Rachna and Todd's wedding

Rachna and Todd's wedding

Benham's Grove was the site Rachna and Todd chose for their wedding ceremony. It was a beautiful fall day.

Here are a few from their day ...

Of course, the shoes! Aren't they fabulous?

putting on her bangles ...

Rachna's father looking in to see her ...

Rachna's sister checking her hair in the mirror ...

Rachna's mother getting ready ...

Looking at the wedding gift from Rachna and Todd ...

This was my first time photographing at Benham's Grove. It is a beautiful setting ...

Todd's family getting ready ...

While I was inside with the ladies, Karen was with the guys. Here is Todd getting ready for the big event!

Todd's father was also his best man ... it just shows how close the family is. I love it!

back inside with the girls ...

I love the momentum in this photograph ...

Rachna and Todd exchange a journal on special events where each one writes a note to the other.

Rachna's sister helping her with her hair ...

a little prayer before going down the aisle ...

Todd and his mother coming into the ceremony ...

Rachna coming into the ceremony ...

Rachna waving the marriage paper ...

apparently the formals after the ceremony weren't as exciting as I thought :)

Some of the maid-of-honor's details ...

I love this next series ...

Rachna and Todd are such a gorgeous couple ...

Rachna and Todd decided to have their first dance and their toasts done out in the gazebo. Here is the shot of them getting their toasting glasses as they walk down for their first dance ...

first dance as husband and wife ...

Since Todd's dad was the best man ... he had quite a few stories to choose from when it came his time for the toast! Todd looks like he may have picked a good one!

the maid-of-honor's speech ... made everyone smile ..

their fabulous cake!

I love this next shot of them cutting the cake. I like that the video camera is partially in the shot. It kind of has a 'behind the scenes' feel.

speaking of behind the scenes ... I do like these shots too ...

Rachna dances with her father ...

Todd dances with his mother ...

Rachna and Todd, CONGRATULATIONS on a beautiful marriage. I wish you both all of the best and a lifetime of happiness. I had such fun and have never felt more welcomed into a family than I did at your wedding. You two and both of your families have touched my heart.

A thank you goes out to Karen for being right there with me to help me out!

Rachna and Todd's Indian blessing ceremony

Rachna and Todd's Indian blessing ceremony (Day 1)
Rachna and Todd hired me to photograph their wedding almost 2 years ago! I couldn't have been more 'taken' by Rachna and Todd when I met them. They are truly in love with one another and it shows in everything that they do. Once I met their families it was easy to tell where they got such warmth and compassion. I was welcomed into their home for the Indian blessing ceremony on the Friday before the wedding. It is most definitely one of the most unique things I have witnessed. There was much tradition and so much history behind everything that they did.

I'll start by telling you that it wasn't until I arrived at their home that I found out that Rachna's father is a photographer. Not just someone who happens to own a camera, but an amazingly talented wedding photographer. I think it goes without saying that I was both nervous AND honored to be the one chosen to capture such an important day in Sazro's daughter's life. I gave him kudos for being able to sit back, enjoy the weekend and let someone else be in control of the photography. I said I wasn't sure how I would do it when it came my daughter's time to marry. I am not sure what I loved more: photographing the wedding with all of it's tradition or watching him enjoy every moment of it. Please check out some of his work at: http://www.sazro.com/

Ok, onto some images ...

I decided to break their weekend into two posts. And while there were so many photos that I didn't get to post, here are some of my favorites that I want to share ...

The priest ... well, I had a sort of fascination with him. He was so interesting to photograph. I think I could have photographed him all day long ... here he is getting prepared.

Sazro helping with some of the preparations ...

Rachna and Todd seeing each other for the first time that day ...

Todd checking out her henna art ...

an overall shot early on ...

this is me getting tied with the 'protective string' ... and let me tell you how hard it is to manuever a heavy camera with one hand and still get your exposure ...

a shot of the priest from between Rachna and Todd ...

Have I talked yet about the fabulous light in this room? Wow. Amazing.

it was an emotional day and weekend ... lots of happy tears ...

I loved this shot after the ceremony in the backyard ...

again ... my fascination with the light. I loved the way it was falling on the flowergirl's face while she drew ...

Here's what I learned:

1. I want to somehow become a part of this family. I absolutely adored every last one of them!

2. At an Indian ceremony (of any kind, from what I understand), the photographer has free reign to go wherever the shot is. I was encouraged to get right in the action as opposed to trying my best to go unnoticed. I think I should photograph more Indian ceremonies. Great shots!

3. Indian ceremonies are immersed in color - beautiful, vibrant COLOR. It was fantastic!

4. Be careful when going outside in the wind ... I ended up with an eye the size of a golfball because something blew in it during our outdoor photographs. But don't worry, I still finished up the shots before going to the emergency room to get it looked at.

5. Outdoor ceremonies in the fall get 2 BIG THUMBS UP from me :)

History is made ...

Obama is elected president ...

The one amazing thing about this election is that we were going to make history no matter who won. Either by Obama being elected president and becoming our first African-American president or by Palin becoming the first female vice president. I was pretty excited about that aspect of the election this year. I think we were ready.

I love to collect newspapers from events like this ... so, I am going to head out and pick one up this morning.