Jasmine and Paul’s traditional Sikh Wedding (Anand Karaj) took place at Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Kent, WA. It was a ceremony of Sikh traditions and readings from the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh Holy Book).

The wedding day began with Jasmine getting her hair styled by the brilliant and talented stylist, Eve Whittington. Eve is based out of NYC and has an amazing portfolio. Make-up artistry was done by the creative Svetlana, based out of WA. They both did an excellent job, and were very fun to work with during the day!

At every Indian wedding, whether Sikh or Hindu, I always look forward to seeing the bride’s Mehndi (Henna). It takes a true artist with a steady hand to apply the paste, which results in a beautiful design. Henna has been used to celebrate auspicious occasions in India and the Middle East for hundreds of years. In fact, there are some accounts of henna being used prior to the 12th century. Traditionally in Sikh and Hindu weddings, the mehndi is applied to the hands and feet of the bride. Not only does it create intricate and beautiful make-up, it also symbolizes the love between bride and groom (husband and wife).  **I’m working on an upcoming blog post dedicated to mehndi (henna) – stay tuned.

Jasmine’s mehndi was done by Natasha. I’ve worked with Natasha for a few weddings, and she is an artistic professional with a warm personality. She always does a great job!

The Anand Karaj, or Sikh wedding ceremony, took place at the Gurdwara. The following pictures show the bride and groom sitting in front of the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh Holy Book) as well as traditional musicians playing classical hymns taken from the Granth Sahib.  The Granth Sahib is written entirely in poetic prose, and each section is a unique raag (rhythm).

Some Sikh families follow the tradition of a Dholi, where the bride leaves her parent’s house to go live with the groom’s family. Although nowadays, the bride may not actually live with the groom’s family, the tradition is practiced on the wedding day.  The groom arrives at the bride’s home where he is greeted by her sister and family members.  The bride is inside the house, but before the groom can see her, he must give a gift to the sister.  This is a fun time, where everyone jokes around and the sister usually tries to get the best possible gift. Nothing is actually taken seriously, and it is more of a fun tradition, than anything.  Upon receiving her gift, sister feeds the groom something sweet (traditionally an Indian dessert), whereupon the groom enters the house.    When leaving the house, the bride sits in the car and her family members take turns saying goodbye.  This can be an emotional time for the family and bride. The brothers, uncles, and father help push the car as it leaves the house.

After the wedding Dholi, we drove to the incredible Seattle waterfront, where we took some fun photos of the bride and groom. The following photos show the bride and groom wearing their traditional Indian (Sikh) wedding clothing at the beach.  Although traditionally, Indian wedding Lehenga’s are red, we’re seeing many more colors. Regardless, Indian weddings are definitely bright and colorful, which only adds to the festive feelings and emotion throughout the day.

The wedding reception took place at the Seattle Exhibition Center, next to the Space Needle in downtown Seattle. It was a grand reception with a delicious spread of cupcakes, food, and drinks. Guests danced to bhangra songs late into the night as they celebrated this special wedding day!

Thank you, Jasmine and Paul, for allowing me to photograph your beautiful Indian wedding in Seattle. Sikh wedding’s have so much energy and I love being able to photograph the special moments and traditions.

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