lucida-photography »

First of all thank you so much for the lovely comments on the last post! Secondly, I am sad to say that this will be the last appearance of Amish and Natisha on my blog in a bride and groom capacity, but I’m sure they will be happy to finally to get their discs. I just want to mention that on this last day of their wedding I had the great pleasure of working with Patrick Moreau of Still Motion, which if you don’t know is a company which provides possibly the best wedding cinematography in the world. Happily, they are a Canadian enterprise, but based in Ontario. Casey Warren of Mind Castles Studios was also there to help with video. Working *with* these gentlemen was fun and even inspiring… and not just because I had a cameo in the SDE (same day edit) played at the reception!

Now the images. As you can see we were working with a complete aesthetic flip from the wedding day: less colour, less sun, more open space.

Natisha’s sister.

Amish strikes a tree pose.

Near the end of the shoot we were swarmed with insects and the rain began to fall. We ran for cover and were shooed away by security. I love this series of the bride and groom determined to make the most of the shooting time…until Amish just can’t take the bugs in his nose any longer.

Leaving in a hurry meant that Amish’s dad got away with white socks. His wife quickly blocked them in the next picture snapped, so I hope Amish’s mum doesn’t mind that I’m posting this.

Yours truly covered in dirt and probably bugs, with the handsome couple. My feet were so sore at this point I had to opt for the orthopedic cork sandals. Good times though, and I’m glad to have the photo.

I am pleased to bring to the light of the web a piece of the 40 something colourful gigabytes which are the images from Amish and Natisha’s wedding. This was my first multi-day Indian wedding and my first wedding shot entirely in RAW, at Amish’s request and I won’t soon forget it! The ceremony was held on the deck of Canada Place overlooking Coal Harbour which was fantastic for two reasons: first of all the breeze off the water kept us all relatively cool on one of the hottest days of the year, but just as importantly, the location was significant for Amish and Natisha. It was a favourite meeting spot when they were but teenagers, and where they shared their first kiss!

I have started with a generous helping of Natisha’s preparation shots since I was in awe of how she looked in her ornate multi-coloured ensemble which she had purchased in India. What a colour buzz! I will write more between the photos below…

The crinoline was Natisha’s twist on a traditional outfit, which I loved. The hard search for a red crinoline was worth it!

Amish drives over a coconut on his way to the ceremony

Amish always has one hand on some kind of telecommunications device—here he balances that with a coconut in the other.

Waiting for the elevator up to the deck.

The best man had access to hand-cuffs (in a professional capacity) and used them to secure the groom’s shoes which would inevitably be stolen by the girls and held for ransom.

Amish is screened as Natisha is walked down to the mandap by her aunt and uncle.

They circle the fire

The handcuffs are tested. I quickly discovered that the shoes were serious business, and that the handcuffs were not unwarranted.

The bartering for the shoes

It took FOREVER for the valet at Pan Pacific to fetch the car. We were all pretty warm and dehydrated at this point, but Natisha and Amish were good sports during the portrait session after—although they may claim not remember much of it now.

Returning at the end of the day to Amish’s parents’ house

Here are links to some of the fantastic vendors who contributed:
Florist (wedding and reception)
Shani Nakade for Prickly Pear

Event Coordination (wedding and reception)
Sharon Liew and Laura Takasaki, Imagine That Events

Hair and Makeup
Ranjit Heer, MakeupVibez
Shaifa

Catering
Tandoori Kona (great lunch specials, and the best palak paneer -tucked in a plaza at No. 5 road and Cambie)

Tents and Rentals
Canadian Tent

Drum roll please! This is the first of three installments of Amish and Natisha’s traditional Hindu wedding at the end of the season. They have been very patient with me. Amish is also a photographer and has been assuring me that receiving his images would only distract from his own post-production, but the time has come. The post starts with some shots from a mehendi party several days before the wedding at which we all enjoyed delicious food which probably took several days to prepare, and women gathered in the living room to get their mehendi done… including me ( : Natisha’s mehendi was provided by www.basidesigns.com while the other ladies were decorated by www.hennabyhini.com.

This next series is from the Thursday before the wedding. There were ceremonies at Amish’s parents’ home during the day which I unfortunately don’t know much about, but you can see that one of them clearly involves the smearing of yellow paste all over him. This is pithi! There were fire offerings too, and a priest who made my name known to everyone by the end of the day since he was kind enough to alert me to important moments in the ceremonies I should photograph– pausing to call me over. I appreciated this!

That evening family and friends convened at the UBC Boathouse for Garba night—a fantastic dance party with sticks. Before the dancing, however, Natisha was seated in the middle of the room and the women of Amish’s family brought her gifts in a short ceremony. Next installment: wedding day.

Ying and Quang’s wedding was a wonderful way to finish off my conventional wedding season. (When I say conventional I mean summer and I mean one-day weddings.)

We started off at Ying and Quang’s condo in Richmond where they got ready in opposite ends of the house– Wedded Bliss did a marvelous Job of the girls’ hair and makeup. We had sunshine in a field and at the beach, and threatening clouds at a school. Our second location was at the elementary school where Ying and Quang met in grade two I believe!

The fabulous Terminal City Club on West Hastings was the venue for three official events, all in different rooms. I have included several tea ceremony shots since I am particularly partial to this custom, and I photographed only two this year. Family participation in a wedding ceremony can enhance the significance of the ritual, but it is often difficult to incorporate into established Western traditions. The tea ceremony, however, is the perfect context for the exchange of respect, affection and tradition between generations during the wedding process, punctuated by the exchange of tea and gifts. This tea ceremony was held in a small room upstairs which had large windows and a greenish hue to the furnishings which contrasted beautifully with the red clothing, and the civil ceremony was held downstairs in a lovely room adjacent the ballroom. Since they had booked a room upstairs in the club, Ying was able to go upstairs and change outfits as needed. As lovely as all of this is, the food is probably the best thing about the TCC. Check out the made-in-house desserts!