Come on an Adventure With Us
For an Indian Fusion Wedding in Columbus.
The Art and Story of Astha + Andrew
For me, Astha and Andrew’s wedding photography isn’t just about the actual outcome of the photography itself, it’s really about the meaning and connection inherent in their wedding photography. I’m confident that as a couple they share this sentiment as well, but I think it’s important that I voice that up front as their wedding photographer. In short; their wedding photography is not about the pixels, so much as it is about the people.
Astha and Andrew are indeed a wonderful couple that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know as friends throughout the process of planning for their wedding photography in Columbus. They were down to experiment [ with pictures; nothing weird 🤣 ], love to laugh, and are genuinely very thoughtful people. I think the [ totally wholesome ] fun we had really shines through in their wedding photography and artwork. Scroll on, adventurer, and see for yourself.
We started this conversation regarding meaning; and how deeply it ties into their wedding photography. In this case, I beset Andrew in the shadows and placed Astha into some lovely light cresting from the above skylights. Why? I noted throughout our time that Andrew always sought to put Astha first in their relationship; and I noted the more he did so for her, the more she shined with beauty.
This is where some of that trust comes in for your wedding photographer. You have to know that while we’re making a “veil tornado” 🌪️😅 around you and then frantically running away to get the shot that it will be worth it.
Our Wedding Photography is not possible
Without AMAZING Columbus Wedding Vendors
- Wedding Reception Venue // Hilton Easton
- Wedding Ceremony Venue // Franklin Park Conservatory
- Reception Entertainment // Magic Mike DJs
- Wedding Caterers // Creative Cuisine + Clove Indian Bistro
- Wedding Florals // Prema Designs
As I shared; Astha + Andrew let us play around with different wedding photography and lighting techniques. In the end, we created some stunning wedding artwork together.
If I do say so myself.
But this is only the beginning! There is so much more experience from their special Indian wedding fusion weekend in Columbus.
”They are truly artists and we got to notice their expertise and passion for their work.
Andrew [ 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?
We had a vision for what our wedding would feel like, and we made some non-traditional choices to bring that to life. One of those was our ‘sangeet-inspired musical’ following cocktail hour. We tried to do as much as we could to create the environment, creating a tight knit space with the drapes closed, calling attention to the dance floor with the lighting and floor design, and encouraging everyone to practice … and just hoped it would all come together! Everyone really leaned in and ended up far surpassing our expectations. The creativity and execution created a really memorable shared experience. We had high hopes for this part of the day, but we think the reason it’s truly memorable was the range of emotions it allowed us to feel with everyone: we stressed over last minute practice, we laughed as we discovered some hidden dance talents during Shava Shava, and we cried to the calmness of Beauty and the Beast’s Tale as Old as Time.
What would you do Different?
We had tons of fun pouring our sentiment, creativity, and vision into our wedding, from curating our two-part ceremony, to intentionally using space and transitions, to actually constructing physical pieces. But as the wedding approached, we were attending to tons of small details or snafus, and that took away from enjoying all the moments leading up to the wedding. Looking back, we would have set a strict cut off point closer to the wedding such that beyond that point, we’d tell ourselves it’s time to ‘sit back and relax’ and appreciate what we had already accomplished, either letting certain small aspects go or delegating even more such that we would have less on our shoulders.
What was it like to work with us?
We loved MTM from the beginning, but two things really stood out to us about Brett, Anna, & team during the wedding day. First, they work incredibly well with everyone. They are calm in the chaos, patient and professional, but also just really fun and comforting! The groomsmen had a blast taking photos with Brett, he’s really good at using just a little humor to tweak the scene. One that had us all laughing was when he said “I need you to give me sexy eyes” … and we all laughed, but we got what he was going for!
Second, and more importantly, they are truly artists and we got to notice their expertise and passion for their work as they experimented during our creative couple’s session. Brett was observing the natural sunlight and the way it hit seemingly ordinary aspects inside and outside the building, looking for shots that weaved in unexpected angles, textures, and motions. We felt they weren’t just trying to run through a checklist but were genuinely trying to capture the moment and create something extra special and elevated that only that moment could bring. Their name is truly fitting… as we felt that they were literally ‘making the moment’ several times in our special day ;-). As a couple, we felt like the end result was artwork that is ‘uniquely ours’.
What photograph(s) are connecting emotionally?
[ Two of them ] are from the end of part 1 and part 2 of our ceremony. What we appreciate about them is how they have beautifully captured a candid moment. Even though they are perfectly still photos, you can see the intended motions. The expressions captured are also so genuine, the first capturing our ‘serious smile’ … and second our genuinely no-control smile [ fyi – that’s Astha’s same smile when she gets brought with ice cream ].
We also loved [ some of the ] photos from our creative session. We think they exemplify the artistic sense and experimentation we talked about above!
Did you have a theme you were trying to hit for your wedding [ vibe / color palette / etc ]?
As a fusion couple, when we got engaged, we realized our wedding was the first opportunity to showcase our vision for what it means to live out a fusion marriage – honoring tradition, while also creating something completely new. We tried to make every decision based on sentiment, so that as we experienced the day with our loved ones there was meaning behind every step and we were making a story together.
In the morning we used the terrace at Franklin Park Conservatory because Ohio is where we grew up and just blocks down the street was our first date, but also because with its extensive Chihuly glass collection, the conservatory gives a prominent nod to Seattle, WA where we’ve spent the last few years together. Attire was ‘Chihuly garden formal’ and a vibrant Chihuly-inspired cascading floral arrangement served as a sentimental but secular focalpoint for our two-part ceremony.
