When you bring together a beautiful South Indian girl and a handsome Gujarati man you are destined for an awesome wedding with amazing wedding photographs!
We were so happy when we were commissioned to photograph Swetha and Sharin’s wedding that took place at the Livermore Hindu Temple followed by their reception at the Palm Event Center down the way in Pleasanton. These two are very easy going people who have a great love for one another that was easily apparent when we did their engagement session in Sausalito and SF a few months before.
The wedding day started off in typical South Indian fashion, extremely early! While the bride’s room was bustling with hair/makeup artists, and friends getting their saris pinned, the groom’s room……well, was perfectly clean and quiet! Sharin was hanging out just waiting for us to tell him when to get ready. Soon after his parents came to help him get dressed and his crew of groomsmen came to start the party!
What happens at most weddings is that the getting ready is calm and is on pace. At the time when the bride should be getting dressed things start falling behind schedule. Luckily we were still able to pull off an amazing first look, followed by photos of the bride and groom alone, as well as, bridal party shots prior to the ceremony.
The groom’s Baraat started at the Marriott hotel rather than just at the temple. That way they could get a little more wild and crazy before heading to the temple where they are surrounded by neighbors that don’t like a lot of noise. There though Sharin got on a horse and his procession made his way to the front of the temple where Swetha’s mom greeted him and they were ushered inside for the start of the ceremony.
While the groom did the Ganesh Pooja, the bride and her girls got a ton of photos while they waited for their queue to enter. This was a great time because it was not too hot yet and otherwise they would have just been sitting around anyways. We used every second we could to get as many shots as possible.
The ceremony lasted a couple hours and afterwards everyone ate lunch and then headed back to the hotel where we took some more bridal party photos and then shot the getting ready for the reception.
Once we got to Palm Event Center we shot all the gorgeous details and then also did a wonderful shoot with the entire bridal party. The lighting was amazing and the couple would do anything I said, even if it involved having Swetha stand in a thorny rose bush. She did it though and the shot is perfect! Actually she laid in a flower bed earlier in the day too. I almost forgot about that! Point being, she is a good sport and it is nice working with people who don’t stifle creativity. Did I wake up that day thinking I was going to shoot her in that spot? Absolutely not, but when I saw it I just had to have it and she obliged.
The event included tons of great speeches, performances, wonderful food, and of course, lots of dancing! My favorite part was when the couple joined their friends during the performances to bust their moves. I also really enjoyed the cake cutting because of the lighting and the fun they had together while doing it. I do want to give a shout out to Palm Event Center. Their staff is professional and wonderful to work with. They took care of us food wise and always are a pleasure so we thank them for that!
Swetha and Sharin are close by in San Francisco so we hope to see them at many more events in the future! Enjoy their beautiful Hindu wedding photos!
