Welcome to The Wedding Travelers!

Are some of you out there dying to see more from the weddings and portrait sessions we did while in India and Vietnam? Well, we finally managed to get through all the photos and put some up on our website. So if you head on over to www.robandlauren.ca, click on "weddings" and then go into the "photos" gallery you will see a ton of listing in our "international flavour" section! Lots of previously unseen photos in there, so go and check it out!

To whet your appetite, here are some previously unseen photos from India.

Enjoy!

Lauren :) 

Category: Weddings

Tags: aarti, assam, destination wedding, flowers, hinduism, india, indian wedding photography, jalandhar, photography, portrait, punjab, sikhism, travel, weddings

Hopefully I'll be getting a full post up really soon about this new wedding we shot a while ago. But for now a quick little note about how the learning process is never over when you are dealing with Indian weddings. 

As our recent bride was from South India (Andhra Pradesh) her traditions were totally different from anything we had ever seen.

Generally the chura (bridal bracelets) we see are red, plastic, and numerous, traditional especially of the North, Punjabi brides.

 And yet with this recent wedding, the chura were green, glass, and were only a few in number.

It's one of the most wonderful and baffling things about Indian weddings. No matter how much you think you know, and how many times you have seen things done one way, there is always the chance that you will be thrown a curve ball, and see something totally different and totally new.

Our biggest tip is just to be open, ready for anything, and shoot EVERYTHING!

Cheers, and we'll be back with more soon!

Lauren :) 

Category: Weddings

Tags: chura, india, indian wedding photography, weddings

Hey everyone! 

So we just finished our very first wedding of the year back home in Edmonton. It was a South Indian wedding, and I think we'll certainly have to post up some shots of that soon, because there were some really new traditions! But we ended up shooting for 18 hours yesterday, so we're obviously still a bit worn out! So that will come soon! For now I'll post up a couple new photos from the Taj Mahal shoot with Megha and Chakshu to tide you over!

Hope you enjoyed those! And check back soon for those new wedding pics! 

Category: Adventures

Tags: agra, indian wedding photography, photography, portrait, taj mahal, travel, weddings

Finally the time had come, and it was the day of the marriage ceremony. With Sikh weddings, the ceremony is supposed to be finished by noon, which always means an extremely early morning. We were up and ready and at Kimmi’s house by 6:00AM….We barely were even functioning! But we were able to get a really cute shot of this. It is tradition that the bride is lifted from the washroom by her uncle and brothers (and when I say brothers, I mean brothers in the Indian sense, which is really just any male cousins around her age).



Then as she ran off to the salon to get ready all the boys had their turbans tied. It’s really a funny process and I enjoyed getting to see it done! (I'm usually with the girls side, and have never seen it before!)


A quick cat nap for us as everyone finished getting ready, and then off to the location! It was just flat out incredible, an enormous colourful tent full of majestic benches and fans taller than a person!



The ladies were all waiting anxiously for the groom to arrive.



And when he arrived he arrived in style! There was a marching band that brought him in, complete with bagpipes, which were a bit strange to see in India, but neat nonetheless.



When the groom arrives his face is covered by the Sehra, which are garlands made of tinsel, beads, or sometimes even fresh flowers. He also carries a long sword, and I think he looks absolutely downright impressive!



Then the band threw up some ribbons and petals and marched around Harsimran and his mother as they greeted Kimmi’s family.



A nice shot of that sword.



Then the Milni took place. It involves the corresponding male members from each family (ie. Kimmi’s maternal uncle and Harsimran’s maternal uncle) greeting each other, putting flower garlands over each others neck…



And sometimes they take turns to lift each other way up in the air!


A close up of those garlands


Harsimran’s brother looks so happy in this shot, I love it.



And as this all went on Harsimran looked on.



Then, after the Milni was finished, it was time for the gals to have their fun. All the sisters and female cousins strung a long ribbon across the entrance to the tent to keep Harsimran from getting in.



He then had to bargain with them to get in. I’m not sure how much he had to pay, but in the end the girls all cheered loudly so I’m sure they were well compensated ;)



After everyone had some great breakfast the close family and the army of photographers and videographers headed off to the gurdwara for the actual marriage ceremony.



A few details from the ceremony. This is a chaur sahib, which they use to fan the book.


And the book itself: the Guru Granth Sahib. The text is treated as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs. It is not an object that is worshipped, but rather it guides Sikhs in prayer and worship. The text contains over 5000 shabhads, or hymns, that are set to classic music, which is why there is always music during Sikh ceremonies.


Here are the musicians playing.



One of the important parts of the ceremony is when the bride and groom walk around the book. This is similar to when they walk around the sacred fire in the Hindu ceremony, but here the bride is lead and helped along by her brothers as she makes her way around.


A neat shot of them walking.



Kimmi looked so happy and peaceful.



And the setting was so lovely.



One great thing was that all of the women were wearing different shades of pink. It looks so beautiful.



