{"id":841,"date":"2011-11-03T19:52:20","date_gmt":"2011-11-04T02:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/?p=841"},"modified":"2014-10-05T15:05:18","modified_gmt":"2014-10-05T22:05:18","slug":"indian-sikh-wedding-photography-sangeet-maiyaan-baraat-milni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/?p=841","title":{"rendered":"Celebrations of a beautiful Sikh Wedding- Sangeet | Maiyaan | Barat | Milni | Anand Karaj"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mick and Karen\u2019s Sikh wedding in Fresno, CA, was overflowing with excitement and joyous traditions.\u00a0 The photographs in the previous post show their traditional wedding mehndi <\/strong><\/a>(henna). The day after mehndi was applied, each family performed the Vatna<\/strong>, Maiyaan<\/strong>, and Sangeet<\/strong>, followed by the Anand Karaj<\/strong> (Sikh wedding ceremony<\/em>). Below are photographs from each of these Indian wedding ceremonies<\/p>\n

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Vatna<\/h2>\n

The vatna<\/strong><\/em> is a traditional ritual where a yellow turmeric paste is rubbed on to the bride and groom\u2019s face, arms, and legs. The turmeric, flour, and mustard oil paste is applied to make the skin look radiant for the wedding. In essence, it can be compared to going to a spa before the wedding.\u00a0 Prior to the vatna, the bride\/groom\u2019s aunts, cousins, and sisters created a beautiful design, called a rangoli<\/strong><\/em>, using multi-colored sand. The rangoli<\/em> laid at the feet of the bride and groom as family members applied the vatna (turmeric paste<\/em>).\u00a0 The pictures below show Mick and Karen\u2019s rangoli as well as family members applying the vatna.<\/p>\n

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\"colorful-rangoli\"<\/a>

The multi-colored sand drawing is called a Rangoli, and is common for Sikh weddings. It\u2019s created at the feet of the bride, where it will remain until the Vatna ceremony is completed. Afterwards, it will be swept by the bride’s mother.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"vatna-yellow-swept-rangoli\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Sikh<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Sikh<\/a>

Everybody in the family takes turns applying the vatna onto Karen’s skin.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Sikh-wedding-vatna\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Sikh<\/a><\/p>\n

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Sangeet | Maiyaan<\/h2>\n

The sangeet\/maiyaan was a ceremony of dancing, singing, celebration, and delicious food. Karen\u2019s sangeet and maiyaan were held at her home, whereas Mick\u2019s family held theirs in a banquet hall.\u00a0 (Traditionally, the groom\u2019s family would do this at their own house, but considering Mick\u2019s house is in Seattle and the wedding was in Fresno, it would have been a long commute<\/em> \ud83d\ude42 )<\/p>\n

To begin the evening of dancing and celebration, the maternal side of each family brought out the jaggo<\/em>.\u00a0 The jaggo<\/em> is a lit lantern held on top of the ladies\u2019 heads. In India, the ladies will dance through the village with this jaggo (lit lantern) to let everyone know about the wedding.\u00a0 Karen\u2019s family actually walked through the neighborhood, singing, dancing, and carrying the jaggo! How awesome is that?!!!!\u00a0 So much fun!<\/p>\n

\"Sikh-Jaggo-maiyaan\"<\/a>

The jaggo (lit-lantern) can be seen above. Some people choose to use candles, others use lights. I love that Karen’s family followed the tradition of having the ladies walk through the neighborhood while singing songs. It was awesome to see them walking through the streets, dancing, and passing the jaggo from one lady to the next.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Wedding Day<\/h2>\n

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On the wedding day, Karen wore a beautiful red Anarkali lehenga along with a beautiful gold necklace and gold earrings.\u00a0 Her outfit perfectly complimented Mick, who wore a traditional Sherwani<\/em> and red turban.\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice a plume of white feathers on his turban. This is called a kalgi, which was put onto his turban by his sister, Kim. Mick wore it until he entered the Gurdwara, at which time Kim removed it from the turban.<\/p>\n

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\"Karen<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Putting<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Earring,<\/a><\/p>\n

\"smiling<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Mick's<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Tying<\/a><\/p>\n

\"groom<\/a>

groom is holding a traditional Sikh sword called a “Kirpan”<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"putting<\/a>

Groom’s sister putting the white Kalgi onto groom’s turban<\/p><\/div>\n

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Bharaat | Milni<\/h2>\n

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After Karen finished getting ready, her family took her to the Gurdwara (temple) where they waited for Mick\u2019s family to arrive.\u00a0 The groom is accompanied by his family and friends as they travel to the temple. This is called the baraat<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Mick carried a ceremonial sword and arrived on a white horse.\u00a0 It was an amazing sight- full of smiles, laughing, and positive energy as Mick’s wedding party danced to the sounds of a beating and rhythmic dhol. Traditionally, the groom is accompanied by a young nephew or cousin, who also wears similar clothing as the groom. He is called the “shabbala<\/em>” or caretaker of the groom. You can see him in the pictures of Mick\u2019s baraat.<\/p>\n

