How We Met
Q: How did you and Ali meet? Post wedding pics!!
Please forgive me for taking pictures of our photo album...working scanners aren't as easy to come by as I thought they were!
A: Ali and I met during our final year of college. He attended UCLA and I went to USC and we were rivals! But we didn’t let that stop us since neither of us really care a lick about football.
We were engaged about a year after we met and despite the fact that we were 23 and had no clue what we were getting ourselves in to we got married in June of 2000.
As tradition dictates we ate the top layer on our first anniversary. I only had a few bites because I was convinced I would get food poisoning!
Q: And what was it about him that you fell in love with?
We had 420 of our parents' closest friends at our wedding. Ali and I knew about 5% of the guests.
A: Here is my 100% honest but shallow answer…Ali had a convertible and an unlimited budget and he spoiled me like I’d never been spoiled before. He threw me a birthday party for a dozen friends at a rooftop restaurant 2 weeks after we met. We hit all the best restaurants in Beverly Hills and Hollywood and splitting the bill was never even an option. He invited me to Hawaii a few months after we met and even though my parents naturally said “no way” I was pretty excited to be invited anyway.
My dad bought his first and only tuxedo for my wedding, and nearly a decade later I think he is still complaining about how expensive it was.
Here is my 100% honest but not-so-shallow answer…Ali sat through Great Expectations on our first Valentine’s Day even though he likely thought my preoccupation with Gwyneth was a bit scary. He catered to my ridiculous requests like driving to In-n-Out to get me a hamburger and then driving to McDonald’s to get me fries because I couldn’t have one without the other. He let me buy our first condo even though he had no idea where it was or what it looked like because he was working in France for 3 months before we got married. Talk about trust!
After all these things how could I NOT have married him?
We got married at the Regent Beverly Wilshire and after the ceremony we took pictures outside on Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Blvd. It was pretty neat when tourists started taking pictures of us taking pictures!
Q: What does Ali see in you?
Ali with his parents...his dad wore the same tuxedo to my sister-in-law's wedding last year and it fit perfectly!
A: Do you mean besides my obvious charm and easy-going nature? Well, I organize his life, plain and simple. I mean where would Ali be if I wasn’t around to remind him to take his phone and keys with him? How would he eat if I didn’t cook for him every night? And who else would be patient enough to field all his bizarre questions and cater to his indecisive nature? (I just undid all the nice things I said in the previous answer, didn’t I?)
This is the only decent picture I can find from the reception Ali's parents had the day after the wedding. In typical Ameena fashion I am no longer wearing the beautiful but extremely painful earrings my mother-in-law gave me. And in typical Mom fashion my mom appears to be rushing off somewhere!
Q: How did you know he was the one?
We were walking down the stairs and someone stepped on my dress and it ripped. In this picture Ali is shooting an angry glare at the culprit.
A: There is no simple answer to this question but I’ll leave you with this….ask yourself if a guy would put his jacket over a puddle for you to walk over so that you don’t ruin your shoes. If the answer is yes then I say there is a pretty good chance that he is the one.
And just to clarify I have never asked Ali to do this but I am 100% sure that he would if I ever asked him to.
I looked pretty crafty even back then, didn't I? It's a miracle Ali puts up with me.
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
This is a great “love” post. You’re so real and down to earth. Sounds like you guys have a great relationship 🙂
Awwww…I love this post! Thanks for sharing all of this– you two are definitely a beautiful couple!
I got a little teary reading this. You guys seem to have such a wonderful, but still real relationship. Im a little jealous of you right now actually.
I LOVE all the pictures! Especially the first one.:)
Awww what a beautiful post.
…with wedding pictures too! I love wedding pictures 🙂
This post is too cute. And your wedding looked absolutely gorgeous!
i LOVE IT! hopefully i find someone like that !=D
and nothing wrong with being a LITTLE SHALLOW. =D
yay wedding pictures! =D you look gorgeous!
Very cute post! I love reading it 🙂
I think my sweetie would put his jacket over a mud puddle, if there was absolutely no way around it and the shoes were more expensive than the jacket. But I think he’d deem it more efficient to just pick me up and carry me over it himself. He’d take his own shoes off first, of course, and have me hold them to put back on on the other side, because feet are easier to clean than leather.
What a wonderful post… the “real” you, sarcasm and all. 🙂
Your love story makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside; you and Ali sound (and look) genuinely perfect for each other. Your relationship is real and down-to-earth, without any of that “perfectly happy on the outside but empty on the inside” feeling. Happy for you, girl!