As I've just learned, there is no such thing as a priest in the Sikh religion. Rather, there is what is known as a granthi, who is someone who reads from the Guru Granth Sahib and takes care of it. Anyone can be a granth, as well as either gender. This is the granthi from Kimmi and Harsimran's ceremony. You can see that the Guru Granth Sahib is always covered overhead, and is on a raised platform. Everyone sits on the ground, at a lower level than the book, to show their respect.



Two of Kimmi’s fathers friends, who are holy men, attended the ceremony and blessed the new couple.



A neat shot of the whole setting.



Then after the ceremony was finished, the couple returned to the tent to see all of their guests. This time when they entered Kimmi was alongside Harsimran and his family.

It was a spectacular entrance. Kimmi told me she had wanted a ton of flower petals thrown on her, and she certainly got that.



And, of course, there was a bit of dancing.



But even though so much of the wedding is full of happiness, these weddings also have a ceremony marked by strong emotions. It is called the Doli, and it signifies the bride leaving her parents house to join her husband. We have, on many occasions, had a Doli that wasn’t too sad, but in many cases, as in this one, the couple plans to move very far away from home (these two are moving to California in a month) and so you can imagine how intense the feelings were. Kimmi was definitely overtaken by the emotion.



She and Harsimran sat together as they were fed sweets. But now that they were married they were finally able to hold hands.



And then they walked outside. Kimmi threw puffed rice behind her to signify prosperity, and the returning of what her parents have given her over all the years.

Then she got into the doli, which was carried by her male cousins. Her brother stood at the front to carry his sister away.



It was certainly very emotional, walking down the street as she was followed by her whole family.



Harsimran walked along beside her.


Kimmi and her father hugged goodbye.



And her brother led her to the car.


But not without a last hug from her mother.



Everyone was caught up in the emotion.



And then as the car drove off all her brothers and cousins pushed it away.





And one last one of the grandmas just hugging each other, a sweet way to end such a wonderful wedding.

At the end here I'd like to say an enormous thank you from Rob and myself to Kimmi, Harsimran, and their families for allowing us to be a part of this, and to Kimmi's family for taking such good care of us throughout the whole week. We were once again treated just like family, and always well looked after, and we couldn't have asked for more caring hosts. To our friends, the Mahajans, who let us stay in their palacial home, and were so kind and giving, an enormous thank you. And to everyone we met there, thank you for your friendship. I'm positive we'll all meet again some day! 

And that’s a Sikh wedding. I’ll probably be adding to this once I get home, since there are many more photos to add, but I hope you all learned something and enjoyed this! And as always, if you see anything that I got wrong, or anything I should add, please feel free to let me know! We’re all learning here ☺

Anyway, Rob and I are probably on a plane right now on our way home back to Canada. We really can’t believe it’s over already, and at the same time we can’t believe how long we’ve been gone from home. Things won’t end here, as we have much more to add to this website. We have reviews from our travels, of our gear, and where we stayed. We have hundreds more photos to share with you, and more descriptions of different weddings to fill you in on. So please stay tuned, and give us a shout if you have any suggestions. We can’t believe all the support we got throughout this whole trip, and want to extend a very heart-felt thank you to all of you who read along, even if you never commented! We weren’t doing this blog for ourselves, but rather to maybe spread the word about how cool Indian weddings can be, and how gorgeous this whole world is. I hope we succeeded!

Huge hugs and kisses from us, and when you hear from us next we’ll be back home! Yay!

Love,

Lauren & Rob

Category: Weddings

Tags: doli, gurdwara, guru granth sahib, india, indian wedding photography, jalandhar, photography, punjab, sikhism, travel, weddings

The next day was one of the most fun parts of an Indian wedding: the mendhi! Mendhi, more commonly known as henna, is a form of body beautification. A paste is made up of dried leaves of the henna flower, and then it is applied to the hands. When the paste first goes on and is wet it appears dark green.



As the paste dries, it turns black, and gets hard.



In order to let the colour get darker, you need to leave the paste on as long as you can. You can put on a mixture of lemon juice and sugar to keep the paste moist and sticking on the skin.



The designs are always different, and each hand is different. It’s really good fun to see all the ladies going around and comparing their patterns.


Here’s a shot of me that Rob really likes and wanted me to put up! You can see that I got my hands all covered in mendhi too, my favorite part of Indian weddings :)



The house was looking fab.



Then the girls started getting ready for the Maya. They made up a decorative design out of coloured powder to place in front of Kimmi’s feet.


It started off with Kimmi’s mom putting some oil in Kimmi’s hair with a small bunch of grass.



Then everyone took turns applying a paste made up of turmeric powder (which is called haldi in Hindi. If you’ve read my article on Hindu weddings you’ll realize that this Maya ceremony is essentially the same as the Haldi ceremony, just a different name for Punjabis!) and water.



Even covered with yellow goo, Kimmi still looked gorgeous and oh-so-happy.



Her mom tied a special bracelet around her wrist.


All the female sisters and cousins helped out.



