Indian Candid Wedding: Utkarsh and Sukriti

Indian Candid Wedding photography of Utkarsh & Sukirit.

The much awaited day’s broken out with a beautiful morning. It is a designated day for wedding of Utkarsh and Sukriti. The half day is passed very quickly. In the second half, the bridegroom starts getting fresh. By the 4 PM, the traditional photographer came to shoot the wedding dress. Bridegroom gets dressed and ready to perform rituals to invoke the deities. Hymns and Slokas are recited around the sacred fire. Bridegroom and his family offer prayer to all the deities with folded hand and seek blessings for the well being of a wedded life.

Once the Havan (making offerings to a sacred fire) is finished, the Shera Bandi ceremony starts. The sister of Bridegroom ties the Shehra on the groom’s head. The Guests give blessings and gifts to the Bridegroom.

Guests are ready to leave for the wedding venue. At the same moment, The Bride is also getting dressed up and waiting for the bridegroom there. The Bride and the guests arrived at the wedding venue and rituals are started being performed. In the meanwhile, I decided to visit Bride for making some photos. When I got to her room, she said : “Siddharth, How is Utkarsh? I heard, he is not well! How does he look? All the guests have arrived? I don’t know how do I look?”

Me: “He is fine now. Yes! Guests have arrived. And you look gorgeous!”

Bride has waited for the moment of being appeared among the guests for a long time. She discussed about this moment with her friends. She made a practice for this too. She appeared among the guests and felt :

“During my entry into the wedding venue, my siblings were cracking jokes on ‘how a bride should look shy’ and on the contrary how I looked ‘too chirpy to be a bride’! During the time I stepped up the stage – I was thinking to myself, if it’s really, really happening for a real. I looked into his eyes and he held my hand…Yes! It was happening…It was real. Real things are felt…”

She is greeted and photographed with friends and guests. When everyone was busy making photos of guests, some kids full of curiosity caught my attention. Kids are always curious to know everything happening around them. Their curiosity is eye-catching. Though the traditional photographers was not liking their naughty acts as photographers’ photos were being screwed up a little. On the contrary, I had a great time in taking their photos.

Having received the greetings, the couple went for traditional photo shoot on the demand of traditional photographers. I was assigned a task to get the candid shots at the same moment.

Couple had a dinner with family after traditional wedding shoot. On the other side at the wedding venue, the preparation for solemnizing the marriage was going on which were to be performed after dinner. Couple and the family from both the side sit together and the rituals started taking place like taking seven steps or five steps ceremony around the sacred fire; making offerings to the sacred fire; applying vermilion on the forehead of a bride; taking oath by holding hand and seeing off the family of Bride.

Couple reached to the home and get welcomed by the family and relatives. The more rituals are performed like stirring the curd by hugging a small baby; hitting the pot with the foot which is filled with rice and playing the Kangna ceremony.

Siddharth Malkania

Siddharth Malkania is a journalism graduate from Indian Institute of Mass Communication. After having worked as a photojournalist for two years, he traveled to Tokyo and brushed up his skills of photography there. Currently, He is a candid wedding photographer based in New Delhi, India.