Neil April 30th, 2007

The Thakrar family held a sumptuous wedding for their daughter Upta.

I say sumptuous, but maybe I should say scrumptious - I like the three square meal aspect of Indian weddings!

And as a wedding photojournalist, so many allegorical ceremony elements gives me lots of action to capture.

Ok so here’s some of the characters, that’s Upda looking like a bride and giving someone a wink as she’s escorted in by the boys - Amish her brother is picture right in the blue.

That’s Pravin, overlooking the guests, as Kenan (groom) holds hands with Upda under the cloth.

I loved all the mini traditions with a playful tone in this wedding.  The Thakrar’s practiced many of their ethnic traditions carried from their close knit Indian society.  Here is the start of something that ended with people wrestling over shoes….

Ok so here’s the real scene at this wedding - how many photographers can you count?

Since Pravin and Amish are photographers many of their friends are too. I was one of 7 or 8 photographers, there were two video guys and probably 10-15 more photographers simply in attendance. It was quite a fray, but if you were to compare our pictures, it’s unlikely two were similar as we each found a perspective and approach that expressed our own interests.

I also appreciate the performances by family members at the wedding, it’s an elegant touch that I’ve not seen in any other tradition.