Then it was time for the Chura ceremony. The chura are the special red and beige bracelets that a bride wears. Generally they are worn for as along as possible after the wedding. For some brides it is for a few days, for others it is a few months. Here the male uncles all touch the chura as they sit in a bowl of milk.


Then the brides maternal uncle puts the chura on.



And by now you should know what comes next. Party! Kimmi and her dad had a great time dancing together, with her mom looking on between them.


Even the grandmas get into the action.



Wedding houses are always lit up with gorgeous lights. Check out how spectacular the house looked.



And finally the kalirehs were tied on by the female cousins and sisters.



Kimmi hits her kalirehs above the heads of her un-married cousins for good luck, in hopes that they will get married soon.



According to a Indian bridal magazing we picked up here in Delhi, the shape of the kalirehs has a symbolic meaning. The top is shaped like a coconut, to show that the bride will always have food in her new home. There are metal pieces hanging from it, to show that she will always have wealth.


And a final shot of her gorgeous chura against her beautiful mendhi.



At this point all the events leading up to the big day had been completed. You could just sense the anticipation, as people tried to head to bed early for the wedding ahead. That means that dinner was held at 9:00 PM, instead of 11:00 PM! Lol. Indian people definitely tend to stay up late! We ducked out early, since we knew that we’d be getting up around 5:00 AM, and needed a ton of sleep. And it was well worth it, because the next day was just spectacular. Stay tuned for that!

Category: Weddings

Tags: chura, dancing, haldi, indian wedding photography, jalandhar, kalirehs, maya, mendhi, photography, punjab, sikhism, travel, weddings

The next day we got to rest during the day, which was much needed after the very long first day. And then it was time for the ladies’ Sangeet. Here everyone was really dressed in his or her finest and ready for a fun evening. Originally the Sangeet was only for the ladies, but these days both men and women attend, although the groom generally doesn’t come.

They started off the evening with a great round of dandia, a dance where they hit sticks together. I know that sounds strange, but it really looks like great fun.



This time the colour scheme was bright pink.



Kimmi’s younger brother was a fantastic dancer.



And everyone enjoyed bopping to some bhangra


Then they enjoyed the Jaggo dance. Here the ladies take turns holding a pot with lit candles on top of it, as they dance and twirl.





There is always great music and rhythm for these events. On the right side of this shot you can see a guy playing a dhol, and on the left side of the shot you can see a woman who is banging a stick against a big wooden tray. Tons of noise and fun.



Rob loves this shot. These guys asked for a posed shot, but we got this instead and find it so much more energetic. It’s like they are bursting out of the photo.



And to end off the night Kimmi’s brother (the one in the red) hopped up on stage and treated us all to a song.



And that’s the Sangeet! A time for everyone to have fun together, eat some great food, and dance and laugh before the wedding starts and everyone is stressed about getting things done on time.

Next up: the Mendhi, Maya, and Chura ceremonies

Category: Weddings

Tags: dancing, india, indian wedding photography, jaggo, jalandhar, photography, punjab, sangeet, sikhism, travel, weddings

In the evening following the Shagan everyone got dressed up and gathered at a hall for some more fun and frolicking. Oh, and also some ceremonies!

One big difference that we’ve noticed at the wedding’s we’ve attended here in India versus the Indian weddings we’ve attended in Canada is that here things are decorated much more elaborately. Manpower is an inexpensive cost here, so there are always armies of decorators putting together amazing themed rooms. For this ceremony the whole room was in tones of blue and silver, even with dolphins made of wire and cloth.



When Kimmi and Harsimran first entered they were offered these fantastic looking drinks. But they were both pretty nervous and not feeling like a bevy, so the waiters gave them to us! Score! They were very very tasty.



Kimmi looked flat-out, insanely, and mind-blowingly amazing. In this shot you can see Harsimran’s mother putting a necklace around Kimmi’s neck. She was given a full set of gorgeous jewelry, which was put on by Harsimran’s family.


Harsimran was looking great too. Nearly unrecognizable without the turban from the morning.



One of the important parts of this evening was the placing of the chuni (an elaborate shawl) on the bride by the groom’s mother. That is what is going on in this shot.



Then Harsimran placed sindoor (the bright red powder that married Indian women wear in their hair part) on Kimmi’s forehead.



And then they exchanged rings, just as we do in the West.



Kimmi and Harsimran’s mother.



Then, as with any Punjabi event, there is crazy dancing! Harsimran was picked up and paraded around.



And we even got into the spirit. This pose here is what the photographers at this wedding (there were about 6 besides us, plus 3 videographers, and 20 assistants…it was crazy busy) would always make people do. But they would actually stop them in the middle of dancing to make them pose like this for a shot! We’ve had people in Edmonton do the same pose as well…I think it’s supposed to make it look like your dancing. I find it pretty funny!



And thus ended that event. The next segment: the Sangeet (the ladies’ dance party!)

Category: Weddings

Tags: chuni, dancing, india, indian wedding photography, jalandhar, punjab, rings, sikhism, sindoor, travel, weddings