Ellahie-Garbarino: A Traditional Pakistani Wedding
A Pakistan Link Report
Huma Ellahie and Gabriel Garbarino tied the knot recently at the Blackhawk Auto Museum in the town of Danville, California. Huma is the daughter of Naveeda (Cookie) and Javed Ellahie, a prominent San Francisco Bay area attorney. Gabriel is the son of Mr. Jay Garbarino, who said that he knew that his son was getting serious about a girl when he shared some words in Urdu with him. Jay said that at the time he did not even know what Urdu was!
Both the mehendi (henna) ceremony at Chandni Restaurant in Newark and the formal wedding in Danville were well attended affairs where every “Who’s who” of the Desi community was present. Local friends of the new couple enthusiastically participated in this very traditional Pakistani wedding, but one with a distinctly American twist. The ceremony was conducted by Imam Tahir Anwar.
The bride arrived at the first event in a paalki and the couple reached the wedding venue in a horse-driven buggy. Sentiments ran high in both the English and Urdu languages as the father of the groom and the mother of the bride delivered some very moving words on behalf of Gabriel and Huma. And from the wide variety of the entertainment provided, the standup comedy by Faraz Ellahie, the brother of the bride, just could not be overlooked. Amongst the prominent guests present was Mr. Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada.
We wish Huma and Gabriel well for their future life together. With a wonderful wedding like this one, they are certainly off to a great start.
