Dawn Images

New day, new wedding pictures, new wedding outfits to dissect — but this time, they belong to none other than Junaid Safdar, Punjab’s Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz’s son and Nawaz Sharif’s grandson.

On Thursday night, Safdar shared a glimpse from the first of his wedding festivities, the mehendi, held at the Sharif family’s Jati Umrah residence in Lahore. The image captured a tender moment on stage, with Safdar welcoming his bride-to-be, Shanzeh Ali Rohale, the granddaughter of Nawaz Sharif’s longtime ally and former MNA Sheikh Rohale Asghar, as Maryam Nawaz placed Shanzeh’s hand into her son’s.

“But once in a while it happens. Once in a while, the dream comes true. And the whole pattern of life is altered. Once in a while, the moon turns blue,” Safdar wrote in the caption.

For the green-themed evening, Safdar opted for a custom-made navy blue cotton shalwar kameez paired with a waistcoat by HSY. Gold buttons on the waistcoat and a brown shawl draped over one shoulder added just the right amount of grandeur, lending his look a regal edge.

Shanzeh, meanwhile, looked every bit the bride in a Sabyasachi heritage collection emerald green lehenga. The intricately crafted traditional ensemble, woven with muted purples, greens and maroons, worked perfectly against the mint green and pink rose backdrop. A tea-pink dupatta draped over one shoulder added a softer layer to the entire outfit.

Shanzeh paired the lehenga with statement kundan jewellery, while Saad Samie, the renowned makeup artist, tied the whole look together with a nude look.

The reception and valima for the couple have been scheduled for January 17 and 18, respectively. The valima will also take place at Jati Umrah, former information minister Pervaiz Rashid told DAWN.

For Junaid, this is his second marriage after he married Ayesha Saif Khan — daughter of Saifur Rehman Khan, a former chairman of the National Accountability Bureau — in 2021. Their wedding was opulent, with a swanky London nikah followed by over a week of merrymaking through six events in Lahore and Islamabad.

The pair split up in 2023 with Junaid announcing the divorce on Instagram in October of that year.