This was an amazing fusion of Sikh and Hindu traditions! During the course of this one day wedding, the couple did both a Sikh and Hindu wedding with a mini reception all in one day! To top it off, the bride got ready in the morning in Palo Alto and the groom Hayward, before heading to the San Jose Gurdwara. After the Sikh ceremony, we went back to the groom’s house and then Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay where they got ready all over again for the wedding and reception!
During this Covid 19 Pandemic, the Gurdwara built a tent outside where they could still hold weddings. This was extremely important, as it meant that couples could still have a smaller, more intimate wedding without canceling the entire event. We also like it outside since the natural light does look better on skin tones than the indoor lighting at this Gurdwara. This tent allowed us to shoot maybe 5-6 weddings here during the Pandemic that otherwise would most likely have been canceled.
Just because these weddings are smaller and more intimate, doesn’t mean they still don’t follow all the traditions! The day before the ceremony the groom had his Maiyan ceremony and a Jaago at his home, and the bridea did a Pooja with her family and Haldi, along with getting Mehndi done. On the day of the ceremony, all the rituals were followed according to both Sikh and Hindu traditions.
We loved the beautiful mint green color palette the bride and groom wore, and their amazing decor and flowers by the Bay Area’s best, Flowers by Edgar and Fine Linen Creation! It was an all-star team for this gorgeous Fall Day!
Ritz Carlton is stunning and we are so happy the couple decided that the hour-long drive there from the rest of the Bay was not far enough to deter her to get married there! The Mandap was placed with the ocean directly behind the couple and it was the perfect backdrop for the Hindu wedding! Right next to it was their reception with amazing decor and fairy lights that draped the entire clear tent area. It was magical just as the sun was going down and the lights came on and there was a rich deep blue sky.
We have never seen the weather cooperate so well in Half Moon Bay! We made it down to the beach just in time for some amazing sunset portraits! In just a matter of minutes, we got some of our favorite photos and film shots there. Had we come just 15 minutes later, we would have completely missed the sunset!
Fortunately, for our film, the speeches at the reception gave us some soundbites that we would use to tell a better story. We always use the sound from the speeches, vows, card readings, etc, but sometimes at smaller events, there are no speeches or usable soundbites and our work misses that extra spice. Fortunately, we got it here and the film is much better because of it.
We hope you enjoy checking out some of our favorite shots from this amazing wedding and we will see you in the next one!
