Gurjeet & Jessie - Reception Finishing up the posts on Gurj & Jess's wedding weekend, the couple had their reception in Woodland near Jess's home. And since the wedding day was so jam packed, they held the reception the next day. This made for something where everybody just couldn't wait to party up.


We had some time for portraits so we actually went to nearby UC Davis and had a relaxed photoshoot amongst the trees & by the water. It's always great when the schedule allows for all these extra moments!







And of course the hot color of burnt orange...everyone seems to comment on how great it looks at Indian functions, and I couldn't agree more...













And the dancing! What Punjabi wedding would be complete without lots and lots of dancing! Can't ya tell that Gurj had been itching to get onto the dance floor? :)



Jess' brother was having a lot of fun crowd surfing...



Congrats you two! We had a pleasure photographing your special weekend. Can't wait to make your album!

Labels: Portfolio, Weddings

  Permanent Link 5:05 PM  0 Comments Links to this post

  Gurjeet & Jessie - Wedding Day As I mentioned in the previous post about Gurjeet & Jessie's wedding weekend, they took part in just about every Punjabi & Sikh tradition. This meant a really amazing weekend...and lots of photos!

So this post focuses just on their wedding day...get ready for a bunch of photos!


We started day off around 6am...I was with Gurjeet in San Jose, Asad was with Jessie in Vallejo...talk about travelling the entire Bay Area!








The families then came together at the Gurdwara in San Jose...always a lovely location since the light is just amazing! And something I just love about Sikh ceremonies is how serene the entire wedding is. Yes, there's a lot of joy & celebration, but overall, it's a very quiet & serene time...very different from most Hindu ceremonies which can be rater chaotic.


















And so the madness starts with the doli! Traditionally, the groom comes to the bride's house to fetch her and the bride's cousins tease the groom (and try to extract cash!)


Whether it's Sikh or Hindu, when it's time for the bride to leave with her new family, it can be really emotional. As I've said before, I now think about this a lot more since my daughter came along...



For this final shot, I like to call it the ZeeTV shot since it always seems to appear on ZeeTV soap operas when there's a wedding. In this case, Gurjeet was welcomed into Jessie's home for the the Paani Bhaar.


Look for another post shortly on Gurj & Jess's reception!

Labels: Portfolio, Weddings

  Permanent Link 11:57 AM  0 Comments Links to this post

  Gurjeet & Jessie - Gurj's Maaiya, Chuddi, and Jaggo Catching up on some of the weddings from this past summer, here are some highlights from Gurjeet & Jessie's Wedding weekend. They had an extended 3 days of colorful, fun-filled events. Both Gurjeet & Jessie's families were so gracious to us throughout the weekend and it was definitely a pleasure capturing every tradition especially since both families carried out so many Punjabi & Sikh traditions that many families don't necessarily do nowadays. I actually covered their engagement ceremony last year so it was really nice seeing the whole family again...and made it easier since I already knew all the faces :)

The wedding weekend started out at Gurj's house in San Jose. They combined lots of different things into one afternoon/evening. So here are some highlights from her Maaiya & Chuddi ceremonies and then the Jaggo and dancing that followed. This was all in the middle of the summer so everyone had a blast in the back yard...

On to the photos!


I'm always amazed at the similarities in traditions across India...here are Gurj's cousins setting up. It's really similar to a Gujarati Rangoli...






Something I just love about these smaller events at home is how relaxed everyone is and how much fun they have with their closest family & friends. Of course the wedding and reception are lots of fun, but these pre-wedding events just have a different feel to them. As a photographer, I get to know the family & friends really well since it's small enough that I can talk with most everyone there...

Labels: Portraits, Weddings

  Permanent Link 4:25 PM  0 Comments Links to this post

  Shweta & David's Reception Following up on the last posting, here are some photos from Shweta & David's Wedding Reception which was held at the Summit Center in downtown San Jose.

We actually started off with some evening portraits in the Fairmont. We just love tying back portraits to the event venues so whenever possible, we utilize great spots inside or outside the wedding or reception location. Of course, the lobby of the Fairmont is outstanding so no complaints from us :)


Look at David all dapper in his tux. Love the silver...

