Mick and Karen’s traditional Sikh wedding in Fresno, CA, was absolutely beautiful! Surrounded by acres of almond fields, fruit trees, and rolling hills, the area provided the perfect backdrop for a wedding. Palm trees lined the road as we drove through fields and fields of fruits and vegetables. I love photographing Indian weddings because of all the celebrations, traditions, and the excitement from both families.

We spent 3 days in Fresno, capturing the memories and traditional festivities of the Sikh wedding. As we photographed the many cultural traditions and events, it felt as though we were part of the family. Everybody opened themselves up to us, showing love, and that truly made our job memorable.

Over the past 8 months, I’ve witnessed the kindness and friendliness of Mick and Karen. Throughout the entire wedding, they placed a lot of trust in us, opened themselves up to creativity, and were just so cooperative. From the day we took engagement photos in downtown Seattle, I knew Mick and Karen were going to be awesome! They make such a perfect couple – Karen has a funny personality and a warm heart, and Mick is hilarious and always so understanding. There’s a sense of calm and peace in their relationship that I can only imagine developed through their years of long-distance. They’ve really established a deep level of trust and understanding with each other, and it stems from their communication and openness. After spending time with their families, I can see where they got these wonderful qualities!

Mehndi (Henna)

Mick and Karen’s Indian wedding was comprised of several Sikh traditions, each of which were performed with happiness, huge smiles, and love. Sikh weddings often occur over the span of several days, traditionally beginning with the application of Mehndi (henna). The photos below show the mehndi being applied to the hands.  Usually, only women will have mehndi applied.

For both sides of the family, the mehndi is carefully and artistically applied onto the women’s hands. The bride’s mehndi is applied delicately and intricately to both hands and feet. Mehndi serves a decorative purpose, as well as the traditional signification of an upcoming wedding. In India, the mehndi was prepared by the groom’s mother, and sent to the bride a month before the wedding. The preparation is a long and tedious process where leaves of the Mehndi tree are hand-ground into a paste. The more thoroughly the leaves are ground, the darker the resulting henna will appear. The resulting paste is then left to sit allowing it to become usable.

Sikh bride having her henna applied before the wedding ceremony. Mehndi is applied to the hand very carefully and can take many hours. Once done, the bride is left with a beautiful, artistic, design on her hands, arms, legs, and feet. This is an Indian tradition that is still practiced today, all over the world.

For Sikh weddings, women on the groom’s side also apply mehndi to their hands. I love how happy everyone was at this wedding!

The groom’s mom and sister show their beautiful mendhi design

Another tradition is for the grooms family to visit the bride’s family with gifts. During this ceremony, the groom’s mother (bride’s mother-in-law) places a chunni (scarf) over the brides head. This is a sign of respect from the mother-in-law and signifies a lifelong of protection and care from their family. Mick’s family brought gifts and sweets to the Karen’s home. These following are just a couple (of many) pictures we captured for them during this ceremony.

The happy, cheery, smiling Sikh bride and groom!! They look so good!

The Gurdwara (temple) where Mick and Karen got married is located among acres of almond orchards. Despite the 100+degree temperature, we took advantage of these beautiful trees. I absolutely love these pictures of Mick and Karen walking through the orchard.

Mick and Karen make such a beautiful couple. These pictures in the orchard are some of my favorite. Even in the 100 degree weather, these two were troopers. Here are a few of the pictures…

Photo of a traditional Sikh bride and groom, walking through the temple (Gurdwara) after their ceremony.

I love this photo of Mick and Karen because it’s a great example of the traditional outfits worn by Sikh bride and grooms.

Thank you, Mick and Karen, for giving me the opportunity to photograph your beautiful, traditional Sikh wedding!

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