» Asian Wedding Photography

Sunita & Ravinder | Engagement Shoot Part 2

Beautiful Life — Tue, 03 May 2011 08:25:11 +0000

Yesterday I posted Part 1 (VIEW PART ONE) of Sunita and Ravinder’s Indian engagement celebrations. As promised here is part 2. After the dancing we headed out into the city for some photo’s. I love engagement sessions, and this one in particular was completely awesome! Engagement sessions are a great chance to have fun and be creative. For us wedding photographers its often a chance to experiment a bit, you have more time than on a wedding shoot and with a little bit of planning you can create a set of unique and interesting images with a personal touch. This shoot was a cross between an engagement session and a wedding shoot as we were limited time wise as the guests were waiting to carry on the party.

Talking to Sunita before the event I discovered she worked in the Film, TV and Theatre Industry making costumes, props etc. Sunita specialises in Prosthetics, Make-up and Animatronics, working on the skins of humans, animals and creatures to make them look real. She has worked on films such as Harry Potter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the soon to be released Xmen and Theatre productions such as The Lion King! What an awesome job!! Like me she has a background in textiles and art and also shares my love of all things vintage in planning for the wedding she had been overdosing on old classic hindi films and music videos on you tube for inspiration. Sunita particularly likes the actress Mumtaz and the video she is in called Bindiya Chamkegi, Sunita said it reminded her of the films her Mum used to watch and she loved the look of the 60′s and 70′s Indian clothes. Sunita found her sari whist shopping in London with her Mum, it was new but had the vintage feel she was after, her jewellery also had an old fashion look almost Mogul. When it came to hair do’s Sunita went big! She said when she showed Zainab her hairstylist the images she’d collated she was really excited because she loves doing bee hives! Zainab was also coincidently, distantly related to Mumtaz! Anyways a big thank you to Dollymix Vintage for letting us loose in their shop with the cameras! and another big thank you to Sunita and Ravinder for being so much fun and sharing your day with us. I did get a little giddy, what can I say – I love my job!

Just love this image, that mannequin is so nosey!

Ravinder looks like he belongsTe he! got to love those silly moments!

Oh such a lovely couple and so full of love for each other, congratulations!

© 2011 Beautiful Life Video and Photography
Creative Asian Wedding Photography and Asian Wedding Videos throughout the UK
Beautiful Life cover many different types of English and Asian Weddings. Please contact us if you would like more information on our services.

Raj and Shital’s Hindu Wedding

Beautiful Life — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:48:38 +0000

A gorgeous Autumn day, the sun was shining! Raj and Shital held their indian wedding ceremony at the new Judgemeadow College in Leicester. Indian weddings are filled with lots of beautiful colours, emotion and laughter which always creates fantastic opportunities for capturing natural imagery. Congratulations to Raj and Shital and thank you for making me feel so welcome throughout your day.

On arrival the Groom is escorted to the Mandap

Kanyadaan or entrustinig of the daughter is where consent for the continuation of the wedding is given by the brides parents. They give their daughter to the groom by placing her right hand into the Grooms right hand (Hastamelap) whist saying sacred verses. The curtain separating the Bride and Groom is then lowered and garlands are exchanged.

Ganthibandhan (Tying the knot) is where the priest ties a knot which is a symbol of union between the Bride and Groom as husband and wife.

Agni Puja (Holy Fire). The priest starts a fire in a Kund. The fire symbolises the illumination of the mind, knowledge and happiness.

Laja Homa. The Bride and Groom place rice into the sacred fire.

Mangalfera. (Walking around the Fire). Each time they stop they place their toes on a stone in their path which represents overcoming obstacles together.

The bridegroom blesses the bride by placing Sindhur at the parting of hair on her forehead. He places a necklace on here (Mangal Sutra) which represents togetherness, love and sacred union.

Chathurthi Karma is where the bride and Groom feed each other four times representing nourishment for the body and soul.

Aashirvaad (Blessing). This is where the priest blesses the Bride and Groom as flower petals and rice are thrown.

Viddai (Brides departure) This is a very emotional time. Family and friends say goodbye to the bride as she leaves her parents home and begins a life with her husband and his family.

Part way through the day we went to the Botanical Gardens in Leicester to shoot some wedding portraits. With the sun shining and the leaves turning red and gold it was a gorgeous backdrop for photographs. If you are planning some Bride and Groom portraits as part of your wedding day then having a great location picked out can make all the difference. Locations can be serene and beautiful or urban and gritty and anything in between. Be creative and plan this time into your day, we recommend around 30 minutes. We do offer a practise run in the form of an free engagement shoot which can be really useful to help you relax in front of the camera.

© 2010 Beautiful Life Wedding Video and Photography
Asian Wedding Video and Asian Wedding Photography. Full UK Coverage
If you would like to find out more about Indian Wedding Photography and Hindu Wedding Photography then please contact the office on 01509 505438.

Olid’s Mehendi Ceremony

Beautiful Life — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:40:21 +0000

As promised a few pics from Olids Mehendi ceremony. Wedding day Photos coming soon.

Amy’s Mehndi Ceremony

Beautiful Life — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:41:55 +0000

Bengali Wedding – Bridal Mehndi Ceremony

Just a few days before Christmas we headed to St Albans to Photograph and film Amy’s Mehndi Ceremony. We set off from Leicestershire in the rain but as we headed south the snow got thicker and thicker. St Albans was a complete winter wonderland, really pretty.

The Mehndi ceremony is part of the Bridal preparations and usually takes place just before the wedding. As we arrived preparations were under way, the stage was decorated with amazing fruit displays, candles and flowers and then Amy arrived, she looked amazing. All her family and friends took part in the ceremony exchanging fruit and sweets with each other. Then the Grooms family arrived bringing with them gifts of food. The Mehndi was applied to Amy’s hands and the evening ended with a lovely meal. The details and the colours were stunning, I couldn’t decide which photo’s to post so I put lots of little shots into a montage which gives an overall impression of the evening.

Watch this space as I also photographed Olid’s Mehndi a few days later, photo’s coming soon.