Later on in the evening we actually did an impromptu photo session on the balcony of the Summit Center. With the sun setting & San Jose City Hall in the background, there's no denying where the party was at!
Since there's two of us covering the wedding, we have the chance of capturing the anticipating before the couple make their grand entrance. A last glance at each other before Shweta & David make their arrival...

Just a few shots from the night...



They had this wonderful cake which just made for great photos...

And with floor to ceiling windows, the colors they chose really lent a bright airy feel to things...


Just a few from their first dance...



And finally...time to get the party started!

I had a lot of fun playing with the lighting. The DJ had some crazy lights going on, so we were able to get some fun starlight pops into our photos.



Shweta & David, thanks for giving us the opportunity to get to know you and cover your wedding!

Labels: Portfolio, Portraits, Weddings

  Permanent Link 4:05 PM  0 Comments Links to this post

  Shweta & David's Wedding Getting back to posting some recent weddings, here's a peek into Shweta & David's Wedding. If you recall, I posted some of their engagement portraits here. I must say that we love it when we're able to do both a couple's wedding day as well as their engagement portraits. It really builds on the relationship we have with our clients.

Anyways, onto the photos...

We spent the day in downtown San Jose...starting at the Fairmont and then heading over to Summit Center which overlooks City Hall.

A bunch of morning photos....the schedule for the day allowed for a lot of time before the wedding to get all those wonderful getting-ready shots as well as the details of the outfits. Since Shweta had a few outfits throughout the day, I had a lot of great stuff to work with....





I just loved the simplicity of Shweta's bouquet...
They made this really modern yet classic gift box wrapped in a nice silk material. It matched the colors used throughout the day. Burnt orange is one of those new classics. While it's really popular now, I have a feeling we'll be seeing it for years to come...
To top off the box, they had this cute little topper of our lovely couple. And no, the rings weren't stuck onto the box :)

In case you wanted a closer look at these rings. You can never go wrong with Tiffany's, huh?

Moving on to the ceremony....




Since I had been with Shweta all morning I knew she really just wanted to get things going. She was really calm, but just couldn't wait. I love the look on her face her as David places the garland around her neck.



Finishing off the first part of the day, we don't normally post many of the formal portraits, but I just *had* to share this portrait...Since the agenda allowed for it, I took Shweta & David around the Fairmont on a location hunt. We found quite a few places and got some great shots. My fave was this corner. It had the chaise & mirrors I had been hunting for. I wanted to get that wonderful bouquet into the photo too. And so amongst the many other shots we got that afternoon, this has gotta be one of my favorites...





Look out for more from their wedding in an upcoming post!

Labels: Portfolio, Portraits, Weddings

  Permanent Link 4:12 PM  2 Comments Links to this post

  Manisha & Ashwin's Wedding & Reception As promised last week, here are photos from the rest of Manisha & Ashwin's weekend. The entire day was lovely with the venues serving perfectly for what the couple wanted...an elegant outdoor wedding and a raging party at night! The wedding was at the lovely Bella Montagna Estate which had a beautiful view of the Santa Clara valley. The evening fun was at the Doubletree in San Jose. It's a place we always love since the staff (and Daljit in particular) do a kick-ass job and help everything run more smoothly.

We started the day off at Manisha's house where she along with all her friends & close family were getting ready. It was sort of the mad-house with so many mulling about, but Manisha was particularly enjoying the lead up to her wedding.




Manisha had a pretty sweet antique Stutz limo to take her to the wedding...

In the meantime, Ashwin was getting ready amidst a bunch of activity as well. Since Ashwin comes from a Punjabi family, the morning of the wedding was quite busy for them with Pagri tying (Turban), Sehra Bandhi (Tying of the tassles on his turban by his sisters), etc, etc.
The baraat was a short one, but check out this little captain! He rode along on the horse with Ashwin till near the end where he walked and danced out the rest of the baraat.

A moment I just love from weddings is when the bride & groom see each other for the first time in their wedding outfits. For Hindu weddings, this is generally on the mandap right after the anterpath is drawn down to present the couple to one another. Manisha had a particularly great reaction which was just the start of the fun for the day.

