The lavish Muslim wedding of this Bangladeshi couple, took place at the amazing Leela Palace hotel in Udaipur over three days of great celebration. Vidiya and Rezaul have known each other since Vidiya was a young girl in the Bangladesh capital of Dakha. They have lived in the same country on and off, but have also gone through periods of living in different countries for long periods of time. Their friends and family saw the love story grow and blossom over twenty four years, and finally, after all these years, the moment arrived for them to tie the knot.
Muslim weddings are usually quite subdued, but this one was a feast of colours and grandeur. It started with a welcome dinner, followed by an after party that rocked the building. The next day, the Guava Orchard grounds of the hotel were turned into a festival of lights for the colourful mehendi ceremony, with Rajasthani musicians and fire dancers. Read more
It has been a dream of mine for a long time, to shoot a complete Indian wedding only on the iPhone. The problem till now was not only the technological limitations of the previous iPhone models, which could be a separate discussion all together, as some of those still remain, but also, and mostly, finding the couple that will agree and allow me to shoot their wedding like this. This is the reason why I first wish to give a huge credit to Ayushi and Abhishek for the trust and support. Certainly not something I can take for granted!
The wedding was possibly the biggest I have ever photographed. The events took place in Udaipur over three incredible days at the end of November 2015 in Udaipur. I have covered many weddings in Udaipur before, but have never seen the place so beautifully decorated. It was such a pleasure taking pictures when everything, and everyone, looking so gorgeous.
Photography Will Never Be The Same Again
You might not realize it yet, but this is as big, or even bigger than the invention of the digital camera. In the pocket of your shirt or in the zipper of your bag lurks no less than the most inspiring and innovative imaging system in the history of photography. Under the innocent cover of your iPhone lies a powerful tool that is changing the way we work and think as photographers. For the first time we have a camera, a darkroom and and an online research directory in one small device. We can now shoot and process our images in the field, free from the burden of running home to our computers. We can instantly examine what works (and what doesn’t) to make our captures match our vision, as well as share them with our subject on the spot, or upload to the social media channels or your favourite online portfolio.
It is funny to read the above paragraph now, as it was actually written on my blog back in 2011, in a post carrying the same name (HERE). So little, yet so much has changed.
I love using the iPhone but, despite all it’s advantages, I don’t think it will take over and replace the ‘regular’ cameras. What the iPhone represents is a completely new breed of camera.
Shooting an Indian Wedding on the iPhone
Shooting a whole wedding on the iPhone, as much fun as it sounds, was actually quite a challenge. I was not trying to document everything but rather focus on images that would later translate to the artistic vision that I had for the post processing. Daytime pictures where fantastic, but the night still remained a bit tricky. The new iPhone 6s Plus camera is superb in terms of resolution and colour rendition, but low light photography was difficult, on the dance floor for example, as the ISO limit was not letting me shoot without having motion blur.I had a hand-held LED light to help me get proper exposure. This was not an issue when taking still images of decor at night. These pictures actually came out better than the ones shot on the DSLR. The built-in HDR in the new iPhone is nothing less than incredible.
Post Processing on the iPhone
I have a very simple workflow for post processing on the iPhone. It would usually start with #snapseed where I correct the contrast, colour and highlights. I sometimes also add a vintage filter before moving to #mextures to add the scratches and grit. The next stage, if required, would be face retouching on #facetune. When I export to #instagram I sometimes add another filter there as well.
We were a large team, without whom this whole exercise would have been very different.
Event Organiser: Hem Kashyap
Entertainment & Artist Coordination: Sumedha Garg Jindal / S.G. Arts & Entertainment (DEL)
Decor: Diya Walia
Makeup Artist: Jyoti Kumar
Hair Styling: Ahmed and Nasir
Photo: Christophe Viseux
SILK PHOTOS is a boutique photo agency, based in India representing a select group of talented wedding photographers, both stills and motion, specialising in Indian weddings and destination wedding photography in India, and around the globe. SILK members can work alone or in a team to cover larger events that require more than one photographer.
Behind The Indian Veil: A Journey Through Weddings in India
Behind The Indian Veil is the result of Sephi Bergerson’s seven year photographic journey through wedding in India. This lavishly produced hard-cover coffee table book brings the beauty of India’s wedding traditions, its people and its amazing stories into stunning focus.
Sephi Bergerson is an international destination wedding photographer represented worldwide by SILK PHOTOS. He is based in India with extensive experience of covering weddings all over the subcontinent. He is available for wedding photography in Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, as well as weddings in Mombasa and elsewhere in Africa.
