Kelowna wedding photographer capturing Indian mehndi reception

How can a destination wedding photographer based in Vancouver become Kelowna wedding photographer? Simply put he needs to photograph there.

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I have been living in Vancouver since 2002 yet not so many knows that there was a time when I used to live in Kelowna as well. It was during the time of the big fire as many of you can remember from 2003 summer. A lot has changed in this very unique Canadian town, surrounded by Okanagan lake and endless vineyards yet it still gets very hot here during the summer.

When I was asked by my friend Pardip the principal wedding planner from Big Phat Indian Weddings to photograph Anu+Sachin multi day Indian wedding at Delta Hotels by Marriott Grand Okanagan Resort the summer heat was the first thing which came to my mind. Well that was not actually the case since this wedding celebration took place this April.

The story of this couple starts a bit earlier this year when they flew to Vancouver from Saskatchewan to have their engagement portraits photographed by me. And if you know how tricky this winter was, we got a rainy weekend instead of sunshine here and so we photographed in the rainy Vancouver streets and the couple was so genuine and put up with the chilli conditions very brave way.

Fast forward and we arrived to Kelowna for their wedding day. Guess what, the weather was again chilli but luckily this time we had sunshine above us. Sun was kind of important since the wedding ceremony was supposed to take place outside on the patio of Delta hotel. But that will be part 2 blog post which you can find here in couple weeks.

For now here is a short sneak peak story from their first part of the wedding celebration. The Indian wedding last more then a day, and this Hindu couple has chosen to stretch it over three days.

Friday guests flew from all over Canada to Kelowna and the welcoming cocktails took part at one of the most scenic places in Okanagan Valley – Summer Hill estate winery.

Originally S+A wanted to get married here yet due to their big wedding party they would not be able to accommodate their needs so luckily they found Delta Hotel with their huge ballrooms for that.

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The next day started at Delta hotel with traditional Poojan ceremony for the bride and groom.

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Poojan or pooja is a prayer ritual performed by Hindus to host, honour and worship one or more deities, or to spiritually celebrate an event at this time a wedding celebration.

It is a sacred event and can be very rewarding to watch how members of the family take a place in it. After performing first part both groom and bride then had their pithi ceremony which as described by Huffingtonpost – it is an auspicious ritual performed for good luck before the wedding. Some of these ceremonies are well known for being quite a messy events yet in S+A case both went very intimate way and family and friends wished good luck to them in very genuine way with lot’s of laughs and hugs shared in ballroom. Being Kelowna wedding photographer who love journalistic style for photographing ceremonies these kind of moments are precious.

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I honestly believe you need to part of this ceremony at least ones to fully live the atmosphere and energy which is around bride and groom during this time. As Kelowna wedding photographer who photographed here numerous times, this was the first time I had a chance to witness this ceremony inside the Delta Gran hotel ballroom and everything went so smooth and cheerful despite the hotel management worrying about the fire hazard issue from open candle fire during the first par of the ceremony. Nothing got on fire and memories will last forever.

What can be a great wrap for a day like this like a Mehndi evening gala with all the saris and lingas, ladies having henna applied to their hands and delicious wines and food ready for festivities. These evenings are very casual and loud. For the entertainment mixture of traditional Indian wedding songs and dances were exchanged with  XFusion Road show  hits and noise Armageddon which will not leave you sitting, trust me on this one.

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What did I tell you, what an amazing Mehndi wedding reception it was. Guests having great time, bride and groom burning energy on dance-floor, love and happiness shared around the hotel anywhere you looked.

I had an absolute joy to photograph it and these are just couple of teasers I posted in this blog and hundreds more of these candid moments are waiting for bride and groom to enjoy with their families soon.

The part two, the actual wedding day ceremony at very unique mandap outdoor Delta Granhotel patio will be here in couple weeks. Does this story make me a Kelowna wedding photographer again? One might say so, and even though I am based in Vancouver hey, I will see you Okanagan again in couple months when I have another big wedding at Manteo resort this August. That my qualify me as real Kelowna wedding photographer 🙂 for this season. Thank you for visiting. Cheers.