Now, if you've followed this blog, you know that the Kanyadaan (which the bride's parents give her away) usually has photos of hands joined together, etc. In this case, Manisha's father had some fun and stole her away from her groom!

Just some other details & moments which Asad and I loved from this outdoor ceremony.




We had a bit of extra time for some creative portraits...just one of the shots from the afternoon...

As a new father, I can't help but put myself in the shoes of the bride's father during the vidaii (when the bride traditionally says goodbye to her family and goes to her groom's family). It's a touchy time since tears are flowing so we try to be pretty low key while taking photos. I just love this shot of Manisha's father as Manisha looks on in the background.




Moving on the party at night....we were presented with a Vegas theme. Since Manisha & Ashwin met through mutual friends while partying in Vegas, what's more appropriate?!

The night was complete with flower filled martini centerpieces...


Decks of cards for everyone...
And a yummy looking cupcake cake!
And judging from the fun they had throughout the day, Manisha & Ashwin weren't about to let up on the fun...they entered the hall with their first dance, then proceeded to knock everyone's socks off with a choreographed number.

No, it wasn't a ballroom number...

They went onto wowing the crowd with a bunch of different dances including some bhangra, garba, and....

The Soulja Boy!

I've never heard a crowd roar so loud as when the steel drums from the song started up and both Manisha & Ashwin started with some dips. Can you tell we love it when a couple has fun with their day?!


Just love this shot becuase of Manisha's look...see her crouching down there?

Cheers to a great couple! Thanks for having us at your events and congrats to you and your families!

Labels: Portfolio, Weddings

  Permanent Link 2:32 PM  0 Comments Links to this post

  Manisha's Pre-Wedding Events Yes, we do indeed do other things besides engagement portraits :) But don't worry, there are a ton more engagement portraits to show off!

For a change of pace, here are some wedding related photos from about a month ago. These are from Manisha's pre-wedding events at her home in San Jose. Their wedding photos will follow in a bit...

The first part of the morning was the Ganesh Pooja where Manisha's parents basically welcomed the upcoming events (Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, wards away evil spirits). Her uncles also did some of their thing like planting a "tree" outside the house, etc. Gujarati culture at its finest :)





And then Manisha made her entrance and promptly got pasted! As tradition dictates, Manisha's aunts applied tumeric paste (haldi) on her skin. It's supposed to make a bride's skin glow, but the aunts always have some fun with it.


And then moving onto the vidhi itself where Manisha & her parents did the needful before the wedding day.



And, of course, we can't forget the Grande Dame of the house, Lily! It was her birthday and she had a great time getting pet by all of the guests. She did get a little impatient near the end when she was ready to be walked. Who can blame her! Hindu weddings have so much going on, any dog would get bored! :)


Anyways, more to come from Manisha's wedding day...

Labels: Grah Shanti, Haldi, Portfolio, Weddings

  Permanent Link 4:40 PM  0 Comments Links to this post

  Tejal & Nalin's Wedding Things have been a bit quiet on the front here since I (Jigar) just had a baby! As we're settling down, we're still catching up on some of the recent events we've covered.

In the last post, we showed you some of Tejal & Nalin's pre-wedding events. Now on to the wedding day itself....

To this day, I always wonder how the bride does it all...starting with make-up before 6am and ending the reception after midnight.

Ready??

Set??


Go!!


Welcoming Nalin...as we've mentioned before, this is the time where it's like a crush of humanity! So many people want to see what's going on. And with so much built up excitement, there's hardly room for the photographers!
But we still squeeze in for the shot ;)

Check out this cool Antharpath. The Antharpath is the cloth which separates the couple when the bride first arrives on the wedding mandap. Generally, the couple holds hands underneath this cloth, but this Antharpath was designed with a heart-shaped hole right in the middle. Aww...how schweet!


Hook Em! Longhorns all around! The groom, his sister, and seemingly everyone else in attendance were Texas alums.

A quieter moment as the bride's mother was waiting for her daughter to say her goodbyes. As I've said previously....sometimes these moments even bring tears to our eyes.

