Dubai couple 'first' to get married over Instagram post

She took her first ever international flight, flying 12,000km from her home country Brazil, to meet a man in Dubai, whom she had known just virtually for a few months over a random Instagram post.
A year later in 2015, they were married and in another few months' time, they will be celebrating their first wedding anniversary.
It was an instant connection, says Sindy Guimaraes Mohammed, 23. "Something you always read about and watch in movies but this is what our love story is about."
The hashtag #nerd and a random comment from Dubai-based Indian national Hamza Feroz Mohammed, 21, on Sindy's Instagram photo started a conversation that would culminate in marriage for the young couple.
The couple claims to be the first in the world to get married over an Instagram post.
"The first time we chatted was for seven hours straight," says Sindy. "It was natural, just like between two best friends and we spoke about everything from college to food to life," she says.
What shocked the couple were the similarities they shared despite belonging to entirely different cultures, traditions and upbringing. "We were so different but so alike," says Sindy.
"At first I thought this guy is checking on me on other social media and that's why he knew my preferences, but I was wrong."
The friendship soon turned into deep liking with daily contact on WhatsApp and Skype. "We never hid anything from each other.infact we were so connected that soon we knew each other's daily routine."
Shocking both families and taking her first ever international flight flying for 14 hours straight, Sindy landed in Dubai in October where the couple got engaged.
"People thought I was crazy leaving the country to meet someone I had never met in person ... But I knew I was doing the right thing."
As expected, none of the families supported their decision. Besides the cultural differences, she was a Christian and he a Muslim. But Sindy's stay in Dubai for 20 days had left an impression on Hamza's family. "His family was looking for a traditional Indian daughter-in-law and of course did not expect me to be the ideal find but we hit it off."
A month later Hamza flew to Brazil to meet Sindy's family. Even then her father continued to have reservations. "Everything was happening really fast and by March 2015, we had married in court in Dubai."
It was later in May when the couple celebrated their wedding in India that the ice broke between both families. "This was when I finally got my father's blessings," she adds.
The couple now lives in Dubai where Sindy's Instagram account continues to inspire couples looking for hope in love.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com