I started the afternoon with the bride at her getting-ready room while my friend and fellow photographer Andrew Adams who joined me for this wedding had a chance to go to the palace before everyone else and get some incredible shots of the decor and ambiance. I particularly envy that great shot of the two elephants in front of the palace gate but I’m glad that at least one of us could get it. I think that between the two of us we pretty much managed to give a good coverage of the events.

The next day was a lot more relaxed and included a family lunch and some fun couple’s games. The evening reception at Castle Kanota at the outskirts of Jaipur was again a chance for everyone to show their dancing skills. Definitely a wedding to remember.

The long period of Portuguese rule has left an indelible influence on the original style of this small state and a large percentage of its population is Christian. The countryside is dotted with many beautiful churches and Old Goa has some incredible old cathedrals. Many families still live in their ancestral houses built in the typical Portuguese style, and as a matter of fact even I live in one of these houses in north Goa now, but this is another story.

Analisa’s family still own the old family home not far from Panjim city and regularly visit on family vacations. The old Portuguese house is full of memories and feelings. Wondering through the huge rooms I could almost hear the generations of people that used to live there and spending the time with the entire family there in the hours before the wedding was an unforgettable experience. It was only natural for Analisa to come here for her wedding and be led to the altar of an incredible church on the hill.

The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is located in the heart of Panjim on the hillside overlooking the entire view of the city and built in 1540 it is one of the oldest churches of Goa. The wedding took place just after Christmas and before the New Year and the church was beautifully decorated. The scene of the Nativity and little Jesus in the crib was created at the bottom of the stairs and was so colorful that it almost looked a part of Disneyland.

The wedding itself was simple and beautiful. Having documented such a huge variety of Indian weddings it was beautiful to see an Indian Roman Christian wedding in it’s full glory. Bride’s maids and best men in suits, children holding flowers in their hands and the whole feeling of the magnificent church was quite a change for me.

The wedding reception was held at the garden of the Cidade de Goa where we finally got our share of decorated coconut trees. It was a total fun that lasted well into the night. Here’s to you Analisa and Jaidev. It was truly awesome.

The wedding itself was simply amazing and the venues were most probably the most beautifully decorated I have ever seen. When we arrived for the Mehendi event at the Jai Mahal Palace on the first morning, it was already obvious that it would be impossible to showcase the entire wedding in one blog post as there was so much to show. It was like coming to a photographer’s Disneyland. The palace garden was beautifully decorated, the local Rajasthani folk dancers were captivating. Indian traditional musicians playing Rajasthani tunes to the delight of the guests who happily cooperated and presented a serious competition to the professional dancers. Even a couple of elephants were there for the enjoyment of the guests who wanted to take a short ride while others were enjoying the delicacies served in the shade of the colorful Shamiana tents. What a delight.

The evening Sangeet party was even more impressive with a colorful lighting and live performance at the Sisodia Rani Gardens outside of Jaipur but this was only the appetizer for the actual wedding to take place the day after at no other place but Jaipur City Palace! This will have to wait for the next post so make sure to follow up . .

To be continued . .

If you read through my profile you’d know that I take only a small number of wedding photography assignments every year. One of the main reasons for this is my fear of repeating myself. I know the routine, I know the ceremonies and I know what looks good. I could simply go on producing this kind of work and as it is a new ‘client’ every time, they would not complain. In the beginning of this wedding season I felt that if I didn’t change my approach to my wedding photography assignments I would risk becoming a wedding Xerox machine that keeps taking the same pictures over and over again.  This would have forced me to stop taking wedding assignments all together. I am using different lenses, work more creatively with the hand-held flash and am constantly looking for new angles. More than this, wedding photography unlike other documentary assignments, allows for much more creative freedom in the post processing of the images and I feel that combining all of these enables me to recreate myself in a way, and come with a new approach to this work.

I started using more presets (personally created filters for Adobe Lightroom, the main tool in the digital workflow), and also use Photoshop a little more (Layers for textured background. No Photoshop was used on the mirror image of the ‘double portrait’) on a few selected images, all with the mindset of making beautiful images rather than ‘accurate’ images. Like I said, this is not news or a UN assignment. We are allowed some creative freedom so lets enjoy it!

Jenn and Rohit, I hope you like what you see . .

Anu nad Nikhil’s wedding was an arranged marriage as so often is the case in India. It took place on that specific auspicious day when more than fifteen thousand (yes, yes!) couples got married in Delhi alone. The city was full with marriage processions and I was shooting the last wedding for my book on traditional Indian weddings. They both come from traditional Kashmiri houses and I was a little surprised to see so many differences exist between this Hindu tradition and other ones that I have covered over the last few years.

