Emdad Rahman
A wedding is one of the most memorable events of a person’s life and the union of Anna Begum and Zakareah Khan has taken human inspiration to another level.
As part of their wedding plans the newlyweds decided to use their special day to make a difference to the lives of those less fortunate than themselves.
The couple ensured that the food catered for friends, family and guests also included freshly packed takeaway food packs to be delivered to the local homeless community. In essence it wasn’t the sloppy leftovers transported to the needy but the very same food ate by guests and dignitaries who attended the reception.
The packed food containers were collected by myself as I am team leader of the One Third soup kitchen and distributed at tea time to hugely satisfied residents at the Brocklebank Lodge for homeless citizens in Barking & Dagenham.
Both Anna and Zakareah commented, “Our marriage is a blessed and memorable day for us. We wanted to express our gratitude for all the positive things in our lives and after speaking to our friend Dilwara we thought this would be an appropriate gesture.
“Our faith and beliefs influence us to help those who are less fortunate but we truly feel blessed to have such an amazing opportunity. We really wish we could do more and hope this will be an inspiration for other newlyweds to do something magical on their special day.”
The wedding in London was attended by hundreds of guests who praised the unique and generous gesture.
We live in a world where thousands of pounds are wasted on discarded food amongst other things and the shows of vanity have reached deplorable levels when considering the huge stress of financial burdens accrued by families to pay for a glamorous ‘fairy tale wedding’.
Many modern weddings lack the intimacy of the company of close family and friends and as a show of pride brimming guest lists are often filled with the presence of complete strangers to boost numbers and give an image of false popularity.
It is not uncommon to see many guests attend and openly criticise arrangements, decor, seating, and food, despite the mammoth efforts to put on a fantastic show for them.
The very two people for whom this is a fairy tale occasion are often the two most stressed out on the day.
The wedding of Anna and Zakareah is a special one indeed and maybe this is the spark that will ignite a glow within the hearts of many more people to use the platform of one of the greatest days of their lives to remain humble, grateful and bring about change through raising awareness.
It is indeed an amazing gesture and we wish them a blessed, happy and long life together.
