What do preteen girls, Aanchal and Jay have in common?
Yes; all of the above were present at their Indian wedding and reception at the Hilton Netherlands Plaza. That is [ however ] not the answer we’re looking for.
Still not obvious to you? Is this feeling kind of creepy yet? Dateline-ish?
I think the word you’re looking for is “proposal”.
Yes – I’m sure now you can see it; as romantic as Jay and Aanchal are, Jay could not have picked a more romantic way to propose to Aanchal than with a flashmob of preteen girls.
None of this could have happened without the amazing group of wedding professionals that made their Indian wedding ceremony and reception at the Cincinnati Hilton Netherland Plaza happen. In no specific order, I’d like to thank the following wedding vendors;
-
- Ceremony + Reception Venue // The Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza
- Wedding Planner + Cooridation // B3 Event Management
- Wedding Florals + Decor // B3 Event Management
- Entertainment + Lighting // DJ Mavi Productions
- Cake + Desserts // The BonBonerie
- Caterer // Jeet India Restaurant
- Hair + Makeup // Flawless Hair & Makeup
In case you’re wondering if you “need” to have your first dance on a cloud; the answer is “yes”.
To our blog title; if there was an award to be given to our indian grooms on “Best Barat at Indian Wedding”; Jay absolutely wins.
Aanchal wins the award for “Super hottie Indian Bride” for SURE. 
Devastating. Being a wedding photographer it’s SO much fun when you work with a couple like this; their confidence in themselves bleed through the photographs.
The above image is from their Sangeet; an Indian pre-wedding celebration. It’s an event full of food, bollywood-esque performances and dancing.
And More Dancing.
And some screaming. Screaming while dancing.
Don’t let Jay’s insane barat antics convince you otherwise; this man is also measured and graceful. The above is from prior to his Indian wedding ceremony at the Hilton Netherlands Plaza in Cincinnati.
And the smile when saw his bride the morning of his wedding? Priceless.
Aanchal is beautiful. We photographed this in the lobby of the Hilton Netherlands hotel just before the Barat and beginning of their Indian wedding ceremony.
From #drinkinguniteseverybody to #livingthedream with their laundry situation, our arsenal of inside jokes quickly grew.
Top 5 tips on how to best handle your Barat are as follows;
#1 // Plan ahead for the reality that you will be covered in sweat due to your 100 pound and nearly bullet proof attire. Plenty of water and electrolyte beverages before and after a must.
#2 // Bring friends who scream a lot, even if they don’t know the lyrics.
#3 // Spinning and jumping with smoke bombs in hand might be dangerous in real life, but this is your barat right? Throw caution to the wind. Run with scissors? Sure.
Ok well, I was going to give 2 more Barat tips, but the way we organized the pictures for this blog I can’t do that with pictures of the barat laid out above a relevant tip, and that feels morally wrong to me.
“But Brett, you can re-arrange the images for this blog if you want” you might say. “That’s a lot of uber-technical work” I might reply [ by that I mean a few mouse clicks ], and so instead I might propose that I would just write out the tips underneath a few of the images below instead.
You agree. We both cry a bit. Cuddle to help get over the bad feelings that come after a small tussle of opinions, and I go on writing this blog.
#4 // Barats are better with proper mandap design. Jay’s insane Barat performance was motivated by his love for Mandap floral decor. “I love the hangy flower tentacles on my Mandap, so I danced with that image in my heart” said Jay. I’m sure that’s not the technical floral nomenclature nor were those his exact words, but you get the gist of it.
#5 // Be motivated for your queen.
Designing your wedding reception is part of the art of indian weddings. Many kudos to the B3 Event Management team!
I want tungsten bulbs in small weaved balls hanging everywhere in my life. This is why I can’t possibly design your wedding decor or florals; as a wedding photographer I understand why these things look pretty at your event, but the last thing you want to leave me in charge of is room design and decor.
#6 // I know I said 5 tips, and this has nothing to do with the barat. But your Barat would be SO much better if you had a cake involved. Maybe instead of riding a horse in to meet the brides family you rode in on a cake? Have you thought about that?
I love these guys. I know they’re all into their dance moves hard here; but my favorite has to be the charmer in the middle.
We heard legendary stories of Aanchal’s love for dance, and Jay’s wild solo dancing. We like to think we captured those well here 😉
Here’s many more years of #livingthedream and wild solo dancing together <3 We love you Aanchal + Jay!
