Featured in Wedding Style Magazine
ASHLEY WILLIAMS & JAMAL MADNI
March 5-7, 2020. Newport Beach, California
A Three-Day Fusion Islamic Western Wedding at The Resort at Pelican Hill
“Maybe it was her radiant red hair or her sparkling blue eyes or her disarmingly sweet smile, but the moment Ashley walked into that Boeing welcome lunch in Manhattan Beach, I just knew there was something so different about this girl.”
After meeting that afternoon, Jamal Madni would continue to figure out ways to get to know Ashley Williams. There were spontaneous IMs throughout the day, arranging for group dinners with friends across LA’s diverse food scene, and being the last to leave Ashley’s Christmas party. After a few months, he mustered up the courage to ask Ashley out to a place she’d always wanted to visit in LA – The Bazaar in Beverly Hills. Although she wasn’t sure if it was an official date at first, she happily discovered it was.
“The day before New Year’s Eve 2019, Jamal proposed to me in a uniquely magical place that brought together my two greatest passions – ice and space, being a competitive figure skater turned rocket scientist,” Ashley shares. “Embarking on an Icelandic trek with a proposal film and event crew disguised as fellow tourists, Jamal got down on one knee inside the country’s most famous ice glacier and declared his love, symbolized by an emerald and diamond century-old family heirloom ring.”
On the fifth anniversary of their first date, the couple hosted a three-day, fusion Islamic Western wedding at the iconic Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, California with 250 of their loved ones. The wedding festivities kicked off with the Mehendi celebration, which featured multicultural cuisine, Moroccan decor, traditional Indian dances, henna artists, and an ice cream sundae bar. The second day featured the Nikah Ceremony, which included a sofreh aghd honoring Jamal’s mother’s Iranian heritage, beautifully decorated with sweets and florals in shades of gold, pistachio and blush. The Nikah was followed by a reception with traditional Indian food, dhol players and choreographed Bollywood dances performed by the couple and their wedding party. Ashley had the honor of wearing handmade pure gold and jewel studded “Haars” (necklaces) that were handed down from five generations of Muslim Indian royalty. This was accompanied by breathtaking emerald and gold “Chikankari” attire that took expert craftsmen of Lucknow, the birthplace of Indian aristocratic culture, seven months to create.
“The third day featured the Ceremony of Vows, officiated by my godfather, during which Jamal and I exchanged beautiful handwritten vows as storm clouds parted to reveal a stunning sunset,” Ashley describes. “My Lian Rokman haute couture gown featured 3D floral and leaf lace that inspired the décor for the ceremony and reception, from the Rotunda’s luscious floral wreath to the gold sugar leaves on the bridal cake. In keeping with Southern tradition given my family’s southern roots, Jamal had his very own cake featuring his five favorite LA-based sports teams, with a rotating basketball hoop and football on top. This was a one-of-a-kind wedding experience bringing together the vibrancy, colors and customs of both Eastern and Western traditions.”
