ith all the vibrant colors and rich textures, Indian Weddings are truly a feast for the eyes! The following ceremony for Ruchi and Jonathan took place in South Hill, Virginia and occurred on Day 2 of our coverage (see day one - The Garba - HERE).

One of the things Grant and I have learned from capturing our share of these beautiful cultural weddings is that you must stay alert at all times; there is no down time during any part of the ceremony. Each ritual is significant and must be captured no matter what it takes to get the shot!  It's a photojournalist's dream and a photographer's paradise. At times, it can be chaotic, but the splendid display of culture being played out is worth the energy it takes to capture such an event.  I found it extra helpful that the priest explained all of the steps they were performing as he went along. While he took his role seriously, the weddings guests seemed to appreciate the humor he sprinkled along the way. In fact, it brought laughter and smiles to faces... and we all know that a happy face is a beautiful face!

o say we were slammed last weekend at Ruchi and Jonathan's Indian Wedding ceremonies would perhaps be an understatement.  Indian weddings are very busy events - and typically are more than just one event.  And this wedding was not an exception.  Friday evening was the first Indian ceremony / event called the Garba, which is basically a multi-hour dance celebration / party to celebrate the couple.

And this couple is no typical or "ordinary" couple.  Other than the fact they're adorable together, they're also BOTH doctors; Ruchi a surgeon and Jonathan a PhD (seriously).  Driven would potentially be the best adjective to describe both of them.  Crazy fun would be another I'd chose.

Besides the amazing culture of an Indian wedding, perhaps what makes them so spectacular is the plethora of rich vibrant colors worn by not only the couple - but the entire guest entourage as well.   And that's what we had the privilege  to capture with our cameras last week end with Ruchi and Jonathan's Indian wedding.

But even more amazing then the color is the amount of energy the wedding guests utilize to celebrate and dance - for hours - at the Indian Garba ceremony celebrated the evening before the wedding.  In full colorful dress, in the heat of the night, guests (which seemed hundreds) celebrated with Ruchi and Johnathan for a few fun hours on the evening before the big day, which is the focus of this first of three posts - the Garba.

Here are a few Garba pictures.  Hopefully we captured the passion, love and color of these ritual Indian dances.  You'll want to stay tuned because over the next couple days, the other two galleries - the Indian Wedding and the "White Dress" wedding - will be posted.

By the way - you can view Ruchi and Jonathan - Indian Wedding - Part II HERE