As photographers and videographers would know … visuals have a unique ability to create emotions and connections, so we decided to set a Bollywood / Hollywood cinematic theme for our evening reception, kicked off by a musical consisting of song and dance features we curated. Prominent family and friends danced to Bollywood classics, gave toasts based on a scene from a Hollywood movie, and as the red drapes were pulled back guests used their chocolate bar with a Wonka-inspired golden ticket to escort them to their seat.
Thought truly was poured into every single detail of their wedding. The letter-pressed wedding stationary featured above weaved in the forthcoming golden wonka tickets featured at their wedding reception at the Hilton Easton for example.
But it wasn’t all serious! These images captured at Andrew’s Barat I think really exemplify how much fun EVERYONE had celebrating the happy couple 😃
Is that a past groom I see above? Why yes it is; I believe that is Saket right up there enjoying the barat before the indian wedding ceremony at Franklin Park Conservatory!
These sunglasses tho. Good for you my bro.
A little sneak peek into some of the very special parts of their wedding celebration! I caught some twirling lehenga dresses at their bollywood themed Sangeet / pre-wedding reception at the Columbus Easton Hotel.
And some bollywood style sangeet performances…
And a RAGING wedding reception dance floor! 💃
The Hilton Easton was the perfect wedding reception venue to host all their family and friends! Astha slipped into a red lehenga for her wedding reception!
And the guest on the left slipped on some duck-face 🐣 dance moves for us all night 🤣.
But we can’t skip ahead too much and forget about the most important part: Astha + Andrew actually tying the knot!
And of course, they did so surrounded by the people closest to them. Figuratively speaking [ and in the above picture’s case; quite literally ]
While I was setting up for this groomsman photograph before their wedding at Franklin Park Conservatory, a narrow beam of sunlight shifted down from the heaven’s and focused only on Andrew. The rest of his groomsman were shrouded in darkness by a peculiarly shaped cloud at the same moment. That; or I carefully placed lighting to execute a concept photograph I had in mind for them. Who knows. 🤷♂️
Pure excitement 🥰 I caught this candid wedding photograph of Astha directly before the wedding ceremony was to begin in the Palm House at Franklin Park Conservatory.
Meanwhile; outside the palm house the barat was raging on.
Sunglasses guy [ AKA Andrew’s younger bro ] 😎 was raging on as well.
Safety first? Nah nah nah, safety always.
No matter their ages, everyone was in on the action!
We promise, there were no injuries and no 911 calls. Just lots of festive hugging and dancing during this barat!
Lots and LOTS of hugging 🤗. If you’ve never seen a norther Indian wedding, you’d need to understand that there is a ceremony called the Milni that happens directly before the Indian Wedding Ceremony. It involves the two families meeting together with key family members embracing. Sometimes these embraces become a bit more WWF than you might expect.
Y’all, seriously, the Franklin Conservatory is such a perfect place for an outdoor wedding ceremony in Columbus!
Although it took me way too long to figure out what the E on the ground was for… Emu? Emotion? Excellence?
Definitely could’ve been for Emotion, based on the look on our groom’s face waiting for his bride 🥹
Astha was a vision as she approached her soon-to-be-husband.
And there were smiles all around.
Emotion. Yes. It definitely stands for Emotion. Enchiladas? No, probably emotion.
I love the halo of color around Astha in this image. It really conveys the warmth that we all felt as our couple came together. Awwwww.
And then the W is obviously for Wedding. Duh. Or “Winning”. or “Way to go Andrew your wife is a 10/10”.
Sometimes it’s the littlest moments that affect you the most.
Though I’m sure they’ll remember this very big moment for the rest of their lives 👫
This one, too. Cause I brought back the veil tornado 🌪️
Vibe shift! Outside the Hilton Easton prior to their wedding reception we made sure to give a little bit of an ode to Andrew’s love for fine automobiles.
And perhaps his love of James Bond movies? 🤵♂️💄🚗.
Instead of typical seating cards for their guests, Astha and Andrew offered Willy Wonka inspired “golden ticket” chocolate bars for their guests to find prior to their wedding reception at the Hilton Easton. Like the movie, one lucky random guest had a literal golden ticket; rather than sitting with the rest of the wedding reception guests, they were permitted to eat at a nearby applebees and were flown home in a themed hot air balloon ride.
I made up that part of their golden ticket reception idea. I bet some of you read it and were like “WTF, an applebees???”. I’d wager that a solid 50% of the people that read that aren’t reading this sentence [ scrolled past, skipped ] and for the rest of their life will think it occurred. They’ll probably tell their friends about it over the next holiday weekend as part of “family / holiday small talk”.
Andrew had told us that they were going for a Bollywood/Hollywood feel at their wedding reception at the Hilton Easton. Mission definitely accomplished, Mr Bond.
If you read our interview with the groom above, then you know that their sangeet was full of all the feels.
If you didn’t read it, you should scroll back up and do that!
No wedding reception is complete without a healthy dose of partayyyyy 🎉
We certainly got that at Astha + Andrew’s!
They partied all night longggggg
And sunglasses bro even ditched his shades.
Party.
Animals.
Also, by the way. I know “E” and “W” stand for East and West [ I’m referencing the ground-tile work from their wedding ceremony at Franklin Park Conservatory. I like jokes, in case you didn’t know 😜
A few more veil tornado 🌪️ moments for the road.
Astha + Andrew, we enjoyed you both so much and we wish you a lifetime of fun, laughter, and of course, love [ and veil tornadoes 🌪️ ]
