Following up on the previous posting about Sheena & Ganesh’s pre-wedding festivities, I wanted to share some of the moments from the big day. The activities moved from Milbrae over to San Mateo Marriott for the wedding and then to the Burlingame SFO Marriott for the reception. You may recall seeing Molly & Vid’s wedding photos from the San Mateo Marriott as well and it’s indeed a wonderful courtyard location for an afternoon wedding ceremony.
And I can’t proceed further without a thanks to AK Sandhu for second shooting with me!
And another call-out to Sheena’s aunt, Indra who actually served as the wedding planner/coordinator!
Sheena had this amazing custom designed wedding outfit brought over from India…by a designer not to be named here 
As you can see here, Ganesh had a blast during his baraat! Once Sheena’s family welcomed him into the hotel, some of the Fiji specific traditions began, like the Dwaar pooja where you notice Ganesh and Sheena’s father sitting across from one another.
And let’s not forget that Ganesh’s family is Tamil so there was also an Oonjal ceremony before the start of the main wedding ceremony. I actually really liked how the families meshed their unique traditions into a single event.
As the evening approached, I took Sheena & Ganesh out for their portraits in their reception outfits. Purples were the highlight color for the evening!
Now before proceeding further, I’ve gotta comment on the decor. As you can see in some of the photos, there were flower elephants, peacocks, and an amazing array of other decorations. None of it seemed over-the-top, but the families clearly spent a lot of time ensuring these elements made a lasting impression. Those charger plates with the peacocks on them were actually custom designed favors which the guests got to take home with them. Oh, and if you’re wondering why there’s a Cabbage Patch Doll on the sweetheart table…well, Sheena’s cousins actually arranged to have Sheena’s “lost” Cabbage Patch Doll flown to India and outfitted in an outfit identical to the one that Sheena wore for the reception. Pretty cool and thoughtful!
And finally…who could forget that cake! WOW! The cake actually took well over 30 mins just to assemble on-site and it was worth the effort. The peacock menagerie, as I like to call it, had so much detail in it and the colors really popped. I noticed guests coming over to look at it most of the night!
And, of course, what’s a wedding without a little dancing?! Since Ganesh is a lawyer and Sheena will be a doctor, the party started off with a little MD/JD dance-off. Thanks to DJ Bitsy for keeping the crowd jumping all night.
If you liked these family photos, drop me a line to setup a session for your own family!
Congrats Smita & Vikas, I hope you enjoy your portraits for years to come!
But you may love photos of architecture or subways or sunsets or flowers. So think about what you really love and concentrate on photographing that while on vacation. I can’t give you tips for every situation you might be in, but here’s a good site to start with for reference: 
In this recent episode, the mom of the family is trying to plan the perfect family portrait. It’s taken months to get the scheduling right, get the right clothes, etc, etc. And then everything starts to fall apart. The stairs aren’t perfect so she tries to fix them for the photo. When that fails, she wants to use the backyard, but the sprinklers turn on. Etc. etc. In the end, the family portrait that they love is one where everyone has mud all over them, but they’re happy. They’re in the moment. Yes, it’s cheesy and totally scripted, but I’ve got photos with the same essence. And you should too!
Most ceremonies at the Ruby Hills Winery are done in the courtyard out back, but in this case, Shefali & Hitesh wanted to change things up so they had their ceremony in the barrel room instead. I thought it worked out really well with the chandeliers and focused lighting on the wedding mandap (stage).
One of my favorite moments of a Hindu ceremony is the “first look”. Now, a lot of couples do their first look photos beforehand and as photographers we get to capture the emotions as the bride & groom first see each other in their wedding attire. Regardless of whether we’ve done that, I just love the emotions on the mandap itself and the antharpath (that’s the sheet separating the bride and groom on the stage) is lowered and the couple see each other just as the ceremony is to begin. Shefali’s smile says it all to me!
After the afternoon ceremony, everyone reconvened in the evening for the couple’s reception. Again, Shefali & Hitesh mixed things up by adding some fun to their first dance…in addition to a slow dance, they kicked off the fun with a dance to “Jai Ho”
Shefali & Hitesh, congrats again!