And I must say that your wedding looked like it was absolutely gorgeous, as did you and Ali 🙂
So cute! I love all the pictures, and I cracked up when you said, “You mean besides my obvious charm and easy-going nature?” Ha. I think patient, accepting husbands are the only kind of husbands to have. I couldn’t deal with anything else. The site looks great, by the way!
After I read this, I read it again because it is just that cute! You are so funny – I loved your “honest but shallow” answer. Your wedding looks like it was beautiful!
You and Ali make such a good looking couple!! Loved reading about how you met!! 🙂
I love this post!! I love hearing wedding stories/stories of how couples meet/etc… You guys sound so happy and perfect for each other! I like the pics- I love the outfit you are wearing in the 7th picture!
As much as I used to complain about wearing indian outfits when I was younger, I miss it now and look forward to gatherings where I can wear them!
Such a beautiful post with beautiful pictures and a gorgeous bride to go along with it. Ali’s not too shabby himself 😉 Just kidding, you married quite the handsome looking fella. He spoils you the way a woman should be spoiled 😀
I’ve been to 2 East Indian weddings and can I say, boy you guys sure know how to party. Non stop dancing from beginning till end!
You both are lucky to have found each other 😀
Absolutely beautiful pictures. I really love the B&W.
Awwhhh how cute. You’re so beautiful!!
Also, love the new layout
What beautiful wedding photos! Im getting married soon, so I’ve got wedding on the brain!
Your wedding photos are stunning! And your love story is very endearing. You look like you’re made for each other. You can tell he adores you by the way he looks at you; he looks genuinely happy. 🙂
Jenn
Oh my gosh you are so beautiful! What beautiful pictures. I love this post. I’m obsessed with weddings 🙂
i cant even believe how gorgeous you ARE! now and before.. its amazing! you two both look SO GREAT! and i see such a joy in these pics. what a wonderful bride and groom!!!!
love your blog’s changes! so sweet and pretty!
and oh I adore wedding pictures. your are SO classy and timeless.
it’s been a decade and you look so stylish still… mine already look outdated. haha
Love the black and white shots too.
and i love your q and a. Love your humor and you are so stinking beautiful!
thanks for sharing this!
so beautiful, so JOYFUL! thanks for sharing 🙂
Awwwwww that is SO SWEET!!! Precious 🙂 And your wedding pictures are GORGEOUS!!!!!
this post really touched me ameena. thanks for that.
and i like your new layout. you are fantastic.
Thanks for your note! I’m a total sucker for real life love stories, and loved reading yours 🙂
I remember asking my mom, a few months before Brent and I got engaged, how you know whether someone is “the one.” (My parents got married at the all-night justice of the peace in Vegas on a cross-country road trip, five months after they met – and they’ve been happily together for almost 34 years). She told me something I’ll never forget – she said, “there’s no such thing as ‘the one.’ It’s about a solid foundation and a common set of values, and the commitment to making it work with this particular person. You make a choice every day to be with this person, and it’s up to you to make it work.”
Sage wisdom, I thought.
holey moley those are the most beautiful wedding pictures i’ve ever seen!!! thanks for sharing, ameena. you are gorgeous!
This entire post made me smile!! And can we just call that “the puddle test”? Maybe I’ll try it next time I’m out in the rain with my boyfriend… =P
Thank you for the kind kind words on my blog lady! I love this story about you and Ali….it sounds so genuine and beautiful.
Love the new layout!
Thanks for sharing your wedding photos, Ameena. They are gorgeous, and I also loved reading about the story of you and Ali and how you met. You are just stunning…
Thanks for sharing your beautiful story and fabulous photos. Looking at both sets of parents I could understand where the good looks came from. Ali’s mom is very beautiful as well. How are you going to celebrate yr upcoming milestone anniversary?
This is one of the sweetest wedding notes I’ve ever read. 🙂 I especially liked the last part, with the jacket and the puddle. I thought that was a very intricate heart-warming analogy and very nicely written. I am now warm and fuzzy inside.
🙂 Aletheia
I love these old pictures 🙂 Your wedding looked absolutely beautiful.
You are such a gorgeous girl–I wish I had some of your exotic traits 😉
Ameena! You were an absolutely gorgeous bride and I loved looking at your wedding photos and hearing more about you and Ali. You two look great together. 🙂
wow. Fancy this fancy that is getting fancy! I love the new look! and I love your wedding pics and Q and A. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome post. It made me smile. Feels like your wedding was yesterday. I like the new look of the website too.
