No pics of wedding...are signatures sufficient?

[jordan30]

Hello all,

I have a couple of questions and hope I can get some help in here. I’ve been working on this sponsorship application for way too long and I can’t seem to get anywhere, it’s very discouraging. One problem is I don’t have any pictures of our wedding, both the religious ceremony and the party afterwards. I don’t have a specific reason why I didn’t get them, it’s a mix of several factors. At the time, I wasn’t thinking that I will need pictures for sponsorship purposes in the future, the wedding night was hectic and a camera wasn’t on my mind, and even if I did think about a camera, I probably assumed someone else would have one. I don’t own a camera so I’m not in the habit of snapping pics whenever I want. How to explain this in my application? Since I don’t have pics, would it be sufficient if I wrote the names of who attended and get their signatures or a written statement from them saying they attended, and which one would be better?

Another question: do I include in the application that my husband (whom I am sponsoring) and I are expecting a baby in a month and a half or when is the most appropriate time to mention this?

Thanks in advance. I greatly appreciate any help you guys can offer.

 

[heatherusa]

Can you ask friends or family if they have any? Otherwise write a statement explaining why you dont have pictures and then provide as many pictures of other events as you can.

 

[jmni1]

I will have a similar situation to you in the near future. However I will not have pictures of my wedding because I do not take pictures. I am Muslim so it is something that is not allowed. I plan to include a letter with my application that simply states what we did for the wedding and where it occured. I will also mention that there are no pictures included because it is against my religous beliefs. I am not sure if this is the same situation for you, but I would suggest to just explain why there are no pictures and hopefully you will have no problems.

 

[Ali_427]

Where does it say it is against the Muslim religion ? so you did not send in your 9 pictures with your application either ?
I don't think they are going to buy it, if it going to Pakistan, it will be check by Pakistani's that work for Canadian embassy and they will not buy it.

Just my opinion, come up with something else I say!

Ali

 

[jmni1]

I am not saying this is necessarily the case for this person, but it is the case for me. I am only allowed to take pictures for official purposes like passport and identification. So I took pictures to use for the immigration forms, but I will not be able to submit any other pictures since this is forbiden for me. I will include call logs and recipets. So I will include a letter that explains my religious beliefs so that the immigration will understand. If you are honest I do not see a problem. I was just trying to offer some advice, because there was no information as to why there were not pictures. Honesty is the best policy. I wish you luck in your application.

 

[ngunja]

Even if this is truly your belief, I would still recommend you get a family member to take pictures of you and your spouse in private and perhaps a few with your family members as well (you don't have to keep any, just send them off to immigration). You could use a digital camera and print them out at a store that allows self-service so no one else can see them. It is going to be very hard to convince immigration that you have absolutely no wedding pictures based on religious beliefs. They should send you back all relationship-based evidence once your application is approved and you can destroy the pictures then.

NG

 

[BeShoo]

If it is truly your belief that your religion and/or culture forbids wedding pictures, then the immigration officials are required to take that into account. It really doesn't matter whether all Muslims believe this or not. More on that at the end of this message.

On the other hand, if your religion does not forbid such photography and the culture of the couple is something like that of Canada where it is customary to hire a professional photographer for weddings, the lack of any wedding pictures whatsoever seems a little suspicious. It's not that such a lack will cause an automatic denial, but it will cast doubt on whether your marriage really is genuine. There will have to be some kind of reasonable explanation, and the other elements of proof of a genuine relationship will need to be stronger. If you can somehow prove that you were not thinking about taking pictures for immigration purposes, that actually strengthens your case since it makes the wedding look less like it was just done for immigration reasons. Do the best you can to show that it was a normal wedding with evidence of as many of the normal wedding things as you can show (invitations, special clothes, relatives and friends who witnessed it, honeymoon, etc.)

The expected baby should probably be mentioned, though it probably won't make much, if any difference as to whether your case succeeds.

Getting back to the Muslim photography question, as I said, there's no point in arguing about it, because it's really the beliefs of the applicant and sponsor which matter, but see this page, for example, for discussion of who has said it is forbidden: http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/365. Interestingly, some people believe that photographs are okay as long as you don't have them in your house and they are destroyed afterwards, so for those people it could be a way to do it, but not everyone agrees with that. Also "Photographs which are essential are permitted - such as those required for identity documents, or for identifying or pursuing criminals ..." according to that page. I suppose it is an open question as to how "essential" they are for the application.

