Bhumika & Bharat's Engagement Portraits I had the lovely opportunity to photograph Bhumika & Bharat who are getting married next month. Even though they live on opposite coasts, they wanted to do a fun session that was all about their time in the City together.

The shoot was a lot of fun, just like the two of them. As you can see from the favorites I've picked out, we went all over the city and founds lots of neat little spots.


As everyone who know me will realize, photographs for me aren't about the location, they're about the emotions. And I've gotta say, this photo in Union Square is my absolute fave because of Bhumika's smile. I just love it!




It was actually pretty difficult to get these two to NOT smile at me :)


Busy, busy, busy...Bharat struck this pose without Bhumika knowing and she kept wondering why I had a funny smile on my face.


And who can complain about the colors of these murals! We could have stayed in this area in the Mission all afternoon if we didn't have to get back over to the Embarcadero!





Bhumika & Bharat, we can't wait for your wedding!

Labels: Engagements, Portfolio, Portraits

  Permanent Link 3:45 PM  1 Comments

  Pallavi & Neil's Reception Finishing up on Pallavi & Neil's wedding weekend, here are some highlights from their reception....Enjoy!

They had a cute fuschia & orange theme going on...



I love the texture on the fondant on this cake!


Neil's cousins had a lot of fun with some dances they did for the audience.









And, of course, everyone spent the rest of the night dancing away...



The sweetest thing at the end of the night was when Neil & Pallavi's friends conspired with the DJ to play their First Dance song while all their closest friends & family did a nice big group hug to end the dancing. I must say, in all the weddings I've photographed, this was about the sweetest way to finish the night!



Congrats Neil & Pallavi. Thanks for having us at your wedding!

Labels: Gujarati, Hindu, Portfolio, Tamil, Weddings

  Permanent Link 9:57 AM  0 Comments

  Pallavi & Neil's Wedding Following up on the previous post about Pallavi & Neil's truly multi-cultural wedding, here are some highlights from the wedding ceremony itself. The wedding & reception were held at the Canyon View Dining Hall in San Ramon. It's a beautiful venue with a view out on the hills in the back. The ceremony itself was held outdoors so the light was just amazing especially as the sun was setting.

For folks not accustomed to Indian weddings, the fact that the ceremony was held outdoors is a bit of novelty since it's actually pretty tough to find a nice outdoor location that can hold the large number of people that are usually invited to such affairs. Safe to say, we photographers are so happy when we get such amazing light ;)

Onto the photos!













The ceremony was split into 2 halves. Following her Tamil tradition, Pallavi changed her sari half way through the ceremony. Amongst other tradtions, the second half included the mangala darna where Neil ties the traditional Tamil Thali around Pallavi's neck as she sits in her father lap. This is different than the North Indian tradition which usually involves a small Mangal Sutra and the bride doesn't sit in her father's lap.


I just absolutely LOVE the look in Pallavi's eyes here! Can ya guess she's happy?! :)

And as with most Hindu ceremonies, it can get chaotic on the mandap. In this case, numerous people had to help Neil tie the thali since it was actually difficult for him to see around all the flowers, etc. It's actually pretty fun to watch & document the little things going on like this. It's not something which the audience sees since it's usually hidden behind a bunch of people on stage who are all trying to help. So many times, I feel blessed at the chance I get to capture these little moments between family members like this one where Pallavi's aunt is explaining to Neil's sister just how the knots should be tied.


Just one more post to go for Pallavi & Neil's wedding! Watch out for the highlights from their reception coming shortly!

Labels: Hindu, Portfolio, Tamil, Weddings

  Permanent Link 4:40 PM  0 Comments

  Pallavi & Neil's Pre-Wedding Traditions As we mentioned in the previous post, Pallavi & Neil had an action packed wedding weekend with elements of both Gujarati & Tamil wedding cultures mixed in. There was a traditional North India baraat, Tamil oonjal, and lots of other tidbits pulled from the variety that is Indian Hindu culture.

So let's start off with the events leading up the actual wedding...

Of course, a beautiful blushing bride starts her day with her sisters and mother in the hotel room :)

These are actually Pallavi's sister's saris...dontcha love the colors?!







Everyone wants a sneak peek at the bride!






If you're wondering why that umbrella's there, it's not because of rain, it's part of the tradition of a Tamil groom going to Kashi for his education. The tradition goes that the groom doesn't really want to get married and would rather further his religious education. Before he meets the bride, the priest and families must convince him to get married for the good of both families. Here, Neil's coming back to the wedding milni with his grandfather who convinced him to return to his wedding ceremony :)


A little Gujarati tradition with Pallavi coming out so that they can both garland each other. It may not look like it here, but their both on the shoulders of their relatives. The game it to prevent the other from getting the garland on. As usual, a wedding day is filled with lots of little games to keep it fun!

And just to clarify, even though Neil is following the Tamil traditions and Pallavi is following the Gujarati traditions, it's actually Neil who's Gujarati and Pallavi who's Tamil. Basically, the whole family ensured that everyone participated in the various traditions and made the entire weekend a load of fun. Some people say that a marriage isn't just about two people getting married, but actually about two families coming together. That may be a cheesy line during many speeches, but I truly believe that to be the case for multi-cultural weddings.


And moving onto more Tamil traditions, Neil & Pallavi had a Oonjal (swing) ceremony...







And to finish this post off, an afternoon portrait of the bride, groom, and groomsmen. Love it!

Look out for more from their wedding day soon!

Labels: Gujarati, Hindu, Portfolio, Tamil, Weddings

  Permanent Link 5:10 PM  1 Comments