I have noticed that the unique thing about a Kashmiri Pandit wedding, and please do feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, is more to do with the pre-wedding ceremonies and less with the wedding itself. The music, the male dancer dressed as a lady to seduce and entertain the guests, the thread ceremony that reminded me so much of an orange version of an organizations in the USA wearing their iconic white costumes consisted of robes and pointed hats. The alternative to the traditional turmeric (haldi ceremoy) here is a cold, white yogurt that is poured on the bride to purify her skin. There is also a very special ear jewelry that is worn by every Kashmiri woman that undergoes the painful ear piercing before becoming a bride.

The wedding itself has influences form both brahmin as well as Muslim traditions, as could be expected from a Hindu culture that used to live in Muslim populated Kashmir. The Hena, or Mehendi, is applied to cover the entire hand in a way that resembles some tribal Arab traditions from Yemen. The use of a mirror during the ceremony itself is also borrowed from the Muslim wedding ceremonies. All in all, this was one of the most interesting weddings I have so far photographed and one that will surely become one of the larger chapters in my book.

What can I tell you about the wedding that is not in the pictures already? The Leela Palace is probably one of the most beautiful locations you can imagine with it’s grand open lobby leading to the garden. Lakshmi Rammohan of DreamWeaver Weddings had her eye on all the details and put together a simple but very elegant decor. The view of the bride escorted down the corridor to meet her husband to be was as amazing as I was expecting. This is one of the main reasons why Rittika had chosen this location and it was simply worth it. To top it all, even the chocolate mousse was without eggs so I could enjoy it as compensation for Argentina’s loss. Thank you Rittika and Aman for having me there with you. It was amazing.

It was a small wedding, only a few close family members and friends that assembled on Sunday afternoon for this intimate affair. Bobbee, the groom, had loved Leena since he first met her when they were much younger and have always wanted to marry her but she was not available. When her situation changed recently he immediately proposed and she accepted.

Sunday is usually a day off for us and for the house staff. It is a family day, a time to have a quiet home and do nothing. In the summer we take an afternoon walk in the neighborhood with the babies and buy a mango vanilla ice cream. Asha usually spends it at home watching TV, relaxing and playing with her grandson. This Sunday was obviously different. She came in the morning and was busy cooking all day. The best ‘mattar paneer’ and ‘chhole chawal’ I have tasted in a long while. Leena came a little later and was busy getting her makeup done in my daughter’s room. Shefi, my wife, helped with the veil and gave the last touch, and I took pictures obviously. Everyone was super happy, although in an Indian wedding it usually translated into tears. “It is mother’s day today, and this is my present for my mother” said Leena wiping her eyes. Asha was sobbing. here it is in a nut shell.

]]> http://www.fotowala.in/wedding-photography/a-very-special-wedding-on-mothers-day/feed/ 21 http://www.fotowala.in/wedding-photography/a-good-thing-that-lead-to-some-forgotten-pictures/ http://www.fotowala.in/wedding-photography/a-good-thing-that-lead-to-some-forgotten-pictures/#comments Mon, 03 May 2010 11:57:41 +0000 fotowala http://www.fotowala.in/?p=3372 Like all good young ‘professional’ photographers, I was raised to mock wedding photography and all that it represented and never even thought that I would do it. “Wedding photographer” always seemed to be a bit uncool, to put it lightly. No one thinks twice if you say that you’re a commercial photographer, a photojournalist, or a photographer who shoots nudes. Friends will be somewhat interested on the commercial front; be really excited about the nudes; and ask you again and again on your latest assignment as a field photographer. In fact, for years when I went to parties I used to always hear that I had the coolest job. Wedding photographers, needless to say, have never inspired such levels of envy. Never the less, in the past few years, a whole new breed of wedding photographers has emerged determined to give the reputation of this line of work a serious makeover.

One good thing that happened this week is that I was accepted into the ISPWP, a prestigious directory listing only the best wedding photographers in the world. The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers, or ISPWP, is a rarity among online wedding photography directories. It is small, exclusive and picky. It is a worldwide group of top professional wedding photographers who have the experience, talent, and reputation to deliver outstanding wedding photography to their clients. I am very honored to be among the great photographers already there, and particularity to be the first photographer from India to be accepted.

The ISPWP website provides each photographer with the opportunity to post a small gallery of twelve images, and while I was going through my archive looking for the right pictures to use in that gallery I came across my pictures from Kajal and Saurabh’s wedding. That was one amazing wedding that took place in Delhi last November but I was so busy the entire winter that I did not have time to post any pictures back then, and forgot to do that since. I hope you will forgive me for that

Who are the Syrian Christian people?

