Even before their introductory phone call in July, Raed Shah Khan and Saira Badat knew they would hit it off.
“We had both shared our profiles with an informal matchmaker, an auntie, in our Pakistani community in Houston, and she felt that we would be a great match,” Mr. Khan, 30, said. “There was a clear mutual interest. The auntie shared our phone numbers, and our relationship moved quickly from there.”
Their first phone conversation lasted more than three hours, leading to a week of daily phone calls and plans for a first date. They even coordinated their outfits: black head to toe, just for fun. “Despite never having seen her, I already felt a deep sense of comfort and familiarity,” Mr. Khan said.
“Each conversation brought us closer, more in tune, and I began to realize that Raed was the man I had been searching for all along,” Ms. Badat, also 30, added.
For their first date on July 7, Mr. Khan and Ms. Badat agreed to met at the parking lot of the Galleria mall in Houston. Mr. Khan, with a bouquet of flowers in tow, was instantly enamored. “Her hair blew softly in the wind, her skin glowed, her eyes pierced through me, and her smile radiated warmth,” he said.
Ms. Badat felt an immediate attraction, too. “He was so tall and handsome,” she said, “and I was surprised and touched that he brought me flowers.”
The two dined at the nearby Zanti Cucina Italiana and shared stories about their lives. Ms. Badat also had a list of marriage-related questions for Mr. Khan.
“I asked about his expectations of a wife and his Islamic values, which were very important to me,” she said. “Every reply he gave me was what I wanted to hear, and when he reached his hand across the table for mine, I grabbed it without thinking.”
Dinner was followed by dessert at a local ice cream parlor, Milk + Sugar. They retreated to Mr. Khan’s car, where they continued to chat and listened to Bollywood songs. Shortly after midnight, Mr. Khan drove Ms. Badat back to the Galleria, where her car was parked, and hugged her goodbye.
A second date at a restaurant followed a week later. Each brought the other a handwritten note. “We basically said the same thing in different words, which was that we felt lucky to meet each other and knew this was the start of something special,” Ms. Badat said.
Mr. Khan was born in Washington and raised in Jamaica Estates, Queens, and Freehold, N.J. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University and a master’s in investment management from City, University of London. He owns two Maaco Auto Body Shop & Car Paint stores in the Houston area.
Ms. Badat grew up in Houston. She graduated with a bachelor’s in accountancy and finance from the University of Houston. She works as an internal control analyst for the building supplier company Cemex in Houston.
The couple currently reside in Richmond, Texas, a Houston suburb.
Ten days into the couple’s relationship, Ms. Badat met Mr. Khan’s mother, Gazala Khan, at a coffee shop. “We had a warm interaction without any awkwardness,” Ms. Badat said. Later that same day, she met Mr. Khan’s father, Feroz Khan, at the family house.
Mr. Khan met Ms. Badat’s parents, Zaffar and Farida Badat, for dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. “I told them that I wanted to marry Saira as quickly as possible, but since her sister was getting married in November, her dad said that we had to wait until next year so that they could devote time to planning each wedding,” Mr. Khan said.
Mr. Khan invited Ms. Badat’s family to his family’s house in Houston to meet his maternal grandmother, Dr. Najma Ahmed, an internist from Queens who was keen for her grandson to find a wife. “I was hoping that I would be able to convince them somehow to let us marry in 2024,” Mr. Khan said.
The night in his home was filled with endless conversation, laughter and tears, he said. “Saira called me shouting the next day and told me that her parents had given her permission to get married this year,” Mr. Khan said. “From that moment on, we were engaged.”
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On Oct. 26, Mr. Khan and Ms. Badat wed outdoors under a flower-adorned gazebo before 200 guests at Northgate Country Club in Northgate, Texas. Imam Eiad Soudan, a Muslim leader, officiated. Mr. Khan arrived at the altar on a white horse, and Ms. Badat came in a horse-drawn Cinderella carriage.
A harpist played three songs during the ceremony, including “Claire de Lune” by Claude Debussy. In keeping with a family custom, Mr. Khan carried Ms. Badat to their car after the reception to show that she was now in his care.
“The wedding was intimate and magical,” Ms. Badat said. “I couldn’t wait to marry Raed when we met in July, and three months and 20 days later, I did.”
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