Udaipur is quite possibly the most romantic city in India. I come to the ‘Venice of Rajasthan’ a few times a year and it always manages to surprise me and look different than it did before. Different but always stunning. There is something about this city on the lake that is just so perfect as a destination for lovers and the perfect wedding destination. Allie and Floris chose it for their special day and for a good reason.
We first me on the beach in Goa. They came down for a small vacation while planning the wedding and we had a chance to catch up over a beer. I love having meetings on the beach. It just makes it so relaxed and chilled out. We started the party right there and it only continued in Udaipur. Read more
A wedding at the Leela palace Udaipur is always guaranteed to be a stunning experience. If there is one city in India that is truely romantic it is Udaipur and no matter how many weddings I attend in this city on the lakes, I always manage to see it differently and be amazed again. It almost seems like the city was planned for destination weddings. There are some stunning locations there and The Leela Palace hotel overlooking the city palace and lake Pichola is certainly up there on the list of incredible locations. Read more
Some time back I posted the first part of this out-of-this-world destination wedding in Udaipur and although it’s been a long time (been traveling, shooting, over my head with other projects) I finally find the time to post the second and final part.
The last day of these four day celebration started at the Oberoi Udaivilas, no doubt one of the most stunning hotels on earth, from where the baraat procession left towards the Leela Palace where the wedding itself was to take place. Samit, fully dressed and decorated as a Rajput prince, was on the horse and the whole party was marching towards the boat jetty for the first ever baraat over the lake. You can play your own music to this scene but it really calls for a sound track.
If you happen to reach the The Leela Palace an hour earlier it was still a mess. Over forty thousand orchids were flown in from Thailand along with the florists and the whole place looked like a flower market in the middle of a U2 concert.
A happy wedding this was. Taran and Samit have known each other since many years and it was obviously a love marriage. Both families are based in Kenya and the couple knew each other as kids. There was some controversy as to who hit on who but a video screened later during the reception at the Jagmandir clearly showed who made the first move, and it was not him . . :-) But wait with the reception. The vidai was probably the most photogenic I’ve even seen. After all the tears (a real must at an Indian wedding after all) the couple had left for their suite at the Oberoi at just the right time as the sun was setting over the lake. Perfect timing.
We had a short break to freshen up and soon enough we all met again at Jagmandir that was transformed into a huge club for the dance party. The fireworks show was synced with the music and was a spectacle to remember. The party went on until about seven in the morning as was so evident by the tired faces I met as I was leaving the hotel en rout to the airport the next morning. What a party!
Decor: Dhun Corado for Full Moon creative cervices
Wedding planner: Anita Patel for Tania-Tapel events worldwide
Sephi Bergerson is a wedding photojournalist based in India since 2002 and is available for Indian wedding photography and destination weddings in India, south east Asia, Africa and the Indian ocean.
I have already attended and photographed quite a few destination weddings in Udaipur and have even joked more than once that I should consider taking a place there, but nothing was as grand and stunning as Samit and Taran’s four-day destination wedding festival, no less, in this city of lakes. I have been to the Oberoi Udaivillas, photographed an amazing wedding at the Leela Palace, more than once have I attended a wedding at Fateh Garh or the Jagmandir, but never have I been to one wedding in all of these locations, and more. To say it was over the top would not be an exaggeration.
The beginning was already an indication but how could I even imagine what was about to come? We were a team of photographers flown in from around the world to cover this destination wedding in India; yours truly for the documentary angle, Martin Hill from the UK for the portraits and Emmanuel Jambo from the US for the shots we would miss from the top of the hill or the terrace overview. Mike Cottril and his award winning ReelVision cinematography team, Jeff Wood and Rich Wakefield came from the UK. We were a winning team and we were out to rock the city.
Trying to fit this wedding into one post would be quite impossible so here is part one with the events of the first two days starting with the Ganesh pooja at the Oberoi, the haldi ceremony at the Leela palace and the most elaborate, stunning and fantastic ladies sangeet I have ever seen at the Zanana mahal in the heart of Udaipur’s city palace. I have never imagined the place could look so stunning and if the decor and the lights were not enough, the UK based RDB came over as a surprise for the bride to shake the house with some real desi beats and the old palace came to life with colors and smoke until the early hours.
Check out for the finale of this regal wedding in Udaipur with the baraat on the lake, the wedding at the Leela Palace and the incredible reception and fireworks at the Jagmandir.
Decor: Dhun Corado for Full Moon creative cervices
Wedding planner: Anita Patel for Tania-Tapel events worldwide
Sephi Bergerson is a wedding photojournalist based in India since 2002 and is available for Indian wedding photography and destination weddings in India, south east Asia, Africa and the Indian ocean.
