Another Weekend, Another Amazing Wedding
This Time in Detroit, at the Henry Hotel.
The Art and Story of Anup + Sam
By now, I’m sure you’ve realized that, as much as we love our wonderful Comeback City, we enjoy traveling for weddings! Whether we’re headed to Columbus, Cincinnati or Michigan for our wedding photography, it’s always fun having a change of scenery. This lovely couple held their fusion Indian and Jewish wedding in detroit at the Henry Hotel., Trust me; you’ll want to see it!
Smiles, color, glitzy glam and plenty of love are all on display in Anu + Sam’s wedding artwork! Plus, they have a keen sense of style 😎 You’ll see what I’m talking about pretty quickly. I may have geeked out a little bit… But we’ll get there! Continue your scroll and enjoy the ride [ pun intended. You’ll see, you’ll see ]
This is such a great wedding photograph to start off this blog! Right away, you get a sense of these two lovebirds with their joyful smiles standing out. I love using creative backdrops we find on our creative wedding photography sessions. Side-note; I’m pretty sure this mural is about two giants who have taken up celestial bowling as a competitive hobby.
There’s that style I was talking about! It doesn’t get much better than this, folks. Anu and Sam acquired a vintage automobile for their post indian wedding photography session; and I’m proud to say I think this is my finest work utilizing a vintage car for wedding photography to date.
The rearview mirror made for a perfect little window to catch a sweet moment between our bride and groom 🥰
Our Wedding Photography is not possible
Without AMAZING Detroit Wedding Vendors
- Wedding Planner // Marigold Planners
- Wedding Reception Venue // The Henry
- Jewish Wedding Ceremony Venue // The Henry
- Sikh Ceremony Venue // Laurel Manor
- Reception Entertainment // DJ Ice and Fresh
- Wedding Caterer // Punjab Indian Cuisine
- Wedding Florals // Breath of Spring
- Wedding Reception Event Designer // Grace Decorations
- Bridal Make-up Artist // JHobby
- Bridal Hair Artist // Tacari Salon
Of course, the car doesn’t hold a candle to our couple 🔥 Anu is lookin AMAZING as she’s walking in her wedding reception dress just a few hours before the party started at the Henry Hotel!
Movie star status. This cozy little wedding photographic session happened outside the Detroit museum of art!
”Brett, Anna, and the rest of the Making the Moment team made us feel extremely comfortable and at ease. They gave well needed pep talks and all have strong emotional intelligence.
Sam [ the Groom ]The Groom
In Their Own Words.
That’s right. Every word you’ve read on this page so far regarding this wonderful wedding [ catch the alliteration there. Pretty brilliant, right? ] has all been word-smithed and crafted by us [ we’re not only gifted wedding photographers, but also not too shabby in the content writing department ] Humble Brag / Self enthusiasm aside; we mean every word on this page, but it’s important that you hear from our couple too.
We asked a few questions of them about their wedding; and hope you enjoy their answers 😀
What did you love about your wedding?
One of our favorite parts of the weekend was our Ketubah signing. It was really small, personal, intimate, and very meaningful having our grandparents and family there to sign.
Another favorite moment was during our first look on the wedding day. It was a magical experience building up suspense with Brett and Anna – and to finally see my beautiful bride, and to see each other, had both of us in tears.
I also thoroughly enjoyed my Baraat. Dancing while standing up through the sunroof of a classic car with my sehra and sword was such a fun experience – especially while surrounded by family and friends cheering me on.
Lastly, it was so emotional and powerful to have the turban wrapped the morning of the Anand Karaj. It was unfortunate my sister could not be there, but having her facetime in while my close cousins helped put the sehra on was an incredibly memorable experience.
What would you do Different?
- Probably given ourselves more breaks. Either a day between the two weddings or a day of rest after our Sangeet would have been nice, but this would probably have been difficult given our many guests who traveled from afar.
- Spend more time looking into options for some of our vendors; However, our large vendors including our caterer, DJ, and Brett and Anna were phenomenal!
- One small thing we would have changed was included pictures as examples for the dress code for each event. We had countless guests reach out and confused by the attire.
What was it like to work with us?
Brett, Anna, and the rest of the Making the Moment team made us feel extremely comfortable and at ease. We immediately felt connected and it was very nice to not have to explain any customs to the team. We felt that they had excellent communication and handle last minute changes appropriately. They gave well needed pep talks and all have strong emotional intelligence.
What photograph(s) are connecting emotionally?
Our same day edit was absolutely phenomenal! Our guests still reach out to us and are astonished with the turnaround time and editing to make the short film so personal and emotional. We haven’t received our images yet, but based on the same day edit, we can’t wait to see the final photos. Based on the same day edit, the shots during our creative sessions, during the Sangeet, and Sikh ceremony were all unique and captured the energy we were striving for.
Did you have a theme you were trying to hit for your wedding [ vibe / color palette / etc ]?
