Beautiful Day Photography’s Weblog

I recently went to Virginia to visit family and then to NY for a VERY good friend of mine’s wedding, Aneesh Lele. He was one of the first people I met in LA and was my partner in crime for a long time. I am SO glad that not only did he find the woman of his dreams in Roona, but that BOTH of their familes are Indian and from neighboring families. It made the wedding ULTRA traditional and FULL of their cultural traditions (with the help of English translations). I have shot a ton of Indian weddings before, but I never understood exactly WHY they have the customs they had until now. Aneesh provided a scroll for all of the guests during the ceremony that explained what was happening and the reason for the tradition. I felt that was a really special touch that would be amazing to have at ANY wedding, no matter what culture or religion it is.

The rehearsal dinner/henna party the night before was a great way to meet the family. They had SO much Indian food there that I think we just pretty much camped out by the buffet table ALL night trying to figure out a. WHAT we were eating and b. Just plain EATING:) Dori one of my best friends from college, who lives in NY, was my housing, chauffeur, and date for the weekend. I brought her a traditional Indian gown to wear (since we were ALL wearing them ourselves to the ceremony), but she of course only took the Sash/ Sari portion of it and wrapped herself in it as her outfit…I told her I can’t be the one to bring “THAT GIRL” to the wedding:)

I have to say that I LOVED the way Roona walked down the aisle. She had her bridesmaids hold a BEAUTIFUL cloth over her head almost like a chuppah. I decided that I am going to HAVE to steal that idea one day when I get married and have my three sisters do the same for me.

After a night of bellydancing and SO much food I had to be rolled out of there, the girls and I decided to go out in the meat packing district in Manhattan. There, while in the bar “One Oak” I saw this amazing mural on the wall and I went to take a photo of it and accidentally leaned into a candle. The next thing I knew, some guy practically tackled me…I soon found out that I had been on fire. I lost about 4 inches of my hair in the process…..I tell you WHAT I go through for a photograph:) Here is the mural…