The morning of the wedding day started at the bridal house for Tanvi’s Vidhi. The ceremonies started with Ganesh Sthapan and Mandap Ropan, before the Pithi, where the bride’s skin is covered with a turmeric paste. Outside the house, the bride’s parents, uncle and aunt performed the Grah Shanti. The morning events ended with the Varadh, where the ladies carried pots through the streets from the nearby temple, accompanied by the band and a few firecrackers! With the sun getting quite hot by lunchtime, this certainly made quite a change from some of my recent weddings in the snow!

Here are just a few highlights, with more on the Facebook Page.

After a late night at the Garba, there was no time for a lie-in as we had an early start in the morning. Tanvi went to Vishal’s village to join ladies from his family carrying pots through the streets, behind a very loud band. The procession was followed by a meal, hosted by the groom’s father, to which the whole village was invited. Here are a few shots from this event and more can be seen on the Facebook page.

Later in the day after the Mehndi Party, the next of Tanvi and Vishal’s wedding events that we attended was the Garba. Here are a few shots from the evening – more can be found on the Facebook Page.

So this was the start of a wedding we’ve been looking forward to for some time. Sally and I were lucky enough to be invited to spend a week in India to photograph the wedding of Tanvi and Vishal and it was an amazing experience! Here are a few shots from Tanvi’s Mehndi Party on the first day after we arrived. There will be several more posts to come with the other events.