We really wanted it to be a colorful and energetic joining of our two distinct cultures. We wanted it to be vibrant. We envisioned the Sangeet and Sikh ceremonies to be colorful and our final reception to feel timeless and elegant.
Anu’s Mehndi shows off her personality; as well as a bit of her and Sam’s story. Mehndi is usually applied a few days before an indian wedding ceremony [ Hindu or Sikh ] and if you’re henna artist is good, they can weave in elements of your backstory carefully and beautifully.
This wedding weekend was what we call a “fusion” wedding; with traditions from both Sam and Anu’s cultural backgrounds. Anu’s family was introducing a few important pre-wedding celebrations from India to Sam [ Indian pre-wedding rituals are seriously always so fun and full of laughter ]
Confirmed. They’re in love 💛
For real. Every single detail was on point. Just before their Sikh wedding ceremony in detroit, we caught a few lovely portraits of Anu preparing.
The jewelry, from head to toe, with that beautifully detailed Mehndi and the colors and beading of her wedding sari, it was all out of this world!
This is what we call *perfection*.
Sam’s sister wasn’t able to be at the wedding in person, but thanks to technology, Facetime brought her right back into the middle of the action! Sam shared a bit about how meaningful this was in his interview Q+A on this page [ read it if you haven’t! ]; but it was especially meaningful to witness.
Sam and his mother are off to the Anand Karat [ Sikh wedding ceremony ]. Side note on Sam’s mother will ALWAYS be shown with a beautiful ear-to-ear smile on her face. She is one of the happiest, enthusiastic and supporting parents we’ve ever worked with.
Meanwhile; Anu is heading out the door for the the Sikh wedding ceremony as well.
Their Sikh ceremony was held at Laurel Manor in Detroit. Of course it was decked out to the nines, thanks to Grace Decorations.
Rarely do we photograph Sikh wedding ceremonies outside of a Gurdwara; but Laurel Manor did a fantastic job setting the scene.
Sikh wedding ceremonies are full of subtleties. Through the years of being an Indian wedding photographer, I’ve learned to spot and capture the many small [ but important ] moments that make up an Indian / Sikh wedding ceremony.
I don’t know when I developed this knack for stumbling across randomly dressed up couples in the wild. I had no idea I’d find hotties lurking out in a patch of wildflowers after their wedding ceremony.
Just kidding! But really, how perfect is this field of wildflowers? Even if we didn’t have a seriously cute couple plopped into the middle of this portrait, it would be a lovely landscape photograph.
Detroit is full of super cool backdrops. Celestial bowling giants and all.
You may recall, Sam said this was one of his favorite parts of the entire wedding weekend! And for good reason; you can tell here he’s having a blast! This is the Dholi; after an Indian Sikh wedding ceremony, there are some competitive [ and silly ] fun and games that happen before the groom can officially escort the bride from the parents home. Speaking of Indian wedding photography; have you seen the page on our website devoted entirely to our indian wedding photography and video?
Sam can indeed rub his belly and pat his head at the same time. It’s actually one of his special skills listed on his professional resume.
He’s also clearly a very skilled artist 🎨
There’s another half to the equation of Anu + Sam’s wedding weekend: The Jewish wedding ceremony. Here you are seeing the Ketubah signing at the Henry Hotel.
Before a Jewish wedding, the couple [ and witnesses ] sign a contract to agree on the marriage itself. The Ketubah [ contract ] is ornate and hand made; and usually displayed in the couple’s home from that point forward.
Anu really did shine in every single outfit of the weekend. How, you ask? Super human powers. Yes, she’s a superhero 🦸♀️
Their Jewish wedding ceremony at The Henry Hotel was just as magical and beautiful as every other event that weekend! I specifically appreciated the leadership of their excellent Rabbi; and their Cantor’s singing was SERIOUSLY off the chart. This guy nailed it.
Quick and unexpected moments are the most important part of my wedding photography. I noticed that Sam’s grandparents [ who have been married for 50+ years ] were deeply connecting through the Jewish wedding ceremony.
Seriously. How cute is this? I’ve been married for 16 years [ I 😘 my wife ] and I sincerely hope that in 50 years we’re holding hands like this at our grandchildren’s wedding.
Wedding receptions at The Henry Hotel ooze class and modern sophistication. Obviously.
Top it off with some amazing floral arrangements and you have an event worthy of any bride’s wildest dreams!
Speaking of wild.
The dance floor was on FIYAHHH 🔥🔥🔥
Bold look my friend 😉
This guy is definitely in the running for the award of Best Facial Expression Seen on the Dance Floor.
Your eyes are not deceiving you. There is indeed a horse present in my additional “art” edit 🐴. You’re welcome.
Anu + Sam, your wedding was amazing and your getaway car was the coolest ever! Congratulations to you both and thank you for letting us be a small part of your story!