Lovely photos! Thank you for the lovely comment on my blog. 🙂
Loved the photos… this is a very sweet post 🙂
I like the renovations on the site as well 😉
You looked gorgeous! Oh, and I’m loving the new look of the site. You’ve been busy.
What an adorable post! You guys are gorgeous together and this was so sweet!
I love the top photo of the two of you – stunning! It seems like you guys had a great wedding. It’s exciting to see couples who are truly in love.
Shallow answers are the best and most honest, I think.
Wonderful post. Also, I’m digging the new layout!
Beautiful story and gorgeous pictures!
I love this post – and I think the photos of the photos work really well. So nice to “meet” you, Ameena!
Love the new blog layout and I loved seeing all the pictures! Such a beautiful couple!!! 🙂
I love the pics! Ha, did someone really ask why he chose you? LOL… people…
Wow-you two make a really wonderful pair!!! Thanks for sharing your wedding snaps 🙂
BTW-my son loves “The Story Of Little Babaji”!!! Can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of the books you mentioned 🙂
I’m so glad he enjoyed Little Babaji…it is one of Maya’s favorites!
lovely post!!!so real and beautiful.
like the new laout.
For such a great post, I have to respond. Ameena makes life easier, not just for me, but she is also a very caring person of others – she keeps track of what is going on with people – whether that is remembering birthdays, or other things. And she is there for you. Again, it was a great post, and reading this while away from home made the distance seem transparent.
Awwwwwwwww, Ameena!
That was cute!
You both look so young… amazing wedding pics, btw!
🙂
Wish you a lovely weekend.
Brazilian XOXO´s,
Gabriela
Great new look!
What a great post! Your a sweetheart girl!
You are just lovely. And Great Expectations is the sexiest movie ever made, in my opinion. LOL
I just found your site. I love it. Your wedding looks beautiful. I am glad I am not the only one who wonders how her husband puts up with her 🙂
Hi! Thank you for visiting my blog today, and I look forward to reading more of yours. Your blog is beautiful and charming — and those pictures of you and your husband are gorgeous!
Yay! new layout! I am a HUGE sucker for wedding stories and pics! Thanks for sharing. Maya is lucky to have such great parents :)!
I absolutely loved reading this. Love stories are my absolute favorite, it sounds like you two are truly wonderful for each other 🙂
I loved this post (and Ali’s comment)!! I was def. one of the people who asked about how you 2 met on Formspring 😀
Wow, you two make a gorgeous couple. I especially love the very first photo…your expressions are perfect 🙂
420 people at your wedding?! I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of a wedding that large, haha. I’m a bit envious…not gonna lie! But even more than being envious of your wedding, I’m envious of your relationship. You’re a lucky gal 🙂
This is a fab post- I love love love your honesty! Thanks for stopping by my blog- keep reading xxx
Julia
http://www.britbride.com
omg meena, i love those pics so much! really wish you put more of ur valima…they r to die for! u guys look like babies and feels like yesterday we were celebrating ur bday on that fab rooftop…so glad i’ve been there all along..love the new page and look of the site!
XOXOXOXOXO
This is definitely one of my favorite posts! I love the story all of the pictures tell 🙂
This is such a beautiful post. I love seeing everyones wedding pictures I know. You look so beautiful and happy in all of them.You have a wonderful family and are blessed to have a great husband like Ali.
Awww….such a lovely post. I’m a sucker for love stories. Shhh…don’t tell anyone. hahaha… Thank you for sharing your wedding photos with us. Your dress is gorgeous. Both your wedding and reception dresses.
btw…love the new layout!!
As everyone has already said how gorgeous you guys look let me tell something. your mother in law looks very beautiful, looks like maya got her grandma’s features.
how sweet!!! you guys make an adorable couple! you are so pretty !!!
I’ll bet if I asked Ali, he would say he loves your sense of humour. Because you are funny! You two make such a beautiful couple! I had no idea you were supposed to eat the top layer of the cake on your first anniversary. That can’t be healthy.
Thank you Kim! As far as the cake goes, trust me I had my doubts too, but it freezes quite well!
First time to your blog & love your cheeky style of writing & these pics are simply beautiful!!
Anamika@Taste Junction
Thank you Anamika for the compliment and for reading!
This is so, so, so, SO sweet.
Your wedding pictures are absolutely gorgeous.
Thank you Heather. 🙂