The Syrian Malabar Christians are the descendants of the natives and those of the Jewish diaspora in Kerala who became Christians in the Malabar coast in the earliest days of Christianity. They follow a unique Hebrew-Syriac Christian tradition which includes several Jewish elements although they have absorbed some Hindu customs. Their heritage is Syriac-Keralite and their language Malyalam. Much of their Jewish tradition has been forgotten, especially after the Portuguese invasion of Kerala in the early 1500s. A friends once said that “some may claim we are more from the traditional namboothiris (brahmins) of kerala than jewish..but who the hell knows really ”

Popularly known as Syrian Christians in view of the Syriac (classical form of Aramaic) liturgy used in church services since the early days of Christianity in India, they are also known as Syrian-Malabar Christians, Mar Thoma Nasrani, Syrian Malabar Nasrani or Saint Thomas Christians. This is an ethno-religious group from Kerala, India, adhering to the various churches of the Saint Thomas Christian tradition.

What makes a Syrian Christian wedding unique?

The truth is that it was not so easy to photograph this wedding. The couple stood with their backs to the crowd, very close to the bishop, and in such a way that it was practically impossible to take any frontal picture of them together. The altar area is completely off-limits so there was no way I could take a picture from behind the priests and see the couple’s faces.  The bishop himself, dressed in a magnificent gown, wearing a traditional cap and holding a decorated golden staff, was the real show.

For the wedding ceremony, the bride wears an off-white silk sari with a wide border. Her sari ‘pallu’ acts as a veil or she wears a separate veil over her head. She has only very little jewelry on her body. The groom’s outfit would traditionally consist of a white dhoti and a white shirt, but in these modern times not all the traditions are kept. Mathew was actually considering it for a second, but then opted for the relative comfort of a suit. Coming from New York, a suit must have seemed like a good option but I suspect that had he known it would be so hot he might have seriously considered the dhoti option.

As per the tradition, during the wedding the groom presents a new sari to his bride. This sari is called the ‘mantra kodi’. The night before the church ceremony, strands of thread are drawn from this sari by the groom’s sister and twisted to form a cord. On this cord, is tied the ‘taali’, a leaf shaped gold pendant with a cross, inscribed on it. The ‘mantra kodi’ is placed on the bride’s head by the priest and blessed. Not like in a  westerns style christian wedding, in a Syrian Christian wedding it is the priest who puts the rings on the bride and groom’s hands to symbolize the bond made before God, a bond that will not be broken.

Immediately after the church ceremony a reception was held at a nearby hotel were the couple lit the oil lamp and cut the wedding cake. A small pooja was later held at the groom’s home and we all had a good laugh as the local photographer was taking some posed pictures of Mathew and Shilpa in the middle of the living room with all the guests still there. What a lovely day.

]]> http://www.fotowala.in/wedding-photography/a-syrian-christian-wedding-in-kerala/feed/ 43 http://www.fotowala.in/wedding-photography/a-sunday-morning-wedding-in-delhi/ http://www.fotowala.in/wedding-photography/a-sunday-morning-wedding-in-delhi/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:04:08 +0000 fotowala http://www.fotowala.in/?p=3039 Day-time weddings always make me think of weddings in the US or Europe. So different then such wedding In delhi. People come to church at noon, attend the wedding, and then go for a nice afternoon reception. We’ve all seen the pictures. In India it is so often the complete opposite. So many weddings often start in the early hours of the AM, and end just before sunrise. Not an easy thing for the couple, or the guests for that matter.

It always made me laugh. In such a wedding, so common in north India, the reception would start around 18:30. The groom’s barat procession would come at about 19:30-20:00 and give the note for the party to start. Once the groom arrives, the couple are seated together to welcome all the guests for the long blessing and photo opportunity line. Dinner is served at about 22:30 and lasts until about midnight, when all the guests, except the immediate family, leave! yes, yes! Only then, sometime half asleep, the couple and the close family wait for the auspicious hour determined by the pundit. This hour is usually around 2AM. Only then the actual wedding starts. Two hours later, and countless reciting of ‘Swaha . .a‘ at the end of the mantras, the wedding is over. Then comes the vidai ceremony. The couple bids farewell to the family and leave as the sky starts to turn blue. WOW.

But really, no need to stress. Winter has already come to Delhi, but the days are still nice and warm. It is just the perfect weather for a Sunday morning wedding. I have just attended such a wedding last week, a small and happy wedding. It was chilled out and relaxed, and felt more like a picnic with friends than anything else. Good company, smiling people, nice food for Sunday brunch. no stress what so ever. I loved it.

* It is unfortunate that the bride had asked me to refrain from publishing recognizable pictures. I wish it was not this way as the pictures are simply awesome, but I must respect her privacy. What I did put up here will have to do, and simply imagine the rest.

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