Indian Destination wedding in Vietnam.
It may seem predictable, but if someone had told me at that first wedding I photographed that years later I would have the opportunity to photograph a Hindu wedding in Vietnam I would not have believed it.
Let’s start telling this beautiful story from the beginning. I had never photographed an Indian wedding before and as you can imagine it was on my wish list. Let’s just say that photographing a Hindu wedding was one of my dreams.
So when Tuisha and Gaurav contacted us to photograph their Hindu wedding in Vietnam, we were blown away. We couldn’t believe it, we were going to photograph our first Hindu wedding!
Tuisha and Gaurav were going to organise a four day wedding in Da Nang, one of the most beautiful cities in Da Nang. Imagine 4 days of wedding, hahaha, that was going to be quite a marathon.
So Erika and I concentrated as much as possible to do our best. We had to be 100% every single day and tell the best story ever told so far.
Every single day there were all kinds of rituals, parties and ceremonies. We started photographing on the first day the Henna festival, Haldi, Baraat, wedding ceremonies and Sangeet.
Sundowner.
Sundowner was the first party where Tuisha & Gaurav along with their families welcomed all the wedding guests.
Before that we asked the couple to take a few pictures in the palm tree field on the beach, the light at that moment was just perfect so after a few minutes we followed Tuisha and Gaurav to start photographing the party.
Veydaa events took care of organising everything to perfection and built on the shore of the beach a big tent to welcome the couple and start enjoying the party in style.
Haldi
The most important day has arrived. During the day Erika and I were going to photograph the Haldi ritual, Korath, Nikasi, Baraat and finally the religious ceremony.
Haldi is the firHaldi is the first ritual of the main wedding day.Haldi is the first ritual of the main wedding day. Haldi is the first ritual of the main wedding day. Without a doubt, the Haldi function is the most fun ceremony of an Indian wedding.
Most of the guests will be dressed in shades of sunshine (yellow, peach, orange, etc.), like the colours of dawn.
A turmeric paste called haldi is applied to the bride and groom. This signifies a ritual beautification of the couple by the family.
The turmeric paste is applied by the bride’s best friends, sisters, aunts, mother and father.
It is a very colourful ceremony, with lots of water fun and colours.
After the haldi ceremony, everyone prepares for the big ceremony and the bride and groom are not allowed to see each other until the pheras (vows).
Baraat
The baarat is an event reserved for the men’s side of the wedding. It’s a very important tradition where Gaurav was blessed.
First of all, there is the Safa Bandi, where the men on the male side tie turbans on their heads in preparation for the baraat.
The baraat is the wedding procession that accompanies the groom on his way to the wedding site.
Gaurav was sitted in a car that took him to the wedding site while his friends and family danced and celebrated around him. Believe me, that moment started to rain and it was epic. Memorable
When the baarat arrived at the mandap, the bride’s family was waiting to welcome them.
The wedding ceremony
It was undoubtedly the most important part of the wedding and we had to be very focused to capture not only all the moments but also to do it in a creative way.
Once the baarat arrives at the mandap, Tuisha’s family was waiting to greet and welcome them.
Just before entering the ceremony, Gaurav hit a Neem tree with a stick. This is one of the wedding traditions performed to ward off all negative energies.
The bride’s mother welcomed Gaurav by giving him sweets, flowers and performing pooja and other small rituals like pinching his nose.
The moment Tuisha walked down the stairs to the spot where Gaurav was standing was unique. At that moment I felt a unique sensation, never experienced before as a wedding photographer.
Next, the bride and groom make each other wear flower garlands around their necks. This is called the Varmala Ceremony.
In addition, during this ceremony, there was an incredible atmosphera and everyone was watching suuuuper excited. It was a very important moment that Erika and I photographed from various points of view to get completely different perspectives.
After the Varmala ceremony, one end of the bride’s veil is tied with one end of the groom’s waist cloth to make a knot. This entire ritual signifies the union of the couple.
From the Varmala stage, the groom and the bride’s parents proceed to the bridal mandap, where the priest awaits them.
In that moment, Tuisha was given by her father to the groom during the Kanyadaan ceremony. Prateek, the bride’s father asks the groom if he is willing to take responsibility for his daughter. The same ritual is repeated with the bride, who also accepts the groom’s family and surname. The couple pledge to overcome life’s challenges together and to support each other throughout their lives.
After the Kanyadaan, Prateek placed his daughter’s hand on the groom’s hand and asked him to accept her as his wife. This particular wedding tradition represents the union of two souls.
The ritual is completed by tying a sacred thread over the joined hands.
Now it is time for the main event: the pheras! The couple walk four times around the sacred fire.
Finally, Nisha, the bride’s sister gave a handful of puffed rice to Tuisha and Tuisha had to throw it into the sacred fire together with Gaurav.
All this marked the completion of the Vedic wedding rituals. This was followed by a very important ritual called sindoor daan. The groom filled the bride’s hair parting with red “vermilion” powder. This signified the end of the marriage ceremony and the beginning of a new relationship between the couple.
The wedding rituals are officially completed and the couple is married according to Hinduism.
Pool Lawn Party!
Finally, we made it to the fourth day, barely able to rest because the party ended so late, but we were already completely immersed in the wedding atmosphere, so even if it seems strange, we are very fresh to photograph an epic day!
In the morning we continued to photograph more rituals like Joota Chupai and Jua Jui and soon a big poolside party started. Erika and I jumped into the party and didn’t stop until sunset when we asked the couple to come down to the beach for some portraits.
Sangeet party
Sangeet was the last event we photographed was the Sangeet. A perfectly organized party in an incredible location. Seriously, that party was the icing on the cake!
In addtion the venue was performed really well.
We will certainly remember this wonderful experience for the rest of our lives. They are happy memories and still today, when we see Tuisha and Gaurav on social media, it fills us with joy. We were certainly privileged to photograph a wedding like this.
Thanks Tuisha, Gaurav and family!
We are immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to photograph this great couple an their families.
Thanks for everything
Erika created this amazing Slideshow for their wedding, PLEASE, don’t miss it!
