Wedding planning is never easy, but I’m convinced that Kavya is secretly a superhero. She planned not only one wedding, but two – a Hindu wedding at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Atlanta, followed by a Christian wedding the next day. Kavya brought two cultures together in a beautiful celebration, and all while traveling constantly for her work as a consultant. But once the banner traditionally held between the bride and groom through the first portion of the Hindu ceremony fell away, so did all the stress of planning and preparation, to be replaced only by the grins on their faces and love in their eyes.
I met Kavya and Eric back in school at Georgia Tech, and both their relationship and wedding celebrations have been a constant string of touching moments – and not just between the bride and the groom! Photographing the mother of the groom wiping tears from her soon-to-be daughter in law’s eyes and the family of the bride helping Eric dress in the traditional clothing for the ceremony showed how unmistakably close these two families have become.
It was definitely a day full of bliss and laughter. Everyone present radiated such joy as a sunglasses-clad Eric danced his way into the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, and no one could stop laughing when the time came for Kavya and Eric to exchange varmalas, or flower garlands, and Kavya’s family boosted her into the air to give Eric a hard time.
Everything from the bride’s hair to the traditional mehndi on her hands and arms was so intricate and beautiful. Kavya’s makeup artist even hid the groom’s name in the mehndi near Kavya’s ring finger as a part of a tradition in which the groom later searches for his name in the tattoos. All the vibrant colors everywhere I turned, set against the brilliant white of the Mandir, were a photographer’s dream.. and this was only day one!
Check out some of my favorite photos from this traditional Hindu wedding below.
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- I loved how close both sides of the families were at Kavya and Eric’s wedding. The entire day was such a celebration of love and community. There were so many emotional moments!
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- For the groom’s procession (also known as the baraat!), Eric chose to make his grand entrance in Mustang draped with jasmine flower garlands. A traditional drummer accompanied the groom and his entourage on their walk into the temple, where Kavya and her immediate family waited.
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- Right outside the temple, Eric was stopped by the bride’s attendants. In order to enter, Eric had to answer trivia questions related to Kavya! They started off easy (‘What’s her favorite ice cream flavor?’) but got specific REALLY quick (‘What was the make of Kavya’s first car?”). Everytime Eric missed a question, he had to pay up – literally!
Second Photographer: Natalie Rebecca Jackson of Four Corners Photography // Film Lab: Photovision // Videography: Elevated Solutions // Hair Design: Rebecca Campbell // Makeup Artistry: Sumer Azam // DJ: DJ Ameet
This is beautiful and unbelievable in every. single. way.
I was literally tearing up at the first few photos, especially the one with the faintest teardop on her cheek! This is insanely incredible; I didn’t want the pictures to end!! I don’t know how you got so many perfect moments, but you are amazing 🙂