Regarding correct nikah ceremony, holding hands for nikah.

Some years ago, my brother got married. The maulana performing the nikah (from Indian bankground & a relatively well-known islamic figure in USA) came up with something completely different. He made my brother and his bride sit together and made them hold hands and then performed the nikah. I was young at that time therefore, I was unaware if this was a correct way of performing nikah. Now that I am older, I am wondering if such a nikah is even considered valid or not because I thought that before the nikah is finalized, the girl and boy should be in separate rooms. Kindly advise me if this the correct of way of performing a nikah.