Every time I book an event at Gardener Ranch in Carmel Valley, I feel so blessed to be a wedding photographer in the Bay Area. I absolutely love the outdoors, nature, and the beautiful trees and surroundings of where we live. Carmel Valley is one of my favorite areas and Gardener Ranch is one of our favorite venues. It has everything a photographer could want, is perfect for Indian events, and it’s getting more and more popular for Indian weddings.
Swetha and Ashu planned an amazing weekend that included events at both Gardener Ranch and Holman Ranch. These two iconic spots are the best venues in Carmel Valley for Indian weddings and we could not be happier that Swetha and Ashu chose to do their events at both locations!
The first event the couple held was their Sangeet night at Gardener Ranch. Prior to the party, the families exchanged gifts and did some Punjabi traditions because Ashu is Punjabi, while Swetha is Telugu. After welcoming gifts were given and the sweets had been exchanged, we went outside for some family portraits. Whenever we capture family images, we always do lots of family combinations and capture both posed and candid images.
It was during the “golden hour” of the day with perfect lighting on the property and we took the couple around getting shots of them at various spots on the grounds of Gardener Ranch. Each spot offers a unique and different sort of look so it is quite fun to play with a lot of different types of light to create a variety of images.
My absolute favorite shot is the one of Swetha and Ashu laying down in a bed of flowers. Once I saw it, I quickly asked Swetha if she would be okay with laying down in the flowers and she quickly exclaimed “yes”! We then called over Ashu because I wanted to get the shot as quickly as possible so that no damage was done to the flowers. Once they got up, the flowers perked right back up! It’s a timeless and romantic shot that exemplifies their calm demeanor and philosophical knowledge.
During the party, I had some fun with my drone and got both photo and video of the land, the venue, and the party. When I saw the cat drinking out of the pool, I just had to capture that too! We love capturing spontaneous moments like these.
When the actual program started it was extremely dark outside and everything was planned to take place by the pool. Thankfully, we always come with excellent lighting and our lights provided not just enough light for our cameras so properly expose the image, but also for their guests to see and enjoy the performances!
The night ended with dancing and mingling before everyone turned in for the big day the following morning.
Stay tuned for the next post where Swetha and Ashu had a fusion Punjabi/South Indian style wedding at Holman Ranch, just down the street from Gardener Ranch.
