Photography by the Atlanta Wedding Photographers at AtlantaArtisticWeddings
This week's wedding is Ananya and Akshay, two of the most generous and hardworking people I have met in a long time. Both are in med school and in the middle of their rotations, which can be up to 80 hours a week. When Anayna left the wedding after the ceremony, she went back to work the next day,helping sick people in need.
Photography by the Atlanta Wedding Photographers at AtlantaArtisticWeddings
Ananya contacted me about 5 months ago for her wedding. She explained to me that this was going to be the typical 2-day affair with Sangeet and Mehndi on the first night and Baraat and Hindu ceremony the second day. It would be a combination of northern and southern Indian traditions. I told her how much I loved Indian weddings. They have the best food and by far the best dancing!
Photography by the Atlanta Wedding Photographers at AtlantaArtisticWeddings
The ceremony was held at Shakti Mandir temple south of Atlanta. It consists of a couple of very large buildings. The first is the temple where people come to worship and exterior of the building is based on Hindu temple architecture. The exterior walls are decorated with Hindu symbolism such as elephants, peacocks and flourishes. On the top of the temple it is adorned with 3 large spires called a shikhara. This structure symbolizes the mountain peaks of northern India. The second building is a community center broken into two large rooms. Room one is sparse so it can accommodate large training activities or indoor games. The second large room of the building I would call a ballroom where there is a stage, carpeted floors and large chandeliers. This is where the wedding ceremony and reception were held.
Photography by the Atlanta Wedding Photographers at AtlantaArtisticWeddings
The first night of the wedding we started at the Kimpton Hotel where the families were staying. The hotel has a nice rooftop lounge that overlooks the Porsche testing racetrack. We took a few formal photos of the bride and groom there. We also invited the families staying at the hotel to the rooftop to take family photos before the Sangeet. Once we were done it was time to go to the temple to the Sangeet.
The Sangeet is my favorite part of the wedding. The Sangeet is a prewedding celebration usually held the evening before the ceremony. It is where the bride and groom's family and friends gather to sing and dance. This celebration is usually done in front of the bride and groom to entertain them and show them how much they care for them. The dances can vary from kids to large adult groups with intricate coordinated dances like in a Bollywood movie. There were a couple of dances that really stood out. There was one where this 12-year-old girl did a great dance with a scarf flowing around and for the finale she put on heart-shaped sunglasses. Then there was a group of coworkers from their hospital that did an awesome job. You could tell there were many hours of practice. Then at the end there was a surprise dance where two of the grooms favorite cousins brought up the groom and they did a fully choreographed routine. At the end of the dances there was an open dance floor where everyone danced until late.
The next day started with the Baraat. It is a tradition where the groom and his family dress up and go to the bride's house or wedding venue. It is a parade of family members singing to music and in this case the groom rode a decorated horse to the venue where the ceremony was being held. At the venue the groom and family were greeted by the bride's family and the priest. Gifts were exchanged and garlands were placed on family members. When the groom came into the ballroom at the venue, he and the bride were hoisted up on the guest's shoulders and paraded to a swing, where family members gave them food and prayers. Then they moved on to the ceremony where the groom was escorted to the stage with his mom and dad, and the bride was escorted by her sister and family members. The ceremony was beautiful. It consisted of exchanging gifts that symbolize bringing families together.
Photography by the Atlanta Wedding Photographers at AtlantaArtisticWeddings
It was an honor documenting Ananya and Akshay's wedding! They are a caring couple who are blessed with loving family and friends. Congrats you two!
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