intimate than the weddings of Aneesa, Amna and Aabidah. As both families wanted to be involved, Ayman and Ayra decided to split both events between both their family homes; the Nikkah at the Abdulazizs and the reception dinner at the Omar Bellos.

By default, Salama was the wedding planner and she was to be enthusiastically assisted by Falilat, Naila, Bisan, and Hiba who were unofficial wedding planners themselves.

Unlike her first marriage, Ayra wanted them to have the Nikkah in the back yard of her family's home and she loved that they wouldn't have to bother about the sun's rays as it'd be done in the evening. Her only prayer was that the rain didn't surprise them. That was the last thing she wanted. It was the last thing Ayman wanted too.

For the reception dinner, Ayman suggested they use his parents' front lawn rather than the back as the front lawn was bigger and would easily take them all more than the back yard would. They had curated moodboards on Pinterest so they compared and contrasted and then picked what they wanted; a simple setting with pillars set up to hold drapes in pastel shades of pink and orange, and long tables with cushioned chairs on both sides.

Ayra wanted a lot of floral centre pieces for the tables alongside pink coloured candles and simple yet elegant dinnerware arrangements, and Ayman was too far gone for her to not indulge. Her ideas were beautiful too. She also wanted a floral wall for pictures and a lemonade stand and he agreed to everything, loving how she laughed each time he stared at her for a really long time, lost in everything she was.

For outfits, they argued back and forth. He had a dress idea he'd been itching to sketch out for her but she wanted something else; something simpler and a dress that was as comfortable as ever.

"I want it to be made from the Georgette material." She told him. "You're the designer so you'll know how to pick out the best one but it has to be Georgette, Ayman. It has to be."

Ayman folded his arms, wanting to sulk so badly. "I blame myself for stocking up on Georgettes at the company. You won't shut up about it and now here we are."

Ayra smiled sweetly and batted her lashes until he laughed. She then continued. "I want it to be white but not completely. I want to combine it with another colour and I want that colour to also be the colour of the veil I'll use." She considered it for a moment. "Maybe the dress can be white and I can have floral sleeves? I think I'll love balloon sleeves. You make them perfectly well."

Ayman's mind was already reeling and a new dress came together. "Purple won't be a bad combination." He smiled at the way she lit up. "Maybe a dark shade of lavender? There's a certain floral Georgette material I recall seeing while making the last order we received. I think it'll suit you."

Ayra was on cloud nine. "Perfect! Those are the only specifics I have. You are at liberty to use your creative mind to iron out the other details of the dress."

He already had them ironed out. "Trust me, I'm already doing that."

She picked her tablet and unlocked it. "Let's settle on what you should wear."

"I'm wearing a thobe. A custom made thobe."

She shook her head, making a few taps on her screen before she slid the tablet towards him. "Let's do away with thobes on that day."

He gaped at her, in disbelief. "I thought you loved me in thobes?"

She nodded immediately. "I love you in everything but let's do something different." She gestured towards the tablet he was yet to look at. "This is going to look so good on you, Asķim, so please...Just look at it. It's going to go well with my dress too."