Sam is not of Indian decent, but he might as well be. The dude dances better than I could ever hope to. This is coming from a similarly tall, lanky, white guy. I thought we were the same, Sam. You’ve betrayed lanky white dudes everywhere by actually keeping up with your ingeniously impressive Indian in-laws.
Alliteration is the spice of life, they say. No they don’t. I said that. Just now.
Ok, I’ll cut there Sam-hate diatribe short. Sandhya and Sam are us. Allow me to explain….. but here’s a few favorites first.
They embody Making the Moment because they’re unique. Different. Set apart.
Not only did they dig our style and my lankiness, I love their story as well. That’s important.
Indian cultures and traditions are fun and unique to me, but a Christian ceremony is just as interesting and different. As was the case for this day, we captured and experienced both.
Basically, not only two people joining, but two cultures melded as well. With our cultures combined!!!
However, there’s more. Sure, I heart a good culture-combo as much as next tall, white, lanky guy. But wait, there’s more!
Let me tell you about their engagement.
Naturally, I hear a lot of engagement stories. However, this is going to be hard to top. You ready?
^^That’s freaking cute.
^^ So is that
NBD. This couple just decided climb Mt. Kilamanjaro. Yeah, they were just all….”Let’s do one of the harder things there is to do…ya know…on Earth…”
Then, once they got up there, Sam was all “You’re mine, naaoohhh!!”
It didn’t happen like that. I don’t know what he said, but enough to convince her to marry him.
I’m most impressed that he carried the ring up a mountain.
I would have lost it. My wife’s ring would be firmly cemented in some ice.
Kudos to you, sir.
Let’s all marvel as this horse creates a river in your blasted honor. lol (this is my favorite)
Just in case you’re unaware, this is a Baraat.
In essence, Sam rides in on a horse with his family to greet the family of the bride.
Let’s be real. It’s a huge dance party equipped with a rolling DJ and loud music and cute break-dancing nine- year olds. (Disclosure, he may or may not be nine)
So, we get to party before the ceremony. Party before the party before the party. Party.
Stunning.
Sam agrees with me. Same page.
As you can tell, we have a wonderful day to work with. Sunlight can be a bit harsh to work with in the middle of the day, but we’ve tailored ourselves to be ready and responsive. That’s me, putting the “fashion” in “Professional” Wow, don’t steal that. I just made it up and I’m incredibly proud.
Joking aside, it was very cool to be able to experience both sides of the coin, here. The ceremony was two parts, first Indian tradition then followed by a Christian ceremony. You can see a few aspects of both in these images.
These types of fused ceremonies are always unique and a bit different. That’s why I’m honored to be a part of them.
Sandhya and Sam live in New Jersey now, but they obviously held firm to Cleveland roots. This capture with ‘Bron was important to them. Specifically requested and executed. In love with these captures 😀
We had some time to hang out in the city and out by the lake.
This time allows space for moments like this to happen.
…and this! Sam is just that sweet on his own. No prodding or directing necessary. I may have told them to sit there, but I’m not producing fake-ness. I’m capturing real-ness.
Another thing I really appreciate about Indian-inspired events. Sandhya actually re-preps for the reception after the ceremony. I think this is awesome. She re-did her hair and some make-up. She got to look shockingly beautiful in a completely different way.
This is another one of my favorites from the day. Simply gorgeous girl.
The Galleria was our backdrop for the majority of the day. Stylistically, I loved the little mirrors hung from the ceiling. Thousands of them, it seemed. An awesome effect, indeed!
However, regardless of venue, weather, style, cut, dancing skills, white, or brown. It really is simple.
Some awesome people got together. Danced awesome dances.
Smiled awesome smiles.
Spoke awesome words. Gratitude, thanks, love, and hope for the future.
For this couple. A dancing white dude and his beautiful Indian princes. I legit heard him call her that.
So, we had a party.
A party.
Party.
Thank you, Sandhya and Sam. It was a pleasure to serve you. I think you did more of the serving, if I’m honest.