I was so fascinated by this 3 day wedding ceremony that any number of pictures I try to publish here, I still feel the story is not complete. Let me try to walk through the Wedding or Nikah of an awesome couple - Zeshan and Shabana. The first night I covered was a Dholki night. "Dholak is a percussion instrument and is the instrument of choice tonight along with a lot of singing and dancing to begin the festivities.
Here is the first glimpse of the bride smiling for the camera.
And then needless to say a lot of selfies going on for FB and personal memories.
Ah! so here is the actual Dholki (red) that is being played for quiet some time accompanied by lots of claps, songs and laughs.
And then there is the guitar. I chose the sepia tone for this particular picture since the song that was sung here is a older song and I think it does get into that mood with this toning. The song by the way for people who would like to know was - Kya Hua Tera Wada.
And then there is a lot of dance and food and it can go on all night.
Now the second night is the Mehendi. Mehendi is a paste of henna that is applied to the bride's (to be) hands and feet usually so she is adorned and getting ready for the wedding. Both are also fed some sweets. Some oil is applied to the grooms hair (and brides) Both of these rituals set off good vibes and are believed to give blessings, good luck and longevity to the brides married life.
Some colorful bangles for the ladies
Kids are all excited with the gathering to start with and they love to be in the pictures.
Beautiful cones that contain the mehendi paste.
The bride to be - enjoying a moment with her daughter.
Beautiful flower arrangements for the bride to be to wear.
Getting ready with the lights for the actual mehendi ritual.
And it begins.
Close relatives apply mehendi to the bride and groom. Here the actual mehendi application was more symbolic.
Final and the most important day is the actual Nikah or the Wedding. This was a beautiful fusion of Traditional dresses and music which combined some western events and together made it very festive and fun family event that it was meant to be.
Here is the bride getting ready.
Mother of the bride
The last minute improvisations
And all set for the main event :)
And did I mention that the ring was beautiful! ?
Absolutely stunning bride all ready to go!
Can you sense the love here :)
The hall for the ceremony was all ready at the Fairmont Copley in Boston.
Exchanging vows.
Now introducing - Mr. and Mrs.
The purple lights and the beautiful flowers created the right atmosphere for the reception!
The problem with such a beautiful venue is that is is hard to decide where to start and where to stop. This was the widest lens I had and so I tried to get an idea of what it looked like. I wish I could capture the table arrangements and the lights in 3D.
Father of the bride making his toast and all the mixed emotions - smiles and tears all together :)
Finally they get a moment to sit and eat, I bet they are hungry by now.
The beauty just adds on. Just look at this amazing wedding cake. It took me some time to believe this was a cake.
And then for their First Dance!
The family and friends joined in and they all danced their way past midnight.
And finally, portrait of this beautiful family - Loved her dress and three generations together here.
I hope this gives a gist of the beauty seen in this wedding and also guides you through the three days! Photographing people, as I always say, is what I absolutely love to do and weddings just brings so many personalities and their lifestyles together that you end up learning so much about different cultures. I consider myself very fortunate to get all these opportunities.
Thanks for reading and see you all soon!
Stay warm.