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\"baraat<\/a>

The Baraat began at the hotel. Here, Mick’s family led him to the car, where he and his mom drove to a location near the temple. Once they reached the Gurdwara, Mick got onto a white horse, and his entire wedding party, consisting of family and friends, followed him to the Temple. Meanwhile, Karen’s family was waiting at the Gurdwara to receive and welcome Mick’s family.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Dancing<\/a>

Mick and his Shabbala rode the white horse to the Gurdwara. They were surrounded by their family, who danced in the streets. In this picture, you can see Mick’s sister, Kim.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"baraat<\/a>

The baraat walked down the street, laughing, dancing, and singing as they made their way to the temple.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"elegant<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"baraat<\/a><\/p>\n

\"family<\/a>

The baraat danced to the sound of the Dhol. The Dhol is a tradition Indian (Punjabi) drum used for dancing and celebrations. The sound is very loud and carries a strong upbeat, fast tempo. It’s impossible not to dance when you hear the dhol. The gentleman playing this dhol is one of the best I’ve ever heard. He was very, VERY good.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Upon reaching the temple, Mick\u2019s family was greeted by Karen\u2019s family and the priest, who said a prayer of blessing (Ardaas<\/em>).\u00a0 The milni<\/strong><\/em> is a formal meeting of both families.\u00a0 The fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and cousins exchanged fresh flower garlands.\u00a0 This is a happy occasion where the families are excited to meet each other. Sometimes, in India, it was here that some family members met for the first time. Once the garlands have been exchanged, the brides family offers sweets to the groom’s family as a welcoming and blessing.<\/p>\n

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\"milni<\/a><\/p>\n

\"exchanging<\/a><\/p>\n

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Anand Karaj | Blissful Union (Sikh Wedding ceremony)<\/h2>\n

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The Sikh wedding ceremony is called the Anand Karaj which is directly translated as “blissful union.”\u00a0 The ceremony began with the singing of hymns. Mick entered the prayer hall with his family and sat with the congregation. Before Karen\u2019s arrival, Mick moved to sit in front of the Granth Sahib (Sikh holy book), and at that time his sister, Kim, removed the kalgi<\/em> from his turban.\u00a0 Karen entered the prayer hall with her father, brother, mother, and cousins. After she took a seat next to Mick, the formal wedding ceremony began.\u00a0 The priest said a prayer, followed by a hymn, and then the lavaan<\/em>.\u00a0 During the lavaan<\/em>, the bride and groom walk around the Granth Sahib four times. Each round has a special meaning of commitment and spiritual awareness. After this, to conclude the ceremony, the entire congregation stoodd for a special prayer of blessing.<\/p>\n

I hope you enjoy these photographs of Mick and Karen\u2019s Anand Karaj. I had so much fun during their wedding and wish them both a blessed life of happiness.<\/p>\n

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\"Sikh<\/a>

Sikh groom enters the prayer hall before the wedding ceremony<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Anand-karaj-removing-kalgi\"<\/a>

The groom’s sister is removing the white Kalgi from the groom’s red turban before the Anand Sahib (wedding) ceremony begins.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Bride<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Bride<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Bride<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Photos<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Sikh<\/a><\/p>\n

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Mick and Karen’s Indian Wedding Reception<\/h2>\n

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\"indian-wedding-reception-first-dance\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"indian-wedding-reception-bride-bw\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"indian-reception-bride-dancing\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"indian-reception-bride-groom\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"indian-reception-dholi-bride-tears\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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This is one of my longer blog posts and although it contains a ton of photos, my intention is to convey the feelings<\/strong>, customs<\/strong>, colors<\/strong>, and traditions<\/strong> of an Indian Sikh wedding<\/strong>. I plan to elaborate on these descriptions, so when guests attend a Sikh wedding, they can appreciate<\/strong> and understand<\/strong> the culture behind<\/em> the ceremonies. Because Mick and Karen did such a wonderful job of incorporating these traditions into their wedding, I’m so happy to use these photos as a visual guide to Sikh Wedding festivities. If you have any questions about a Sikh wedding, please leave a comment below, or send me an email!<\/p>\n

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Thanks Mick and Karen, and a huge thanks to my brother, Tanvir, for helping me photograph this awesome Indian Sikh wedding! I love having him on the team!<\/p>\n

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I\u2019d love to connect with you on Google+<\/a> and Instagram (@MandevSidhu)
\nYou can also find me on Facebook here<\/a>. <\u2013 \u2018like\u2019 my page to follow more photos<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mick and Karen\u2019s Sikh wedding in Fresno, CA, was overflowing with excitement and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[110,108,33,93,107,32,81,109,71,69,95,85],"class_list":["post-841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wedding-photographer","tag-anand-karaj","tag-baraat","tag-hair","tag-indian-wedding-photography","tag-maiyaan","tag-makeup","tag-mehndi","tag-milni","tag-reception","tag-sikh-wedding","tag-sikh-wedding-photographer","tag-vatna"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=841"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2419,"href":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841\/revisions\/2419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mandevsidhu.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}