 

[hoping75]

Hi,

I have seen many applications refused because there were insufficient wedding or relationship pictures. I will advise that you include as many pictures as you have of yourself and your souse together, as well as photos with his family and friends if possible. This is one of the ways they use to judge the genuiness of your relationship. To see how you are with each other, and if he presented you to many of his friends and family. I have even heard of refusals because people did not seem to show emotion to each other in the pictures.

As for the reason of being Muslim, I'm not sure how that will be perceived as a reason for no pictures, because I have seen and heard of thousands of muslim wedding on several different forums, and know of many many such weddings personally, such as mine to my husband who is also Muslim, and all of them included many pictures of the wedding as well as general relationship pictures. Several of those who did not have enough pictures were refused. I really feel that so much of the relationship is based on what the agent sees in those pictures.
Even at the interview there were several questions asked of my husband about who were the people in the pictures, as well as where and when they were taken, such as visiting family members and our honeymoon trip.

I really wish everyone the best luck. It is a very difficult process to get through, and I just advise people to be overly prepared with their application and their proof that they supply. I was told by CIC that more pictures is better than not enough pictures. Of course you can appeal if you are refused for any range of reasons, but that takes at least another year of very difficult waiting time. A waiting that is difficult to endure for all who have to deal with it.

Good luck to everyone

 

[campesinaj]

to jordan30's original question - what about including receipts, contracts, emails and other documents related to wedding planning? maybe ask some family members or the minister/clergy to write a letter in support as well.

i assume you have asked everyone if they have any pictures of the wedding. you should ask them about pictures of you two as a couple - there might be photos out there that you didn't know existed.

otherwise you'll have to go with more written explanations and letters of support - just be honest and do your best, you can't invent pictures that don't exist!

 

[gladiateur19]

I will have a similar situation to you in the near future. However I will not have pictures of my wedding because I do not take pictures. I am Muslim so it is something that is not allowed. I plan to include a letter with my application that simply states what we did for the wedding and where it occured. I will also mention that there are no pictures included because it is against my religous beliefs. I am not sure if this is the same situation for you, but I would suggest to just explain why there are no pictures and hopefully you will have no problems.

Sorry,but im a muslim too,and i never read or heard that pics are agains islam belifes,,,i just got married and we took alot of pictures,and my brother had gotten married 4 years ago with a canadian too,here in morocco,and he took many many pictures and some many other friends i know,,they did take pics and they sent them with theire application,,,so what you are saying here is a very big lie,to be honnest with you,i know my religion very well,,and what you are thinking of gonna tell the ambassy that pics are against islam belifes,is a very bad thing and idea,because they will know that you are lying or you are an ignorant of your own religion,since they had seen many muslims people getting married and sending theire pictures,,,
please brother,if you are a real muslim adn a good one,,go and read and make researches about your religion,before you just say things that you ignore
thank you

 

[universalmoe]

I am not saying this is necessarily the case for this person, but it is the case for me. I am only allowed to take pictures for official purposes like passport and identification. So I took pictures to use for the immigration forms, but I will not be able to submit any other pictures since this is forbiden for me. I will include call logs and recipets. So I will include a letter that explains my religious beliefs so that the immigration will understand. If you are honest I do not see a problem. I was just trying to offer some advice, because there was no information as to why there were not pictures. Honesty is the best policy. I wish you luck in your application.

When you say "official purposes", I assume you include spousal sponsorship in this definition, as this is the purpose for which you are sending the additional 9 pictures? If so, wedding pictures would also be sent for "official purposes" and therefore should not be forbidden to you. If I were you, I'd do whatever it takes to get a couple of pictures (i.e. the bride looks down while husband looks into the camera, along with another picture of the bride alone but looking into the camera). I know it sounds strange, but it underlines the need to send some visual proof of the wedding (unless it is truly 'forbidden' to you) since most everyone else - including 99% of Muslim applicants - will send pictures.