And moving onto the Reception...



Speaking of Longhorns...808 in the house!
Look at the cupcakes! Yum!

The traditional shot of the couple entering is getting them head on as they're waving to the crowd. While we make sure we get that, I just love trailing the couple as they enter and get the reaction of all of their guests.

The agenda for receptions has changed since we started doing weddings. There used to be speech after speech after speech interspersed with a couple of performances. Lately, couples have been skipping the lengthy speeches or performance for more fun stuff. In this case, the Tejal & Nalin played a game where they had to tell everyone who would have the final say on various moments in a married couple's life. Very rarely have I seen the entire reception hall so noisy....everyone really had a lot of fun with this one. That definitely makes it more fun for us as photographers too!

Just love Tejal's expression here

Definitely a Texan at heart...

On to the partying!

Congrats guys! I know you had a great time all weekend. Best wishes as you enjoy married life!

Labels: Portfolio, Weddings

  Permanent Link 11:48 AM  0 Comments Links to this post

  Tejal & Nalin's Pre-Wedding Events As most people would probably already know, Indian weddings can last days. In fact, that's one of the first thing non-Indians might say is something like "Man, they take so long!".

Umm...yeah.
.
..
...
But, the next thing they say might is "I'm sure they're so much fun though!"

Ain't it true!

Tejal & Nalin brought us down to the Pismo Beach area to cover 5 events spread across 3 days and boy, did everyone have a blast. With most people flying and driving in from all over the country, it was really like a destination wedding...even though the destination was Tejal's 'hood.

So let's start off with the pre-wedding events


With over 800 people attending various events...Tejal's mom really held it down and made sure everyone enjoyed the weekend. Of course, she had lots of help, but as photographers, we've just gotta hand it to the parents of our couples, this one especially. They always do so much to not only please their guests, but also to make their photographers welcome in their homes!





The details of pre-wedding events are always interesting and definitely less well understood than the main wedding ceremony. These are where specific family culture really varies. Even amongst Gujaratis, the order of things and the littlest details will be unique depending on which part of the state the family originates from.


One of the most fun elements of a wedding weekend is the bride's Haldi ceremony. In Gujarati culture, this is referred to as the Pithi. Starting with the aunts who are usually a bit more docile...

To the friends who make sure the haldi gets ALL over...

Ending with the bride getting her friends back for all the haldi loving attention :)


Moving onto the garba raas...it's all about the movement and the craziness of running around with sticks!





More to come soon from the rest of Tejal & Nalin's wedding weekend....stay tuned!

Labels: Garba, Grah Shanti, Haldi, Portfolio, Weddings

  Permanent Link 3:44 PM  1 Comments Links to this post

  Chanden & Val's Wedding In the last post you saw some of Chanden & Val's engagement portraits. Well, here are some from their wedding & reception.

The wedding was at the Fremont Gurudwara.

Chanden chose a bit of a unique color for a Sikh ceremony, but then again, both Chanden & Val don't follow convention, now do they?



Rarely do we see an actual doli any more during weddings, so it was a bit of a surprise to see this one. Chanden had a great time being pushed by her brother and male cousins. The rain caused a bit of a problem, but, hey, as the bride, she was dry as can be....




The rain really caused a bit of havoc for portraits since we were supposed to head to the Japanese Friendship Garden. Since it was pouring by the time we reached Downtown San Jose, we took advantage of the lobby at the Fairmont. Hmm....really posh hotel with wonderful ambient light & flower centerpieces just like Chanden loves?! Yes please!



For once, we had a lot of "down time" so we had some fun with the couple, the bridesmaids and the grooms men...

Don't mess with the bride!






Moving on the reception, we were at a really unique location, The Corinthian Center which is in Downtown San Jose. It allowed for a unique entrance for the couple high above their guests on a balcony where they opened the night with their first dance...





Since we've been doing weddings for a while now, we've begun to see some once-popular trends become less common. One of those trends which used to be at EVERY reception was dance performances. We used to get at least one if not two or three at every reception. Nowadays, couples usually have a speech or two and get right into the dancing. In this case, Chanden's cousins showed off their skills with a little medley...


