Vitaliy Pysmennyy

Apr 23, 20221 min

Indian Wedding in Vancouver, BC

Updated: Apr 29, 2022

Navin and Puja are down to earth people with genuine hearts. This is the most complete Hindu Indian Wedding experience that I can offer to you. I dare you to embark on this journey if you are ready to experience 36 different stories spanning four days. This wedding did not just take place in Vancouver, BC Canada, but also in Cleveland, Ohio @ the Intercontinental Hotel. Enjoy

Vancouver is a great photography destination. With its architectural elements and mountainous landscapes. This must be my favorite part of Canada.

Here's our bride prepping for Sangeet. Her Mehndi is done masterfully.

This night is all about dancing. But we had plenty of other things going on like a henna artist painting on hands.

Our groom comes over to all the partying.

Don't they look lovely?

Now on to the main day. Preparation shots. I love the pink colors chosen for her wedding dress.

Gorgeous bride

I like the tone this shot sets for the groom. But don't be fooled, he's a really nice guy.

Now that we are introduced to Navin, let's explore this friendly guy in more detail.

The area overlooking the harbor. We got lucky and had a water landing of small airplane.

He's walking his girl down the stairs. Look at all the blue buildings and artwork- it's definitely themed.

A little direction goes a long way for making couples naturally take over and just be themselves.

Reflections of a dip during the dance recital.

We get to spend a few hours together, create some memories, what's not to love about your day of the wedding photoshoot.

The detail is striking

A few formal shots before we proceed to celebrations

So many significant people at Indian weddings. I take all requests gladly and readily.

As we arrive at the reception we initially try to get all the family portraits done first. It doesn't take much time if done efficiently.

What a fun part of the wedding.

Mother and father of the bride put on a really funny dance performance. I remember the laughter after the moment in first photo

Here we can experience Dandiya, or Indian stick dance. Two lines are formed, people on opposite sides hit each other's sticks in choreographed movement.

We begin day three once again with detail shots of the outfits.

Everyone participates in helping the bride get dressed. You may recall Nikita (Puja's sister in the images one the right) I did her wedding a few years prior to this one, follow the link at the end to check it out.

This Mehndi artwork is surreal, but what's even more surreal is the beauty on the right.

Natural light portrait makes for even more natural images.

Meanwhile groom got ready at parent's house. It's ok to have one photographer as sometimes it's possible to capture these images sequentially.

At times I create the group shot outside the house. This one is taken from across the road.

We can see how much Nikita cares for her older sister. They both share laughter as she tidy's up her sister.

Mirrors let us capture more detail in a single shot. Of course plenty of detail here.

Once again we experience the Baraat. Groom rides a stallion to the wedding ceremony.

With Brock House in the background the crowd is close to the destination.

We arrive and some rituals are due.

It's the bride's parents that walk him to the mandap, or ceremonial tent.

the little pumpkins on the bottom left steal the show, but here Puja arrives and the cloth is lowered to reveal bride and groom to each other.

The couple exchanges the wreaths and get tied together.

These visual wide angle shots really put you right into the middle of the action as this Indian Hindu ceremony proceeds.

This flame consists of many different components to get the right scent. Bride and groom drop different organic food items into it.

things are finalized here

Rings are exchanged and bride feeds the groom, vice versa.

Now it's the family's turn to show some love to the bride.

Some portraits following the ceremony. We took some of them inside the Brock House.

If it looks like a fairy tale it totally is a real life fairy tale. A little magic can really bring everyone together for a group portrait.

Very emotional moments, can't stage these to be so perfect- they are candid. You can see how mother and father of the bride let go of their daughter.

Sharp image of the couple by the Rolls Royce. Brock House in Vancouver, BC is a great place to have your ceremony.

Navin and Puja sit in the back of the Rolls Royce as they are about to leave the ceremony location. It was raining so the droplets created additional effect on the car window.

When gifted with an opportunity to capture such a beauty, excitement must match the location. They run down the beach with masts of the yachts in the background.

What a great scene. I love experiencing these types of moments with the couples. North Shore mountains and multiple ships add to the overall appeal.

This wedding has two wedding receptions, we are on reception one that took place in Canada. These are some detail shots of reception hall.

Entrance was energized. Notice Navin no longer has his beard. It is common for a groom to shave at Indian weddings.

They cut the cake.

And first dance, notice how beautiful is the couple of course, but also the lighting.

These dance moves are just spectacular.

Father daughter. Once this one is let go, no more girls are left in the family besides the girl that stole his heart to begin with.

And mother son dance

These speeches are especially important because they are told by the closest members of the family.

A couple of nicely positioned group shots before we rip this floor to pieces.

Performances, dances and partying like its a frat party- I love Indian weddings.

We round up the night with some more shots of our guests and family members.

You may recognize CLE. Yes, this is how we started the second half of the wedding. Wade Oval has many elements that can be used as props for interesting shots like these.

University Circle area by Case Western Reserve is beautifully landscaped for these simple but effective "walking-away" shots.

More opportunities to rehearse the dances. Cleveland Art Museum with it's marble walls creates a soft backdrop to this romantic idea.

I put couples in these creative spots to create opportunities for them to enjoy each other. I mean, it's normal for couple to sit on the bench and embrace each other, but if they are sitting on a high ledge any wrong movement could result in consequences- great opportunity for creating fun.

Intercontinental Hotel and Banquet Hall is a great place for this Indian Wedding Reception

Ice sculptures, floral arrangements, uprights, it all comes together to set the mood.

The walk-ins and the words of wisdom from the fathers.

This birthday cake for the father of the bride is cut with Indian traditions his loving wife feeds him. That belly dancer girl is very talented.

Now for the main sweets, sweet little couple cutting the cake right there.

This is the second first dance so you're seeing the pro's right there.

Family group shots, whether close-ups or full body photos are a must for my Indian clients. I find the best place and light for these.

And the rest of important people. There were a ton more images that were taken, but you can see how this book is already 72 pages long.

We complete our beautiful wedding of Navin and Puja with this finalé shot. It was taken earlier at the Wade Oval, but with camera mastery I made it look like it's dusk.

Nikita is Puja's little sister, but she married Nikhil earlier, I happen to be her photographer as well, check out her wedding here.

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