Entries Categorized as 'ethnic wedding'
July 14, 2010
I was so excited to see Anita and Haady’s wedding album in the post today! I love the plush brown leather cover and the images they chose.
I will never forget their intimate – yet boisterous – Persian wedding. Their families incorporated many traditional elements such as a beautiful Sofreh Aghd and a carpet-covered area for guests to smoke the ḠALYĀN [قليان, قالیون, غلیون, ghalyan, ghalyaan or ghelyoon] known to non-Persians as a water pipe or hookah!
Many thanks to Ashley of Pizzuti Studios for her album designing skills.
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July 12, 2010
Tara & Navid had an intimate, family only marriage ceremony at the Santa Cruz City Clerk’s office. I was afraid it might all be indoors and institutional, but after they signed the paper and paid the fee, we all went out to a beautiful green area behind the city building that made portraits just perfect!
One of the traditions with a Persian wedding is at the very end of the official pronouncement of marriage, the women throw this white almond/sugar candy called Noghl (Farsi: نقل) and ululate loudly.
I enjoy seeing the looks on their faces as they’re being pelted with the Nogh-l.
After the city hall ceremony, Navid and Tara invited their family to join them for a dinner on the beach in Santa Cruz. They chose Paradise Beach Grille, and we took full advantage of the colorful backdrop on the beach to do some more romantic portraits as the sun was slanting down.
Persian weddings are never, ever boring or predictable. Even with this intimate collection of immediate family, the dancing and singing was contagious. My favorite image – the quiet moment between the newly minted husband and wife has a rare, peaceful quality to it and I love the way it contrasts with the dancing shot below.
Tara and Navid chose this particular day for the ceremony because it was also Navid’s birthday. What a great way to celebrate life loudly — anniversary and wedding on the same day.
I am so excited for Tara and Navid. They complement one another – she brings the calm, reserved, and thoughtful demeanor while he is full of life and vigor and excited dreams. Their passions are different, yet work beautifully together. I admire their togetherness and I am so glad they found one another.
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June 9, 2010
February 20, 2010
I photographed Anita’s wedding at their private residence in Palos Verdes, CA this past summer. What’s extra-special is that I photographed her sister Suzy’s wedding in the same house a few months prior. Someday I hope to photograph Bijan’s wedding as well, but he probably has a few years since he just started college this year. All three siblings are extremely close, and a delight to know. You should see them gang dance with the rest of their family on the dance floor!
I’m still secretly hoping for a bridal session with both Anita and Suzy sometime this year. They inspire me.
Posted in clients, ethnic wedding, inspiration, wedding 1 Comment »
October 19, 2009
Bonnie and Robert are both Kenyans living in Massachusetts.
Their ceremony was a small and intimate one that took place inside a gazebo at the Best Western in Quincy, Mass. The water and skyline served as a beautiful backdrop for pictures and is reminiscent of Cape Cod.
The three adorable flower girls dressed accordingly to the fall theme and had butterfly clips in their hair to match.
Most of their family members could not make it to the ceremony because they were in Kenya, but both Bonnie and Robert’s brothers brought along friends to show support for the bride and groom.
A big celebration in their home country of Kenya will be in the near future! Rachel is hoping these two will invite her to photograph for them in Kenya. What a special day it will be!
[ more images here ]
Posted in carol, ethnic wedding, wedding 2 Comments »
October 18, 2009
I’m up extra early thanks to allergies, so I thought I’d share some things that caught my eye this week.
- Our Labor of Love smilebooths take the wedding photobooth to a new level with custom themes. My jaw dropped. [ link ]
- Michigan portrait photographer Amy Wenzel shares tips for sharper images. [ link ]
- Lifehacker writes about becoming a better photographer. Links to a GREAT list. [ link ]
- Count me among the typography snobs of the world, but I do get personally offended when someone uses Comic Sans. This made me laugh. [ link ]
- Totally random, but I took my car in to be detailed the other day after a bottle of home brew beer exploded on my back seat. I called around until I found someone who seemed to love their job, and ended up with Bumper2Bumper in Woburn. Give them a try and your car will thank you! [ link ]
- I work together with a wonderful and talented illustrator Julia Denos, who shares some great stuff about Audrey Hepburn in a recent post. [ link ]
- Check out the perfect little man ringbearer bowties here. [ link ]
- Custom made men’s suits here. [ link ]
- Anita and Haady’s photos were picked up by some random Iranian discussion board. [ link ]
- Erin and Jared’s wedding (originally picked up by OffbeatBride) was featured on a Hot Pink Petticoat [ link ] and DivineCaroline [ link ]
- I attended a wedding in Chicago as a guest, and a crazy photo of Ali and I on the dance floor made the blog post. Chicago-area wedding photographer Kenny Nikai did a great job documenting the day. [ link ]
- If you’re in the process of changing your name legally, I used and highly recommend MissNowMrs. $30 and it helps autofill many of the forms you need and draft letters to the banks. [ link ]
- One more funny link, facebook in real life. HA! [ link ]
Posted in ethnic wedding, for photographers, inspiration, press, wedding, wisdom No Comments »
October 14, 2009
More from the Bulgarian wedding, by popular demand – some of the prewedding preparation photos. (It’s not every day you see livestock on a spit, right?) Because Bulgarian wedding aesthetics are quite different from the modern, personalized wedding decor featured on wedding sites and in magazines, Anni decided to take the design of the flowers and pretty things into her own hands. She’s native to a small town in Bulgaria and had to kinda fight the prevailing “oh, for weddings we use lots of TULLE and SHINY THINGS!” mentality. It’s stressful to disagree with the older women in your village, because they make your wedding their business!! I was amazed to see how Anni pulled things together though she was working from the US until the month before the wedding.
People have different ways of dealing with their feelings as they mentally prepare themselves to make a life commitment in marriage. It’s extremely interesting to me to catch a glimpse of the introspection right before a wedding ceremony is scheduled to begin.
Posted in destination, ethnic wedding, wedding No Comments »
September 24, 2009
September 15, 2009
September 10, 2009
Beth and Dave took me on a little adventure in Huddersfield, England before their August wedding. It was so much fun to get to know them in person, since most of our correspondence came about through email.
I like the way Beth is looking at me here. I’m guessing this was moments after Dave had said something inappropriate.
Posted in destination, ethnic wedding, wedding No Comments »