Geeta and Oliver met almost ten years ago when both families went on a separate vacation to the Maldives. This love story of two families of such different origines went through Kanuhura, New York, Barcelona, St. Moritz, Basel, and Leeds to mention just a few. They finally got married at the fort palace of Devi Garh, some 28 km northeast of Udaipur, Rajasthan and If you wanted to follow their tracks all you needed to do was to read the signs on the tables.
I must have been to almost every palace in the Udaipur area but never before to Devi Garh. Nestled in the Aravali hills this spectacular all-suits 18th century heritage resort is definitely one of the most beautiful locations for a royal wedding in India. In all this luxury it was a pleasant surprise to see the simple and down-to-earth style and attention to detail. It was a small wedding of about one hundred guests and a treat to be a part of.
Regardless of the number of weddings one attends, being a destination wedding photographer should never become a job. If it does you will become a photocopy machine for wedding images and every wedding will end up looking the same. In the world I live in this is not what a couple look for in the person they hire to document the most important day of their lives. The scariest thing for me about being a wedding photographer is to get bored. I have been shooting weddings for a few years now and am always trying to outdo myself. This is not an easy task but every now and then I feel there is a breakthrough and I find a new way to shoot an old subject.
The wedding itself is always rather easy to shoot. It has action and ceremony and as such will always yield good images. It is almost math. there are things one needs to cover, certain angles, few important moment but it is the reception that has always been tricky. No offense but people mostly talking or eating is not a dream subject. I am not a fan of on-camera flash and posed pictures of friends and family all smiling for the photo. It needs to be something else and I think I made some progress this time. I could have made a much larger gallery of images only from the receptions as I am very proud of those but really there was so much to show. Here is a small taste of it while Oli and Geeta and on their way to their honeymoon…
The decor and set up of the events was done by Vijea and Ankit of Regal-Weddings. This was not the first time I had the pleasure of working with them and as usual it was simply perfect. The make-up was done by Sanjay Relia and Geeta said she had never looked so pretty in her life. Great team.
Sephi Bergerson is a wedding photojournalist based in India since 2002 and is available for destination wedding photography in Udaipur, Jaipur, palace weddings in Rajasthan or a beach wedding in Goa or Kerala. Sephi is also happy to travel for wedding photography in Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius, Maldives, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
The Leela Palace hotel was the stunning backdrop for Nikhil and Pooja’s wedding in Udaipur. It was a small and intimate family affair but nonetheless amazingly beautiful. For such a small wedding I was not supposed to have a problem making a tight selection of images for the blog but even after selecting only thirty I still feel that there are many pictures I would have liked to include in this post.
The location is of course incredible for a destination wedding and the views of Lake Pichola seen from every room are just the thing you want to see when you wake up in the morning. The wedding was fun right from the start. The first day, long and packed, started with Pooja’s mehendi, continued with Nikhil’s Ganesh pooja (which ended up with him and his brother being thrown in the pool outside the suite), followed by the mehendi in the inner courtyard and an evening dinner reception on the lawns. Traditional rajasthani dancers and Kawali singers added the colorful background music.
The morning functions started early as the wedding was supposed to be over by a certain hour but as it always is in India, time is a very fluid concept and everything was more than an hour late. The barat procession eventually started and although no horse or elephant were there for Nikhil to ride, it was no hindrance to the dancing party.
The wedding itself took place at the guava orchard facing the lake and was followed by a lunch after which everyone, exhausted from the long first day, simply collapsed and went to sleep. These are the moments that I always kick myself for forgetting my swimming costume at home. Seriously, I think I must add this to my packing list now.
We had about an hour on the morning of the last day before I had to leave for the airport and we used it to step outside the hotel to take some fun pictures. Some people feel very comfortable in front of the camera and some do not but I think that we managed to keep this morning session fun and relaxed and came out with great pictures that I have a feeling Nikhil and Pooja will not forget so easily.
From India Pooja and Nikhil went on and had another great party, this time a wedding at the Lanesborough Hotel on Hyde Park Corner in London. Go ahead and check out the beautiful images from the wedding in London by Mark & Marianne.
A dream wedding at the lake palace in Udaipur is really something that will make almost anyone rub his eyes in disbelief, especially if this person has never been to India before. The winter months in Udaipur are warm and sunny, and there are very few places in India that offer such an amazing experience for a destination wedding photographer as the Jagmandir, or as it more commonly known; The Lake Palace.
An Indian wedding is a fantastic affair, but when you throw in a view of lake Pichola, a grand palace in the center of the lake, a couple of camels, an elephant, loads of happy friends ready to dance, and so much love, you are surely to get a dream wedding.
I find it hard to believe that Madhu and Mirek, or any of their guests who came from all over the world, could have even imagined anything close to this. I loved every single minute of it!
