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!
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.