Here's to another lovely couple. Congrats Chanden & Val!

Labels: Portfolio, Weddings

  Permanent Link 10:24 PM  1 Comments Links to this post

  Amar & Parveen Colors. Rich, Amazing Colors.

That's about all Asad and I could say upon first looking through the photos from this wedding. It was the first Sikh wedding we had done in a while and the first one in Sacramento. It was so hot out there my main flash failed at 11am from the heat! And that was just after the milni! Thankfully we always have back ups though :) Not to mention that it was such a wonderful day and so much natural light streamed in that flash-less shots were so much easier than with the usual hotel banquet hall wedding.

Anyways, onto some photos...


The colors that the couple chose were rather different than what's we've seen, especially during a Sikh wedding. Obviously though, this unique pink went so well with the gold.


You know what I love the most about this shot? Parveen's cousin looking through the window. Doing weddings, people are almost always aware there's a photographer with a big camera around or they're completely trying to ignore the guy with the big black camera. So it's hard to get a shot which is some where in between that "Take a photo of me!" and "Oh, pretend like he's not taking a photo". Anyways, this time, I feel like we got one of those rare in betweens.



During one of my first Sikh weddings I took a shot similar to this and it's still one of my faves for it's meaning. In Hindu culture, the bride and groom have their dupattas tied to each other. In Sikh tradition, the couple hold their ends of the dupatta. Actively holding the dupatta throughout the ceremony just seems to hold so much meaning where the couple if confirming that they are indeed entering their marriage of their own accord.

And regardless of the meaning, I just love the shallow depth of field :)




Another big difference with Sikh tradition is that the couple does their darndest to keep looking down and not smile throughout the entire Anand Karaj. No matter how much in love they are, it's so rare to see the couple smile. Very different than most Hindu ceremonies where the couple is smiling & talking while on the mandap.




The Guru Granth Sahib is such a work of art. Something about the Punjabi script in this format just looks great.

And besides, I love the shallow depth of field...again :)




The West Sacramento Gurdwara was so large and spacious that it offered wonderful opportunities to get really interesting angles. And again, the mish-mash of colors really just adds to the depth. These are gonna look great in a nice big wedding album!




Though more sparsely decorated than the Fremont Gurdwara, this location, again, offered so many cool angles.




And the reception. Man, what details. Though it was definitely over the top, the decorations were just so...amazing to look at? Monograms are nothing new for couples nowadays, but in this case, they were interspersed throughout the hall and looked really nice.

Not to mention the custom made cookies :)




Note for people planning their wedding decorations: Really colorful floodlights shining up on the walls look awesome. In this case, the gold lights really added wonderful accents to the red which both the bride & groom wore that evening. A little extra ambient backlight lead to these deeply colorful shots.

And so...with the end of the summer season, we're still catching up on posting to the blog, but we'll continue to provide tidbits into the work we're doing. Thanks everyone for continuing to read. And please post comments! We'd love to hear more about your thoughts on our work.

Labels: Portfolio, Weddings

  Permanent Link 11:56 PM  1 Comments Links to this post

  Sharmila & Suneel Woah...a month just passes by like that. Catching up on the blogging, here's some tidbits from Sharmila & Suneel's big day.

Starting the day off with hair, make-up, and a little champagne. Can't say that it's a bad thing :)



A beautiful location at the house of a relative. We've done outdoor weddings before, but this one seemed to cover every little detail. The more I see these bright colors, the more I like them for such festive affairs and Indian weddings.




Just as the bride was getting ready to arrive, there was a little drama with one of the flowergirls. To be honest, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often. It's not surprising that a five year old who has been standing in the heat for an hour would get tired or nervous when she's about to be the center of attention. In any case, the flower petals made their way to the aisle and the ring was delivered to the mandap!



The day just ended up being one of those perfect balances of warmth & breeze.



One of the great things about most Hindu weddings (in our perspective) is all the little details with items on the mandap. Some times it's a Ganesh carving or the priest's prayer books. In this case, the mandap was very empty. It was a very modern wedding and the details were in every aspect of the decorations, but the ceremony itself was quite simple. Totally different challenge from a photography perspective since we really love capturing all the details. So here's just one of those details of the couple holding hands.



