Ashu & Garry’s Wedding - July 2-6, 2008

Ashu & Garry’s wedding was the event of the season, and we honestly couldn’t have made this post any smaller.  Every detail was stunning, and meticulous.  There are so many ceremonies and traditions that encompass a Sikh wedding, and we won’t be able to show you all of them.  The overwhelming theme, especially for Ashu and Garry, was the love and devotion between the two of them, and the joining of two families (and lots of dancing!).  Special thanks to Monica Dhamrait of Suhaag Weddings for making the event run so smoothly.  We recommend her very highly for any wedding, especially multi-day weddings.

Wednesday July 2 - Mendhi

The intricate wedding mendhi is applied to both sides of Ashu’s arms, and her legs.

Can you find Garry’s name on her hand?

Ashu wanted to have a posed photo with these little kids….this was the best we could do!  I love how Ashu is trying to corral them into place, without messing up her mendhi of course!

Thursday July 3 - Sangeet

The sangeet was held at Meridian Banquet Hall, which is an amazing reception location.  We love taking photos there.  The party was all about the details, including this fun cake topper.  Garry really wanted it on the wedding cake, but Ashu said no….only to surprise him by having it at the sangeet instead!

Ashu and Garry enjoyed performances from several of the young guests.

Then the jaggo dance started!  There were six jaggos at this sangeet, plenty for everyone to have a turn.

Ashu’s sister Joti, also recently married, had a turn with the jaggo.

Garry was in a mood to party!

Friday July 4 - Choora and Turmeric

During this ceremony, Ashu had the choora (the wedding bangles) put on by her maternal uncles.  She will wear these beautiful red jeweled bangles for 41 days to signify her status as a newly married woman.

Ashu’s brother puts the final few bangles on her.

After the choora, family and friends adorned Ashu with ‘kaliras’, similar to the ones you will see her wear on the wedding day.  Pretty tough to do any housework with those on (I think that’s the idea!).

Ashu’s kaliras were exceptionally long!

At Garry’s house, he had turmeric paste applied to prepare him for the wedding day.  Despite his frequent protests to stay away from his face, you can see he ended up being pretty well covered!

Saturday July 5 - Wedding!

Ashu and Garry both had killer shoes to wear!

Ashu had a lot to do to get ready, she woke up at 4 am! 

Ashu, leaving her parents’ house for the last time as a single woman.

The ceremony was at the Nanaksar Gurdwara North of Edmonton. What a stunning building.

Ashu and Garry both arrived in style, Garry wearing the traditional Sehra over his face.

Some of our favorites from the ceremony:

 

We got caught in a freak rainstorm at the Legistlature, but our huge group was unphased and waited out the storm so we could get all of our photos.  We were mostly all soaked, but thanks to the guys huddling together, (and our big golf umbrella) the ladies (and importantly Ashu!) stayed dry.

Just married, and totally in love.

Saturday July 5 - Doli 

For the last few East Indian weddings we have done, the groom has been from the United States, and the doli (the ceremony of the bride leaving her family home) has been very emotional, especially given the distance the bride has been moving away.  Even though Ashu and Garry are staying in Edmonton near to their families, their doli was tremendously emotional.  But before we get to that, let’s have some fun!

Before Garry was allowed to take Ashu away from her family, he had to agree to a price and pay her bridesmaids.  No easy feat, those girls are hard bargainers! 

It took quite a while, the guys decided to stall with some drinks, and then things got a little crazy with silly string EVERYWHERE.  One of Ashu’s young cousins decided it would be fun to smear some on one of our lenses.  All in a day’s work! 

In the end, they came to an agreement, and Garry cut the ribbon separating him from his bride.  I guess he prefers his OWN scissors….

Finally, it was time for Ashu to leave her family.  These shots speak for themselves.

I love these sweet moments at weddings: Ashu’s dad kissing her goodbye on the forehead, and looking on while she gets a hug from mom.

Sunday July 6 - Party!!  (aka Reception)

The stars were aligned for Garry and Ashu on Sunday.  It poured during the day, but the skies opened up and we were lucky to get some amazing shots of the two of them at Rundle Park before their reception.

Ashu’s awesome new Mercedes…

Many of you have seen their breathtaking movie-star entrance; here it is again.

Here are some cool shots of the hall.  We want to give some recognition to the companies that did an outstanding job at the wedding.  The decorator, Exquisite Creations, transformed the Meridian Banquet Hall into an ethereal dreamland.  There were not one, but two lighting technicians!  Moby Disc, and Infinite Events.  You’ll probably recognize some of the decorating touches if you look closely - Ashu & Garry had three large canvases at the entrace from portrait sessions with us, done in fall, winter, and spring.

 

The stunning cake was by Karin’s Festive Foods:

Some cake, some slow dancing….

…now let’s party!  Bring on the bhangra!

Whew.  5 days of wedding.  65 blog pictures.  One gorgeous couple.  We’re truly blessed wedding photographers!  Congratulations Ashu and Garry, we look forward to many years of family photos with you.