We made it! Day three of Priya & Kavit’s amazing wedding weekend concluded with a bang - a beautiful Hindu ceremony and awesome reception. Priya looked stunning in her fuchsia Sari from Fronteir and hair & make-up by Lishma. The event all took place at the Braemar Country Club and started off with the incredible Baraat. Kavit on a horse from Enchanted Carriages and surrounded by his dancing family, lead him to Priya’s family, where they welcome him and all his family into theirs. The beautiful ceremony Mandap was created by Krushna Mandap. Manohar Delhi Palace once again catered an incredible dinner.

We had such a wonderful time with you guys and your families the entire weekend. Thank you for allowing us to be such a big part of your day. Congratulations!!!

Buckle up, this is a longer than usual post for me… but I just couldn’t not show it all!

Day two of Priya & Kavit’s three day wedding was the Sangeet at the Brandview Collection. The Sangeet is all about family & friends performing for the bride & groom and then dancing all night! The unbelievably delicious food was catered by Manohar’s Delhi palace (why do you think we love shooting Indian weddings so much??). Priya’s hair & make-up by Play hair lounge and her beautiful Lehanga Choli was from Fronteir in Artesia. Everyone had a great time!

Priya & Kavit’s Mehendi Party was day one of three and kicked off a weekend of festivities that included food, dancing, fun and more food, dancing & fun! The party took place and was catered by the amazing Gaylords, Priya’s Hair & Make up were done by Play hair lounge, and her sari from Loveleen. Priya’s mehendi turned out beautiful and fabulously dark!

We’re so excited to be featured on today’s blog entry on SouthAsian Bride Magazine. It’s a brand new beautiful magazine and hot blog! We’re really looking forward to their next issue and will talk more about it once it’s out on shelves.

We were so excited to photograph Shantali & Zameer’s hindu wedding. These two have such style and are so sweet, we had so much fun with them. We met them early in the day to shoot their romantics in a beautiful park in OC, then it was off to Pacific Hills for the ceremony and reception. I loved that Shantali let her own personality shine and went against some tradition - she wore a pink sari instead of the very traditional red, and her mehendi was so simple and elegant, complete with little jewels sparkling throughout the flowers. I love it with brides give their day their own spin on things. Make it your own ladies! I’ve got to give a shout out to Jason from Garner Films who was a joy to work with!

Karthi & Erik had such a warm and beautiful hindu wedding ceremony at the Sanatan Dharma Temple and intimate reception at The Grand in Long Beach. Most of Karthi’s relatives are in Australia and sent a video montage of good wishes for her and Erik which her sister completely surprised her with at the reception. Erik rented an awesome Lotus which we got to photograph a bit of, and they looked HOTT riding in it! Thanks guys, we had a blast with you. Enjoy your new home in Seattle!!

A special thank you to Tam & Nick for referring us to Karthi & Erik. After I found this sweet spot to shoot the bride & groom, I had to take these guys out for a snap! Thank you, we love you guys!!! XOXO

Manisha & Nishant’s traditional Hindu wedding was beautiful! It was a hot day, but luckily the ceremony was nice and shaded just as things were getting going. Nishant arrived on a stunning white horse from Enchanted Carriages for the energetic Barat. The mandap was beautifully decorated by Manjit’s Flower Cottage, who also created the centerpieces and reception stage. Diamond Palace catered fantastic food, and I’ll admit to having one or two little treats from Sweet and Saucy Shop. Dhamaka Music kept the dance floor hopping and made sure everyone had a great time. Congratulations guys!

Get Married! has a feature on their show called OMG My Wedding is on TV! Today’s episode (Sept 11, 2008) featured Sheila & Roni’s amazing 2 day hindu and sikh wedding! We’re so excited to have seen our work on TV, check it out!

Another big entry, but hopefully worth it! What an amazing day this was! It all started at Roni’s parents house getting his turban wrapped, then off to the Buena Park Sikh Temple for the Barat. There really is nothing like a great Barat, with everyone dancing and hugging and the beautiful horse. An incredible sight. The Sikh ceremony was so different from the Hindu, it was really interesting to see the contrasts. Much more subdued, but still heavy in ritual, it was beautiful to see. The gurus were so nice to us, and wanted to explain what they were doing, as well as offer us a sample of the sweet that was given out as part of the ceremony. I asked what it was made of, they said wheat flour, sugar and butter. My response: “3 of my favorite things!”, they seemed to like that. And yes, it was tasty. A fabulous lunch followed the ceremony (have I mentioned yet how well we ate this weekend???).
The evening reception took place at the Omni Hotel downtown. Another fantastic line-up of vendors made this evening stunning and unforgettable. Mary Sushinski and her fabulous team from Occasions coordinated the event to perfection, stunning florals from Flowers By Leah, gorgeous table linens by Elegant Design, striking lighting by Aspect Lighting, yummy cake by Great Dane Baking Company, and Sheila’s perfect hair & make up by Couture Beauty. Enough of my babbling, here it is:

This is going to be a longer than usual blog entry. So many amazing things happen in a Hindu wedding, we have SO many shots to pick from. This is actually the first of two ceremonies they had, Sheila is Hindu and Roni is Sikh, so they decided to have two ceremonies for both families. I love how in a Hindu ceremony so many people are involved. Besides the bride, groom and priest, both families are up at the Mandap and all take part in different roles within the ceremony. Khrishna Chari performed a wonderful and always entertaining service. The morning ceremony was at beautiful Calamigos Ranch and the day ran as smooth as silk, thanks to Mary Sushinski of Occasions and her team of coordinators. Flowers by Leah created beautiful center pieces and a stunning Mandap. Here’s the day:

I love this detail Nate captured of Sheila’s mehendi and rings.

Sheila about to make her may over to the ceremony.

Getting her first (of many) garlands before seeing Roni for the first time.

Before making their way to the Mandap, relatives got them up on their shoulders so they could toss more garlands on each other.

Lots of blessings to be made.

Roni tying Sheila’s wedding necklace.

First steps as husband & wife.

The priest took some ash from the fire and gave to Roni to put on Sheila’s bindi.

Sheila finds the ring, which means she is the head of the house (as if it would be any other way :))

Family & friends blessing the new couple with flower petals.

Fabulous flowers by Flowers by Leah (her website is coming!).