The traditional exit shots you get at Western weddings just don't always happen with Indian weddings. In fact, the bride almost always leaves crying since the Vidaii (the bride finally leaving her parents' family for her new family) is just part of the tradition. So it's a nice change to see such elation on the bride's face as she leaves the mandap!



Not have a traditional type of hall for the reception really let the couple dream up an awesome look for the evening. A tent with open doorways on such a nice day led to such a nice warmth as the sun set.



I love getting candid moments like these...almost like I had posed them, but hey, they just kissed spontaneously! As a photographer, finding these moments without being intrusive can be tough, especially with Indian weddings when the couple just doesn't get much time to themselves or to just think for a moment.




And, of course, the couple having a little fun with their speech. Good stuff!



And as a Bruin, how could I forget the 8-clap! The bride's friend busted out the cheer to the chagrin of the groom's Trojan buddies.



Somehow lifting the groom (and sometimes the bride) onto your shoulders has become a tradition. I really can't say why, but hey, it's a moment to themselves :)

Labels: Portfolio, Weddings

  Permanent Link 11:55 PM  1 Comments Links to this post

  Multi-Cultural Affairs Articles in American newspapers about the meshing of cultures is nothing new. In fact, the New York Times tends to have at least one of those every few months (keeps the readership interested I suppose). Just noticed an article in the Washington Post which hits on many points that we see every weekend while we're covering wedding events.

Two Cultures, Slowly Uniting In Matrimony

For so much of this cultural meshing, it's basically just a part of life. the callout of a wedding aisle where the bride enters is basically a part of the culture here along with so many elements that never see the light of day in India. The non-Indian horse trainer? Check. The bridesmaids in matching attire? Check. Etc, etc. So nothing really new here for a wedding photographer, but definitely something interesting to track regardless.

Labels: The Biz, Weddings

  Permanent Link 1:44 PM  0 Comments Links to this post

  Deepa & Neel's Wedding We mentioned Deepa & Neel before when they sent a sweet thank you note after their wedding. Well, here finally are some of their photos....

With so many people coming from out of town, this wedding party was ready to dance! The day turned out just perfect outside and these photographers were definitely not complaining :)
After several smaller weddings, it was a nice change to have such a big event. It's also nice when they all line up for a nice photo-op and we don't even have to ask :)
One of the toughest things regardless of the wedding size, is any ceremony where everyone wants to look. Hindu ceremonies are notorious for being events that come and go without the guests taking notice, but one part where everyone cranes their neck to see is the milni - literally "the meeting". Amongst the crowd, the bride's mother greets the groom and conducts a short prayer. After a wild baraat, this is considered to be the start of the wedding ceremony. And so your friendly neighborhood photographer has to make himself invisible, yet be right next to the action. Lest the photos are of people's backs, rather than the bride's mother welcoming her new son-in-law. With several hundred people pushing and on tip-toes, photography "on the ground" takes on a new meaning...just ask our knees :)
Check out Deepa's mendhi...she was concerned it wouldn't turn out dark enough...the color came out to be such a nice match with her outfit and jewelry.


I think of the sindoordara to be one of the bollywood moments. It is when the groom places the sindoor (vermillion) on his new bride's forehead (well, the part in her hair actually). So why is it a bollywood moment? Well, it's something that's a very common part of Indian film and TV, but it's not really something which means anything to the couples...it's just another part of the ceremony, for all intents and purposes. But of course, it leads to nice photos :)
Okay, okay, my cake snobbery is quickly fading. Just look at it! So pretty!

Now here's a cool idea..instead of flowers for the centerpieces, edible arrangements! Yum! The funniest thing was that the guests had to be reminded several times throughout the night that the centerpieces were actually edibles. Ha!
I'm always supportive of guests bringing their own cameras to these events. Especially when it results in a nice coincidence like this....amazingly, it's quite rare to catch another flash in our own photos.


And finally...just a little trickery with shutters and extended exposures.

Labels: Portfolio, Weddings

  Permanent Link 9:55 PM  0 Comments Links to this post