2/2 Alexandra and Karan – Beautiful Sikh Wedding Ceremony – Sikh Foundation of Virginia

Sikh wedding Ceremonies in America come in all colors; however, the script for the Sikh weddings does not change, nor does it vary. Just like in the Catholic faith, the process is methodic in terms. Of not deviating from the script. This could possibly be one of the reasons we enjoy photographing the Sikh weddings that we are hired to document.

Alex and Karan‘s wedding was beautifully executed with the assistance of wedding planner Neeva Mathur of Project Bride DC. Prior to their wedding day, Alex and Karan kicked off their wedding celebrations with their Sangeet at the Westfields Golf Club in Clifton, Virginia, enjoying family and friends’ company. Their wedding day began at one of our favorite hotels to shoot at in the Northern Virginia area called the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner because of their small garden off their ballroom side area and the blossoms in the front of the hotel in the earlier part of spring.

Upon starting all our events, we like to take a few moments to comb through and gather the getting ready details like clothing, jewelry, and shoes to photograph each little detail shared as part of each of our couple’s stories. Part of the fun is seeing how each couple mixes up their taste and style of rings, given it’s one of your “forever” pieces of jewelry.   

Alex and Karan’s amazing Sangeet photos can be viewed here. Enjoy looking through their color sangeet photos.

Wedding Vendors

Wedding Planners	Project Bride DC, Neeva
Sikh Ceremony Location	Sikh Foundation of Virginia  7250 Ox Rd, Fairfax Station, VA
Caterer	Jaipur Royal Indian Cuisine
Hair & Make-up	Suman Khosla
Henna	Shazia
Decorator	Prabha
Photographer	Regeti’s, Amy Regeti
Cinematographer	Chasing Light, Jeana
Dholki DJ	DC’s Dynasty, Ravi
Westfields Golf Club Coordinator	Ashley Clarkin
Rentals	Sammy’s Rental
Dance Floor Wrap	Kundan Events

A few favorite images from the wedding

Wedding Rings
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A great insider tip to our Indian bride’s wearing large posted and heavy jewelry on their ears is oftern to take a few motrin before they head out to begin their wedding photos because the common complaint upon many is the fact that their ears tend to hurt from the weight and they develop heaadaches due to the posts stretching their lobes. As crazy as this may sound it is very true, so make that Motrin X2! 
Wedding Jewellery
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Favorite of all Sikh brides details to photograph are her kalire, personally I just love the detail in them. It is typical to see the bride’s sisters and friends tie the kalire to her chooda (bangles). They are golden or silver in colour and will typically vary in quality as some wear them and post ceremony will shake them vigorously above the heads of the unmarried ladies as they sit in hope that few pieces will come off and signify that perhaps they are next in line to be married. The significance of the kalire is to provide good wished to the brinde and remind her of the cousins and friends who she will be leaving behind as she moves into the responsibilities of her married life.
Wedding Jewellery
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The chooda/chura/choora, is usually red and white; sometimes the red bangles are replaced with another color, but they are usually only two colours. They were traditionally made of ivory, with varying inlay work, though now usually very commonly found to be made with plastic. Traditionally there are 21 bangles that would be worn on each arm although more recently the bride often wears 7, 9 or 11 bangles. The bangles range in size according to the circumference of the top of the forearm and the end of the wrist so that each set fits neatly on each arm.
Wedding Bangles
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Bridal shoes come in all sorts of sizes, colors and preferences but one thing for sure in most of our weddings is that they are not worn for that long as they are typically left to the front of the mandap, outside of the temple, gurdwara or ballroom. 
Wedding Shoes
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Wedding Dress Design
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Our Sikh groom’s will often have their turban tied by an elder or a professional turban tying expert such as the amazing and talented Gurdeep from Pagh Life however our Hindu groom’s will typically preorder and purchase their turbans should they choose to wear them pretied. 

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Bride Getting Ready
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A sword is an essential part of Sikhism and marriage is one of the most important ceremony’s in ones life. Performing that ceremony without the essential part (sword) of ones religion is considered to be sacrilege to the religion. Every Sikh groom while marrying keep’s a sword in his hands and complete’s the process of marriage. Not only the Sikh’s but the Rajput’s also do the same.

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The bridal choora is given to the bride by her maternal uncles and they put the bangles on the bride’s hands. The bride has a choice in the design and helps selecting the size. The choora ceremony is held on the morning on the wedding day or a day before.

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Chuda Ceremony
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Bride and Groom First Look
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Wedding Details
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ISO : 100 The act of tying the sehra around the groom’s head right before he leaves for the bride’s house is called “Sehra Bandi”. Typically the groom’s sisters, female cousins, Bhabhi or sister-in-law are the essential performers of Sehra Bandi. In the case of multiple sisters or female relatives, each woman takes a turn to perform the ritual one by one. While carrying out this whole custom, all the women sing traditional wedding songs. Usually, women in the family perform the ritual in a hierarchical order based on the relation with the groom. For example, it begins with the groom’s mother, the oldest sister, younger sister, oldest sister-in-law and so on.

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Wedding Baraat
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Baraat is a groom’s wedding procession in India and Pakistan. In Indian communities, it is customary for the bridegroom to travel to the wedding venue on a mare, accompanied by his family members. The baraat can become a large procession, with booking its own band, dancers, and budget.

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Anand Karaj means “ceremony of joy” and takes place in the gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship. It entails singing from Guru Granth Sahib. Members of the family or congregation will be invited to select shabads, or religious music, from the scripture to share with the community. The ceremony is rooted in kirtan, which are sung recitations of shabads. With today’s technology, wedding parties will often have an overview of what is happening in English or scripture translated in English. It’s a nice way for people who are attending the ceremony to have a sense of what’s going on and be active participants in the program.

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In Sikhism, a langar is the community kitchen of a gurdwara, which serves meals to all free of charge, regardless of religion, caste, gender, economic status, or ethnicity. People typically will sit on the floor and eat lunch together, and the kitchen is maintained and serviced by the Sikh community volunteers. However, some do choose to have this outside the Gurdwara and catered given the size and complexity. 

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Vidaai marks the departure of the bride from her parental house. As a custom, the bride throws phulian or puffed rice over her head. The ritual conveys her good wishes for her parents. A traditionally sad ritual, here the bride says goodbye to her parents, siblings and rest of her family. Her brothers/male cousins then lead her to her husband, who waits to take her to his family home to begin her new life as a married woman. Her relatives throw coins in the wake of this procession.

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Cameras and Lenses used

NIKON Z 6( NIKON CORPORATION )
NIKON Z 6_2 ( NIKON CORPORATION )

NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S ( NIKON CORPORATION )
NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S ( NIKON CORPORATION )
NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S ( NIKON CORPORATION )
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR ( NIKON CORPORATION )
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II ( NIKON CORPORATION )
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G ( NIKON CORPORATION )
Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED ( NIKON CORPORATION )