Winning life’s innings: Shaheen weds Shahid Afridi’s daughter Ansha in grand ceremony

Cricket star Shaheen Afridi and Ansha Afridi’s ongoing wedding festivities have been causing quite the frenzy on social media since pictures and videos from the lavish celebrations started hitting the internet Tuesday night.

Held at Karachi’s famous wedding venue Andalusian Banquets, the Baraat event was a marvelous, red-themed affair organized by popular event management and design company Ayra Events by Sana Bhatti.

Although front-view pictures of the bride have been kept under wraps, the official photographer for the event, Fatima Tariq, and her team posted a picture on their Instagram account of the newly-wed couple and Shahid Afridi. The picture taken from a back angle showed father and father-in-law Shahid Afridi with his arms around his daughter and son-in-law.

The former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team also took to the photo-sharing app to share the same picture with his 4.2 M followers, writing a beautiful verse for his daughter that translates into: “It seems just like yesterday that a light came into my home and now that same light is departing in front of my eyes. Your father’s heart is drowning, but hope will come with the morning light.”

Before the big wedding ceremony, the couple also celebrated their Mayun and Mehndi. Details of the two pre-wedding events are yet to be revealed, with online spectators only getting a small glimpse of the yellow-themed décor by Ayra Events for the Mayun on Fatima Tariq Photography’s Instagram account. Karachi-based beauty parlour Furqans Salon also shared a video of Ansha all dressed up and ready for her Mehndi event.

However, to maintain the privacy of the bride, the video was taken from a back angle and only showed the bride dressed in a green-based, fully floral number. The colourful, digitally printed floral pattern was splashed across all three individual pieces of the ensemble including the dupatta, which was also further embellished with embroidered flower motifs.

For her Baraat, Ansha opted for a classic red, heavily embellished bridal by Republic Womesnwear while her husband looked handsome in a champagne-gold prince coat worn over an ivory kurta-trouser set.

The wedding was a star-studded event, which was attended by Babar Azam, the current captain of the Pakistan national cricket team as well as other prominent personalities and Pakistani celebrities. Well-known broadcaster Sawera Pasha was photographed alongside Shaista Lodhi and Javeria Saud in attendance at the event. Pakistani mega stars Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, and Fahad Mustafa were also present at the event. Actors AIjaz Aslam and Junaid Khan were also spotted taking selfies and pictures with the groom on stage.