Gujurati Indian weddings are a whole different breed. While tradition is certainly prevalent, it’s really a full-circle series of events where you have your Henna (Mehindi) session where all the ladies of the bridal party have intricate artwork performed on their hands, arms and for the bride, feet. It truly is something to be seen. In forming this relationship with Monica and Jignesh, they also offered to have Natalie have Henna done on her hands.

The second day is Garba. Garba as previously described in this post, is a dancing ceremony followed by a prayer to gods and the lighting of a candle which is ceremoniously moved in a circle fashion in front of a mini-shrine.

Come day 3, we have the Grah Shanti, This ceremony starts with Ganesh Sthapana; an invitation to Lord Ganesh to be present at this occasion. His presence is believed to ensure the smooth running of the ceremonies and to remove any obstacles, bringing happiness and prosperity. This is performed by a priest.

And lastly, but certainly not leastly day 4. The big ceremony day. The bride is meticulously prepared in her hair and makeup, her dress, the jewelry she will wear, the bhindi and the hair accents. This is no small feat. Women typically take 3-4 hours just on this part alone. It’s quite impressive actually. This took place at the Waltham Westin Hotel. To be continued…

Boston Indian Wedding photography

Boston Indian Wedding Photographer

Then, on the other far end of the religious spectrum, we have Indian traditions. You may recall our 4 day Indian ‘marathon’ and we still have pics coming out of that one. We captured over 6000, yes, six thousand in total. On the second of four days, it is traditional for Gujarati’s to have a ‘Garba’ session, which is essentially they dance to the goddess ‘Amba’ and the dance is traditionally done at night and performed largely by women, though men do participate. And again, the flourishing colors and wide smiles on everyone’s faces just evokes great photos without much effort.

We’ve been quite blessed to be part of both of these events.