UNEDITED.
The months and weeks that followed were very hectic for both the Omar and Shettima households, with so much on both their platters as the wedding fast approached.
A week after the date was fixed, the Omar's- Amna, her mother and her sister in law Rukaiya left for Türkiye, where she got the most exquisite custom made Turkish furniture with the help of her interior designer, while the Shettima's - Mami, Aslam's stepmother and Aisha traveled to England and France to put together the kayan lefe. Specifically to buy all the fabrics from Vlisco and the ton of shoes and bags that they were going to present to their soon to be daughter in law.
Aslam took Amna to their house, which he renovated not long ago to suit their preference. It was a house he designed and built almost 2 years prior. They visited with her interior designer, the famous Elegantè Concepts and the Interior Architect- Hameedah, who was part of Aslam's team.
It is a walking distance from his older brother Abdulrahman's house at Asokoro and not too far from the family house too.
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The kitchen was where Amna loved the most. An all white spacious kitchen made with the finest of tiles and marble, the lights hanging above the kitchen island, just how she liked it. She already imagined how her SMEG appliances would look like on the counters. Having an architect husband definitely meant perfection.
Her bedroom was everything, the floor to ceiling windows covering a whole wall in the room gave it natural lighting, the wall to wall mirror in her closet, the bathroom- she loved the clawfoot bathtub and the shower, every detail of the bathroom. She couldn't wait to have every other detail where she wanted it and how she imagined they would come together.
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After that, they went to the laboratory for their premarital screening tests, even though they both knew their genotypes and every other thing of concern. They still needed to present it at the masjid though.
They returned to the house a couple of times before she traveled, to precisely get every detail right.
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Also, with the help of her sister in law- Ruky, her sisters and best friend through FaceTime, she chose the best fabrics for the events in Istanbul. For almost all the 2 weeks she spent there, she wandered from one bridal fabric store to another, the Home Centers for kitchenwares and home décor pieces, and from one luxury retail store to another in search of the perfect shoes and clutches for each outfit with the help of her stylist and Rukaiya.
After 2 weeks in Istanbul, they boarded a flight to Saudi to perform Umrah, sending their shopping container straight to Nigeria and Amna's brother, Ibrahim joined them as their Mahram.
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While Aslam left for England too with his friend and business partner- Junaid, they had some paperwork to sign with a few partner companies. They were also supposed to stop in Dublin as well to meet up with an old engineer friend.
In 4 days, they wrapped up the business there but Aslam reorganized his schedule and took a flight directly to Madina, to perform Umrah and to see Amna, the past weeks were hard without seeing her. He'd meet Liam some other time, Junaid got him covered with this one.
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The next day after fajr prayer, Amna walked through the streets of Madina from Masjid Nabawi instead of returning to their hotel. She wandered around the tranquil city of Madinah, taking in the crisp air, listening to the coo of the pigeons and watched the sun rise up the horizon into the beautiful skies in breathtaking colors.
