Jasmine and Paul’s traditional Sikh Wedding (Anand Karaj) took place at Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Kent, WA. It was a ceremony of Sikh traditions and readings from the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh Holy Book).

The wedding day began with Jasmine getting her hair styled by the brilliant and talented stylist, Eve Whittington. Eve is based out of NYC and has an amazing portfolio. Make-up artistry was done by the creative Svetlana, based out of WA. They both did an excellent job, and were very fun to work with during the day!

At every Indian wedding, whether Sikh or Hindu, I always look forward to seeing the bride’s Mehndi (Henna). It takes a true artist with a steady hand to apply the paste, which results in a beautiful design. Henna has been used to celebrate auspicious occasions in India and the Middle East for hundreds of years. In fact, there are some accounts of henna being used prior to the 12th century. Traditionally in Sikh and Hindu weddings, the mehndi is applied to the hands and feet of the bride. Not only does it create intricate and beautiful make-up, it also symbolizes the love between bride and groom (husband and wife).  **I’m working on an upcoming blog post dedicated to mehndi (henna) – stay tuned.

Jasmine’s mehndi was done by Natasha. I’ve worked with Natasha for a few weddings, and she is an artistic professional with a warm personality. She always does a great job!

The Anand Karaj, or Sikh wedding ceremony, took place at the Gurdwara. The following pictures show the bride and groom sitting in front of the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh Holy Book) as well as traditional musicians playing classical hymns taken from the Granth Sahib.  The Granth Sahib is written entirely in poetic prose, and each section is a unique raag (rhythm).

Some Sikh families follow the tradition of a Dholi, where the bride leaves her parent’s house to go live with the groom’s family. Although nowadays, the bride may not actually live with the groom’s family, the tradition is practiced on the wedding day.  The groom arrives at the bride’s home where he is greeted by her sister and family members.  The bride is inside the house, but before the groom can see her, he must give a gift to the sister.  This is a fun time, where everyone jokes around and the sister usually tries to get the best possible gift. Nothing is actually taken seriously, and it is more of a fun tradition, than anything.  Upon receiving her gift, sister feeds the groom something sweet (traditionally an Indian dessert), whereupon the groom enters the house.    When leaving the house, the bride sits in the car and her family members take turns saying goodbye.  This can be an emotional time for the family and bride. The brothers, uncles, and father help push the car as it leaves the house.

After the wedding Dholi, we drove to the incredible Seattle waterfront, where we took some fun photos of the bride and groom. The following photos show the bride and groom wearing their traditional Indian (Sikh) wedding clothing at the beach.  Although traditionally, Indian wedding Lehenga’s are red, we’re seeing many more colors. Regardless, Indian weddings are definitely bright and colorful, which only adds to the festive feelings and emotion throughout the day.

The wedding reception took place at the Seattle Exhibition Center, next to the Space Needle in downtown Seattle. It was a grand reception with a delicious spread of cupcakes, food, and drinks. Guests danced to bhangra songs late into the night as they celebrated this special wedding day!

Thank you, Jasmine and Paul, for allowing me to photograph your beautiful Indian wedding in Seattle. Sikh wedding’s have so much energy and I love being able to photograph the special moments and traditions.

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Runeet and Mayank’s reception was so much fun. I immediately noticed that both families love to have a good time and dance. As soon as the first beat of music hit, the entire dance floor was full, and remained that way for the entire night. Everyone was dancing- young, old, men, women, aunts, uncles, children, friends, and family. Good music and lots of laughing, drinking, and good times!  I’ll admit… it was really tough to not join the dancing, especially when everyone was having such a good time!!  The reception was so much fun, and that was thanks to all the family and friends who made it special!

The pictures below are just a tiny glimpse into the fun times during the reception!

While Runeet was getting ready, Mayank and his family arrived at the Gurdwara and were greeted by the priest and Runeet’s family. A quick prayer was performed and then everybody was served chai and appetizers.

The music began in the prayer hall and the guests arrived, followed by Mayank, who sat in the front center. Runeet entered, followed by her closest relatives and sat next to Mayank. The beautiful ceremony began with prayers, followed by music and hymns.

Alex and Jamie have a classic high school love story.  They started dating young, during their freshman year of high school (2003), and got married 7 years later, in 2010.  It’s the fairytale story that only seems to happen in the movies. Alex and Jamie both grew up in the small town of Bellingham, WA, where they began making memories together by going to proms, school dances, and football games. You know, the things we all do in high school. Growing up in Bellingham, they have always been supported and surrounded by good friends and family.  Every wedding has something that makes it unique and special, and for Alex and Jamie, the underlying charm was friendship.

Alex has grown up with his groomsman, and they’ve been through countless adventures together. Because they knew each other so well, the depth of their friendship was at the forefront all day. Actually, there were many times that I couldn’t hold back the laughter at some of the things they did. In fact, I want to create future blog post dedicated solely to the groomsman and their funny antics of the day.  The guys were absolutely great, and I had a great time hanging out with them.

Friendship at the wedding went far beyond the groomsman.  Because Alex and Jamie grew up in Bellingham and went to the same school, they had many mutual friends. It seemed like everybody knew everybody, and that made for some good ole’ fashion fun! The speeches were hilarious, the jokes were funny, and the entire sentiment of the day was that of love and companionship.

Thank you, Alex and Jamie, for giving me the opportunity to capture these memories of your wedding day.

It was so easy to see the friendship these guys had with Alex, and with Jamie. Everything with this group was so easy. They had fun together, and they were all genuinely happy for their friends, Alex and Jamie.

The venue, Evergreen Gardens, was absolutely beautiful. There was a log cabin surrounded by huge cedar trees that seemed to reach up and touch the sky. It provided the perfect backdrop for this outdoor, country-wedding.

The giant cedar trees provided the perfect backdrop for Alex and Jamie’s wedding. The sun seemed to echo the feelings at the wedding, providing warmth and joy, all day long.

By far, some of the funniest reception speeches I’ve heard in a long time. Everyone was laughing, toasting, and having a great time as they honored Alex and Jamie’s marriage. Because everyone at the wedding were such good friends, the speeches were free-flowing and everyone was happy.  There was one moment, when each of the groomsman stood up and went to hug Alex’s mom. A testament to the years of friendship they have with each other.